Three Lions Acquisition Corp S-1/A, filed Aug 21, 2026
Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (TLAC)
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N/A | ||||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
Alan Annex Jason Simon Greenberg Traurig, LLP 1750 Tysons Boulevard Suite 1000 McLean, Virginia 22102 Tel: (703) 749-1300 |
Alexandra Low Appleby (Cayman) Ltd. 9 th Floor, 60 Nexus WayCamana Bay Grand Cayman, KY1-1104 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 949-4900 |
David Alan Miller Jeffrey Michael Gallant Gr aubard MillerThe Chrysler Building 405 Lexington Avenue, 44 th FloorNew York, NY 10174 Tel: (212) 818-8800 |
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
| ☒ | Smaller reporting company | |||||
| Emerging growth company | ||||||
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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion, dated August 21, 2026
Preliminary Prospectus
$100,000,000
THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP.
10,000,000 Units
Three Lions Acquisition Corp. is a Cayman Islands exempted company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our “business combination.” We may pursue a business combination with a target in any industry or geographic region that we believe can benefit from the expertise and capabilities of our management team.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one ordinary share and one-half of one warrant. We will not issue fractional warrants and only whole warrants will trade, so unless you purchase units in multiples of two, you will not be able to receive or trade the warrants included in the units. We have also granted the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,500,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
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Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. Only whole warrants are exercisable. Each warrant will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and will expire on the fifth anniversary of our completion of an initial business combination, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon the completion of our business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, described below, as of two business days prior to the consummation of our business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals (as described in this prospectus), divided by the number of then outstanding ordinary shares that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to collectively throughout this prospectus as our public shares, subject to the limitations described herein.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent. See “Summary — The Offering — Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding 15% or more of the shares sold in this offering if we hold shareholder vote” for further discussion on certain limitations on redemption rights.
If we are unable to complete our business combination within 21 months from the date of this prospectus, we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. However, we may hold a shareholder vote at any time to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the amount of time we will have to consummate a business combination (as well as to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated a business combination within the time periods described herein or with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity), in which case we will provide our shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares in connection therewith.
Three Lions Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our “Sponsor,” holds 3,758,333 of our ordinary shares, which we refer to as the “founder shares”, prior to the offering. Up to 500,000 founder shares held by our Sponsor are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised.
The founder shares were purchased prior to this offering for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000 and the EBC founder shares (as defined in the prospectus) were purchased for an aggregate purchase price of $1,739.13. Since these shares were acquired at a nominal price per share, our public shareholders will incur immediate and substantial dilution upon the closing of this offering. See the section titled “Risk Factors — Risks Relating to our Securities — Our initial shareholders prior to this offering contributed an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.007 per share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our ordinary shares.”
If we increase the size of the offering, we will effect a share dividend, or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to the founder shares immediately so that such shares continue to represent 25% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering (excluding the EBC founder shares, private shares and shares underlying warrants). Absent unexpected changes in connection with such an increase or decrease, such as changes to the offering expenses or if the size of the related private placement were changed (other than simple recalculations due to the increase or decrease in the offering size), it is not expected that the issuance of additional founder shares would result in material dilution to public holders. However, increasing the number of founder shares means that the increase in offering size will not have the effect of reducing dilution for the public holders.
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Our Sponsor, certain third party investors, and EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., the underwriter in this offering, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as “EBC” or the “underwriter,” have agreed that they and/or their designees will purchase from us an aggregate of 400,000 private units at a price of $10.00 per unit for a total purchase price of $4,000,000 in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. We refer to these units throughout this prospectus as the “private units” or “private placement units.” Of those 400,000 private placement units, our Sponsor has agreed to purchase 200,000 private placement units, third-party investors have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 100,000 private placement units, and EBC has agreed to purchase 100,000 private placement units. Our Sponsor and EBC have also agreed that if the over-allotment option is exercised by the underwriter in full or in part, they and/or their designees will purchase from us up to an additional 37,500 private units (up to 28,125 private units to be purchased by our Sponsor and up to 9,375 private units to be purchased by EBC or its designees) at a price of $10.00 per unit in an amount that is necessary to maintain in the trust account $10.05 per unit sold to the public in this offering. The third-party investors will not purchase any additional private placement units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full or in part. The private units are identical to the units sold in this offering, subject to limited exceptions. Our Sponsor, the third party investors and EBC have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private units or underlying securities (with certain exceptions) until the completion of our business combination. Subject to the third-party investors purchasing the private placement units indicated above, our sponsor intends to transfer an aggregate of 800,000 founder shares to such third-party investors at the closing of this offering.
As more fully discussed in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Our Sponsor and members of our management team will directly or indirectly own our securities following this offering, and accordingly, they may have actual or potential conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our business combination as compared to purchasers in this offering. See the sections titled “Summary — Conflicts of Interest,” “Proposed Business — Business Combination” and “Management — Conflicts of Interest” for more information. The low price that our Sponsor, executive officers and directors (directly or indirectly) paid for the founder shares creates an incentive whereby our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we select an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for public shareholders. If we are unable to complete our business combination within 21 months from the date of this prospectus, or by such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, the founder shares and private units may become worthless, except to the extent they receive liquidating distributions from assets outside the trust account, which could create an incentive for our Sponsor, executive officers and directors to complete a transaction even if we select an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for public shareholders. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our business combination. Additionally, we will reimburse our Sponsor or an affiliate thereof in an amount equal to $10,000 per month for office space and administrative support made available to us, as described elsewhere in this prospectus. Upon consummation of this offering, we will repay $150,000 in loans made to us by our Sponsor to cover a portion of the expenses of this offering. In the event that following this offering we obtain working capital loans from our Sponsor to finance transaction costs related to our business combination, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private units described below at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of our Sponsor. Additionally, members of our management team will be entitled to reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing a business combination. As a result, there may be actual or potential material conflicts of interest between our Sponsor and our management team and their respective affiliates on the one hand, and purchasers in this offering on the other hand. See “Summary — Our Sponsor,” “Summary — The Offering — Founder Shares and EBC founder shares,” “Summary — The Offering — Transfer Restrictions on Founder Shares and EBC Founder Shares,” “Summary — The Offering — Conflicts of interest,” “Proposed Business — Effecting our Business Combination” and “Management — Conflicts of Interest” for more information.
The following table illustrates the difference between the public offering price and our net tangible book value (“NTBV”), as adjusted to give effect to this offering and to redemptions of our public shares at varying levels, assuming the full exercise and no exercise of the over-allotment option. See the sections titled “Prospectus Summary — Dilution” and “Dilution” for more information.
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| As of June 30, 2026 |
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| Offering Price of $10.00 |
25% of Maximum Redemption |
50% of Maximum Redemption |
75% of Maximum Redemption |
Maximum Redemption |
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| NTBV |
NTBV | Difference between NTBV and Offering Price |
NTBV | Difference between NTBV and Offering Price |
NTBV | Difference between NTBV and Offering Price |
NTBV | Difference between NTBV and Offering Price |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assuming Full Exercise of Over-Allotment Option |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $7.35 |
$ | 6.75 | $ | 3.25 | $ | 5.82 | $ | 4.18 | $ | 4.17 | $ | 5.83 | $ | 0.39 | $ | 9.61 | ||||||||||||||||
| Assuming No Exercise of Over-Allotment Option |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $7.33 |
$ | 6.74 | $ | 3.26 | $ | 5.81 | $ | 4.19 | $ | 4.16 | $ | 5.84 | $ | 0.42 | $ | 9.58 | ||||||||||||||||
Our Sponsor and members of our management team will directly or indirectly own our securities following this offering, and accordingly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our business combination. Additionally, each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. See the sections titled “Proposed Business — Effecting our Business Combination — Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets” and “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”
Currently, there is no public market for our units, ordinary shares or warrants. We have applied to list our units on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, or “NASDAQ” under the symbol “TLACU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on NASDAQ. The ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 90th day following the date of this prospectus unless EBC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on NASDAQ under the symbols “TLAC” and “TLACW”, respectively.
No offer or invitation to subscribe for securities may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands.
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private units described in this prospectus, $100,500,000 or $115,575,000, if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.05 per public share in either case), will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee, approximately $2,600,000, or $2,900,000, if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full, will be used to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering, including underwriting discounts and commissions, and an estimated $900,000 will be available for working capital following this offering. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us as permitted withdrawals, if any, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private units that are deposited in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of (a) the completion of our business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders.
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We are an “emerging growth company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. No offer or invitation to subscribe for securities may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 34 for a discussion of the information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors under Rule 419 blank check offerings.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
| Per Unit |
Total | |||||||
| Public offering price |
$ | 10.00 | $ | 100,000,000 | ||||
| Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) |
$ | 0.20 | $ | 2,000,000 | ||||
| Proceeds, before expenses, to Three Lions Acquisition Corp. |
$ | 9.80 | $ | 98,000,000 | ||||
| (1) | The underwriter has received and will receive compensation in addition to the underwriting discount, including an aggregate of 200,000 ordinary shares, or “EBC founder shares,” and fees pursuant to a Business Combination Marketing Agreement. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Underwriting” for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriter. |
The underwriter is offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriter expects to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about , 2026.
Sole Book-Running Manager
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
, 2026
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We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information, and we take no responsibility for any other information others may give to you. We are not, and the underwriter is not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
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SUMMARY
This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.
Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus, or the context otherwise requires, references to:
| • | “amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be in effect upon completion of this offering; |
| • | “Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time; |
| • | “company,” “our company” “we,” “us” or “our” are to Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company; |
| • | “EBC founder shares” are to 200,000 ordinary shares issued to EBC in connection with our formation prior to this offering (for the avoidance of doubt, such ordinary shares will not be “public shares”); |
| • | “equity-linked securities” are to any securities of our company which are convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for ordinary shares of our company, including but not limited to equity or debt securities issued in a private placement; |
| • | “forfeiture shares” are to the up to 500,000 founder shares that may be forfeited to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised in full; |
| • | “founder shares” are to the 3,758,333 ordinary shares held by our Sponsor, which were issued in connection with our formation prior to this offering, including 800,000 founder shares that our Sponsor intends to transfer to the third-party investors at the closing of this offering (for the avoidance of doubt, such ordinary shares will not be “public shares”); |
| • | “initial shareholders” are to our Sponsor and the other holders of our founder shares prior to this offering, but excluding the holders of the EBC founder shares; |
| • | “management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors; |
| • | “NTBV” are to net tangible book value; |
| • | “ordinary shares” are to our ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share; |
| • | “permitted withdrawals” are to amounts withdrawn from interest earned on the trust account (and not from the principal held in the trust account) to pay our taxes, if any, excluding excise taxes; |
| • | “private shares” are to our ordinary shares included in the private units, which are identical to the public shares, subject to certain exceptions; |
| • | “private units” or “private placement units” are to the units that are being issued to our Sponsor, the third-party investors, EBC and/or their designees in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering, as well as any units that may be issued upon conversion of the working capital loans, which are identical to the public units, subject to certain exceptions; |
| • | “private warrants” are to the warrants included in the private units, as well as any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans, all of which are identical to the public warrants; |
| • | “public shares” are to our ordinary shares that are being sold as part of the units in this offering; |
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| • | “public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial shareholders and/or members of our management team to the extent any of them purchase public shares, provided that each holder’s status as a “public shareholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares; |
| • | “public units” are to the units that are being sold in this offering, each consisting of one public share and one-half of one public warrant; |
| • | “public warrants” are to the warrants that are being sold as part of the units in this offering; |
| • | “Sponsor” are to Three Lions Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; |
| • | “third-party investors” are to certain third-party investors who have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 100,000 private placement units; |
| • | “units” are to the public units and the private units; and |
| • | “warrants” are to the public warrants and the private warrants; |
Registered trademarks referred to in this prospectus are the property of their respective owners. Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriter will not exercise its over-allotment option.
Any forfeiture of shares described in this prospectus will take effect as a surrender of shares for no consideration of such shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any share dividends described in this prospectus will take effect as a share capitalization as a matter of Cayman Islands law.
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PROPOSED BUSINESS
Our Company
We are a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on March 10, 2026, as an exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our “business combination” with a business or entity, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as a “target business”.
To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities and activities related to this offering. We have generated no revenues to date and we do not expect that we will generate operating revenues until we consummate our business combination.
Given their positions, our officers and directors are made aware from time to time of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination. However, we have not selected any specific target business and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any target business with respect to a business combination with us.
We may retain all of our available funds and any future earnings following a business combination to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, we may not pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
While we may pursue an initial business combination with a target in any business, industry or geography, we intend to capitalize on the experience, relationships and operating track record of our management team to identify, acquire and grow a business in industries that complement that experience. In particular, we expect to concentrate our efforts on opportunities in the following sectors:
| • | Sports, including professional and semi-professional sports franchises, leagues, academies and youth sports platforms, sports media and sponsorships, sports agencies, sports technology and data, and sports-related consumer brands; |
| • | Hospitality and leisure, including restaurants, food halls, hotels, resorts, destination and experiential entertainment concepts, live events, and related consumer services; and |
| • | Real estate, with a particular interest in sports- and hospitality-anchored, mixed-use real estate developments (including stadium, arena and entertainment-district projects) and the operating businesses that anchor them. |
We view these three verticals as mutually reinforcing: sports franchises and live events drive attendance and brand affinity; hospitality, food and beverage and retail concepts monetize dwell time around those experiences; and purpose-built real estate captures the long-term appreciation and recurring cash flows generated by those activities. We may also pursue targets in sectors that service or are connected to these industries, including sports and hospitality technology, media, ticketing and consumer financial services.
Notwithstanding the foregoing intended focus, we are not required to complete our initial business combination with a target business in any of these industries, and we may pursue a business combination with a target business in any other industry or geography, including outside the United States. If we pursue a target outside our intended focus areas, our management team’s industry-specific expertise may not be directly applicable to the evaluation or operation of the target business, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding these focus areas may not be relevant to an understanding of the business we ultimately acquire.
Our Team
Our management team is led by Berke Bakay, our Chairman and director, Brett Johnson, our Chief Executive Officer, and Harry Brandler, our Chief Financial Officer and director. Our management team will be supported by Jeffrey G. Brock, Jameson Culp, and Jeffrey A. Dunham, each of whom will become a member of our board of directors upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
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The biographical information is as follows:
Berke Bakay, Chairman and director. Mr. Bakay has served as our Chairman and director since our inception. Mr. Bakay has spent more than 23 years in investment management. He is co-founder and co-managing director of Three Lions Capital Management LLC, a private equity firm focused on sports, entertainment, and life sciences he co-founded in 2020. In 2020, Mr. Bakay founded Bakay Capital Fund, LP, a long/short equity fund pursuing a deep-value strategy in small-capitalization North American companies with an options overlay. Since December 2024, Mr. Bakay has served as Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Operations and as an executive board member of Alpha Square Management LLC, the general partner of Alpha Square Fund, LP, a business-cycle systematic fund investing in S&P 500 equities, derivatives, and gold that launched its U.S. operations in March 2025. In addition, Mr. Bakay has been a shareholder and member of the board of directors of Ipswich Town Football Club Ltd. since April 2021; co-founder and a shareholder (and former co-chairman and governor) of Phoenix Rising FC since 2016; and co-founder and managing partner of Tiger Hospitality FH Holdings LLC, a Southern California food hall and restaurant platform, since August 2024. Over the course of his career, Mr. Bakay has held leadership and board positions—including director, Chairman, Executive Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer—at three public and six private companies across the restaurant, sports and entertainment, energy, chemicals, e-commerce, and technology industries, ranging in size from approximately $30 million to $500 million in valuation. Mr. Bakay previously served as Executive Chairman and director of Lone Oak Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, from 2010 until its business combination with Arabella Exploration, LLC in 2013. He continued to serve as a director of the combined entity, Arabella Exploration, Inc., until the company’s liquidation in the Cayman Islands in June 2016.
Brett M. Johnson, Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Johnson has served as our Chief Executive Officer since our inception. Mr. Johnson is a co-founder and co-managing director of Three Lions Capital Management LLC, a private equity firm focused on sports, entertainment, and life sciences he co-founded in 2020. Since 2005, he has served as founder and Chief Executive Officer of Benevolent Capital, a single-family office with investments in professional sports teams, real estate, private equity, and venture capital, and he is a founder and partner of Fortuitous Partners since 2018, an opportunity-zone fund platform investing in sports-anchored, mixed-use real estate developments, including the Centreville Bank Stadium development in Rhode Island. Mr. Johnson has been a shareholder and member of the board of directors of Ipswich Town Football Club Ltd., which his investor group acquired in April 2021; a co-founder and shareholder of Phoenix Rising FC since 2016; founder and principal owner of Rhode Island FC; and co-founder and managing partner of Tiger Hospitality FH Holdings LLC since August 2024. Prior to founding Benevolent Capital, Mr. Johnson served as President of Targus Group International, Inc., a global provider of mobile computing accessories with sales of approximately $545 million and distribution in 145 countries, from 2001 to 2005, and previously served as Managing Director of Targus EMEA and Asia-Pacific from 1997 to 2001; he continued to serve as an executive director of Targus through 2009 following its sale to a private equity firm in 2005. From 2013 to 2015, Mr. Johnson served as a director and as chairman of the compensation committee of Blyth, Inc. (formerly NYSE: BTH), a direct-to-consumer designer and marketer of home accessories and health and wellness products that was acquired by an affiliate of The Carlyle Group in November 2015. He currently serves as a director of TerraCycle, Inc., an environmental services and recycling company, and FlyHouse Management LLC, a company focused on aviation services, including private aircraft charter and related travel solutions, and has previously served as a member of the board of trustees of Choate Rosemary Hall, a private boarding school, and as a senior fellow in entrepreneurship and member of the board of visitors of the Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University.
Harry Brandler, Chief Financial Officer and director. Mr. Brandler has served as our Chief Financial Officer and director since our inception. Since 2019, Mr. Brandler has managed his family office Brandler LLC, which invests in public and private investments, including hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, commodities, public and private equities and debt, and many other types of security instruments. Mr. Brandler has served on the board of directors of Green Brick Partners, a homebuilding and land development company, since October 2014, and currently is the chair of the compensation committee. Since August 2026, Mr. Brander has served as a director of Pinnacle Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: PNAQ). Previously, Mr. Brandler served as the Chief Financial Officer of Greenlight Capital, Inc., a hedge fund, from December 2001 to January 2019, where he served as a Partner and member of its management committee. From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Brandler served as Chief Financial Officer of Wheatley Partners, a venture capital firm, where he oversaw the firm’s back-office operations and restructured the firm’s marketing, client relations and technology. From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Brandler was at Goldstein, Golub & Kessler, where he provided audit, tax and consulting services to investment partnerships and other financial organizations and where he was promoted to Manager in January 1999. Mr. Brandler was admitted as a Certified Public Accountant in New York in 1996. Mr. Brandler has served on multiple non-profit and private company boards of trustees/directors.
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Jeffrey G. Brock, director nominee. Mr. Brock has served as Managing Partner of Hargett Hunter Capital Management, a private investment firm focused on investing in and supporting the growth of multi-unit restaurant companies he founded, since 2015. Since founding the firm, Mr. Brock has led investments in numerous restaurant concepts, including Bacari, Original ChopShop Co. and Bellagreen, and has served on the boards of several portfolio companies, including Big Table Restaurants, and Won’t Stop Hospitality. Prior to founding Hargett Hunter, Mr. Brock served as a Partner at Morehead Capital from 2011 to 2015, where he helped develop and execute the firm’s investment strategy and portfolio management. Before that, he held a series of increasingly senior positions at GE Capital’s Franchise Finance division, including Director of Brand Management and Vice President of Strategic Accounts. Mr. Brock also served as a Senior Vice President with Bank of America and held corporate banking and franchise finance roles at JPMorgan. He began his career with First Union National Bank, a predecessor to Wells Fargo.
Jameson Culp, director nominee. Mr. Culp is a private equity investment professional with experience across growth and special situations investments, including control acquisitions, GP-led continuation vehicles and growth investments in the industrials, aerospace and defense, and business services sectors. He has served as an investment analyst at RenWaveKore since January 2024, a special situations private equity firm with approximately $1 billion of assets under management as of the end of 2025. Previously, he held various investment roles at AE Industrial Partners, a private equity firm focused on aerospace, defense and industrial markets, from August 2021 to December 2023. Mr. Culp started his career at Credit Suisse where he worked as an investment banking analyst from July 2019 to August 2021.
Jeffrey A. Dunham, director nominee. Mr. Dunham is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dunham & Associates Investment Counsel, Inc. (“Dunham & Associates”), a SEC registered investment advisor, and Dunham Trust Company (“Dunham Trust”), a Nevada trust service provider. Dunham & Associates offers a variety of investment management and advisor services, including mutual fund investment opportunities through a family of mutual funds (the “Dunham Funds”) it manages. Mr. Dunham founded Dunham & Associates in 1985, and Dunham Trust in 1999, and has overseen the growth of the combined business into a wealth management, trust and asset management platform serving financial advisors and their clients nationwide with more than $8.3 billion of combined assets under management across businesses as of August 2026. In addition to his experience in investment management and fiduciary services, Mr. Dunham has extensive experience in trust administration and real estate investing. Prior to becoming Founding Partner of Dunham & Associates, he was Partner in the investment firm of McKewon Securities and worked with Enterprise Management Company, a venture capital affiliate of McKewon Securities. Beginning his investment career in real estate investment, Mr. Dunham served as President of San Diego-based JAD Properties from 1979 to 1989. Mr. Dunham holds FINRA Series 3, 4, 7, 24, 52 and 63 registrations.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team is not a guarantee either (i) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our business combination or (ii) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. See “Management” for a full description of the background of our management team members.
Market Opportunity
Consumer spending on sports, hospitality and experiential entertainment has consistently outpaced growth in U.S. gross domestic product over the last two decades, driven by a durable shift in consumer preferences from goods to experiences, the emergence of new distribution and monetization channels for sports media and live events, and the continued institutionalization of private capital formation around sports franchises, hospitality platforms and sports-anchored real estate. At the same time, we believe the universe of well-capitalized public acquirers in these categories remains relatively limited and that the middle-market segments of these industries remain highly fragmented, creating what we believe to be an attractive set of private and closely held businesses that could benefit from access to the public capital markets.
Business Strategy
Our strategy is to leverage the experience, industry reputation and proprietary network of Berke Bakay, our Chairman and director, Brett Johnson, our Chief Executive Officer, and Harry Brandler, our Chief Financial Officer and director, together with our broader board of directors and advisors, to identify, evaluate, acquire and grow a business within our intended focus areas. Collectively, our management team has:
| • | co-founded and operates Three Lions Capital Management LLC, a private equity firm focused on sports, entertainment and life sciences, and has acquired, capitalized and developed a portfolio of professional sports properties, including Ipswich Town Football Club Ltd., Phoenix Rising FC and Rhode Island FC, as well as a youth-sports platform, a live-entertainment platform and a life sciences platform; |
| • | developed and invested in sports- and hospitality-anchored, mixed-use real estate projects, including through Fortuitous Partners, an opportunity-zone fund platform whose projects include the Centreville Bank Stadium development in Rhode Island; |
| • | founded and operates Tiger Hospitality FH Holdings LLC, a Southern California food hall and restaurant platform with proprietary growth brands and three food halls totaling over 41,000 square feet; |
| • | held executive and director roles at public and private companies — including at Greenlight Capital, Inc., Green Brick Partners, Inc., Blyth, Inc. (formerly NYSE: BTH), Targus Group International, Inc. and numerous other companies across the restaurant, sports and entertainment, consumer, real estate, energy, chemicals, e-commerce, and technology industries; |
| • | raised $300+ million through dozens of investment vehicles spanning sports, real estate, private equity and venture capital under the Three Lions Capita, Benevolent Capital and Tiger Hospitality platforms since 2021; and |
| • | accumulated hundreds of active relationships across deal networks, and broader networks through organizations like the Dunham Trust businesses, Young President Organizations and 3i Network. |
We intend to draw on these relationships and experiences to generate proprietary deal flow, including transactions that may not be available through traditional investment banking channels, and to bring operating, financial-reporting, capital-markets, governance and board-level expertise to help a target business complete its transition to, and succeed as, a public company. We expect to augment our internal capabilities with selected advisors, industry relationships and co-investment partners that are familiar with our management team.
Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with this strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. While we intend to use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating potential business combination opportunities, we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet all, or any, of these criteria and guidelines. We intend to acquire one or more businesses that we believe:
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| (i) | operate in, or are closely adjacent to, the sports, hospitality, live entertainment, experiential consumer or related real estate sectors; |
| (ii) | possess a defensible competitive position, recognizable brand or a scarce underlying asset (such as a franchise, league right, venue, long-term leasehold or location-specific real estate); |
| (iii) | are led by an experienced management team with a demonstrable operating track record, whom we can complement — rather than replace — with our capital market, corporate governance and public-company experience; |
| (iv) | generate, or have a clearly identifiable path to, stable and predictable free cash flow, including through recurring, contracted or season-anchored revenue streams; |
| (v) | have an enterprise values generally between $500 million and $1.5 billion, although we may consider opportunities outside this range; |
| (vi) | have identifiable and quantifiable tangible asset value, whether in the form of real estate, franchise rights, media or sponsorship contracts, or other long-duration contractual cash flows; |
| (vii) | would benefit from being a public company, including through broader access to equity and debt capital, enhanced brand visibility, improved corporate governance, and a public currency for future acquisitions; and |
| (viii) | present a clear opportunity for growth and value creation — through organic expansion, geographic expansion, add-on acquisitions, margin improvement, or the monetization of associated real estate or media rights. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team may deem relevant.
Business Combination
We will have up to 21 months from the closing of this offering to consummate a business combination. If we are unable to consummate our business combination within such time period, we will, as promptly as possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of our outstanding public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account, including a pro rata portion of any interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals (less taxes payable, if any, and up to $100,000 for liquidation and dissolution expenses), and then seek to dissolve and liquidate. However, we may not be able to distribute such amounts as a result of claims of creditors which may take priority over the claims of our public shareholders.
Our business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding interest earned on the trust account and released to us to pay taxes) at the time of the agreement to enter into the business combination. The fair market value of such business must be determined by our board of directors based upon standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and book value. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine that the target business meets such fair market value requirement, the fairness opinion we obtain in connection with any business combination we seek to consummate will contain a confirmatory statement that the target business satisfies such requirement.
The funds released to us from the trust account upon the closing of our business combination may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete our business combination. If our business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our business combination or used for redemption of our public shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
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Should we seek to obtain additional financing to complete our business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. If we raise additional funds through equity or convertible debt issuances, our public shareholders may suffer significant dilution and these securities could have rights that rank senior to our public shares. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our business combination. If we raise additional funds through the incurrence of indebtedness, such indebtedness would have rights that are senior to our equity securities and could contain covenants that restrict our operations. In addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed business combination. We may also obtain financing prior to the closing of our business combination to fund our working capital needs and transaction costs in connection with our search for and completion of our business combination. If we are unable to complete our business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to liquidate the trust account. In addition, following our business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
Our Acquisition Process
We intend to utilize our management team’s expertise and respective contacts and relationships to identify potential targets and evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, and to determine the relative risk and return profile of any potential target for our business combination.
Each of our officers and directors presently has contractual obligations to other entities, and any of them in the future may have additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities including other special purpose acquisition companies, or “SPACs,” pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
Our Sponsor
Our Sponsor, Three Lions Sponsor, LLC, is a Delaware limited liability company, which was formed to be our Sponsor. Although our Sponsor is permitted to undertake any activities permitted under the Delaware Limited Liability Companies Act and other applicable law, our Sponsor’s business is focused on investing in our company and it is not anticipated that our Sponsor will undertake any material roles or responsibilities in directing and managing our activities. Our business and activities following this offering will be directed and managed by our management team and none of our other affiliates and promoters are anticipated to have any material roles or responsibilities in directing and managing our activities.
Our Sponsor is managed by a board of managers, consisting of Berke Bakay, our Chairman and director, Brett Johnson, our Chief Executive Officer, and Harry Brandler, our Chief Financial Officer and director. Each of Messrs. Bakay, Johnson, and Brandler will also hold membership interests, directly or indirectly, in our Sponsor. No other person has a direct or indirect material interest in our Sponsor.
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The following table sets forth the payments to be received by our Sponsor and its affiliates from us prior to or in connection with the completion of our business combination and the securities issued and to be issued by us to our Sponsor or its affiliates:
| Entity/Individual |
Amount of Compensation to be Received or Securities Issued or to be Issued |
Consideration Paid or to be Paid | ||
| Sponsor and directors | 3,758,333 founder shares | $25,000 | ||
| Sponsor |
200,000 Private Units to be purchased simultaneously with the closing of this offering | $2,000,000 | ||
| Sponsor or an affiliate thereof |
$10,000 per month | Office space and administrative services provided to us. | ||
| Sponsor |
$150,000 in loan | Repayment of loans made to us to cover offering related and organizational expenses. | ||
| Sponsor and our officers or directors, or affiliates thereof |
Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing a business combination. | Expenses incurred in connection with identifying, investigating and completing a business combination. | ||
| Sponsor and our officers or directors, or affiliates thereof |
Up to 150,000 private units upon conversion of up to $1,500,000 in working capital loans, if any, at $10.00 per unit | Working capital loans to finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination | ||
| Sponsor and our officers or directors, or affiliates thereof |
Payment in cash or securities for customary consulting, success or finder fees which, if made prior to the completion of our initial business combination, will be paid from funds held outside the trust account | Rendering of customary consulting, success or finder services in connection with the consummation of a business combination | ||
Because our Sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, our public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution upon the closing of this offering, assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units. See the section titled “Risk Factors — Risks Relating to our Securities — Our initial shareholders prior to this offering contributed an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.007 per share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our ordinary shares.”
Additionally, our Sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $150,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering, which amount will be repaid upon closing of this offering. We will also reimburse our Sponsor or an affiliate thereof $10,000 per month for office space and administrative services made available to us, each as described elsewhere in this prospectus.
Pursuant to a letter agreement to be entered with us, each of our Sponsor, the third party investors, directors and officers will agree to restrictions on its ability to transfer, assign, or sell the founder shares and private units (and the underlying securities), as summarized in the table below.
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| Subject Securities |
Expiration Date |
Persons Subject to Restrictions |
Exceptions to Transfer Restrictions | |||
| Founder Shares | Six months after completion of our business combination or earlier if we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property | Sponsor, officers, directors and transferees | Transfers permitted (a) to our Sponsor, officers, directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our Sponsor, officers or directors or any members of our initial shareholders, or any affiliate of our initial shareholders; (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family, to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made at or prior to the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of the laws of the State of Delaware or the organizational documents of our Sponsor upon their dissolution; or (g) to us for no value for cancellation in connection with the consummation of our business combination | |||
| Private Placement Units (and Underlying Securities) |
Completion of our business combination | Same as above | Same as above | |||
In addition, in order to facilitate our business combination (including in connection with a related PIPE financing) or for any other reason determined by our Sponsor in its sole discretion, our Sponsor may surrender or forfeit, transfer or exchange the founder shares, private placement units or any of our other securities, including for no consideration, as well as subject any such securities to earn-outs or other restrictions, or otherwise amend the terms of any such securities or enter into any other arrangements with respect to any such securities.
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Corporate Information
Our executive office is located at 888 Prospect Street, La Jolla, CA 92037 and our telephone number is 917-822-8328.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 30 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
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The Offering
In making your decision on whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors.”
| Securities offered | 10,000,000 units, at $10.00 per unit (or 11,500,000 units if the underwriter’s option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), each unit consisting of:
• one ordinary share; and
• one-half of one warrant | |
| Proposed NASDAQ symbols | Units: “TLACU”
Ordinary Shares: “TLAC”
Warrants: “TLACW” | |
| Trading commencement and separation of ordinary shares and warrants |
The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 90th day following the date of this prospectus unless the underwriter informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into ordinary shares and warrants. No fractional securities will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase units in multiples of two, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant underlying the units. Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our business combination. | |
| Separate trading of ordinary shares and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K |
In no event will the ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option. | |
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| Units: | ||
| Number outstanding before this offering | 0 units | |
| Number outstanding after this offering and private placement | 10,400,000 units(1)(2) | |
| Ordinary Shares: | ||
| Number outstanding before this offering | 4,033,333 shares(3) | |
| Number outstanding after this offering and private placement | 13,933,333 shares(1)(4) | |
| Warrants: | ||
| Number outstanding before this offering | 0 warrants | |
| Number to be sold in private placement | 200,000 warrants(1) | |
| Number outstanding after this offering and private placement | 5,200,000 warrants(1)(5) | |
| (1) Assumes no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option. (2) Represents 10,000,000 public units and 400,000 private units. (3) Represents 3,833,333 founder shares and 200,000 EBC founder shares. The founder shares include up to an aggregate of 500,000 shares held by our Sponsor that are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised. (4) Represents 3,333,333 founder shares, 200,000 EBC founder shares, 10,000,000 public shares and 400,000 private shares. (5) Represents 5,000,000 public warrants and 200,000 private warrants. | ||
| Exercisability of warrants | Each whole warrant is exercisable for one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share and only whole warrants are exercisable. The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of an initial business combination. The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the fifth anniversary of our completion of an initial business combination, or earlier upon redemption. | |
| Exercise price of warrants | $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. In addition, if (x) we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors, and in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor, initial shareholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any founders’ shares held by them prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the greater of (i) the Market Value or (ii) the price at which we issue the additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities. | |
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| No warrants will be exercisable for cash unless we have an effective and current registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such ordinary shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. | ||
| Redemption of warrants | We may redeem the outstanding warrants in whole and not in part, at a price of $0.01 per warrant at any time after the warrants become exercisable, upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, if, and only if, the last sales price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period commencing at any time after the warrants become exercisable and ending three business days before we send the notice of redemption; and if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the ordinary shares underlying such warrants.
If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption, each warrant holder can exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 trigger price as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” for this purpose shall mean the average reported last sale price of the ordinary shares for the five 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. | |
| Founder shares and EBC founder shares | On March 23, 2026, we issued an aggregate of 2,875,000 ordinary shares to our Sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, and 200,000 ordinary shares to EBC for an aggregate purchase price of $1,739.13. On June 29, 2026, the Company effected a 1 for 1.33333 share split of the founder shares and EBC founder shares, resulting in our Sponsor holding an aggregate of 3,833,333 founder shares, and EBC holding 266,667 EBC founder shares. On the same day, EBC agreed to forfeit and cancel 66,667 EBC founder shares. On August 20, 2026, our Sponsor agreed to transfer an aggregate of 75,000 shares to our director nominees. As a result, prior to the offering, our Sponsor holds 3,758,333 founder shares and EBC holds 200,000 founder shares. In addition, subject to the third-party investors purchasing the private placement units indicated elsewhere in the prospectus, our Sponsor intends to transfer an aggregate of 800,000 founder shares to such third-party investors at the closing of this offering. | |
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| The number of shares issued in connection with our formation was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would collectively represent 25% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering (excluding the EBC founder shares, private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units sold in this offering).
The founder shares and EBC founder shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the public units, except that:
• the founder shares and EBC founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below;
• the holders of the founder shares (but not the holders of the EBC founder shares) have agreed to vote any founder shares and private shares held by them and, subject to applicable securities laws, any public shares purchased in or after this offering in favor of our business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need (i) 3,033,334 or 30.3%, of the 10,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a business combination in order to have our business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted, including the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC, and the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC are voted in favor of the proposed business combination (although the holders are not required to do so) and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or (ii) none of the 10,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a business combination in order to have our business combination approved (assuming that only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted, the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC are voted in favor of the proposed business combination (although the holders are not required to do so) and the over-allotment option is not exercised);
• the holders of the founder shares and EBC founder shares have agreed (i) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, EBC founder shares, private shares and, in the case of our initial shareholders (other than the third-party investors), any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our business combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, EBC founder shares, private shares and, in the case of our initial shareholders (other than the third-party investors), any public shares, in connection with a shareholder vote to approve certain amendments to our amended and restated |
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| memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity and (iii) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares held by them if we fail to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we submit our business combination to our shareholders for a vote, we will complete our business combination only if our shareholders approve the business combination in accordance with the Companies Act and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; and
• the holders of the founder shares and EBC founder shares have certain registration rights. | ||
| Transfer restrictions on founder shares and EBC founder shares | On the date of closing of this offering, the founder shares will be placed into an escrow account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as escrow agent. The founder shares may not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until six months after the date of the consummation of our business combination (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares, EBC Founder Shares, and Private Units”), or earlier, if, subsequent to our business combination, we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property.
The EBC founder shares will not be transferred, assigned or sold (except to the same permitted transferees as the founder shares and provided the transferees agree to the same terms and restrictions as the permitted transferees of the founder shares must agree to, each as described herein) until the consummation of a business combination.
We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. | |
| Private Units | Our Sponsor, certain third-party investors and EBC have agreed that they and/or their designees will purchase from us an aggregate of 400,000 private units at a price of $10.00 per unit for a total purchase price of $4,000,000 in a private placement that will close | |
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| simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Of those 400,000 private placement units, our Sponsor has agreed to purchase 200,000 private placement units, third-party investors have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 100,000 private placement units, and EBC has agreed to purchase 100,000 private placement units. Our Sponsor and EBC have also agreed that if the over-allotment option is exercised by the underwriter in full or in part, they and/or their designees will purchase from us up to an additional 37,500 private units (up to 28,125 private units to be purchased by our Sponsor and up to 9,375 private units to be purchased by EBC or its designees) at a price of $10.00 per unit in an amount that is necessary to maintain in the trust account $10.05 per unit sold to the public in this offering. The third-party investors will not purchase any additional private placement units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full or in part. The private units are identical to the units sold in this offering, subject to limited exceptions. | ||
| The purchase price of the private units will be added to the net proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account. If we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, the funds held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law). | ||
| Transfer restrictions on private units | The private units (including private shares and private warrants included in the private units, and the ordinary shares underlying the private warrants) may not be transferred, assigned or sold until the completion of our business combination, except as described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares, EBC Founder Shares, and Private Units.” | |
| Proceeds to be held in trust account | The rules of NASDAQ provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private units be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units, $100,500,000 or $115,575,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.05 per unit in either case) will be placed into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.
Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private units that are deposited in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of (a) the completion of our business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders. | |
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| Anticipated expenses and funding sources | Except as described above with respect to the withdrawal of interest pursuant to permitted withdrawals, unless and until we complete our business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use. The proceeds held in the trust account will be held in demand deposit or cash accounts or invested only in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We will disclose in each quarterly and annual report filed with the SEC prior to our business combination whether the proceeds deposited in the trust account are invested in U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds or a combination thereof. Based upon an assumed interest rate of 3%, we expect the trust account to generate approximately $3 million of interest annually.
Unless and until we complete our business combination, we may pay our expenses only from:
• the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $900,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $600,000 in expenses (excluding underwriting commissions) relating to this offering;
• permitted withdrawals; and
• any loans or additional investments from our initial shareholders or their affiliates, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or invest in us, and provided that any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our business combination.
In order to consummate a business combination (especially with a target business that has an enterprise value in excess of the net proceeds available to us from this offering and the private placement of units), we may issue additional ordinary shares or preference shares to supplement the necessary payments to a target business. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks. | |
| Conditions to completing our business combination | We will have up to 21 months from the closing of this offering to consummate a business combination. If we do not complete our business combination within the 21-month period, while we do not currently intend to seek shareholder approval to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend the amount of time we will have to consummate a business combination, we may elect to do so in the future. There is no limit on the number of extensions that we may seek. If we determine not to extend, or fail to obtain shareholder approval to extend, the time period to consummate our business combination, and the time to consummate our business combination expires, our Sponsor’s investment in our founder shares and our private placement units will be worthless. However, we may hold a | |
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| shareholder vote at any time to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association in a manner that would affect the amount of time we will have to consummate a business combination (as well as in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated a business combination within the time periods described herein or with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our ordinary shares or pre-business combination activity). As described herein, our initial shareholders, officers, directors and director nominees have agreed that they will not propose any such amendment unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (net of permitted withdrawals), divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein.
Our business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of our assets held in the trust account (excluding interest income earned on the trust account that is released to pay taxes) at the time of the agreement to enter into the business combination. The fair market value of such business must be determined by our board of directors based upon standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and book value. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine that the target business meets such fair market value requirement, the fairness opinion we obtain in connection with any business combination we seek to consummate will contain a confirmatory statement that the target business satisfies such requirement.
We anticipate structuring our business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons. However, we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires 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. Even if the post-transaction 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 transaction. |
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| If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% fair market value test, provided that in the event that the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable. | ||
| Permitted purchases of public shares by our affiliates | If we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial shareholders or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and the rules of NASDAQ. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. | |
| Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our business combination |
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.05 per public share. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial shareholders and EBC have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares held by them and, in the case of our initial shareholders (other than the third-party investors), any public shares our initial shareholders may acquire in or after this offering in connection with the | |
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| completion of our business combination or otherwise and to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, EBC founder shares, private shares and, in the case of our initial shareholders (other than the third-party investors), public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity. | ||
| Manner of conducting redemptions | We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our business combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require shareholder approval, while direct mergers with our company and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval.
If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
• conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E under the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and
• file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. If, alternatively, our company holds a general meeting to approve the business combination, our company will conduct any redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and file proxy materials with the SEC. | |
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| Upon the public announcement of our business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our initial shareholders will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act to purchase our ordinary shares in the open market, in order 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 business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the business combination.
If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will:
• conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and
• file proxy materials with the SEC
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our business combination only if our shareholders approve the business combination in accordance with the Companies Act and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Each ordinary share will have one vote on all matters submitted to shareholders. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of issued and outstanding shares of the company representing a simple majority of the voting power of all issued and outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial shareholders will count towards this quorum and have agreed, subject to applicable securities laws, to vote their founder shares, private shares and any public shares purchased in or after this offering in favor of our business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the simple majority of our outstanding ordinary shares voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need (i) 3,033,334 or 30.3%, of the 10,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a business combination in order to have our business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted, including the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC, and the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC are voted in favor of the proposed business combination (although the holders are not required to do so) and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or (ii) none of the 10,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a business combination in order to have our business combination approved (assuming that only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted, the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC are voted in favor of the proposed business combination (although the holders are not required to do so) and the over-allotment option is not exercised). |
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| If we seek shareholder approval of a business combination, we will give at least 20 days prior written notice of the meeting at which a vote shall be taken to approve our business combination. The quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether it votes for or against the proposed transaction, and irrespective of whether it does not vote or abstains from voting its shares.
We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming public shareholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed business combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates delivered, or shares tendered electronically, by public shareholders who elected to redeem their shares.
In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. | ||
| Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding 15% or more of the shares sold in this offering if we hold shareholder vote |
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering. We believe | |
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| the restriction described above will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms.
However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those shareholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our business combination. | ||
| Redemption rights in connection with proposed amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association |
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that any of its provisions (including without limitation, the provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of units into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein)) may be amended by way of a special resolution, if approved either by at least the holders of two-thirds of our ordinary shares entitled to attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolutions as a special resolution has been given, or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders, subject to applicable provisions of Cayman Islands law, or the Companies Act, or applicable stock exchange rules, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended by way of special resolution, if approved either by at least the holders of two-thirds of our ordinary shares entitled to attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolutions as a special resolution has been given, or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders. We may not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or on our business combination or that would entitle holders to receive funds from the trust account. Immediately after this offering, our Sponsor, directors and officers will beneficially own 25% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering (excluding the EBC founder shares, private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units sold in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Our initial shareholders have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us (filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part), that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months | |
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| from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other material provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. They have also agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private shares and (other than the third-party investors) any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our business combination and to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private shares and (other than the third-party investors) public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association described above. | ||
| Release of funds in trust account on closing of our business combination |
On the completion of our business combination, all amounts held in the trust account will be released to us. We will use these funds to pay amounts due to any public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our business combination,” to pay EBC the fee payable pursuant to the Business Combination Marketing Agreement described under the heading “Underwriting,” to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our business combination. If our business combination is paid for using equity or debt instruments, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our business combination, 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 post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness, to fund the purchase of other assets, companies or for working capital. | |
| Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no business combination |
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we will have only 21 months from the closing of this offering to complete our business combination. If we are unable to complete our 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 pursuant to permitted withdrawals (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive | |
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| further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our business combination within the 21-month time period. Our initial shareholders have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares or private shares held by them if we fail to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our business combination within the allotted time period. | ||
| Limited payments to insiders | We are not prohibited from paying any fees (including consulting or advisory fees), reimbursements or cash payments to our initial shareholders or their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our business combination, including the following payments, all of which, if made prior to the completion of our business combination, will be paid from funds held outside the trust account:
• Repayment of an aggregate of $150,000 in loans made to us by our Sponsor.
• Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing a business combination.
• Payment of customary consulting, success or finder fees in connection with the consummation of our business combination.
• Repayment of non-interest bearing loans which may be made by our initial shareholders or their affiliates to finance transaction or other costs in connection with an intended business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into working capital units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The working capital units would be identical to the private units sold in the private placement. Other than as described above, no terms have been determined with respect to such loans and no written agreements have been entered into with respect to any such loans.
• Payment to Sponsor or an affiliate thereof of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services.
• Payment of customary transfer agent, warrant agent, trustee and escrow agent fees paid to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the president of which is an investor in a third-party investor. | |
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| Audit Committee | We will establish and maintain an audit committee, which will be composed entirely of independent directors to, among other things, monitor compliance, on a quarterly basis, with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management — Committees of the Board of Directors — Audit Committee.” | |
| Conflicts of Interest | Our officers and directors have agreed to offer all suitable business combination opportunities to us before any other person or company until we enter into a definitive agreement with respect to a business combination, subject to any pre-existing contractual or fiduciary obligations they may have. As described in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” and “Risk Factors,” certain of our directors and officers presently have fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity, including Pinnacle Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: PNAQ), a special purpose acquisition company that completed its $200 million initial public offering and of which Mr. Brandler is a director. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, or in the case of a non-compete restriction, may not present such opportunity to us at all, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. See “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” “Management — Other SPAC Experience” and “Risk Factors” for more information.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which (a) may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other, or (b) the presentation of which would breach an existing legal obligation of a director or officer to any other entity. | |
| In addition, our Sponsor, members of our management team and our board of directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private units following this offering, as set forth in “Principal Shareholders,” and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our business combination, including the fact that they may lose their entire investment in us if our business combination is not completed, | ||
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| except to the extent they receive liquidating distributions from assets outside the trust account. Upon the closing of this offering, our Sponsor and management team will have invested in us an aggregate of $2,025,000, comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the founder shares (or approximately $0.007 per share) and the $2,000,000 purchase price for the private units. Accordingly, our management team may be more willing to pursue a business combination with a riskier or less-established target business than would be the case if our Sponsor had paid the same per share price for the founder shares as our public shareholders paid for their public shares in this offering, as our Sponsor and members of our management team would likely not receive any financial benefit unless we consummated such business combination. These interests of our executive officers and directors may affect the consideration paid, terms, conditions and timing relating to a business combination in a way that conflicts with the interests of our public shareholders. | ||
| Additionally, the personal and financial interests of our directors and executive officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and pursuing a business combination or completing our business combination. We will also reimburse our Sponsor $10,000 per month for office space and administrative services made available to us, each as described elsewhere in this prospectus. See “— The Offering — Our Sponsor” above for further discussion on our Sponsor’s and our affiliates’ shares and compensation.
The different timelines of competing business combinations could cause our directors and executive officers to prioritize a different business combination over finding a suitable acquisition target for our business combination. For example, if two targets are being evaluated by our management team, and one is more stable and has a better risk or stability profile for our public shareholders, but may take a longer time to diligence and go through the business combination process, while the other has a less favorable risk or stability profile for our public shareholders, but would be easier, quicker and more certain to guide through the business combination process, our management team may decide to choose what they believe to be the quicker and more certain path despite its less favorable risk or stability profile for our public shareholders, as our management team would likely not receive any financial benefit unless we consummated a business combination. Additionally, if members of our management team form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking a business combination, the consideration paid, terms, conditions and timing relating to the business combinations of such other special purpose acquisition companies or ventures, and the level of attention paid by members of our management team to them versus the level of attention paid to us may conflict in a way that is unfavorable to us. Consequently, our directors’ and executive officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in | ||
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| a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest, which could negatively impact the timing for a business combination. For more information on our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, see the sections entitled “Management — Officers, Directors and Director Nominees” and “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”
Furthermore, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including selecting a business combination target and monitoring the related due diligence. See “Risk Factors — Our officers and directors are now, and 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.” | ||
| Our Sponsor and executive officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our business combination. Further, our Sponsor and executive officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and private shares held by them if we are unable to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or by such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve. If we do not complete our business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement units held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement units will be worthless.
With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares purchased by our Sponsor and director nominees for an aggregate of approximately $25,000, may not be transferred, assigned or sold by our Sponsor, director nominees or their permitted transferees until six months after the completion of our business combination. With certain limited exceptions, the private units and the securities underlying the private placement units may not be transferred, assigned or sold by our Sponsor, the third-party investors, or any of their permitted transferees until the completion of our business combination. | ||
| Since our Sponsor and executive officers and directors may directly or indirectly own ordinary shares and warrants following this offering, our executive officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our business combination because of their financial interest in completing a business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or by such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve. | ||
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| In the event our Sponsor or members of our management team provide loans to us to finance transaction costs and/or incur expenses on our behalf in connection with a business combination, such persons may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our business combination as such loans may not be repaid and/or such expenses may not be reimbursed unless we consummate such business combination.
We have agreed with EBC that, regardless of the type of business combination we seek to consummate, and unless our board of directors believes that our directors have the financial skills and background to conclude that its business combination is fair from a financial perspective (other than one with a target that is affiliated with a member of our management team, as described below), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, stating that the consideration to be paid by us in such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
We are not prohibited from pursuing a business combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our Sponsor, officers or directors; accordingly, such affiliated person(s) may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our business combination as such affiliated person(s) would have interests different from our public shareholders and would likely not receive any financial benefit unless we consummated such business combination. In such a circumstance, our underwriting agreement with EBC and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we or a committee of our 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 from a financial point of view. | ||
| The potential conflicts described above may limit our ability to enter into a business combination or other transactions. These circumstances could give rise to numerous situations where interests may conflict. There can be no assurance that these or other conflicts of interest with the potential for adverse effects on the Company and investors will not arise. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” | ||
| Our initial shareholders or their affiliates may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If they decide to pursue an opportunity, we may be precluded from procuring such opportunity. None of our initial shareholders or their respective affiliates will have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, unless presented to such member specifically in his or her capacity as an officer or director of the Company. Our management team, in their | ||
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| capacities as employees or affiliates of our initial shareholders or in their other endeavors, may be required to present potential business combinations to future initial shareholders’ affiliates or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us. | ||
| Indemnity | Our Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or by 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) $10.05 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. 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 underwriter of this 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. Accordingly, we believe it is unlikely that our Sponsor will be able to satisfy any indemnification obligations that may arise. None of our officers or directors are required to indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses. | |
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Risk Factors Summary
We have conducted no business operations and have generated no revenues. Until we complete our business combination, we will have no business operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please see “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”
Such risks include, but are not limited to:
Risks Related to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
| • | Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination. |
| • | If we seek shareholder approval of our business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and private shares in favor of such business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote. |
| • | Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares for cash, unless we seek shareholder approval of the business combination. |
| • | The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure. |
| • | Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by new outbreaks, or continuation of any existing outbreaks, of any infectious disease (such as COVID-19) and other events, and the status of debt and equity markets. |
| • | The requirement that we complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of our IPO may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline. |
| • | We may not be able to complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up. |
| • | 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. |
| • | If we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our ordinary shares. |
| • | Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our business combination and our warrants will expire worthless if we do not. |
| • | We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may be outside of our management’s area of expertise. |
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| • | Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines. |
| • | Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector, or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations. |
| • | If our business combination involves a company organized under the laws of a state of the United States, it is possible a 1% U.S. federal excise tax will be imposed on us in connection with redemptions of our ordinary shares after or in connection with such business combination. |
Risks Related to Our Securities
| • | We may issue additional ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our business combination, which would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks. |
| • | The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and EBC may make it more difficult to complete our business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our ordinary shares. |
| • | Our warrant agreement will designate the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company. |
Risks Related to Our Management
| • | Our officers and directors may allocate their time to other businesses and may become officers or directors of other special purpose acquisition companies, thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs and whether to present potential target to us instead of to our competitors. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our business combination. |
| • | Our initial shareholders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests. |
| • | We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies. |
Post Business Combination Risks
| • | Our management will most likely not maintain control of a target business after our 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 seek acquisition opportunities with an early-stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings. |
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Summary Financial Data
The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our company and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant business operations to date, so only balance sheet data is presented.
| June 30, 2026 | ||||||||
| Actual | As Adjusted | |||||||
| Balance Sheet Data: |
||||||||
| Working capital (deficit)(1) |
$ | (191,821 | ) | $ | 645,218 | |||
| Total assets(2) |
$ | 998,126 | $ | 102,233,044 | ||||
| Total liabilities(3) |
$ | 191,821 | $ | 89,700 | ||||
| Value of ordinary share subject to possible redemption(4) |
$ | — | $ | 100,500,000 | ||||
| Shareholders’ equity (5) |
$ | 806,305 | $ | 1,643,344 | ||||
| (1) | The “as adjusted” calculation includes $900,000 of cash held outside the trust account less $165,082 of working capital assuming the receipt of the founder share and EBC founder share payments on June 30, 2026, less over-allotment liability of $89,700. |
| (2) | The “as adjusted” calculation equals $100,500,000 of cash held in trust from the proceeds of this offering, plus $900,000 in cash held outside the trust account plus $833,044 of shareholders’ equity on June 30, 2026, assuming the receipt of the founder share and EBC founder share payments. |
| (3) | The “as adjusted” calculation equals $89,700 for the over-allotment liability, assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised. The $89,700 over-allotment liability represents the value of the 45-day over-allotment option granted to the underwriter to purchase up to 1,500,000 additional units at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting commissions. This over-allotment option is considered a freestanding financial instrument, indexed on the contingently redeemable shares, and is accounted for as a liability in accordance with ASC 480. |
| (4) | Equals 10,000,000 ordinary shares at $10.05 per share. |
| (5) | Excludes 10,000,000 ordinary shares purchased in this offering which are subject to conversion in connection with our business combination. The “as adjusted” calculation equals the “as adjusted” total assets, less the “as adjusted” total liabilities, less the value of ordinary shares that may be converted in connection with our business combination ($10.05 per share with aggregate value of $100,500,000). |
If a business combination is not completed within 21 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our initial shareholders and EBC have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares held by them if we fail to complete our business combination within such time period.
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RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
We are a Cayman Islands exempted 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 Cayman Islands exempted company with no operating results, and we will not commence business operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our business combination. If we fail to complete our business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
There is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
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 June 30, 2026, we had a working capital deficiency of $191,821. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Our plans to raise capital and to consummate our business combination may not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern.
Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a shareholder vote at a general meeting to approve our business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a shareholder vote at a general meeting for business or other legal reasons. Except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) will be made by us solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the business combination we complete. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve our Business Combination” for additional information.
If we seek shareholder approval of our business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote in favor of such business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Unlike some other blank check companies in which the initial shareholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public shareholders in connection with a business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed, subject to applicable securities laws, to vote their founder shares and private shares, as well as any public shares purchased by them in or after this offering, in favor of our business combination.
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As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares and private shares, we would need (i) 3,033,334 or 30.3%, of the 10,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a business combination in order to have our business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted, including the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC, and the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC are voted in favor of the proposed business combination (although the holders are not required to do so) and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or (ii) none of the 10,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a business combination in order to have our business combination approved (assuming that only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted, the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC are voted in favor of the proposed business combination (although the holders are not required to do so) and the over-allotment option is not exercised). Our founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares will represent 26.8% of our outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of this offering, assuming no exercise of over-allotment option. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our business combination, it is more likely that the necessary shareholder approval will be received than would be the case if our initial shareholders agreed to vote their founder shares and private shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public shareholders.
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 shareholder 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 of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder vote. Accordingly, if we do not seek shareholder 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 shareholders in which we describe our business combination.
The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If the agreement for our business combination requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
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The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If the agreement for our business combination 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 business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with share redemptions until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by new outbreaks, or continuation of any existing outbreaks, of any infectious disease (such as COVID-19) and other events, and the status of debt and equity markets.
Any new outbreaks, or continuation of any existing outbreaks, of any infectious disease (such as COVID-19) or other events (such as terrorist attacks, armed conflicts or natural disasters) could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if concerns relating to any outbreak of a disease restricts travel or limits the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers. The extent to which any new outbreak or the continuation of any existing situation impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. If any such event (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) continues for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by global geopolitical conditions resulting from armed conflicts.
United States and global markets have experienced, and may or may continue to experience, volatility and disruption following the geopolitical instability resulting from armed conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and conflict in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. In response to these conflicts, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have announced various sanctions and restrictive actions against aggressor nations, including the removal of certain financial institutions from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system. Certain countries, including the United States, have also provided and may continue to provide military aid or other assistance to countries in need, increasing geopolitical tensions among a number of nations. Although the length and impact of the ongoing conflicts are highly unpredictable, they could lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions and increased cyber-attacks against U.S. companies. Additionally, any continuing or new sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets.
Any of the abovementioned factors, or any other negative impact on the global economy, capital markets or other geopolitical conditions resulting from armed conflicts and subsequent sanctions or related actions, could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies and could adversely affect our search for a business combination and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination.
The extent and duration of the ongoing conflicts, resulting sanctions and any related market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial, particularly if current or new sanctions continue for an extended period of time or if geopolitical tensions result in expanded military operations on a global scale. Any such disruptions may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this section. If these disruptions or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
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Military or other conflicts and other disruptions to the equity or debt capital markets, may lead to increased volume and price volatility for publicly traded securities, or affect the operations or financial condition of potential target companies, which could make it more difficult for us to consummate a business combination.
Military or other conflicts and other disruptions to the equity or debt capital markets, may lead to increased volume and price volatility for publicly traded securities, or affect the operations or financial condition of potential target companies. This could make it more difficult for us to identify a business combination target and consummate a business combination on acceptable commercial terms, or at all.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate a business combination.
Since the fourth quarter of 2020, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have completed initial public offerings has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into a business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate a business combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into a 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. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate a business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate a business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
If our business combination involves a company organized under the laws of a state of the United States, it is possible a 1% U.S. federal excise tax will be imposed on us in connection with redemptions of our ordinary shares after or in connection with such business combination.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 generally imposes a 1% excise tax on the fair market value of certain repurchases (including certain redemptions) of shares by publicly traded domestic (i.e., United States) corporations (and certain non-U.S. corporations treated as “surrogate foreign corporations”). The excise tax applies to share repurchases occurring in 2023 and beyond. The amount of the excise tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has been given authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out, and prevent the abuse or avoidance of, the excise tax. The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently issued guidance clarifying when certain repurchases would be exempt from the excise tax, such as where the repurchases occur in the same year that the repurchasing company undertakes a complete liquidation (as described in Section 331 of the Internal Revenue Code). However, only limited guidance has been issued to date.
As an entity incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company, the 1% excise tax is not expected to apply to redemptions of our ordinary shares, including redemptions related to extension votes, in a business combination in which we remain a Cayman Islands exempted company or otherwise (absent any regulations and other additional guidance that may be issued in the future with retroactive effect). However, in connection with a business combination involving a company organized under the laws of the United States, it is possible that we domesticate and continue as a U.S. corporation prior to certain redemptions and, because our securities are trading on NASDAQ, it is possible that we will be subject to the excise tax with respect to any subsequent redemptions, including redemptions related to extension votes or in connection with the business combination, that are treated as repurchases for this purpose (other than, pursuant to recently issued guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, redemptions in complete liquidation of the company). In all cases, the extent of the excise tax that may be incurred will depend on a number of factors, including the fair market value of our shares redeemed, the extent such redemptions could be treated as dividends and not repurchases, and the content of any regulations and other
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additional guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury that may be issued and applicable to the redemptions. Issuances of shares by a repurchasing company in a year in which such company repurchases shares may reduce the amount of excise tax imposed with respect to such repurchase. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing company itself, not the shareholders from which shares are repurchased. We will not pay any excise tax that that may be imposed on us with funds in our trust account prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. The imposition of the excise tax as a result of redemptions in connection with the business combination could, however, reduce the cash contribution to the target business in connection with our business combination, which could cause the other shareholders of the combined company to economically bear the impact of such excise tax.
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holders”) of our ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”). Depending on the particular circumstances the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would likely be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules. For a more detailed explanation of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences.
An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the units we are issuing in this offering, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the ordinary share and the warrants included in each unit could be challenged by the IRS or courts. In addition, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our ordinary shares suspend the running of a U.S. Holder’s (as defined in section titled “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holders”) holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of ordinary shares is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be considered “qualified dividend income” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Further, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the right included in each unit is uncertain. See the section titled “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations of an investment in our securities. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when acquiring, owning or disposing of our securities.
Transactions in connection with or in anticipation of our initial business combination and our structure thereafter may not be tax-efficient to our shareholders and warrant holders. As a result of our business combination, our tax obligations may be more complex, burdensome and uncertain.
Although we will attempt to structure transactions in connection with our initial business combination in a tax-efficient manner, tax structuring considerations are complex, the relevant facts and law are uncertain and may change, and we may prioritize commercial and other considerations over tax considerations. For example, in anticipation of or as a result of our initial business combination, we may enter into one or more transactions that require shareholders and/or warrant holders to recognize gain or income for tax purposes or otherwise increase their
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tax burden without prior notice to or approval from our shareholders and warrant holders. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay taxes in connection with our business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, a shareholder or a warrant holder may be required to satisfy any liability resulting from any such transactions with cash from its own funds or by selling all or a portion of such holder’s shares or public warrants.
Furthermore, we may effect a business combination with a target company that has business operations outside of the Cayman Islands and, possibly, business operations in multiple jurisdictions, and we may reincorporate in a different jurisdiction in connection therewith (including, but not limited to, the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located). For example, in anticipation of engaging in a business combination with certain target companies, we may unilaterally convert into a U.S. company without notice pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles. If we effect any such transaction, including such a conversion, we could be subject to significant income, withholding and other tax obligations in a number of jurisdictions with respect to income, operations and subsidiaries related to those jurisdictions. Due to the complexity of tax obligations and filings in many jurisdictions, we may have a heightened risk related to audits or examinations by taxing authorities. This additional complexity and risk could have an adverse effect on our after-tax profitability and financial condition. In addition, shareholders and warrant holders may be subject to additional income, withholding or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after any such transaction.
Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete a business combination.
The market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies is subject to continual change. Any increase in the cost of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate a business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity may need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. Any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, even if we complete a business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The cost of run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate a business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
We have engaged EBC as an advisor in connection with our initial business combination, and we may engage any of EBC’s affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, which may include acting as M&A advisor in connection with a business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of a business combination.
Pursuant to a Business Combination Marketing Agreement, we have engaged EBC as an advisor in connection with our initial business combination to assist us in holding meetings with our shareholders to discuss the potential business combination and the target business’ attributes, introduce us to potential investors that are interested in purchasing our securities in connection with our initial business combination and assist us with our press releases and public filings in connection with the business combination. We will pay EBC a cash fee for such services upon the consummation of our initial business combination for up to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering as further described in the Business Combination Marketing Agreement, a copy of which has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. In addition, we will pay EBC a cash fee in an amount equal to 1.0% of the total consideration payable in the initial business combination if it introduces us to the target business with whom we complete our initial business combination; provided that the foregoing fee will not be paid prior to the date that is 60 days from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriter’s compensation in connection with this offering pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110.
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EBC or its 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 a business combination.
The requirement that we complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our business combination with any other 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 business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
We may not be able to complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only $10.05 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we must complete our business combination within closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our business combination within such time period. If we have not completed our 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 pursuant to permitted withdrawals (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.05 per share or less in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.05 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
If we seek shareholder approval of our business combination, our initial shareholders and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public security holders, which may make it more likely that we are able to consummate such business combination or reduce the public “float” of our ordinary shares or warrants.
If we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, directors, executive officers or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market prior to the completion of our business combination, although they are under no obligation or duty to do so. Any price paid for such securities may be less (but not more) than the amount a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our business combination. In the event that our Sponsor, directors, executive officers or any of their affiliates purchase shares or warrants from public security holders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares.
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Additionally, at any time at or prior to our business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our Sponsor, directors, executive officers or any of their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares or warrants or not redeem their public shares. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase securities in such transactions.
The purpose of any such transactions could be to (1) increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination by purchasing shares from holders that have, or have indicated an intention to, vote against a proposed transaction (as those shares would no longer be voted on the proposed transaction), (2) increase the likelihood of approval on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our business combination by purchasing warrants from holders that have, or have indicated an intention to, vote against a proposed matter (as those warrants would no longer be voted on the proposed matter) or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our ordinary shares or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
See “Proposed Business — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how our Sponsor, directors, executive officers or their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such shareholder 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 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 shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of our Business Combination — Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights.”
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of a business combination, and then only in connection with those public shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described in this prospectus, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our
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business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete a business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if we are unable to complete a business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, for any reason, compliance with Cayman Islands law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing shareholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our trust account. In that case, public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond the 21 months from the closing of this offering before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units are intended to be used to complete a business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of this offering and the sale of the private units and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, and we will be listed on a national securities exchange in connection with this offering, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to consummate a business combination as opposed to companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”
If we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the “excess shares.” However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association does not restrict our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including excess shares) for or against our business combination. Your inability to redeem the excess shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our business combination. Accordingly, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our business combination. If we are unable to complete our business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 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 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. As a result, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses.
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If we are unable to complete our business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 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 shareholders may receive less than $10.05 per share upon our liquidation. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our business combination and we will depend on loans from our initial shareholders or management team to fund our search for a business combination and to complete our business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units, only approximately $900,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $600,000 (excluding underwriting discounts and commissions), 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. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our initial shareholders or their affiliates to operate, or we may be forced to liquidate. None of our initial shareholders 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 business combination. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our initial shareholders or their affiliates 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 business combination. If we are unable to complete our business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.05 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
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 where a substantial majority of our shareholders seek redemption.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold. As a result, we may be able to complete our business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders have redeemed 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 shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses 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 shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. 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.
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Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the ten years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.05 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) $10.05 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. 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 underwriter of this 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 believe it is unlikely 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 business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.05 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors are required to 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 shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.05 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, 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. For example, they may determine that the cost of such legal action is too high relative to the amount recoverable or that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.05 per share.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, 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 shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
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If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy 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 shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy 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 shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence under Cayman Islands law and may be liable for a fine of approximately $18,000 and imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector, or geographic region in which to pursue our business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’ operations.
We may seek to complete a business combination with a target business in any industry or sector or geographical location. 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 business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations of the target 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. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares.
Past performance by our management team and our initial shareholders may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team and our initial shareholders and their affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team and our initial shareholders is not a guarantee either (i) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our business combination or (ii) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. Our officers and directors have not had management experience with special purpose acquisition companies in the past. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s, or our initial shareholders’ respective performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward.
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We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may 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. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our 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 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 business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our 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 shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 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 shareholders may receive less than $10.05 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
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 business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 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 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 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 business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.05 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
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We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our 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 have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may complete our business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us. They could also resign upon completion of our business combination which could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources, or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications, or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications, or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our 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 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 business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
We intend to complete our business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously. However, we may not be able to complete our business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive, and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| • | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property, or asset, or |
| • | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes, or services. |
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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 business combination.
Risks Related to Our Securities
NASDAQ may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We have applied to have our units listed on NASDAQ on or promptly after the date of this prospectus and our ordinary shares and warrants listed on or promptly after their date of separation. However, we cannot assure you that our securities will be approved for listing or that they will continue to be listed on NASDAQ in the future or prior to our business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on NASDAQ prior to our business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholders’ equity (generally $15,000,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 400 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with NASDAQ’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than NASDAQ’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on NASDAQ. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $15 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 400 round lot holders of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If NASDAQ delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
| • | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| • | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| • | a determination that our ordinary shares is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| • | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| • | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our units and eventually our ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on NASDAQ, our units, ordinary shares and warrants will be covered securities. Although the states are pre-empted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. Additionally, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on NASDAQ, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
We may issue additional ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our business combination. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 200,000,000 ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share and 1,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 13,933,333 ordinary shares issued and outstanding (assuming that the underwriter has not exercised the over-allotment option and 500,000 forfeiture shares have been forfeited as
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a result). As a result, there will be 186,066,667 unissued ordinary shares available for issuance, which amount does not take into account the ordinary shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of any outstanding warrants. Immediately after the consummation of this offering, there will be no preference shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our business combination. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides, among other things, that prior to our business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to: (i) receive funds from the trust account; or (ii) vote on any business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended by way of a special resolution, which requires an approval of holders of two-thirds of the votes of our shareholders, who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote (whether in person or by proxy) at a general meeting or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders. However, our executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with a business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.
The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preference shares:
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering; |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares; |
| • | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares and/or warrants. |
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness prior to the business combination unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after a 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; |
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| • | our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares; |
| • | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our ordinary shares if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes; |
| • | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| • | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| • | other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and EBC may make it more difficult to complete our business combination, and the future exercise of such warrants may adversely affect the market price of our ordinary shares.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, holders of the founder shares, EBC founder shares, private units and any units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such units and/or underlying securities. 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 ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our ordinary shares that is expected when the founder shares, EBC founder shares, private units and any units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans are registered.
Our initial shareholders prior to this offering contributed an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.007 per share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our ordinary shares.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all the unit purchase price to the ordinary shares and none to the warrants included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per our ordinary shares after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our shareholders prior to this offering acquired the founder shares and EBC founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 95.80% or $9.58 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.42 (assuming a maximum redemption scenario) and the deemed offering price of $10.05 per unit.
Our initial shareholders paid $25,000 for the founder shares, or approximately $0.007 per share. As a result of this low initial price, our initial shareholders prior to this offering stand to make a substantial profit even if a business combination subsequently declines in value or is unprofitable for our public shareholders.
As a result of the low acquisition cost of our founder shares, our initial shareholders prior to this offering could make a substantial profit even if we select and consummate a business combination with an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value or is unprofitable for our public shareholders. Thus, such parties may have more of an economic incentive for us to enter into a business combination with a riskier, weaker-performing or financially unstable business, or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, than would be the case if such parties had paid the full offering price for their shares.
If we do not file and maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, holders will only be able to exercise such warrants on a “cashless basis.”
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If we do not file and maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants at the time that holders wish to exercise such warrants, they will only be able to exercise them on a “cashless basis” provided that an exemption from registration is available. As a result, the number of ordinary shares that holders will receive upon exercise of the warrants will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his warrant for cash. Further, if an exemption from registration is not available, holders would not be able to exercise on a cashless basis and would only be able to exercise their warrants for cash if a current and effective prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is available. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to meet these conditions and to file and maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to do so. If we are unable to do so, the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company may be reduced or the warrants may expire worthless.
An investor will only be able to exercise a warrant if the issuance of ordinary shares upon such exercise has been registered or qualified or is deemed exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder of the warrants.
No warrants will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue ordinary shares unless the ordinary shares issuable upon such exercise has been registered or qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder of the warrants. If the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not qualified or exempt from qualification in the jurisdictions in which the holders of the warrants reside, the warrants may be deprived of any value, the market for the warrants may be limited and they may expire worthless if they cannot be sold.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders with the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision. The warrant agreement requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants in order to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the holders of the warrants.
Our outstanding warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effect a business combination.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 5,000,000 ordinary shares as part of the units offered by this prospectus and private warrants to purchase 200,000 ordinary shares. We may also issue other warrants to our Sponsor, initial shareholders, officers, directors or their affiliates in payment of working capital loans made to us as described in this prospectus. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effect a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle in the eyes of a target business. Such securities, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding ordinary shares and reduce the value of the shares issued to complete the business combination. Accordingly, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business. Additionally, the sale, or even the possibility of sale, of the shares underlying the warrants could have an adverse effect on the market price for our securities or on our ability to obtain future financing. If and to the extent these warrants are exercised, you may experience dilution to your holdings.
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Our warrant agreement will designate the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement will provide that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
If:
| • | we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share, |
| • | the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and |
| • | the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, |
Then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the price at which we issue the additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
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 all of the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) on each of 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period commencing once the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption provided that on the date we give
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notice of redemption. We will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
Our management’s ability to require holders of our warrants to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis will cause holders to receive fewer ordinary shares upon their exercise of the warrants than they would have received had they been able to exercise their warrants for cash.
If we call our warrants for redemption after the redemption criteria described elsewhere in this prospectus have been satisfied, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” If our management chooses to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, the number of ordinary shares received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his warrant for cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company.
The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriter. In determining the size of this offering, management had discussions with the underwriter with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriter believed it reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the ordinary shares and the warrants underlying the units, include:
| • | the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
| • | prior offerings of those companies; |
| • | our prospects for acquiring an operating business; |
| • | an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies; |
| • | general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and |
| • | other factors as were deemed relevant. |
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
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Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous 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, or “GAAP”, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or “IFRS”, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the 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 business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Risks Related to Our Management
Our ability to successfully complete our business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of members of our management team, some of whom may join us following our 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 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 business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
In addition, the officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our 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 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 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.
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 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 us after the completion of our business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. 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 business combination.
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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 and whether to present a target to us instead of our competitors. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our business combination.
Our officers and directors have fiduciary responsibilities to dedicate substantially all their business time to their respective affairs and their respective employers. Additionally, these responsibilities 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, including other business endeavors for which he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our business combination. 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; or if they have fiduciary duty to present a target company to our competitor instead of us, which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”
Our officers and directors are now, and may in the future, become affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Mr. Brandler is currently a director of Pinnacle Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: PNAQ), a special purpose acquisition company that completed its $200 million initial public offering and is searching for a target business with which to consummate an initial business combination. Our officers and directors may in the future become affiliated with other 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 memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see the sections of this prospectus entitled “Management — Officers, Directors and Director Nominees,” “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Our initial shareholders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our initial shareholders or their respective 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. 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.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our initial shareholders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our initial shareholders or their respective affiliates. Our initial shareholders are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we could pursue such a transaction if it was approved by a majority of our independent directors. Our underwriting agreement with EBC and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association
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provide that we would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our initial shareholders or their respective affiliates. Despite that requirement, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Our Sponsor has the ability to remove itself as our Sponsor or to substantially reduce its interests in us before identifying an initial business combination, which may result in change in the strategy and focus of our company in pursuing a business combination or make it more difficult for us to consummate a business combination.
Our Sponsor is a limited liability company which is managed by a board of managers, consisting of Berke Bakay, our Chairman and director, Brett Johnson, our Chief Executive Officer, and Harry Brandler, our Chief Financial Officer and director. Each of Messrs. Bakay, Johnson, and Brandler will also hold membership interests, directly or indirectly, in our Sponsor. Our Sponsor may surrender or forfeit, transfer or exchange our founder shares, private units or any of our other securities, including for no consideration, as well as subject any such securities to other restrictions, or otherwise amend the terms of any such securities or enter into any other arrangements with respect to any such securities. In addition, the members of our Sponsor could, with the permission of the Sponsor’s managing member, transfer their membership interests in the Sponsor, thereby transferring control of our Sponsor to a third party. Through the forgoing means, our Sponsor may remove itself as our Sponsor, substantially reduce its interests in our company, or have its control transferred to a third party before we identify a business combination. Any such reduction of the interests of our Sponsor in our securities or transfer of Sponsor interests may lead to the Sponsor’s managers no longer having voting power and control over our affairs in pursuing a business combination. This could also result in a change to our management team, acquisition strategy and criteria and our industry focus without shareholders having the ability to consider the merits of a change in the management team. There is no assurance that any replacement Sponsor would have the same relationships, contacts or experience as our Sponsor and management team in searching for a target business and consummating an initial business combination. Accordingly, the replacement of our Sponsor could make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Since our initial shareholders will lose their entire investment in us if our business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our business combination.
On March 23, 2026, we issued an aggregate of 2,875,000 ordinary shares to our Sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, and 200,000 ordinary shares to EBC for an aggregate purchase price of $1,739.13. On June 29, 2026, the Company effected a 1 for 1.33333 share split of the founder shares and EBC founder shares, resulting in our Sponsor holding an aggregate of 3,833,333 founder shares, and EBC holding 266,667 EBC founder shares. On the same day, EBC agreed to forfeit and cancel 66,667 EBC founder shares. On August 20, 2026, our Sponsor agreed to transfer an aggregate of 75,000 shares to our director nominees. As a result, prior to the offering, our Sponsor holds 3,758,333 founder shares and EBC holds 200,000 founder shares. Up to 500,000 founder shares held by our Sponsor are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment is not exercised in full. In addition, our Sponsor, certain third-party investors and EBC have committed to purchase an aggregate of 400,000 private units (or 437,500 private units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $10.00 per unit ($4,000,000 in the aggregate, or $4,375,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. The founder shares and private units will be worthless if we do not complete a business combination. Our initial shareholders have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares or private shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed business combination. In addition, we may obtain loans from our initial shareholders which may not be repaid if we do not consummate a business combination. We will also reimburse our Sponsor or an affiliate thereof $10,000 per month for office space and administrative services made available to us, each as described elsewhere in this prospectus. The personal and financial interests of our initial shareholders may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing a business combination, and influencing the operation of the business following the business combination.
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Our initial shareholders may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of this offering, our Sponsor, directors and officers will own founder shares representing 25% of the number of units outstanding after in the offering (excluding the EBC founder shares, private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units sold in this offering). Simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing 400,000 private units (or up to 437,500 private units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) to our Sponsor, certain third-party investors and EBC and their designees. Accordingly, our initial shareholders and their affiliates may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial shareholders purchase any units in this offering or if they purchase any additional ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our ordinary shares.
Post Business Combination Risks
Subsequent to the completion of our business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our share price, 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 shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares.
If we fail to adapt and respond effectively to rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards, changing regulations and payment methods, demand for product enhancements, new product features, and changing business needs, requirements or preferences, our products may become less competitive.
Regardless of our target business’ industry, it will likely be subject to ongoing technological change, evolving industry standards, changing regulations, and changing customer needs, requirements, and preferences. The success of our business will depend, in part, on our ability to adapt and respond effectively to these changes on a timely basis, including launching new products and services. The success of any new product and service, or any enhancements, features, or modifications to existing products and services, depends on several factors, including the timely completion, introduction, and market acceptance of such products and services, enhancements, modifications, and new product features. If we are unable to enhance our products or develop new products that keep pace with technological and regulatory change and changes in customer preferences and achieve market acceptance, or if new technologies emerge that are able to deliver competitive products and services at lower prices, more efficiently, more conveniently, or more securely than our products, our business, operating results and financial condition would be adversely affected. Furthermore, modifications to our existing platform, products, or technology will increase our research and development expenses. Any failure of our products and services to operate effectively could reduce the demand for our services, result in customer dissatisfaction and adversely affect our business.
Technology platforms may not operate properly or as we expect it to operate.
Technology platforms are expensive and complex and their continuous development, maintenance and operation may entail unforeseen difficulties including material performance problems or undetected defects or errors. We may encounter technical obstacles, and it is possible that we may discover additional problems that prevent our technology from operating properly. If our platform does not function reliably, we may not be able to provide any products or services. Errors could also cause customer dissatisfaction with us, which could cause customers to stop purchasing or working with us. Any of these eventualities could result in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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New or changing technologies could cause a disruption in our business model, which may materially impact our results of operations and financial condition.
If we fail to anticipate the impact on our business of changing technology, our ability to successfully operate may be materially impaired. Our business could also be affected by potential technological changes. Such changes could disrupt the demand for products from current customers, create coverage issues or impact the frequency or severity of losses, or reduce the size of the ultimate market, causing our business to decline. We may not be able to respond effectively to these changes, which could have a material effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
We may face additional and distinctive risks if we acquire a business in certain industries, such as technology.
Business combinations with businesses in certain industries, such as technology, may involve special considerations and risks. If we complete our business combination with a technology business, we will be subject to the following risks, any of which could be detrimental to us and the business we acquire:
| • | If we are unable to keep pace with evolving technology and changes in the technology services industry, our revenues and future prospects may decline; |
| • | Any business or company we acquire could be vulnerable to cyberattack or theft of individual identities or personal data; |
| • | Difficulties with any products or services we provide could damage our reputation and business; |
| • | A failure to comply with privacy regulations could adversely affect relations with customers and have a negative impact on business; and |
| • | We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and we may be subject to infringement claims. |
Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to technology businesses. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, we will be subject to other risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, none of which can be presently ascertained.
Risks Related to Acquiring and Operating a Business Outside of the United States
While we intend to focus on companies located in the United States, we may effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States and if we do, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our business operations and financial results.
If we consummate a business combination with a target business located outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in the target business’ governing jurisdiction, including any of the following:
| • | rules and regulations or currency redemption or corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| • | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| • | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| • | longer payment cycles than in the United States; |
| • | inflation; |
| • | economic policies and market conditions; |
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| • | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
| • | challenges in managing and staffing international operations; |
| • | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| • | currency fluctuations; |
| • | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| • | cultural and language differences; |
| • | protection of intellectual property; and |
| • | employment regulations. |
We cannot assure you that we would be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer.
We may not be able to complete an initial business combination since such initial business combination may be subject to regulatory review and approval requirement, including foreign investment regulations and review by government entities such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), or may be ultimately prohibited.
The Sponsor is a Delaware limited liability company, and is not controlled by, nor has substantial ties with any non-U.S. person. Our initial business combination may be subject to regulatory review and approval requirements by governmental entities, or ultimately prohibited. For example, CFIUS has authority to review direct or indirect foreign investments in U.S. companies. Among other things, CFIUS is empowered to require certain foreign investors to make mandatory filings, to charge filing fees related to such filings, and to self-initiate national security reviews of foreign direct and indirect investments in U.S. companies if the parties to that investment choose not to file voluntarily. In the case that CFIUS determines an investment to be a threat to national security, CFIUS has the power to unwind or place restrictions on the investment. Whether CFIUS has jurisdiction to review an acquisition or investment transaction depends on — among other factors — the nature and structure of the transaction, including the level of beneficial ownership interest and the nature of any information or governance rights involved. For example, investments that result in “control” of a U.S. business by foreign person always are subject to CFIUS jurisdiction. CFIUS’s expanded jurisdiction under the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 and implementing regulations that became effective on February 13, 2020 further includes investments that do not result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign person but afford certain foreign investors certain information or governance rights in a U.S. business that has a nexus to “critical technologies,” “critical infrastructure” and/or “sensitive personal data.”
If a particular proposed initial business combination with a U.S. business falls within CFIUS’s jurisdiction, we may determine that we are required to make a mandatory filing or that we will submit to CFIUS review on a voluntary basis, or to proceed with the transaction without submitting to CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after closing the transaction. CFIUS may decide to block or delay our proposed initial business combination, impose conditions with respect to such initial business combination or request the President of the United States to order us to divest all or a portion of the U.S. target business of our initial business combination that we acquired without first obtaining CFIUS approval, which may limit the attractiveness of, delay or prevent us from pursuing certain target companies that we believe would otherwise be beneficial to us and our shareholders. As a result, the pool of potential targets with which we could complete an initial business combination may be limited and we may be adversely affected in terms of competing with other special purpose acquisition companies which do not have similar foreign ownership issues. In addition, certain federally licensed businesses may be subject to rules or regulations that limit foreign ownership.
The process of government review, whether by CFIUS or otherwise, could be lengthy. Because we have only a limited time to complete our initial business combination, our failure to obtain any required approvals within the requisite time period may require us to liquidate. If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within the applicable time period required under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association,
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including as a result of extended regulatory review of a potential initial business combination, we will, as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account and as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such event, our shareholders will miss the opportunity to benefit from an investment in a target company and the appreciation in value of such investment. Additionally, our warrants may be worthless.
If our management following our business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our business combination, certain members of our management team will likely resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with our laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues, which may adversely affect our operations.
General Risk Factors
Unanticipated changes in our effective tax rate or challenges by tax authorities could harm our future results.
We may become subject to income taxes in various other jurisdictions in the future. Our effective tax rate could be adversely affected by changes in the allocation of our pre-tax earnings and losses among countries with differing statutory tax rates, in certain non-deductible expenses as a result of acquisitions, in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, or in federal, state, local or non-U.S. tax laws and accounting principles, including increased tax rates, new tax laws or revised interpretations of existing tax laws and precedents. Increases in our effective tax rate would adversely affect our operating results. In addition, we may be subject to income tax audits by various tax jurisdictions throughout the world. The application of tax laws in such jurisdictions may be subject to diverging and sometimes conflicting interpretations by tax authorities in these jurisdictions. Although we believe our income tax liabilities are reasonably estimated and accounted for in accordance with applicable laws and principles, an adverse resolution of one or more uncertain tax positions in any period could have a material impact on the results of operations for that period.
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or executive officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the U.S. courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a federal court of the United States. As a result, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited. You should consider these factors carefully before deciding whether to invest in our securities.
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We have been advised by Appleby (Cayman) Ltd., our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that it is uncertain whether the courts of the Cayman Islands will allow shareholders of our company to originate actions in the Cayman Islands based upon securities laws of the U.S. In addition, there is uncertainty with regard to Cayman Islands law related to whether a judgment obtained from the U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws will be determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands as penal or punitive in nature. If such determination is made, the courts of the Cayman Islands will not recognize or enforce the judgment against a Cayman Islands exempted company, such as our company. As the courts of the Cayman Islands have yet to rule on making such a determination in relation to judgments obtained from U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws, it is uncertain whether such judgments would be enforceable in the Cayman Islands. Although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits of the underlying dispute based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, was not obtained by fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). The courts of the Cayman Islands will apply the rules of Cayman Islands private international law to determine whether the foreign court is a court of competent jurisdiction.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a U.S. company.
Changes in laws or regulations (including the adoption of policies by governing administrations), or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, investments and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. These governing bodies may seek to change laws and regulations, as well as adopt new policies, including tariffs and other economic policies, that could negatively impact us or a target business with which we seek to consummate a business combination. We will also be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly.
Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time in the future and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations and ability to consummate our business combination. 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 business combination and results of operations.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
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Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| • | 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 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 held in demand deposit or cash accounts or invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. The holding of these assets in this form is intended to be temporary and for the sole purpose of facilitating the
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intended business combination. To mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, which risk may increase the longer that we hold investments in the trust account, we may, at any time (and will no later than 21 months from the closing of this offering) instruct the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the trust account and instead to hold the funds in the trust account in cash or in an interest bearing demand deposit account. The interest we earn on such funds may be less than if we kept them invested as indicated above.
Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our primary business objective, which is a business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify (A) the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity; or (iii) absent a business combination, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares.
We are aware of litigation against certain special purpose acquisition companies asserting that notwithstanding the foregoing, those special purpose acquisition companies should be considered investment companies. Although we believe that these claims are without merit, we cannot guarantee that we will not be deemed to be an investment company and thus subject to the Investment Company Act. 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 to be found to be operating as an unregistered investment company, we may be required to change our operations, wind down our operations, or register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. As a result, if we were to wind down our operations as a result of our change in status, this would have several negative consequences, including, but not limited to, loss of an investment opportunity in a target company, loss of any price appreciation in a combined company, and the warrants will expire worthless.
Additionally, 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 business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.05 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share” and other risk factors in this section. If our facts and circumstances change over time, we will update our disclosure to reflect how those changes impact the risk that the Company may be considered to be operating as an unregistered investment company.
If we are deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we could be forced to liquidate and investors in our company would not be able to participate in any benefits of owning stock in an operating business, including the potential appreciation of our stock following a business combination and our warrants would expire worthless.
As indicated above, we have 21 months from the closing of this offering to consummate a business combination. It is possible that a claim in the future could be made that we have been operating as an unregistered investment company. It is also possible that the investment of funds from this offering and private placement of units during our life as a blank check company, and the earning and use of interest from such investment, both of which will likely continue until we consummate a business combination, could increase the likelihood of us being found to have been operating as an unregistered investment company more than if we sought to potentially mitigate this risk by holding such funds as cash. Furthermore, the longer the funds are 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
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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, the greater the risk could be that we are considered an investment company. If we are deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act and found to have been operating as an unregistered investment company, it could cause us to liquidate. If we are forced to liquidate, investors in our company would not be able to participate in any benefits of owning stock in an operating business, including the potential appreciation of our stock following a business combination and our warrants would expire worthless.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to complete our business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2027. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors 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.
We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders until after the consummation of our business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to elect directors.
In accordance with NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NASDAQ. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or general meetings of shareholders to appoint directors. Accordingly, until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the consummation of a business combination.
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry could adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations, either directly or through adverse impacts on certain of our vendors and customers.
Adverse developments that affect financial institutions, such as events involving liquidity that are rumored or actual, have in the past and may in the future lead to bank failures and/or market-wide liquidity problems. These events could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations, either directly or through an adverse impact on certain of our vendors and customers. For example, on March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) as receiver. Similarly, on March 12, 2023, Signature Bank was put into receivership. Since that time, there have been reports of instability at other U.S. banks, including First Republic
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Bank. Although the Federal Reserve Board, the Department of the Treasury and the FDIC have taken steps to ensure that depositors at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank can access all of their funds, including funds held in uninsured deposit accounts, and have taken additional steps to provide liquidity to other banks, there is no guarantee that, in the event of the closure of other banks or financial institutions in the future, depositors would be able to access uninsured funds or that they would be able to do so in a timely fashion.
To date, we have not experienced any adverse impact to our liquidity, financial condition or results of operations as a result of the events described above. However, failures of other banks or financial institutions may expose us to additional risks, either directly or through the effect on vendors or other third parties, and may lead to significant disruptions to our operations, financial condition and reputation. Moreover, uncertainty remains over liquidity concerns in the broader financial services industry. Our business may be adversely impacted by these developments in ways that we cannot predict at this time, there may be additional risks that we have not yet identified, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to avoid negative consequences directly or indirectly from any failure of one or more banks or other financial institutions.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that the courts of the Cayman Islands will be the exclusive forums for certain disputes between us and our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for complaints against us or our directors, officers or employees.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts of the Cayman Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or dispute arising out of or in connection with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or otherwise related in any way to each shareholder’s shareholding in us, including but not limited to (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of any fiduciary or other duty owed by any of our current or former director, officer or other employee to us or our shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Companies Act or our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine (as such concept is recognized under the laws of the United States of America) and that each shareholder irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Cayman Islands over all such claims or disputes. The forum selection provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will not apply to actions or suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are, as a matter of the laws of the United States of America, the sole and exclusive forum for determination of such a claim.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also provide that, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that we may have, each of our shareholders acknowledges that damages alone would not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum and that accordingly we shall be entitled, without proof of special damages, to the remedies of injunction, specific performance or other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum.
This choice of forum provision may increase a shareholder’s cost and limit the shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any of our shares or other securities, whether by transfer, sale, operation of law or otherwise, shall be deemed to have notice of and have irrevocably agreed and consented to these provisions. There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provisions, and the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ charter documents has been challenged in legal proceedings. It is possible that a court could find this type of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable, and if a court were to find this provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, which could have adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this prospectus may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:
| • | our ability to select an appropriate target business to acquire; |
| • | our ability to complete our business combination; |
| • | our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business or businesses; |
| • | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our business combination; |
| • | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements; |
| • | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our business combination; |
| • | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| • | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities; |
| • | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| • | the lack of a market for our securities; |
| • | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
| • | the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
| • | our financial performance following this offering. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described in the section of this prospectus 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.
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USE OF PROCEEDS
We are offering 10,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private units will be used as set forth in the following table.
| Without Over-Allotment Option |
Over-Allotment Option Fully Exercised |
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| Gross proceeds |
||||||||
| Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1) |
$ | 100,000,000 | $ | 115,000,000 | ||||
| Gross proceeds from private units offered in the private placement |
4,000,000 | 4,375,000 | ||||||
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|
|
|
|||||
| Total gross proceeds |
$ | 104,000,000 | $ | 119,375,000 | ||||
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|
|
|
|
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| Offering expenses(2) |
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| Underwriting commissions (2.0% of gross proceeds from units offered to public) |
$ | 2,000,000 | $ | 2,300,000 | ||||
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|
|
|
|
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| Legal fees and expenses |
275,000 | 275,000 | ||||||
| Accounting fees and expenses |
50,000 | 50,000 | ||||||
| SEC/FINRA Expenses |
50,197 | 50,197 | ||||||
| NASDAQ listing and filing fees |
80,000 | 80,000 | ||||||
| Printing and engraving expenses |
40,000 | 40,000 | ||||||
| Miscellaneous |
104,803 | 104,803 | ||||||
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|
|
|
|
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| Total offering expenses (excluding underwriting commissions) |
$ | 600,000 | $ | 600,000 | ||||
| Proceeds after offering expenses |
$ | 101,400,000 | $ | 116,475,000 | ||||
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|
|
|
|
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| Held in trust account |
$ | 100,500,000 | $ | 115,575,000 | ||||
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|
|
|
|
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| % of public offering size |
100.5 | % | 100.5 | % | ||||
| Not held in trust account |
$ | 900,000 | $ | 900,000 | ||||
The following table shows the use of the approximately $900,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account:
| Amount | % of Total |
|||||||
| Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel, and other expenses in connection with any business combination |
$ | 100,000 | 11.11 | % | ||||
| Consulting and miscellaneous expenses |
100,000 | 11.11 | ||||||
| NASDAQ continued listing fees |
70,000 | 7.78 | ||||||
| Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations |
200,000 | 22.22 | ||||||
| Administrative fee |
210,000 | 23.33 | ||||||
| Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses, including general corporate purposes, D&O insurance and reserves |
220,000 | 24.45 | ||||||
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|
|
|
|
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| Total(3) |
$ | 900,000 | 100.00 | %(4) | ||||
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|
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| (1) | Includes amounts payable to public shareholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our business combination. |
| (2) | A portion of the offering expenses will be paid from the proceeds of loans from our Sponsor and/or their affiliates of $150,000 as described in this prospectus. This amount will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $600,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) and amounts not to be held in the trust account. In the event that offering expenses are less than set forth in this table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses. In the event that the offering expenses are more than as set forth in this table, we may fund such excess with funds not held in the trust account. |
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| (3) | These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring our business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify a business combination target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses. |
| (4) | Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. |
We may increase or decrease the total number of units sold to the public in this offering. If we decide to proceed with an offering that results in an increase in the total number of units sold to the public, we would have additional proceeds from the offering available to pursue an acquisition. If we proceed with an offering that results in a decrease in the total number of units sold to the public, we would have reduced proceeds from the offering available to pursue an acquisition. Such an increase or decrease may impact the size of the business combination we may pursue. In addition, the proceeds held in trust would correspondingly increase or decrease. The underwriter’s option to purchase additional units to cover over-allotments and the amount of private units that our Sponsor and EBC will purchase also would correspondingly increase or decrease. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares so that such shares continue to represent 25% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering (excluding the EBC founder shares, private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units sold in this offering).
The rules of NASDAQ provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private units be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units, $100,500,000 (or $115,575,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be placed at a U.S. chartered commercial bank with consolidated assets of $100 billion or more) with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee, and will be held in demand deposit or cash accounts or invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $3 million per year, assuming an interest rate of 3% per year; however, we can provide no assurance regarding this amount. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private units that are deposited in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (a) the completion of our business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law.
The net proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete our business combination as well as paying our expenses. If our business combination is paid for using equity or debt instruments, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our business combination, we may apply the balance of the cash released 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 business combination, to fund the purchase of other assets, companies or for working capital.
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We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective acquisition, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our initial shareholders or their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.
Our Sponsor has agreed to loan us for up to an aggregate of $150,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans will be non-interest bearing, unsecured and will be due at the earlier of September 30, 2026, the closing of this offering or our determination not to proceed with the offering. The loans will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the offering proceeds not held in the trust account.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended business combination, our initial shareholders or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds on a non-interest basis as may be required. If we complete our business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into working capital units, at a price of $10.00 per unit, at the option of the lender. The working capital units would be identical to the private units sold in the private placement. Other than as set forth above, the terms of such loans by our initial shareholders or their affiliates, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our initial shareholders or their affiliates 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 do seek loans from any third party, we will obtain a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
If we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial shareholders or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions either prior to or following the completion of our business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and the rules of NASDAQ. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
Additionally, the agreement for our business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with the redemption of our public shares or the business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.
A public shareholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of a business combination, and then only in connection with those public shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described in this prospectus, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify (A) the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law as further described herein. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
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Our initial shareholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private shares and (other than the third-party investors) any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our business combination and to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private shares and (other than the third-party investors) public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity. In addition, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and private shares held by them if we fail to complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our initial shareholders or their affiliates acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame. Permitted transferees of the founder shares and private shares held by our initial shareholders would be subject to the same restrictions applicable to our initial shareholders, respectively.
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DIVIDEND POLICY
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time and we will only pay such dividend out of our profits or share premium (subject to solvency requirements) as permitted under Cayman Islands Law. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
If we increase the size of the offering, we will effect a share dividend, or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to the founder shares so that such shares continue to represent 25% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering (excluding the EBC founder shares, private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units sold in this offering).
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DILUTION
The difference between the public offering price per ordinary share, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private units, and the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering.
Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private units, which would cause the actual dilution to the public shareholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding ordinary shares.
The below calculations assume (i) that no ordinary shares are issued to shareholders of a potential business combination target as consideration or issuable by a post-business combination company, for instance under an equity or employee share purchase plan, (ii) that no ordinary shares and convertible equity or debt securities are issued in connection with additional financing that we may seek in connection with a business combination, (iii) that no working capital loans are converted into private units, as further described in this prospectus, (iv) that no warrants are exercised for the issuance of ordinary shares outstanding, (v) the number of shares included in the units offered hereby will be deemed to be 10,000,000 or 11,500,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full and (vi) the issuance of 3,833,333 founder shares (up to 500,000 of which are assumed to be forfeited in the scenario in which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised in full), 200,000 EBC founder shares and 400,000 private shares (or 437,500 private shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full). The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, including from potential sources of future dilution following this offering, which may not be included in the tables below with respect to the determination of net tangible book value per share, as adjusted. For example, in the event that following this offering we obtain working capital loans from our Sponsor to finance transaction costs related to our business combination, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of our Sponsor. Should we seek to obtain additional financing to complete our business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. If we raise additional funds through equity or convertible debt issuances, our public shareholders may suffer significant dilution and these securities could have rights that rank senior to our public shares.
At June 30, 2026, our net tangible book deficit was $165,082, or approximately ($0.04) per ordinary share in the scenario of a full exercise of the over-allotment option. This amount assumes the receipt of payment for the founder shares and EBC founder shares of an aggregate of $25,000 and $1,739.13, respectively. Assuming various redemption scenarios and after giving effect to the sale of 10,000,000 ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus, the sale of the private units and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at June 30, 2026 would have been the following to the public shareholders on a per-share basis immediately after this offering:
| Offering Price of $10.00 |
25% of Maximum Redemption |
50% of Maximum Redemption |
75% of Maximum Redemption |
Maximum Redemption |
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| NTBV |
NTBV | Difference between NTBV and Offering Price |
NTBV | Difference between NTBV and Offering Price |
NTBV | Difference between NTBV and Offering Price |
NTBV | Difference between NTBV and Offering Price |
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| Assuming Full Exercise of Over-Allotment Option | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $7.35 | $ | 6.75 | $ | 3.25 | $ | 5.82 | $ | 4.18 | $ | 4.17 | $ | 5.83 | $ | 0.39 | $ | 9.61 | ||||||||||||||||
| Assuming No Exercise of Over-Allotment Option | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $7.33 | $ | 6.74 | $ | 3.26 | $ | 5.81 | $ | 4.19 | $ | 4.16 | $ | 5.84 | $ | 0.42 | $ | 9.58 | ||||||||||||||||
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The following tables illustrate the dilution to the public shareholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the public units or the private units:
| Full exercise of over-allotment option |
No Redemption |
25% of Maximum Redemptions |
50% of Maximum Redemptions |
75% of Maximum Redemptions |
Maximum Redemptions |
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| Public offering price |
$ | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | ||||||||||||||
| Net tangible book value before this offering |
(0.04 | ) | (0.04 | ) | (0.04 | ) | (0.04 | ) | (0.04 | ) | ||||||||||
| Increase attributable to public shareholders and sale of the private units |
7.39 | 6.79 | 5.86 | 4.21 | 0.43 | |||||||||||||||
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| Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering |
7.35 | 6.75 | 5.82 | 4.17 | 0.39 | |||||||||||||||
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| Dilution to public shareholders |
$ | 2.65 | 3.25 | 4.18 | 5.83 | 9.61 | ||||||||||||||
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| Percentage of dilution to public shareholders |
26.50 | % | 32.50 | % | 41.80 | % | 58.30 | % | 96.10 | % | ||||||||||
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| No exercise of over-allotment option |
No Redemption |
25% of Maximum Redemptions |
50% of Maximum Redemptions |
75% of Maximum Redemptions |
Maximum Redemptions |
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| Public offering price |
$ | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | ||||||||||||||
| Net tangible book value before this offering |
(0.05 | ) | (0.05 | ) | (0.05 | ) | (0.05 | ) | (0.05 | ) | ||||||||||
| Increase attributable to public shareholders and sale of the private units |
7.38 | 6.79 | 5.86 | 4.21 | 0.47 | |||||||||||||||
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| Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering |
7.33 | 6.74 | 5.81 | 4.16 | 0.42 | |||||||||||||||
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| Dilution to public shareholders |
$ | 2.67 | 3.26 | 4.19 | 5.84 | 9.58 | ||||||||||||||
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| Percentage of dilution to public shareholders |
26.70 | % | 32.60 | % | 41.90 | % | 58.40 | % | 95.80 | % | ||||||||||
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For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option) by $100,000,000 because holders of up to 100% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or shareholders meeting, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals), divided by the number of ordinary shares sold in this offering.
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| No Redemption | 25% of Maximum Redemptions |
50% of Maximum Redemptions |
75% of Maximum Redemptions |
Maximum Redemptions |
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| Without Over- Allotment |
With Over- Allotment |
Without Over- Allotment |
With Over- Allotment |
Without Over- Allotment |
With Over- Allotment |
Without Over- Allotment |
With Over- Allotment |
Without Over- Allotment |
With Over- Allotment |
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| Numerator: |
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| Net tangible book deficit before this offering |
$ | (165,082 | ) | $ | (165,082 | ) | $ | (165,082 | ) | $ | (165,082 | ) | $ | (165,082 | ) | $ | (165,082 | ) | $ | (165,082 | ) | $ | (165,082 | ) | $ | (165,082 | ) | $ | (165,082 | ) | ||||||||||
| Net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement units |
101,400,000 | 116,475,000 | 101,400,000 | 116,475,000 | 101,400,000 | 116,475,000 | 101,400,000 | 116,475,000 | 101,400,000 | 116,475,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Plus: Offering costs accrued for or paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value |
998,126 | 998,126 | 998,126 | 998,126 | 998,126 | 998,126 | 998,126 | 998,126 | 998,126 | 998,126 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Less: Over-allotment liability |
(89,700 | ) | — | (89,700 | ) | — | (89,700 | ) | — | (89,700 | ) | — | (89,700 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Less: Amounts paid for redemptions |
— | — | (25,125,000 | ) | (28,893,750 | ) | (50,250,000 | ) | (57,787,500 | ) | (75,375,000 | ) | (86,681,250 | ) | (100,500,000 | ) | (115,575,000 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| $ | 102,143,344 | $ | 117,308,044 | $ | 77,018,344$ | 88,414,294 | $ | 51,893,344 | $ | 59,520,544 | $ | 26,768,344 | $ | 30,626,794 | $ | 1,643,344 | $ | 1,733,044 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Denominator: |
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| Ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering |
3,833,333 | 3,833,333 | 3,833,333 | 3,833,333 | 3,833,333 | 3,833,333 | 3,833,333 | 3,833,333 | 3,833,333 | 3,833,333 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised |
(500,000 | ) | — | (500,000 | ) | — | (500,000 | ) | — | (500,000 | ) | — | (500,000 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares offered and sale of private placement units |
10,000,000 | 11,500,000 | 10,000,000 | 11,500,000 | 10,000,000 | 11,500,000 | 10,000,000 | 11,500,000 | 10,000,000 | 11,500,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Private placement units |
400,000 | 437,500 | 400,000 | 437,500 | 400,000 | 437,500 | 400,000 | 437,500 | 400,000 | 437,500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| EBC founder shares |
200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Less Ordinary shares redeemed |
— | — | (2,500,000 | ) | (2,875,000 | ) | (5,000,000 | ) | (5,750,000 | ) | (7,500,000 | ) | (8,625,000 | ) | (10,000,000 | ) | (11,500,000 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 13,933,333 | 15,970,833 | 11,433,333 | 13,095,833 | 8,933,333 | 10,220,833 | 6,433,333 | 7,345,833 | 3,933,333 | 4,470,833 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization at June 30, 2026 and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our units and the private units and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:
| June 30, 2026 | ||||||||
| Actual | As Adjusted(1) | |||||||
| Promissory note to related party(2) |
$ | 24,020 | — | |||||
| Over-allotment liability |
— | 89,700 | ||||||
| Ordinary shares, -0- and 10,000,000 shares subject to possible redemption, actual and as adjusted(3), respectively |
— | 100,500,000 | ||||||
| Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively |
— | — | ||||||
| Ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 200,000,000 shares authorized and 4,033,333 and 3,933,333 shares issued and outstanding(4) (excluding -0- and 10,000,000 shares subject to possible redemption), actual and as adjusted, respectively |
403 | 393 | ||||||
| Subscription receivable |
(26,739 | ) | — | |||||
| Additional paid-in capital |
888,597 | 1,698,907 | ||||||
| Accumulated deficit |
(55,956 | ) | (55,956 | ) | ||||
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| Total shareholders’ equity (deficit) |
$ | 806,305 | 1,643,344 | |||||
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| Total capitalization |
$ | 830,325 | 102,233,044 | |||||
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| (1) | Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and the resulting forfeiture of 500,000 forfeiture shares has occurred. |
| (2) | Our Sponsor and/or its affiliates has agreed to loan us up to an aggregate of $150,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering, which will be repaid at the closing of this offering. |
| (3) | Represents net proceeds allocated to the public ordinary shares less the allocated transaction costs related to this offering. The ordinary shares offered to the public contain redemption rights that make them redeemable by our public shareholders. Accordingly, they are classified within temporary equity in accordance with the guidance provided in ASC 480-10-S99-3A and will be subsequently accredited at redemption value. |
| (4) | Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 500,000 forfeiture shares have been forfeited as a result thereof. Includes 400,000 shares underlying the private units. |
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We may pursue a business combination with a target in any industry or geographic region that we believe can benefit from the expertise and capabilities of our management team. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to a business combination with us. We intend to effectuate our business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private units, the proceeds of the sale of our securities in connection with our business combination, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.
The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preference shares in a business combination:
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering; |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares; |
| • | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
| • | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares, and/or warrants. |
Similarly, if we issue debt securities in connection with our business combination, it could result in:
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after a business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
| • | our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares; |
| • | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| • | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| • | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| • | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
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As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at June 30, 2026, we had a working capital deficit of $191,821. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our business combination will be successful.
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any business operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our business combination. We expect to generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to completion of this offering through advances from our Sponsor. We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $600,000 and underwriting commissions of $2,000,000, or $2,300,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full and (ii) the sale of the private units for a purchase price of $4,000,000 (or $4,375,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $101,400,000 (or $116,475,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $100,500,000 or ($115,575,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be deposited into an interest bearing trust account.
The funds in the trust account will be held in demand deposit or cash accounts or invested only in specified U.S. government treasury bills or in specified money market funds. The remaining $900,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $600,000 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 $600,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) to complete our business combination. We may withdraw interest pursuant to permitted withdrawals. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. To the extent that our ordinary shares or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our business combination, we will have available to us $900,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, structure, negotiate and complete a business combination, and to pay taxes to the extent the interest earned on the trust account is not sufficient to pay our taxes.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended business combination, our Sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required on a non-interest bearing basis. If we complete our business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our 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.
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Up to $1,500,000 of the loans made by our Sponsor, our officers and directors, or their affiliates to us prior to or in connection with our business combination may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit, at the option of the lender, upon consummation of our business combination. The units would be identical to the private units. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans by our Sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.
We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our Sponsor, our officers, directors or their affiliates as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $100,000 for legal, accounting and other third-party expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting a business combination; $100,000 for consulting, travel and other expenses relating to identifying, structuring, negotiating and documenting a business combination; $70,000 for NASDAQ continued listing fees; $200,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $210,000 for administrative services, and approximately $220,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses, director and officer’s liability insurance, general corporate purposes, liquidation obligations and reserves net of estimated interest income.
These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. If our available funds are not sufficient, we may be unable to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.
If our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination are less than the actual amounts necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination.
Deferred Offering Costs
We comply with the requirements of ASC 340-10-S99-1 relating to deferred offering costs. Deferred offering costs consist of legal, accounting, advisory, administrative, and other costs (including underwriting discounts and commissions) incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to this offering and that will be charged to shareholders’ equity upon the completion of the offering. Should the offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.
Controls and Procedures
We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2027. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our auditors tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
| • | staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties; |
| • | reconciliation of accounts; |
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| • | proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate; |
| • | evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions; |
| • | documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and |
| • | documentation of accounting policies and procedures. |
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expenses in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent auditors to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404. The independent auditors may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units held in the trust account will be held in demand deposit or cash accounts or invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Related Party Transactions
On March 23, 2026, we issued an aggregate of 2,875,000 ordinary shares to our Sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. On June 29, 2026, the Company effected a 1 for 1.33333 share split of the founder shares, resulting in our Sponsor holding an aggregate of 3,833,333 founder shares. As of June 30, 2026, both of the payments due to the Company are recorded as share subscription receivable in the shareholders’ equity section of the accompanying balance sheet. On August 20, 2026, our Sponsor agreed to transfer an aggregate of 75,000 shares to our director nominees. As a result, prior to the offering, our Sponsor holds 3,758,333 founder shares and EBC holds 200,000 founder shares. Up to 500,000 founder shares held by our Sponsor are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment is not exercised in full. In addition, subject to the third-party investors purchasing the private placement units indicated elsewhere in the prospectus, our Sponsor intends to transfer an aggregate of 800,000 founder shares to such third-party investors at the closing of this offering.
We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will also pay our Sponsor or an affiliate thereof a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Our Sponsor, officers, directors or their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our Sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Our Sponsor has agreed to loan us up to an aggregate of $150,000 on a non-interest bearing basis under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of June 30, 2026, there was $24,020 of borrowings outstanding under the promissory notes. The loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the offering proceeds not held in the trust account. The value of our Sponsor’s interest in this loan transaction corresponds to the principal amount outstanding under any such loan.
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In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended business combination, our Sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds on a non-interest bearing basis as may be required. If we complete our business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our 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 the loans made by our Sponsor, our officers and directors, or our or their affiliates to us prior to or in connection with our business combination may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender, upon consummation of our business combination. The units would be identical to the private units. Other than set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our Sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
Our Sponsor, certain third-party investors and EBC have agreed that they and/or their designees will purchase an aggregate of 400,000 units (or 437,500 units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $10.00 per unit. Of those 400,000 private placement units (or 437,500 private placement units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), our Sponsor has agreed to purchase 200,000 private placement units (or 228,125 private placement units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), third-party investors have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 100,000 private placement units (regardless of whether the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised), and EBC has agreed to purchase 100,000 private placement units (or 109,375 private placement units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). The private units will be identical to the units sold in this offering, except as described in this prospectus. The private units will be sold in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering and any exercise of the over-allotment option, as applicable. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to the private units which will expire worthless if we do not consummate a business combination within the allotted 21 months. Our initial shareholders and EBC have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares (i) in connection with the consummation of a business combination, (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months after the closing of this offering and (iii) if we fail to consummate a business combination within 21 months after the closing of this offering or if we liquidate prior to the expiration of the 21-month period. However, our initial shareholders and EBC will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares held by them if we fail to consummate a business combination or liquidate within the 21-month period.
We will also pay customary transfer agent, warrant agent, trustee, and escrow agent fees paid to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the president of which is an investor in a third-party investor.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement we will enter into with the holders of our founder shares, EBC founder shares, private units and working capital units (if any) on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. These will be entitled to make up to three demands that we register their securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results
As of June 30, 2026, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus as we have conducted no operations to date.
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PROPOSED BUSINESS
Our Company
We are a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on March 10, 2026, as an exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our “business combination” with a business or entity, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as a “target business”.
To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities and activities related to this offering. We have generated no revenues to date and we do not expect that we will generate operating revenues until we consummate our business combination.
Given their positions, our officers and directors are made aware from time to time of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination. However, we have not selected any specific target business and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any target business with respect to a business combination with us.
We may retain all of our available funds and any future earnings following a business combination to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, we may not pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
While we may pursue an initial business combination with a target in any business, industry or geography, we intend to capitalize on the experience, relationships and operating track record of our management team to identify, acquire and grow a business in industries that complement that experience. In particular, we expect to concentrate our efforts on opportunities in the following sectors:
| • | Sports, including professional and semi-professional sports franchises, leagues, academies and youth sports platforms, sports media and sponsorships, sports agencies, sports technology and data, and sports-related consumer brands; |
| • | Hospitality and leisure, including restaurants, food halls, hotels, resorts, destination and experiential entertainment concepts, live events, and related consumer services; and |
| • | Real estate, with a particular interest in sports- and hospitality-anchored, mixed-use real estate developments (including stadium, arena and entertainment-district projects) and the operating businesses that anchor them. |
We view these three verticals as mutually reinforcing: sports franchises and live events drive attendance and brand affinity; hospitality, food and beverage and retail concepts monetize dwell time around those experiences; and purpose-built real estate captures the long-term appreciation and recurring cash flows generated by those activities. We may also pursue targets in sectors that service or are connected to these industries, including sports and hospitality technology, media, ticketing and consumer financial services.
Notwithstanding the foregoing intended focus, we are not required to complete our initial business combination with a target business in any of these industries, and we may pursue a business combination with a target business in any other industry or geography, including outside the United States. If we pursue a target outside our intended focus areas, our management team’s industry-specific expertise may not be directly applicable to the evaluation or operation of the target business, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding these focus areas may not be relevant to an understanding of the business we ultimately acquire.
Our Team
Our management team is led by Berke Bakay, our Chairman and director, Brett Johnson, our Chief Executive Officer, and Harry Brandler, our Chief Financial Officer and director. Our management team will be supported by Jeffrey G. Brock, Jameson Culp, and Jeffrey A. Dunham, each of whom will become a member of our board of directors upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
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The biographical information is as follows:
Berke Bakay, Chairman and director. Mr. Bakay has served as our Chairman and director since our inception. Mr. Bakay has spent more than 23 years in investment management. He is co-founder and co-managing director of Three Lions Capital Management LLC, a private equity firm focused on sports, entertainment, and life sciences he co-founded in 2020. In 2020, Mr. Bakay founded Bakay Capital Fund, LP, a long/short equity fund pursuing a deep-value strategy in small-capitalization North American companies with an options overlay. Since December 2024, Mr. Bakay has served as Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Operations and as an executive board member of Alpha Square Management LLC, the general partner of Alpha Square Fund, LP, a business-cycle systematic fund investing in S&P 500 equities, derivatives, and gold that launched its U.S. operations in March 2025. In addition, Mr. Bakay has been a shareholder and member of the board of directors of Ipswich Town Football Club Ltd. since April 2021; co-founder and a shareholder (and former co-chairman and governor) of Phoenix Rising FC since 2016; and co-founder and managing partner of Tiger Hospitality FH Holdings LLC, a Southern California food hall and restaurant platform, since August 2024. Over the course of his career, Mr. Bakay has held leadership and board positions—including director, Chairman, Executive Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer—at three public and six private companies across the restaurant, sports and entertainment, energy, chemicals, e-commerce, and technology industries, ranging in size from approximately $30 million to $500 million in valuation. Mr. Bakay previously served as Executive Chairman and director of Lone Oak Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, from 2010 until its business combination with Arabella Exploration, LLC in 2013. He continued to serve as a director of the combined entity, Arabella Exploration, Inc., until the company’s liquidation in the Cayman Islands in June 2016.
Brett M. Johnson, Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Johnson has served as our Chief Executive Officer since our inception. Mr. Johnson is a co-founder and co-managing director of Three Lions Capital Management LLC, a private equity firm focused on sports, entertainment, and life sciences he co-founded in 2020. Since 2005, he has served as founder and Chief Executive Officer of Benevolent Capital, a single-family office with investments in professional sports teams, real estate, private equity, and venture capital, and he is a founder and partner of Fortuitous Partners since 2018, an opportunity-zone fund platform investing in sports-anchored, mixed-use real estate developments, including the Centreville Bank Stadium development in Rhode Island. Mr. Johnson has been a shareholder and member of the board of directors of Ipswich Town Football Club Ltd., which his investor group acquired in April 2021; a co-founder and shareholder of Phoenix Rising FC since 2016; founder and principal owner of Rhode Island FC; and co-founder and managing partner of Tiger Hospitality FH Holdings LLC since August 2024. Prior to founding Benevolent Capital, Mr. Johnson served as President of Targus Group International, Inc., a global provider of mobile computing accessories with sales of approximately $545 million and distribution in 145 countries, from 2001 to 2005, and previously served as Managing Director of Targus EMEA and Asia-Pacific from 1997 to 2001; he continued to serve as an executive director of Targus through 2009 following its sale to a private equity firm in 2005. From 2013 to 2015, Mr. Johnson served as a director and as chairman of the compensation committee of Blyth, Inc. (formerly NYSE: BTH), a direct-to-consumer designer and marketer of home accessories and health and wellness products that was acquired by an affiliate of The Carlyle Group in November 2015. He currently serves as a director of TerraCycle, Inc., an environmental services and recycling company, and FlyHouse Management LLC, a company focused on aviation services, including private aircraft charter and related travel solutions, and has previously served as a member of the board of trustees of Choate Rosemary Hall, a private boarding school, and as a senior fellow in entrepreneurship and member of the board of visitors of the Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University.
Harry Brandler, Chief Financial Officer and director. Mr. Brandler has served as our Chief Financial Officer and director since our inception. Since 2019, Mr. Brandler has managed his family office Brandler LLC, which invests in public and private investments, including hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, commodities, public and private equities and debt, and many other types of security instruments. Mr. Brandler has served on the board of directors of Green Brick Partners, a homebuilding and land development company, since October 2014, and currently is the chair of the compensation committee. Since August 2026, Mr. Brander has served as a director of Pinnacle Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: PNAQ). Previously, Mr. Brandler served as the Chief Financial Officer of Greenlight Capital, Inc., a hedge fund, from December 2001 to January 2019, where he served as a Partner and member of its management committee. From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Brandler served as Chief Financial Officer of Wheatley Partners, a venture capital firm, where he oversaw the firm’s back-office operations and restructured the firm’s marketing, client relations and technology. From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Brandler was at Goldstein, Golub & Kessler, where he provided audit, tax and consulting services to investment partnerships and other financial organizations and where he was promoted to Manager in January 1999. Mr. Brandler received a B.S. degree in Accounting from New York University. Mr. Brandler was admitted as a Certified Public Accountant in New York in 1996. Mr. Brandler has served on multiple non-profit and private company boards of trustees/directors.
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Jeffrey G. Brock, director nominee. Mr. Brock has served as Managing Partner of Hargett Hunter Capital Management, a private investment firm focused on investing in and supporting the growth of multi-unit restaurant companies he founded, since 2015. Since founding the firm, Mr. Brock has led investments in numerous restaurant concepts, including Bacari, Original ChopShop Co. and Bellagreen, and has served on the boards of several portfolio companies, including Big Table Restaurants, and Won’t Stop Hospitality. Prior to founding Hargett Hunter, Mr. Brock served as a Partner at Morehead Capital from 2011 to 2015, where he helped develop and execute the firm’s investment strategy and portfolio management. Before that, he held a series of increasingly senior positions at GE Capital’s Franchise Finance division, including Director of Brand Management and Vice President of Strategic Accounts. Mr. Brock also served as a Senior Vice President with Bank of America and held corporate banking and franchise finance roles at JPMorgan. He began his career with First Union National Bank, a predecessor to Wells Fargo.
Jameson Culp, director nominee. Mr. Culp is a private equity investment professional with experience across growth and special situations investments, including control acquisitions, GP-led continuation vehicles and growth investments in the industrials, aerospace and defense, and business services sectors. He has served as an investment analyst at RenWaveKore since January 2024, a special situations private equity firm with approximately $1 billion of assets under management as of 2025. Previously, he held various investment role at AE Industrial Partners, a private equity firm focused on aerospace, defense and industrial markets, from August 2021 to December 2023. Mr. Culp started his career at Credit Suisse where he worked as an investment banking analyst from July 2019 to August 2021.
Jeffrey A. Dunham, director nominee. Mr. Dunham is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dunham & Associates, a SEC registered investment advisor, and Dunham Trust Company (“Dunham Trust”), a Nevada trust service provider. Dunham & Associates offers a variety of investment management and advisor services, including mutual fund investment opportunities through a family of mutual funds (the “Dunham Funds”) it manages. Mr. Dunham founded Dunham & Associates in 1985, and Dunham Trust in 1999, and has overseen the growth of the combined business into a wealth management, trust and asset management platform serving financial advisors and their clients nationwide with more than $8.3 billion of combined assets under management across businesses. In addition to his experience in investment management and fiduciary services, Mr. Dunham has extensive experience in trust administration and real estate investing. Prior to becoming Founding Partner of Dunham & Associates, he was Partner in the investment firm of McKewon Securities and worked with Enterprise Management Company, a venture capital affiliate of McKewon Securities. Beginning his investment career in real estate investment, Mr. Dunham served as President of San Diego-based JAD Properties between 1979 and 1989. Mr. Dunham earned a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from San Diego State University and holds FINRA Series 3, 4, 7, 24, 52 and 63 registrations.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team is not a guarantee either (i) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our business combination or (ii) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. See “Management” for a full description of the background of our management team members.
Market Opportunity
Consumer spending on sports, hospitality and experiential entertainment has consistently outpaced growth in U.S. gross domestic product over the last two decades, driven by a durable shift in consumer preferences from goods to experiences, the emergence of new distribution and monetization channels for sports media and live events, and the continued institutionalization of private capital formation around sports franchises, hospitality platforms and sports-anchored real estate. At the same time, we believe the universe of well-capitalized public acquirers in these categories remains relatively limited and that the middle-market segments of these industries remain highly fragmented, creating what we believe to be an attractive set of private and closely held businesses that could benefit from access to the public capital markets.
Business Strategy
Our strategy is to leverage the experience, industry reputation and proprietary network of Berke Bakay, our Chairman and director, Brett Johnson, our Chief Executive Officer, and Harry Brandler, our Chief Financial Officer and director, together with our broader board of directors and advisors, to identify, evaluate, acquire and grow a business within our intended focus areas. Collectively, our management team has:
| • | co-founded and operates Three Lions Capital Management LLC, a private equity firm focused on sports, entertainment and life sciences, and has acquired, capitalized and developed a portfolio of professional sports properties, including Ipswich Town Football Club Ltd., Phoenix Rising FC and Rhode Island FC, as well as a youth-sports platform, a live-entertainment platform and a life sciences platform; |
| • | developed and invested in sports- and hospitality-anchored, mixed-use real estate projects, including through Fortuitous Partners, an opportunity-zone fund platform whose projects include the Centreville Bank Stadium development in Rhode Island; |
| • | founded and operates Tiger Hospitality FH Holdings LLC, a Southern California food hall and restaurant platform with proprietary growth brands and three food halls totaling over 41,000 square feet; |
| • | held executive and director roles at public and private companies — including at Greenlight Capital, Inc., Green Brick Partners, Inc., Blyth, Inc. (formerly NYSE: BTH), Targus Group International, Inc. and numerous other companies across the restaurant, sports and entertainment, consumer, real estate, energy, chemicals, e-commerce, and technology industries; |
| • | raised $300+ million through dozens of investment vehicles spanning sports, real estate, private equity and venture capital under the Three Lions Capital, Benevolent Capital and Tiger Hospitality platforms since 2021; and |
| • | accumulated hundreds of active relationships across deal networks, and broader networks through organizations like the Dunham Trust businesses, Young President Organizations and 3i Network. |
We intend to draw on these relationships and experiences to generate proprietary deal flow, including transactions that may not be available through traditional investment banking channels, and to bring operating, financial-reporting, capital-markets, governance and board-level expertise to help a target business complete its transition to, and succeed as, a public company. We expect to augment our internal capabilities with selected advisors, industry relationships and co-investment partners that are familiar with our management team.
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Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with this strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. While we intend to use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating potential business combination opportunities, we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet all, or any, of these criteria and guidelines. We intend to acquire one or more businesses that we believe:
| (i) | operate in, or are closely adjacent to, the sports, hospitality, live entertainment, experiential consumer or related real estate sectors; |
| (ii) | possess a defensible competitive position, recognizable brand or a scarce underlying asset (such as a franchise, league right, venue, long-term leasehold or location-specific real estate); |
| (iii) | are led by an experienced management team with a demonstrable operating track record, whom we can complement — rather than replace — with our capital market, corporate governance and public-company experience; |
| (iv) | generate, or have a clearly identifiable path to, stable and predictable free cash flow, including through recurring, contracted or season-anchored revenue streams; |
| (v) | have an enterprise values generally between $500 million and $2.0 billion, although we may consider opportunities outside this range; |
| (vi) | have identifiable and quantifiable tangible asset value, whether in the form of real estate, franchise rights, media or sponsorship contracts, or other long-duration contractual cash flows; |
| (vii) | would benefit from being a public company, including through broader access to equity and debt capital, enhanced brand visibility, improved corporate governance, and a public currency for future acquisitions; and |
| (viii) | present a clear opportunity for growth and value creation — through organic expansion, geographic expansion, add-on acquisitions, margin improvement, or the monetization of associated real estate or media rights. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team may deem relevant.
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 in the target business for our shares or for a combination of shares of our share and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriter’s ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring 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 shareholders’ 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, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
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In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Financial Position
With funds in the trust account available for a business combination initially anticipated to be $10.05 per public share, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting our Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any business operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to complete our business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private units, our equity, debt, or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our business combination. We may seek to complete our 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 business combination is paid for using equity or debt instruments, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our business combination or used for redemptions of our ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our business combination, to fund the purchase of other assets, companies or for working capital.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our business combination, and we may complete our 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 business combination. In the case of a business combination funded with cash other than the funds held in the trust account, 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 shareholder approval of such financing. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. At this time, we are
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not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise. None of our initial shareholders are required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, following this offering and prior to the consummation of our business combination, we will be prohibited from issuing additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any business combination.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Sources of Target Businesses
We expect to receive a number of proprietary transaction opportunities as a result of the business relationships, direct outreach, and deal sourcing activities of our management team. In addition to this 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 this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our initial shareholders, 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.
We are not prohibited from pursuing a business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our initial shareholders, officers or directors or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our Sponsor, officers or directors. Our underwriting agreement with EBC and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in such a circumstance we would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not otherwise required to obtain such an opinion, so long as our board of directors believes that our directors have the financial skills and background to conclude that its business combination is fair from a financial perspective. As more fully discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of 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.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
| • | subject us to negative economic, competitive, and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our business combination, and |
| • | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
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Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’ management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications, or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team or of our board, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our business combination, it is presently unknown if any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our business combination.
Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business. The determination as to whether any members of our board of directors will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our business combination.
Following a business combination, to the extent that 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.
Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve our Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons.
Under NASDAQ’s listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our business combination if, for example:
| • | we issue ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our ordinary shares then outstanding; |
| • | any of our directors, officers or substantial shareholders (as defined by NASDAQ rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or |
| • | the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
The decision as to whether we will seek shareholders’ approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: (i) the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine shareholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek shareholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company; (ii) the expected cost of holding a shareholder vote; (iii) the risk that the shareholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination; (iv) other time and budget constraints of the company; and (v) additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to shareholders.
Permitted Purchases of our Securities
In the event we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial shareholders, officers, directors or their affiliates may purchase shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our business combination. 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.
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None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase securities in such transactions. They will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. In the event that our initial shareholders or their affiliates purchase shares from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. 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 transactions could be to (1) increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination by purchasing shares from holders that have, or have indicated an intention to, vote against a proposed transaction (as those shares would no longer be voted on the proposed transaction), (2) increase the likelihood of approval on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our business combination by purchasing warrants from holders that have, or have indicated an intention to, vote against a proposed matter (as those warrants would no longer be voted on the proposed matter) or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. Additionally, in the event our Sponsor, directors, executive officers or their affiliates were to purchase shares or warrants from public holders, such purchases would be structured in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act including, in pertinent part, through adherence to the following:
| • | our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would disclose the possibility that our Sponsor, directors, executive officers or any of their affiliates may purchase shares or warrants from public holders outside the redemption process, along with the purpose of such purchases; |
| • | if our Sponsor, directors, executive officers or any of their affiliates were to purchase shares from public shareholders, they would do so at a price no higher than the price offered through our redemption process; |
| • | our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would include a representation that any of our securities purchased by our Sponsor, directors, executive officers or any of their affiliates would not be voted in favor of approving the business combination transaction; |
| • | our Sponsor, directors, executive officers or any of their affiliates would not possess any redemption rights with respect to our securities or, if they do acquire and possess redemption rights, they would waive such rights; and |
| • | we would disclose in a Form 8-K, before our security holder meeting to approve the business combination transaction, the material terms of the purchases. |
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our ordinary shares 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.
It is anticipated that any purchases would be as a result of either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our business combination. Our initial shareholders or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act, Section 9(a)(2) of, or Rule 10b-5 under, the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
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Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of our Business Combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon the completion of our 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 business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.05 per public share. Our initial shareholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private shares and (other than the third-party investors) any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our business combination.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon the completion of our business combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. If we structure a business combination transaction with a target company in a manner that requires shareholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a shareholder vote to approve the proposed business combination.
If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| • | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E under the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and |
| • | file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
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 business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the business combination.
If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| • | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and |
| • | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the shareholders who hold the outstanding ordinary shares and who attend and vote in favor of the business combination, at a general meeting of our company. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of issued and outstanding shares of the company representing a simple majority of the voting power of all issued and outstanding ordinary shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial shareholders will count toward this quorum and have agreed to vote their founder shares, private shares and any public shares
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purchased during or after this offering in favor of our business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the simple majority of our outstanding ordinary shares voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need (i) 3,033,334 or 30.3%, of the 10,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a business combination in order to have our business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted, including the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC, and the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC are voted in favor of the proposed business combination (although the holders are not required to do so) and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or (ii) none of the 10,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a business combination in order to have our business combination approved (assuming that only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted, the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC are voted in favor of the proposed business combination (although the holders are not required to do so) and the over-allotment option is not exercised). We will give at least 20 days prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our business combination.
These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether it votes for or against the proposed transaction, and irrespective of whether it does not vote or abstains from voting its shares.
In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of Business Combination if we Seek Shareholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to any excess shares they own. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms.
By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our 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 memorandum and articles of association does not restrict our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including excess shares) for or against our business combination.
Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using 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 business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
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There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $100.00 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 some prior blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, some prior blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on a business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s share in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the shareholder 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 shareholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable (or with our consent). Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our business combination.
If our business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 21 months from the closing of this offering.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we will have only 21 months from the closing of this offering to complete our business combination. If we are unable to complete our business combination within such 21 month period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate 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 pursuant to permitted withdrawals (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our business combination within the 21-month time period. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.
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Our initial shareholders have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and private shares held by them if we fail to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our business combination within the allotted 21-month time period.
Our initial shareholders have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us (filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part), that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, or (ii) with respect to any other material provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of liquidation and dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $900,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account and funds we may withdraw from interest earned on the trust account pursuant to permitted withdrawals, 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 liquidation and dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.05. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.05.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest and claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver.
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 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) $10.05 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of this
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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 believe it is unlikely 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 business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.05 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors are required to indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.05 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our Sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy their 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 such indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our Sponsor to enforce their 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 $10.05 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, 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 underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $900,000 from the proceeds of this offering with which to pay any such potential claims. In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $600,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $600,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
If we file a bankruptcy 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 shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.05 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of
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our public shares in connection with a business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated a business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the business combination. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.
Comparison of Redemption or Purchase Prices in Connection with our Business Combination and if We Fail to Complete our Business Combination
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our business combination and if we are unable to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering.
| Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination |
Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by us or our Affiliates |
Redemptions if we fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination | ||||
| Calculation of redemption price |
Redemptions at the time of our business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.05 per public share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. | If we seek shareholder approval of our business combination, our initial shareholders, or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market prior to or following completion of our business combination. However, they would only do so at prices no higher than the price offered through our redemption process | If we are unable to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.05 per public share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. | |||
| Impact to remaining shareholders |
The redemptions in connection with our business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders. | If the permitted purchases described above are made, there would be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us. | The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial shareholders, who will be our only remaining shareholders after such redemptions. | |||
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Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419
The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the underwriter will not exercise its over-allotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.
| Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
| Escrow of offering proceeds |
$100,500,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee. | At least $88,200,000 of the offering proceeds would be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. | ||
| Investment of net proceeds |
$100,500,000 of the net offering proceeds and the sale of the private units held in trust will be held in demand deposit or cash accounts or invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. | Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. | ||
| Receipt of interest on escrowed funds |
Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to shareholders is reduced by (i) permitted withdrawals and (ii) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation. | Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination. | ||
| Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business |
Our business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of our assets held in the trust account (excluding interest income earned on the trust account released to us to pay taxes) at the time of the agreement to enter into the business combination. | The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds. | ||
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| Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
| Trading of securities issued |
The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 90th day following the date of this prospectus unless the underwriter informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days from the date of this prospectus. If the over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, an additional Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option. | No trading of the units or the underlying ordinary shares and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. | ||
| Election to remain an investor |
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals, upon the completion of our business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a shareholder vote.
If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a shareholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. |
A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if it elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require the return of its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account are automatically returned to the shareholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued. | ||
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| Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
| If, however, we hold a shareholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our business combination only if a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether it votes for or against the proposed transaction, and irrespective of whether it does not vote or abstains from voting its shares. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of issued and outstanding shares of the company representing a simple majority of the voting power of all issued and outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. | ||||
| Business combination deadline |
If we are unable to complete a business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days. | If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors. | ||
| Release of funds |
Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to pursuant to permitted withdrawals, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private units that are deposited and held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (a) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or (b) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity and (iii) the redemption of 100% of our public shares if we are unable to complete a business combination within the required time frame (subject to the requirements of applicable law). | The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. | ||
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Competition
In identifying, evaluating, and selecting a target business for our business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human, and other resources than we do. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our 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 a business combination.
Facilities
Our executive offices are located at 888 Prospect Street, La Jolla, CA 92037. Pursuant to the Administrative Services Agreement, until the completion of our business combination or liquidation, we will pay a monthly fee of $10,000 to Sponsor or an affiliate thereof for office space, secretarial and administrative services. We consider our current office space, combined with the other office space otherwise available to our executive officers, adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have three executive officers. Our executive officers 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 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 business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We will register our units, ordinary shares and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our business combination.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to shareholders. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with 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 business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
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We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2027 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.
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MANAGEMENT
Officers, Directors and Director Nominees
Our officers, directors and director nominees are as follows:
| Name |
Age |
Position | ||
| Berke Bakay |
48 | Chairman and director | ||
| Brett Johnson |
56 | Chief Executive Officer | ||
| Harry Brandler |
55 | Chief Financial Officer and director | ||
| Jeffrey G. Brock |
55 | Director Nominee | ||
| Jameson Culp |
28 | Director Nominee | ||
| Jeffrey A. Dunham |
65 | Director Nominee |
Berke Bakay, Chairman and director. Mr. Bakay has served as our Chairman and director since our inception. Mr. Bakay has spent more than 23 years in investment management. He is co-founder and co-managing director of Three Lions Capital Management LLC, a private equity firm focused on sports, entertainment, and life sciences he co-founded in 2020. In 2020, Mr. Bakay founded Bakay Capital Fund, LP, a long/short equity fund pursuing a deep-value strategy in small-capitalization North American companies with an options overlay. Since December 2024, Mr. Bakay has served as Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Operations and as an executive board member of Alpha Square Management LLC, the general partner of Alpha Square Fund, LP, a business-cycle systematic fund investing in S&P 500 equities, derivatives, and gold that launched its U.S. operations in March 2025. In addition, Mr. Bakay has been a shareholder and member of the board of directors of Ipswich Town Football Club Ltd. since April 2021; co-founder and a shareholder (and former co-chairman and governor) of Phoenix Rising FC since 2016; and co-founder and managing partner of Tiger Hospitality FH Holdings LLC, a Southern California food hall and restaurant platform, since August 2024. Over the course of his career, Mr. Bakay has held leadership and board positions—including director, Chairman, Executive Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer—at three public and six private companies across the restaurant, sports and entertainment, energy, chemicals, e-commerce, and technology industries, ranging in size from approximately $30 million to $500 million in valuation. Mr. Bakay served as the President and CEO of Kona Grill, Inc., a restaurant chain, from January 2012 to August 2018, Executive Chairman from August 2018 to March 2019, and as its director from October 2009 to March 2019. Kona Grill filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2019 before it was sold to Williston Holding Co. in July 2019. Mr. Bakay previously served as Executive Chairman and director of Lone Oak Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, from 2010 until its business combination with Arabella Exploration, LLC in 2013. He continued to serve as a director of the combined entity, Arabella Exploration, Inc., until the company’s liquidation in the Cayman Islands in June 2016. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2017 before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. Mr. Bakay holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in Finance, each from Boston College. We believe Mr. Bakay is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of his extensive investment, operating, and public-company board experience.
Brett M. Johnson, Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Johnson has served as our Chief Executive Officer since our inception. Mr. Johnson is a co-founder and co-managing director of Three Lions Capital Management LLC, a private equity firm focused on sports, entertainment, and life sciences he co-founded in 2020. Since 2005, he has served as founder and Chief Executive Officer of Benevolent Capital, a single-family office with investments in professional sports teams, real estate, private equity, and venture capital, and he is a founder and partner of Fortuitous Partners since 2018, an opportunity-zone fund platform investing in sports-anchored, mixed-use real estate developments, including the Centreville Bank Stadium development in Rhode Island. Mr. Johnson has been a shareholder and member of the board of directors of Ipswich Town Football Club Ltd., which his investor group acquired in April 2021; a co-founder and shareholder of Phoenix Rising FC since 2016; founder and principal owner of Rhode Island FC; and co-founder and managing partner of Tiger Hospitality FH Holdings LLC since August 2024. Prior to founding Benevolent Capital, Mr. Johnson served as President of Targus Group International, Inc., a global provider of mobile computing accessories with sales of approximately $545 million and distribution in 145 countries, from 2001 to 2005, and previously served as Managing Director of Targus EMEA and Asia-Pacific from 1997 to 2001; he continued to serve as an executive director of Targus through 2009 following its sale to a private equity firm in 2005. From 2013 to 2015, Mr. Johnson served as a director and as chairman of the compensation committee of Blyth, Inc. (formerly NYSE: BTH), a direct-to-consumer designer and marketer of home accessories and health and wellness products that was acquired by an affiliate of The Carlyle Group in November 2015. He currently serves as a director of TerraCycle, Inc., an environmental services and recycling company, and FlyHouse Management LLC, a company focused on aviation services, including private aircraft charter and related travel solutions, and has previously served as a member of the board of trustees of Choate Rosemary Hall, a private boarding school, and as a senior fellow in entrepreneurship and member of the board of visitors of the Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University. Mr. Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a Master of Business Administration from the Presidential/Key Executive program at Pepperdine University. We believe Mr. Johnson is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of his extensive investment, operating, and public-company board experience.
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Harry Brandler, Chief Financial Officer and director. Mr. Brandler has served as our Chief Financial Officer and director since our inception. Since 2019, Mr. Brandler has managed his family office Brandler LLC, which invests in public and private investments, including hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, commodities, public and private equities and debt, and many other types of security instruments. Mr. Brandler has served on the board of directors of Green Brick Partners, a homebuilding and land development company, since October 2014, and currently is the chair of the compensation committee. Since August 2026, Mr. Brander has served as a director of Pinnacle Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: PNAQ). Previously, Mr. Brandler served as the Chief Financial Officer of Greenlight Capital, Inc., a hedge fund, from December 2001 to January 2019, where he served as a Partner and member of its management committee. From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Brandler served as Chief Financial Officer of Wheatley Partners, a venture capital firm, where he oversaw the firm’s back-office operations and restructured the firm’s marketing, client relations and technology. From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Brandler was at Goldstein, Golub & Kessler, where he provided audit, tax and consulting services to investment partnerships and other financial organizations and where he was promoted to Manager in January 1999. Mr. Brandler received a B.S. degree in Accounting from New York University. Mr. Brandler was admitted as a Certified Public Accountant in New York in 1996. Mr. Brandler has served on multiple non-profit and private company boards of trustees/directors. We believe Mr. Brandler is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of his extensive finance, accounting, management, operating, investment, and public-company board experience.
Jeffrey G. Brock, director nominee. Mr. Brock has served as Managing Partner of Hargett Hunter Capital Management, a private investment firm focused on investing in and supporting the growth of multi-unit restaurant companies he founded, since 2015. Since founding the firm, Mr. Brock has led investments in numerous restaurant concepts, including Bacari, Original ChopShop Co. and Bellagreen, and has served on the boards of several portfolio companies, including Big Table Restaurants, and Won’t Stop Hospitality. Prior to founding Hargett Hunter, Mr. Brock served as a Partner at Morehead Capital from 2011 to 2015, where he helped develop and execute the firm’s investment strategy and portfolio management. Before that, he held a series of increasingly senior positions at GE Capital’s Franchise Finance division, including Director of Brand Management and Vice President of Strategic Accounts. Mr. Brock also served as a Senior Vice President with Bank of America and held corporate banking and franchise finance roles at JPMorgan. He began his career with First Union National Bank, a predecessor to Wells Fargo. Mr. Brock received an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and a B.A. degree in Business from North Carolina State University. We believe Mr. Brock is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of his extensive experience in corporate finance and in the hospitality, food and beverages, and ancillary industries.
Jameson Culp, director nominee. Mr. Culp is a private equity investment professional with experience across growth and special situations investments, including control acquisitions, GP-led continuation vehicles and growth investments in the industrials, aerospace and defense, and business services sectors. He has served as an investment analyst at RenWaveKore since January 2024, a special situations private equity firm with approximately $1 billion of assets under management as of 2025. Previously, he held various investment role at AE Industrial Partners, a private equity firm focused on aerospace, defense and industrial markets, from August 2021 to December 2023. Mr. Culp started his career at Credit Suisse where he worked as an investment banking analyst from July 2019 to August 2021. Mr. Culp received a B.S. degree in Business Administration and Management from Wake Forest University. We believe Mr. Culp is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of his experience in investment evaluation and assessment, bringing experience on investment origination, transaction execution, due diligence and portfolio company strategy and value creation initiatives.
Jeffrey A. Dunham, director nominee. Mr. Dunham is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dunham & Associates Investment Counsel, Inc. (“Dunham & Associates”), a SEC registered investment advisor, and Dunham Trust Company (“Dunham Trust”), a Nevada trust service provider. Dunham & Associates offers a variety of investment management and advisor services, including mutual fund investment opportunities through a family of mutual funds (the “Dunham Funds”) it manages. Mr. Dunham founded Dunham & Associates in 1985, and Dunham Trust in 1999, and has overseen the growth of the combined business into a wealth management, trust and asset management platform serving financial advisors and their clients nationwide with more than $8.3 billion of combined assets under management across businesses. In addition to his experience in investment management and fiduciary services, Mr. Dunham has extensive experience in trust administration and real estate investing. Prior to becoming Founding Partner of Dunham & Associates, he was Partner in the investment firm of McKewon Securities and worked with Enterprise Management Company, a venture capital affiliate of McKewon Securities. Beginning his investment career in real estate investment, Mr. Dunham served as President of San Diego-based JAD Properties between 1979 and 1989. Mr. Dunham earned a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from San Diego State University and holds FINRA Series 3, 4, 7, 24, 52 and 63 registrations. We believe Mr. Dunham is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of his extensive experience in investment and wealth management.
Other SPAC Experience
Our Chairman and director, Mr. Bakay, previously served as executive chairman and director of Lone Oak Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, from 2010 until its business combination with Arabella Exploration, LLC in 2013. He continued to serve as a director of the combined entity, Arabella Exploration, Inc., until the company’s liquidation in June 2016.
In addition, since August 2026, our Chief Financial Officer and director, Mr. Brandler, has served as an independent director of Pinnacle Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: PNAQ), a special purpose acquisition company that completed its $200 million initial public offering. As of August [ ], 2026, the closing price of the company on the NYSE is $[ ].
Other than the foregoing, none of our officers and directors has had management experience with special purpose acquisition companies in the past.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team is not a guarantee either (i) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our business combination or (ii) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
We will have five directors upon the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. The term of office of the directors will expire on the earlier of 21 months, the date of our first annual meeting of shareholders, and the closing of the initial business combination. We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders until after we consummate our business combination.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of one or more Chairmen of the Board, one or more Chief Executive Officers, a President, a Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretary, and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Director Independence
NASDAQ listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent, subject to certain phase-in provisions. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that each of Messrs. Brock, Culp, and Dunham are “independent directors” as defined in the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Officer and Director Compensation
None of our officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us and no compensation was awarded to, earned by, or paid to our executive officers or directors. Prior to or in connection with the completion of our business combination, there may be payment by the company to our Sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, of customary finder’s fee, advisory fee, consulting fee or success fee for any services they render in order to effectuate the completion of our initial business, which, if made prior to the completion of our business combination, will be paid only from funds held outside the trust account. In addition, our officers, directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our initial shareholders or their affiliates.
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After the completion of our business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
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 of Directors
Our board of directors will have two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of NASDAQ and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and the rules of NASDAQ require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.
Audit Committee
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will establish an audit committee of the board of directors. Messrs. Brock, Culp, and Dunham will serve as members of our audit committee, with Mr. Dunham serving as the chairman of the audit committee. Under the NASDAQ 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. However, a minority of the members of the audit committee may be exempt from the heightened audit committee independence standards for one year from the date of effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Three meet the independent director standard under NASDAQ listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate, and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Dunham qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We will adopt an audit committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| • | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent 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; |
| • | 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 |
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| • | 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
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will establish a compensation committee of the board of directors. Messrs. Brock, Culp, and Dunham will serve as members of our compensation committee, with Mr. Brock serving as the chairman of the compensation committee. Under the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent, subject to certain phase-in provisions. Each such person meets the independent director standard under NASDAQ listing standards applicable to members of the compensation committee.
We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| • | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
| • | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation of all of our other officers; |
| • | reviewing on an annual basis our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| • | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| • | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| • | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
| • | if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| • | reviewing, evaluating, and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter will also provide that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by NASDAQ and the SEC.
Director Nominations
We do not have a standing nominating committee. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(2) of the NASDAQ Rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the board of directors. The board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.
The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our shareholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of shareholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of shareholders). Our shareholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
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We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, our 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.
Code of Ethics
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We will file a copy of our Code of Ethics and our audit and compensation committee charters as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You will be able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”
Conflicts of Interest
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present business combination opportunities to such entity. Specifically, Mr. Brandler is a director of Pinnacle Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: PNAQ), a special purpose acquisition company that completed its $200 million initial public offering and is currently seeking to locate a target business with which to consummate an initial business combination. Accordingly, in the future, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Certain members of our management team have fiduciary duties or are subject to contractual obligations or policies and procedures that require them to present business opportunities that may be appropriate for other special purpose acquisition companies to such special purpose acquisition company. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
| • | Members of our management team directly or indirectly own founder shares and, accordingly may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our business combination. |
| • | The per share price that the members of management team paid for the founder shares creates an incentive whereby our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if the Company selects an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for public investors. |
| • | In the event we do not consummate a business combination within the completion window, the founder shares, the warrants, the private units, and their underlying securities will expire worthless, which could create an incentive for our officers and directors to complete any transaction, regardless of its ultimate value. |
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| • | None of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities. |
| • | In the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. |
| • | Our shareholders prior to this offering have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, EBC founder shares, private shares and (other than the third-party investors) any public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our business combination. Additionally, they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares held by them if we fail to consummate our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering. If we do not complete our business combination within such applicable time period, the funds held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of only our public shares, and the private units and underlying securities will not be redeemed. The founder shares will not, subject to certain exceptions, be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until six months after the date of the consummation of the business combination, or earlier, if, subsequent to our business combination, we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property. Since members of our management may directly or indirectly own ordinary shares and warrants following this offering, our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to complete our business combination. |
| • | Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our business combination. |
| • | Our initial shareholders may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from our initial shareholders, officers, directors or their affiliates to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into working capital units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such working capital units would be identical to the private units sold in the private placement. |
| • | We will reimburse our Sponsor or an affiliate thereof in an amount equal to $10,000 per month for office space and administrative support made available to us, as described elsewhere in this prospectus. |
| • | Upon consummation of this offering, we will repay $150,000 in loans made to us by our Sponsor to cover a portion of the expenses of this offering. Additionally, members of our management team will be entitled to reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing a business combination. As a result, there may be actual or potential material conflicts of interest between members of our management team, our Sponsor and its affiliates on one hand, and purchasers in this offering on the other. |
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
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In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of Cayman Islands are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
| • | the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity; |
| • | the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and |
| • | it would not be fair to our company and its shareholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation. |
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Furthermore, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
We are not prohibited from pursuing a business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our initial shareholders, officers or directors or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our Sponsor, officers or directors. Our underwriting agreement with EBC and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in such a circumstance we would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not otherwise required to obtain such an opinion, so long as our board of directors believes that our directors have the financial skills and background to conclude that its business combination is fair from a financial perspective.
In the event that we submit our business combination to our shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote any founder shares and private shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful neglect, civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We entered into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We expect to purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate a business combination.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance, and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
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PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our ordinary shares included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:
| • | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares; |
| • | each of our executive officers and directors; and |
| • | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The post-offering numbers and percentages presented assume that the underwriter do not exercise their over-allotment option, that 500,000 forfeiture shares have been forfeited as a result thereof, that our Sponsor, certain third-party investors and EBC and its designees purchased an aggregate of 400,000 private units and that there are 10,000,000 ordinary shares issued and outstanding after this offering.
| Before Offering(2) | After Offering | |||||||||||||||
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) |
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary shares |
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary shares |
||||||||||||
| Three Lions Sponsor, LLC(3) |
3,758,333 | (3) | 93.2 | % | 2,658,333 | (4) | 19.3 | % | ||||||||
| Berke Bakay (3) |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Brett Johnson (3) |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Harry Brandler(3) |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Jeffery G. Brock |
25,000 | * | 25,000 | * | ||||||||||||
| Jameson Culp |
25,000 | * | 25,000 | * | ||||||||||||
| Jeffrey A. Dunham |
25,000 | * | 25,000 | * | ||||||||||||
| All executive officers, directors and director nominees as a group |
3,833,333 | 95.0 | % | 2,733,333 | 19.9 | % | ||||||||||
| EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.(5) |
200,000 | 5.0 | % | 300,000 | (6) | 2.2 | % | |||||||||
| * | Indicates less than 1%. |
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Harry Brandler, Three Lions Acquisition Corp., 888 Prospect St, La Jolla, CA 92037. |
| (2) | Includes up to 500,000 forfeiture shares that will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised. |
| (3) | Three Lions Sponsor, LLC is the record holder of the shares reported herein. The Sponsor is managed by a board of managers, consisting of Messrs. Bakay, Johnson and Brandler, each of whom holds one vote, and the approval of a majority of the managers is required to approve an action of our sponsor. Under the so-called “rule of three,” if voting and dispositive decisions regarding an entity’s securities are made by three or more individuals, and a voting or dispositive decision requires the approval of a majority of those individuals, then none of the individuals is deemed a beneficial owner of the entity’s securities. Based upon the foregoing analysis, no manager of our sponsor exercises voting or dispositive control over any of the securities held by our Sponsor, even those in which he or she directly holds a pecuniary interest. Accordingly, none of them will be deemed to have or share beneficial ownership of such shares. |
| (4) | Consists of 3,258,333 founder shares and 200,000 private shares, and excludes 800,000 founder shares that the Sponsor will transfer to certain third-party investors at the closing of this offering. |
| (5) | The address of EBC is 366 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10017. |
| (6) | Consists of 200,000 EBC founder shares and 100,000 private shares to be purchased by EBC and/or its designees. |
Immediately after this offering, our Sponsor, directors and officers will beneficially own 25% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering (excluding the EBC founder shares, private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units sold in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares so that such shares continue to represent 25% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering (excluding the EBC founder shares, private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units sold in this offering). Because of this ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including the election of directors, amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions, including approval of our business combination.
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Our initial shareholders have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination, (B) not to redeem any founder shares or private shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed business combination and (C) to waive liquidation rights with respect to their founder shares and private shares.
Our Sponsor and its controlling individuals and our executive officers are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares, EBC Founder Shares, and Private Units
On the date of closing of this offering, the founder shares will be placed into an escrow account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as escrow agent. The founder shares may not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until six months after the date of the consummation of our business combination, or earlier, if, subsequent to our business combination, we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, except (a) to our Sponsor, officers, directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our Sponsor, officers or directors or any members of our initial shareholders, or any affiliate of our initial shareholders; (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family, to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made at or prior to the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of the laws of the Delaware or the organizational documents of our Sponsor upon their dissolution; or (g) to us for no value for cancellation in connection with the consummation of our business combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreements unless we otherwise consent to a transfer without a continuation of such restrictions. The EBC founder shares will not be transferred, assigned or sold (except to the same permitted transferees as the founder shares and provided the transferees agree to the same terms and restrictions as the permitted transferees of the founder shares must agree to, each as described herein) until consummation of a business combination.
Our Sponsor, certain third-party investors and EBC have agreed that they and/or their designees will purchase from us an aggregate of 400,000 private units in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Of those 400,000 private placement units, our Sponsor has agreed to purchase 200,000 private placement units, third-party investors have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 100,000 private placement units, and EBC has agreed to purchase 100,000 private placement units. Additionally, our Sponsor and EBC have also agreed that if the over-allotment option is exercised by the underwriter in full or in part, it and/or its designees will purchase from us up to an additional 37,500 private units in an amount that is necessary to maintain in the trust account $10.05 per unit sold to the public in this offering. The third-party investors will not purchase any additional private placement units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full or in part. The private units are identical to the units sold in this offering, subject to limited exceptions. Our Sponsor, the third-party investors and EBC have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private units or underlying securities (except to the same permitted transferees as the founder shares and provided the transferees agree to the same terms and restrictions as the permitted transferees of the founder shares must agree to, each as described herein) until the completion of our business combination.
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, EBC founder shares, private units, working capital units (if any) and their underlying securities will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities for resale. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
In compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8), the registration rights granted to EBC are limited to demand and “piggyback” rights for periods of five and seven years, respectively, from the effective date of this prospectus and EBC may only exercise its demand rights on one occasion.
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
On March 23, 2026, we issued an aggregate of 2,875,000 ordinary shares to our Sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. On June 29, 2026, the Company effected a 1 for 1.33333 share split of the founder shares, resulting in our Sponsor holding an aggregate of 3,833,333 founder shares. On August 20, 2026, our Sponsor agreed to transfer an aggregate of 75,000 shares to our director nominees. As a result, prior to the offering, our Sponsor holds 3,758,333 founder shares. Up to 500,000 founder shares held by our Sponsor are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment is not exercised in full. In addition, subject to the third-party investors purchasing the private placement units indicated elsewhere in the prospectus, our Sponsor intends to transfer an aggregate of 800,000 founder shares to such third-party investors at the closing of this offering.
The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such shares would represent 25% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering (excluding the EBC founder shares, private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units sold in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares so that such shares continue to represent 25% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering (excluding the EBC founder shares, private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units sold in this offering). Up to 500,000 founder shares held by our Sponsor are subject to forfeiture to the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised.
Our Sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 200,000 private units (or 228,125 private units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) for a purchase price of $10.00 per unit in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. As such, our Sponsor’s interest in this transaction is valued at between $2,000,000 and $2,281,250, depending on the number of private units purchased. Each private unit consists of one ordinary share and one-half of one private warrant. The private units sold in the private placement (including the ordinary shares, private warrants, and ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of private warrants included in such private units) and the working capital units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (including the ordinary shares, private warrants, and ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of private warrants included in such private units) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
Our Sponsor has agreed to loan us up to an aggregate of $150,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans will be non-interest bearing, unsecured and will be due at the earlier of September 30, 2026, the closing of this offering or our determination not to proceed with this offering. The loans will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the offering proceeds not held in the trust account. The value of our Sponsor and EBC’s and/or their respective affiliates’ interest in this transaction corresponds to the principal amount outstanding under any such loan.
Our Sponsor has agreed that, commencing on the effective date of this prospectus through the earlier of our consummation of our business combination or the liquidation of the trust account, it (or an affiliate thereof) will make available to us certain general and administrative services, including office space, utilities and administrative support, as we may require from time to time. We have agreed to pay $10,000 per month for these services. We believe, based on rents and fees for similar services, that these fees are at least as favorable as we could have obtained from an unaffiliated person.
We will also pay customary transfer agent, warrant agent, trustee, and escrow agent fees paid to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the president of which is an investor in a third-party investor.
Prior to or in connection with the completion of our business combination, there may be payment by the company to our Sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, of customary finder’s fee, advisory fee, consulting fee or success fee for any services they render in order to effectuate the completion of our initial business, which, if made prior to the completion of our business combination, will be paid only from funds held outside the trust account.
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In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended business combination, our initial shareholders, officers, directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds on a non-interest bearing basis as may be required. If we complete a business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the 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 working capital units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such working capital units would be identical to the private units sold in the private placement. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our initial shareholders, officers, directors or their affiliates 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, but if we do, we will request such lender to provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
After our business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders. However, the amount of such compensation may not be known at the time of the general meeting held to consider a business combination, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation. In this event, such compensation will be publicly disclosed at the time of its determination in a Current Report on Form 8-K or a periodic report, as required by the SEC.
We will enter into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares, EBC founder shares, private units, working capital units (if any) and their underlying securities, which is described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Registration Rights.”
Our initial shareholders, existing officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates will also be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our initial shareholders or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Related Party Policy
We have not yet adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions. Accordingly, the transactions discussed above were not reviewed, approved or ratified in accordance with any such policy.
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt a code of ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our code of ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company. A form of the code of ethics that we will adopt prior to the consummation of this offering is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
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In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter that we adopted prior to the consummation of this offering, will be responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee will constitute a quorum. Without a meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. A form of the audit committee charter that we will adopt prior to the consummation of this offering is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. We also require each of our directors and executive officers to complete a directors’ and officers’ questionnaire that elicits information about related party transactions.
These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.
To further minimize conflicts of interest, our underwriting agreement with EBC and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will not consummate any business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our initial shareholders, unless we, or a committee of independent directors, have obtained an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
We are not prohibited from paying any fees (including consulting or advisory fees), reimbursements or cash payments to our initial shareholders or their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our business combination, including the following payments, all of which, if made prior to the completion of our business combination, will be paid from funds held outside the trust account or from funds held outside the trust account:
| • | Repayment of an aggregate of $150,000 in loans made to us by our Sponsor. |
| • | Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing a business combination. |
| • | Payment of customary consulting, success or finder fees in connection with the consummation of our business combination. |
| • | Repayment of non-interest bearing loans which may be made by our initial shareholders or their affiliates to finance transaction or other costs in connection with an intended business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into working capital units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The working capital units would be identical to the private units sold in the private placement. Other than as described above, no terms have been determined with respect to such loans and no written agreements have been entered into with respect to any such loans. |
| • | Payment to Sponsor or an affiliate thereof of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services. |
| • | Payment of customary transfer agent, warrant agent, trustee, and escrow agent fees paid to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the president of which is an investor in a third-party investor. |
Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our initial shareholders or their affiliates.
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DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
We are an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and our affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act and common law of the Cayman Islands. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which will be adopted upon the consummation of this offering, we will be authorized to issue 200,000,000 ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, and 1,000,000 preference shares, $0.0001 par value each. The following description summarizes the material terms of our shares as set out more particularly in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units Sold in this Offering
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one ordinary share and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. Only whole warrants are exercisable. Each warrant will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and will expire on the fifth anniversary of our completion of an initial business combination, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 90th day following the closing of this offering unless the underwriter informs us of its decision (based upon, among other things, its assessment of the relative strengths of the securities markets, of comparably capitalized companies and of blank check companies in general, and the trading pattern of, and demand for, our securities in particular) to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into ordinary shares and warrants.
In no event will the ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes this audited balance sheet upon the completion of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days after the date of this prospectus. If the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option.
Private Units Sold in the Private Placement
With certain limited exceptions, the private units are not transferable, assignable or saleable until the completion of our business combination. The holders of the private units have also been granted certain registration rights as described elsewhere in this prospectus. Otherwise, the private units have terms and provisions that are identical to the units sold in this offering. The price of the private units was determined in negotiations between the purchasers and the underwriter for this offering, with reference to the prices paid by purchasers for similar private units in other special purpose acquisition companies which have consummated their initial public offerings.
Ordinary Shares
Upon the closing of this offering, 13,933,333 ordinary shares will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 500,000 forfeiture shares), consisting of:
| • | 10,000,000 ordinary shares underlying the public units; |
| • | 400,000 ordinary shares underlying the private units; |
| • | 3,333,333 founder shares held by our initial shareholders; and |
| • | 200,000 EBC founder shares held by EBC and its designees. |
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If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a capitalization or share surrender or redemption to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares so that such shares continue to represent 25% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering (excluding the EBC founder shares, private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units sold in this offering).
Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by applicable provisions of the Companies Act or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders. Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors. The holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Because our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will authorize the issuance of up to 200,000,000 ordinary shares, 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 ordinary shares which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our business combination.
In accordance with NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, we are required to hold an annual meeting no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NASDAQ. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual general meetings or general meetings to elect directors. We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders prior to the consummation of our business combination.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.05 per public share. Our initial shareholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private shares and (other than the third-party investors) any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our business combination. If a shareholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will 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 shareholder approval, we will complete our business combination only if a majority of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares 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 issued and outstanding shares of the company representing a simple majority of the voting power of all issued and outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Due to the initial shareholders’ ownership of the founder shares and private shares, our business combination may be approved even if a majority of our public shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our business combination once a quorum is obtained. We will give at least 20 days prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our business combination.
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If we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its excess shares. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including excess shares) for or against our business combination. Our shareholders’ inability to redeem the excess shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our business combination, and such shareholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such excess shares on the open market. Additionally, such shareholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the excess shares if we complete the business combination. As a result, such shareholders will continue to hold their excess shares and, in order to dispose such shares, would be required to sell their share in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek shareholder approval in connection with our business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and private shares as well as any public shares purchased in or after this offering in favor of our business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need (i) 3,033,334 or 30.3%, of the 10,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a business combination in order to have our business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted, including the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC, and the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC are voted in favor of the proposed business combination (although the holders are not required to do so) and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or (ii) none of the 10,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a business combination in order to have our business combination approved (assuming that only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted, the EBC founder shares and private shares held by EBC are voted in favor of the proposed business combination (although the holders are not required to do so) and the over-allotment option is not exercised). Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether it votes for or against the proposed transaction, and irrespective of whether it does not vote or abstains from voting its shares (subject to the limitation described in the preceding paragraph).
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we are unable to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than 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 pursuant to permitted withdrawals (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and private shares held by them if we fail to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering.
If we are unable to consummate our business combination within such time period, we will, as promptly as possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of our outstanding public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account, including a pro rata portion of any interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals, and then seek to dissolve and liquidate. However, we may not be able to distribute such amounts as a result of claims of creditors which may take priority over the claims of our public shareholders. In the event of our dissolution and liquidation, the private units (and their underlying securities) will expire and be worthless.
If our initial shareholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our business combination within the prescribed time period.
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In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our shareholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of share, if any, having preference over the ordinary shares. Our shareholders have no pre-emptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, upon the completion of our business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
Founder Shares, EBC Founder Shares and Private Units
The founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares underlying the private units are identical to the ordinary shares included in the public units, and holders of founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that (i) the founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; (ii) our initial shareholders and EBC have agreed (A) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares in connection with the completion of our business combination, (B) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (a) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with a business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or (b) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, and (C) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares held by them if we fail to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering; and (iii) the founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote any founder shares, private shares and any public shares purchased by them in or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our business combination.
On the date of closing of this offering, the founder shares will be placed into an escrow account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as escrow agent. The founder shares will not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until six months after the date of the consummation of our business combination, or earlier, if, subsequent to our business combination, we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, except in each case (a) to our Sponsor, officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our Sponsor, officers or directors, any members of our initial shareholders, or any affiliate of our initial shareholders; (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family, to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made at or prior to the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of the laws of the Cayman Islands or the memorandum and articles of association of our Sponsor upon dissolution of our Sponsor; or (g) to us for no value for cancellation in connection with the consummation of our business combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreements unless we otherwise consent to a transfer without a continuation of such restrictions. The EBC founder shares will not be transferred, assigned or sold (except to the same permitted transferees as the founder shares and provided the transferees agree to the same terms and restrictions as the permitted transferees of the founder shares must agree to, each as described herein) until consummation of a business combination.
The private units (including the underlying securities) are identical to the units (including the underlying securities) sold in this offering, subject to limited exceptions. Our Sponsor, the third-party investors and EBC have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private units or underlying securities (except to the same permitted transferees as the founder shares and provided the transferees agree to the same terms and restrictions as the permitted transferees of the founder shares must agree to, each as described herein) until the completion of our business combination.
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Warrants
No warrants are currently outstanding. Each warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. However, no warrants will be exercisable for cash unless we have an effective and current registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such ordinary shares. Although we are registering our ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants on the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we have agreed that as soon as practicable after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants is not effective within a 60 day period following the consummation of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. In the event of such cashless exercise, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” for this purpose will mean the average reported last sale price of the ordinary shares for the 5 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date of exercise. The warrants will expire on the fifth anniversary of our completion of an initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The private warrants, as well as any warrants we issue to our Sponsor, officers, directors, initial shareholders or their affiliates in payment of working capital loans made to us, will be identical to the warrants underlying the units being offered by this prospectus. Our Sponsor and EBC have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private warrants or underlying shares (except to the same permitted transferees as the founder shares and provided the transferees agree to the same terms and restrictions as the permitted transferees of the founder shares must agree to, each as described herein) until the completion of our initial business combination.
We may call the warrants for redemption, in whole and not in part, at a price of $0.01 per warrant:
| • | at any time after the warrants become exercisable, |
| • | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder, |
| • | if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations), for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period commencing at any time after the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third business day prior to the notice of redemption to warrant holders; and |
| • | if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the ordinary shares underlying such warrants. |
The right to exercise will be forfeited unless the warrants are exercised prior to the date specified in the notice of redemption. On and after the redemption date, a record holder of a warrant will have no further rights except to receive the redemption price for such holder’s warrant upon surrender of such warrant.
The redemption criteria for our warrants have been established at a price which is intended to provide warrant holders a reasonable premium to the initial exercise price and provide a sufficient differential between the then- prevailing share price and the warrant exercise price so that if the share price declines as a result of our redemption call, the redemption will not cause the share price to drop below the exercise price of the warrants.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” for this purpose shall mean the average reported last sale price of the ordinary shares for the 5 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.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder (i) to cure any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus, or to cure, correct or supplement any defective provision, or (ii) to add or change any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the interests of the registered holders of the warrants, but requires the approval, by written consent or vote, of the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants in order to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders.
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The private warrants, as well as any warrants we issue to our Sponsor, officers, directors, initial shareholders or their affiliates in payment of working capital loans made to us, will be identical to the warrants underlying the units being offered by this prospectus. Our Sponsor and EBC have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private warrants or underlying shares (except to the same permitted transferees as the founder shares and provided the transferees agree to the same terms and restrictions as the permitted transferees of the founder shares must agree to, each as described herein) until the completion of our initial business combination.
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The exercise price and number of ordinary shares issuable on exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, extraordinary dividend or our recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of ordinary shares at a price below their respective exercise prices.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding ordinary shares (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such ordinary shares), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the ordinary shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of ordinary shares or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share (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, initial shareholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by them prior to such issuance), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the greater of (i) the Market Value or (ii) the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the greater of (i) the Market Value or (ii) the Newly Issued Price.
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, 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 ordinary shares and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive ordinary shares. After the issuance of ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.
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Warrant holders may elect to be subject to a restriction on the exercise of their warrants such that an electing warrant holder would not be able to exercise their warrants to the extent that, after giving effect to such exercise, such holder would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% of the ordinary shares outstanding.
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 up to the nearest whole number the number of ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder.
Register of Members
Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there will be entered therein:
| • | the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member (which shall distinguish each share by its number (so long as the share has a number); confirm the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, confirm the number and category of each member and the voting rights of such shares (and whether such voting rights are conditional); |
| • | the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and |
| • | the date on which any person ceased to be a member. |
Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e., the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a person who has agreed to become a member and who is registered in the register of members will be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to be a member. Furthermore, under the Companies Act, the registration of any person in the register of members as holder of any shares is prima facie evidence of such person having legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of this public offering, the register of members will be immediately updated to reflect the issue of shares by us.
Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.
Preference Shares
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that preference shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations, and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without shareholder approval, issue preference shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preference shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preference shares outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preference shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preference shares are being issued or registered in this offering.
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Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of 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. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith. 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 increase the size of the offering, we will effect a share dividend, or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares so that such shares continue to represent 25% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering (excluding the EBC founder shares, private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units sold in this offering).
Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our ordinary shares and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its shareholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith of the indemnified person or entity.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modelled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to U.S. corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
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Mergers and Similar Arrangements. In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction) so as to form a single surviving company.
Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution (usually a majority of two-thirds of the votes of shareholders, who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote at a general meeting) of the shareholders of each company; or (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns shares representing at least 90% of the votes at a general meeting of a subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company. The consent of each holder of any fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation. Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; and (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted. Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (ii) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived, (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company, and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (iii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (iv) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Act provides certain limited appraisal rights for dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of his or her shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows: (a) the shareholder must give his written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for his shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in clause (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase his shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such
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amount; and (e) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree a price within such 30-day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30-day period expires, the company must (and any dissenting shareholder may) file a petition with the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.
Moreover, Cayman Islands law has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances. Schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. The procedures for a scheme of arrangement are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States. For a shareholder scheme, the arrangement in question must be approved by 75% in value of each class of shareholders with whom the arrangement is to be made, and, for a creditor scheme, the arrangement in question must be approved by a majority in number of each class of creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent 75% in value of each such class of creditors, in each case, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:
| • | we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with; |
| • | the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question; |
| • | the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and |
| • | the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.” |
If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights (providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares), which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of U.S. corporations.
Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer is made within four months, the offer or may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion, or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through means other than these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, or through contractual arrangements of an operating business.
Shareholders’ Suits. In principle, we will normally be the proper plaintiff to sue for a wrong done to us as a company and as a general rule, a derivative action may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based on English law authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands courts can be expected to follow and apply the common law principles (namely the rule in Foss v. Harbottle and the exceptions thereto) so that a non-controlling shareholder may be permitted to commence a class action against or derivative actions in the name of the company to challenge:
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| • | an act which is illegal or ultra vires with respect to the company and is therefore incapable of ratification by the shareholders; |
| • | an act which, although not ultra vires, requires authorization by a qualified (or special) majority (that is, more than a simple majority) which has not been obtained; and |
| • | an act which constitutes a “fraud on the minority” where the wrongdoers are themselves in control of the company. |
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities. The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.
We have been advised by Appleby (Cayman) Ltd., our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands would (i) recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature.
Although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will in certain circumstances recognize a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, be impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
Special Considerations for Exempted Companies. We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:
| • | annual reporting requirements are minimal and consist mainly of a statement that the company has conducted its operations mainly outside of the Cayman Islands and has complied with the provisions of the Companies Act; |
| • | an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection; |
| • | an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting; |
| • | an exempted company may not issue negotiable or bearer shares, but may issue shares with no par value; |
| • | an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 30 years in the first instance); |
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| • | an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; |
| • | an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and |
| • | an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company. |
“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been approved by either (i) at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s shareholders who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote (whether in person or by proxy) at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given; or (ii) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of a company’s shareholders. Other than in certain exception as described below, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that special resolutions must be approved either by at least two-thirds of our shareholders who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote (whether in person or by proxy) at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders. The holders of the founder shares, who will collectively beneficially own approximately 25% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering (excluding the EBC founder shares, private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units sold in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide, among other things, that:
| • | If we are unable to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate; |
| • | Prior to our business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to: (i) receive funds from the trust account; or (ii) vote on any business combination; |
| • | Although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our initial shareholders, our directors or our officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In such a circumstance our underwriting agreement with EBC and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view; |
| • | If a shareholder vote on our business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E under the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act; |
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| • | So long as we obtain and maintain listing for our securities on NASDAQ, our business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of our assets held in the trust account (excluding interest income earned on the trust account that is released to us to pay taxes) at the time of the agreement to enter into the business combination; |
| • | If our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares; and |
| • | We will not complete our business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. |
The Companies Act permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of a special resolution which requires the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of such company’s outstanding ordinary shares who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote (whether in person or by proxy) at a general meeting or by way of unanimous written resolution. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required but, provided the approval of the required two-thirds majority is obtained, by way of a special resolution, any Cayman Islands exempted company may amend its memorandum and articles of association regardless of whether its memorandum and articles of association provides otherwise. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our proposed offering, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our officers or directors, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Anti-Money Laundering — Cayman Islands
In order to comply with legislation or regulations aimed at the prevention of money laundering, we are required to adopt and maintain anti-money laundering procedures, and may require subscribers to provide evidence to verify their identity. Where permitted, and subject to certain conditions, we may also delegate the maintenance of our anti-money laundering policies and procedures (including the acquisition of due diligence information) to a suitable person.
We reserve the right to request such information as is necessary to verify the identity of a subscriber. In some cases, the directors may be satisfied that no further information is required since an exemption applies under the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, as amended and revised from time to time (the “Regulations”) or any other applicable law. Depending on the circumstances of each application, a detailed identification and verification of identity might not be required where:
| (a) | the subscriber makes the payment for their investment from an account held in the subscriber’s name at a recognized financial institution; |
| (b) | the subscriber is regulated by a recognized overseas regulatory authority and where such authority is based or incorporated in, or formed under the law of, a recognized jurisdiction; or |
| (c) | the application is made through an intermediary which is regulated by a recognized overseas regulatory authority and where such authority is based in or incorporated in, or formed under the law of a recognized jurisdiction and an assurance is provided in relation to the procedures undertaken on the underlying investors. |
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For the purposes of these exceptions, recognition of a financial institution, recognized overseas regulatory authority or jurisdiction will be determined in accordance with the Regulations.
In the event of delay or failure on the part of the subscriber in producing any information required for identification and verification purposes, we may refuse to accept the application, in which case any funds received will be returned without interest to the account from which they were originally debited.
We also reserve the right to refuse to make any payment to a shareholder if our directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure our compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.
If any person resident in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money laundering or is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands (“FRA”), pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering, or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the FRA, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report will not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.
Should a shareholder or its duly authorized delegates or agents be, or become (or is believed by the company or its affiliates (“Agents”) to be or become) at any time while it owns or holds an interest in the company, (a) an individual or entity named on any sanctions list maintained by the United Kingdom (including as extended to the Cayman Islands by Orders in Council) or the Cayman Islands or any similar list maintained under applicable law or is otherwise subject to applicable sanctions in the Cayman Islands (a “Sanctions Subject”) or (b) an entity owned or controlled directly or indirectly by a Sanctions Subject, as determined by the company in its sole discretion, then (i) the company or its Agents may immediately and without notice to the shareholder cease any further dealings with the shareholder or freeze any dealings with the interests or accounts of the shareholder (e.g., by prohibiting payments by or to the shareholder or restricting or suspending dealings with the interests or accounts) or freeze the assets of the company (including interests or accounts of other shareholders who are not Sanctions Subjects), until the relevant person ceases to be a Sanctions Subject or a license is obtained under applicable law to continue such dealings (a “Sanctioned Persons Event”), (ii) the company and its Agents may be required to report such action or failure to comply with information requests and to disclose the shareholder’s identity (and/or the identity of the shareholder’s beneficial owners and control persons) to the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, the Cayman Islands Financial Reporting Authority, or other applicable governmental or regulatory authorities (without notifying the Subscriber that such information has been so provided) and (iii) the company and its Agents have no liability whatsoever for any liabilities, costs, expenses, damages and/or losses (including but not limited to any direct, indirect or consequential losses, loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of reputation and all interest, penalties and legal costs and all other professional costs and expenses) incurred by the shareholder as a result of a Sanctioned Persons Event.
Cayman Islands Data Protection
We have certain duties under the Data Protection Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, as amended from time to time and any regulations, codes of practice or orders promulgated pursuant thereto (the “DPA”).
Privacy Notice
Introduction
We are committed to processing personal data in accordance with the DPA. In its use of personal data, the company will be characterized under the DPA as a ‘data controller’, whilst certain of the company’s service providers, affiliates and delegates may act as ‘data processors’ under the DPA. These service providers may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to the company.
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This privacy notice puts our shareholders on notice that, by virtue of making an investment in the company, the company and certain of the company’s service providers may collect, record, store, transfer and otherwise process personal data by which individuals may be directly or indirectly identified.
In the following discussion, the “Company” refers to us and our affiliates and/or delegates, except where the context requires otherwise.
Investor Data
Your personal data will be processed fairly and for lawful purposes, including (a) where the processing is necessary for the company to perform a contract to which you are a party or for taking pre-contractual steps at your request (b) where the processing is necessary for compliance with any legal, tax or regulatory obligation to which the company is subject or (c) where the processing is for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by the company or by a service provider to whom the data are disclosed. As a data controller, we will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it. If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will contact you.
We anticipate that we will share your personal data with the company’s service providers for the purposes set out in this privacy notice. We may also share relevant personal data where it is lawful to do so and necessary to comply with our contractual obligations or your instructions or where it is necessary or desirable to do so in connection with any regulatory reporting obligations. In exceptional circumstances, we will share your personal data with regulatory, prosecuting and other governmental agencies or departments, and parties to litigation (whether pending or threatened), in any country or territory including to any other person where we have a public or legal duty to do so (e.g. to assist with detecting and preventing fraud, tax evasion and financial crime or compliance with a court order).
Your personal data shall not be held by the company for longer than necessary with regard to the purposes of the data processing.
We will not sell your personal data. Any transfer of personal data outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the DPA. Where necessary, we will ensure that separate and appropriate legal agreements are put in place with the recipient of that data.
The company will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the DPA, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.
If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation to your investment into the company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should inform such individuals of the content.
You have certain rights under the DPA, including (a) the right to be informed as to how we collect and use your personal data (and this privacy notice fulfils the Company’s obligation in this respect) (b) the right to obtain a copy of your personal data (c) the right to require us to stop direct marketing (d) the right to have inaccurate or incomplete personal data corrected (e) the right to withdraw your consent and require us to stop processing or restrict the processing, or not begin the processing of your personal data (f) the right to be notified of a data breach (unless the breach is unlikely to be prejudicial) (g) the right to obtain information as to any countries or territories outside the Cayman Islands to which we, whether directly or indirectly, transfer, intend to transfer or wish to transfer your personal data, general measures we take to ensure the security of personal data and any information available to us as to the source of your personal data (h) the right to complain to the Office of the Ombudsman of the Cayman Islands and (i) the right to require us to delete your personal data in some limited circumstances.
If you consider that your personal data has not been handled correctly, or you are not satisfied with the company’s responses to any requests you have made regarding the use of your personal data, you have the right to complain to the Cayman Islands’ Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can be contacted by calling +1 (345) 946-6283 or by email at info@ombudsman.ky.
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Economic Substance
The Cayman Islands, together with several other non-European Union jurisdictions, have introduced legislation aimed at addressing concerns raised by the Council of the European Union and the OECD as to offshore structures engaged in certain activities which attract profits without real economic activity. The International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Act (As Revised) (the “Substance Act”) came into force in the Cayman Islands in January 2019, introducing certain economic substance requirements for in-scope Cayman Islands entities which are engaged in certain geographically mobile business activities (“relevant activities.”)
As we are a Cayman Islands exempted company, compliance obligations include filing annual notifications, in which we need to state whether we are carrying out any relevant activities and if so, whether we have satisfied economic substance tests to the extent required under the Substance Act. It is anticipated that we will not be engaging in any “relevant activities” and will therefore not be required need to meet the economic substance requirements tests or will otherwise be subject to more limited substance requirements. However, as it is a relatively new regime, it is anticipated that the Substance Act may evolve and be subject to further clarification and amendments. Failure to satisfy applicable requirements may subject us to penalties under the Substance Act.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our authorized but unissued ordinary shares and preference shares are available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved ordinary shares and preference shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Securities Eligible for Future Sale
Immediately after the consummation of this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option) we will have 13,933,333 (or 15,970,833 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) ordinary shares outstanding. Of these shares, the 10,000,000 shares (or 11,500,000 shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the 3,333,333 founder shares and EBC founder shares (or founder shares and EBC founder shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) and all of the 400,000 private units (or 437,500 private units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering.
The founder shares, EBC founder shares and private units are subject to transfer restrictions as set forth elsewhere in this prospectus. The founder shares, EBC founder shares, private units, working capital units (if any) and their underlying securities will be subject to registration rights as more fully described below under “— Registration Rights.”
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
| • | 1% of the total number of ordinary shares then outstanding, which will equal 139,333 shares immediately after this offering (or 159,708 if the underwriter exercises its over-allotment option in full); or |
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| • | the average weekly reported trading volume of ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale. |
Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies
Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:
| • | the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company; |
| • | the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; |
| • | the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and materials required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Current Reports on Form 8-K; and |
| • | at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company. |
As a result, our initial shareholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private units including underlying securities, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our business combination.
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, EBC founder shares, private units, working capital units (if any) and their underlying securities will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering, requiring us to register such securities for resale. The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of our business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
In compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8), the registration rights granted to EBC are limited to demand and “piggy back” rights for periods of five and seven years, respectively, from the effective date of this prospectus and EBC may only exercise its demand rights on one occasion.
Listing of Securities
We have applied to have our units listed on NASDAQ under the symbol “TLACU”. Our units will be listed on NASDAQ on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Following the date our ordinary shares and public warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that our ordinary shares and public warrants will be separately listed in the NASDAQ under the symbols “TLAC” and “TLACW”, respectively.
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TAXATION
The following summary of Cayman Islands and U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to an investment in our units, each consisting of one ordinary share and one-half of one warrant, which we refer to collectively as our securities, is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This summary does not deal with all possible tax considerations relevant to an investment in our ordinary shares and warrants, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws.
Prospective investors should consult their advisors on the possible tax consequences of investing in our securities under the laws of their country of citizenship, residence, or domicile.
Cayman Islands Tax Considerations
The following is a discussion on Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in the securities of the Company. The discussion is a general summary of present law, which is subject to prospective and retroactive change. It is not intended as tax advice, does not consider any investor’s particular circumstances, and does not consider tax consequences other than those arising under Cayman Islands law.
Payments of dividends and capital in respect of our securities will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the securities nor will gains derived from the disposal of the securities be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporate tax. The Cayman Islands currently has no income, corporate or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of our ordinary shares or on an instrument of transfer in respect of such shares. However, an instrument of transfer in respect of our shares is stampable if executed in or brought into the Cayman Islands.
We have been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and, as such, have applied for and received an undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands (“Tax Concessions Act”), for a period of 30 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of any relevant payment as defined in the Tax Concessions Act.
United States Federal Income Tax Considerations
General
The following discussion summarizes certain U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our units (each consisting of one ordinary share and one-half of one warrant) that are purchased in this offering by U.S. Holders (as defined below) and Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below). Because the components of a unit are generally separable at the option of the holder, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying ordinary shares and warrant components of the unit. As a result, the discussion below with respect to holders of ordinary shares and warrants should also apply to holders of warrants (as the deemed owners of the underlying ordinary shares and warrants that constitute the units).
This discussion is limited to certain U.S. federal income tax considerations to beneficial owners of our securities who are initial purchasers of a unit pursuant to this offering and hold the unit and each component of the unit as a capital asset under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).
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This discussion assumes that the ordinary shares and warrants will trade separately and that any distributions made (or deemed made) by us on our ordinary shares and any consideration received (or deemed received) by a holder in consideration for the sale or other disposition of our securities will be in U.S. dollars. This discussion is general in nature and does not purport to be a complete description of the U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be relevant to the acquisition, ownership, and disposition of a unit by a prospective investor in light of its particular circumstances or status, or to prospective investors subject to special treatment under the U.S. federal income tax laws, including:
| • | Our initial shareholders or holders of our private warrants; |
| • | banks, financial institutions, or financial services entities; |
| • | broker-dealers; |
| • | taxpayers that are subject to the mark-to-market accounting rules; |
| • | tax-exempt entities; |
| • | partnerships, S-corporations or other pass-through entities, and any beneficial owners thereof; |
| • | Governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof; |
| • | Insurance companies; |
| • | Regulated investment companies; |
| • | Real estate investment trusts; |
| • | Expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States; |
| • | Persons that actually or constructively own five percent or more (by vote or value) of our shares; |
| • | Persons that acquired our securities pursuant to an exercise of employee share options, in connection with employee share incentive plans or otherwise as compensation or in connection with services; |
| • | persons that hold our securities as part of a straddle, constructive sale, hedging, conversion or other integrated or similar transaction; or |
| • | U.S. Holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar. |
The discussion below is based upon the provisions of the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all as of the date hereof. Those authorities may be repealed, revoked, modified or subject to differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis, so as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those discussed below. Furthermore, this discussion does not address any aspect of U.S. federal non-income tax laws, such as gift, estate or Medicare contribution tax laws, or state, local or non-U.S. tax laws or considerations under any applicable tax treaty.
We have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) as to any U.S. federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may disagree with the discussion herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings, or court decisions will not adversely affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion. You are urged to consult your tax advisor with respect to the application of U.S. federal tax laws to your particular situation, as well as any tax consequences arising under the laws of any state, local or foreign jurisdiction.
As used herein, the term “U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of units, ordinary shares or warrants that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes: (i) an individual citizen or resident of the United States; (ii) a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that is created or organized (or treated as created or organized) in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia; (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or (iv) a trust if (A) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (B) it has in effect a valid election to be treated as a U.S. person.
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If a beneficial owner of our securities is not described as a U.S. Holder and is not an entity treated as a partnership or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, such owner will be considered a “Non-U.S. Holder.” The U.S. federal income tax consequences applicable specifically to Non-U.S. Holders are described below under the heading “Non-U.S. Holders.”
This discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships or other pass-through entities or persons who hold our securities through such entities. If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is the beneficial owner of our securities, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partner and the partnership. Partnerships holding our securities and partners in such partnerships should consult their own tax advisors.
THIS DISCUSSION IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES AND IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR CAREFUL TAX PLANNING. EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR IN OUR SECURITIES SHOULD CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR WITH RESPECT TO THE PARTICULAR TAX CONSEQUENCES TO SUCH INVESTOR OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES, INCLUDING THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF U.S. FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND NON-U.S. TAX LAWS, AS WELL AS ANY APPLICABLE TAX TREATY.
Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit
No statutory, administrative, or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or instruments similar to a unit for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. The acquisition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as the acquisition of one ordinary share and one-half of one warrant. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner, and by purchasing a unit in this offering, a holder agrees to adopt such treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit among the one ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. Under U.S. federal income tax law, each investor must make his or her own determination of such value based on all the relevant facts and circumstances. Therefore, we strongly urge each investor to consult his or her tax adviser regarding the determination of value for these purposes. The purchase price allocated to each ordinary share and one-half of one warrant should be the shareholder’s tax basis in such share or warrant, as the case may be. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a disposition of one ordinary share and one-half of one warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated among the ordinary shares and the warrants based on their respective relative fair market values (as determined by each such unit holder on all the relevant facts and circumstances) at the time of disposition. The separation of ordinary shares and warrants comprising units should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
The foregoing treatment of the ordinary shares and the warrants, and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each prospective investor is urged to consult its own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holders
Taxation of Distributions
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will be required to include in gross income as dividends the amount of any distribution paid on our ordinary shares to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Such dividends paid by us will be taxable to a corporate U.S. Holder at regular rates and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends
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received from other domestic corporations. Distributions in excess of such earnings and profits generally will be applied against and reduce the U.S. Holder’s basis in its ordinary shares (but not below zero) and, to the extent in excess of such basis, will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such ordinary shares (see “— Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below). In the event that we do not maintain calculations of our earnings and profits under U.S. federal income tax principles, a U.S. Holder should expect that all distributions will be reported as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, dividends generally will be taxed at the applicable long-term capital gains rate (see “— Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below) only if our ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States (such as NASDAQ), the Company is not treated as a PFIC during the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or in the preceding taxable year, and certain other requirements are met(including with respect to the U.S. Holder’s holding period). It is unclear, however, whether certain redemption rights described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of such preferential rate for any dividends paid with respect to our ordinary shares.
Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss on the sale or other taxable disposition of our ordinary shares or warrants (including on our dissolution and liquidation if we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period).
Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for such ordinary shares or warrants exceeds one year. It is unclear, however, whether certain redemption rights described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose.
The amount of gain or loss recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition generally will be equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the ordinary shares or warrants are held as part of units at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the ordinary shares or warrants based upon the then relative fair market values of the ordinary shares and the warrants included in the units) and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its ordinary shares or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its ordinary shares or warrants generally will equal the U.S. Holder’s acquisition cost (that is, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to one ordinary share and one-half of one warrant, as described above under “— Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) reduced by any prior distributions treated as a return of capital. Long-term capital gain realized by a non-corporate U.S. Holder is currently eligible to be taxed at preferential rates. The deduction of capital losses is subject to certain limitations.
Redemption of Ordinary Shares
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, in the event that a U.S. Holder’s ordinary shares are redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under “Description of Securities — Ordinary Shares” or if we purchase a U.S. Holder’s ordinary shares in an open market transaction (referred to herein as a redemption), the treatment of the redemption for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether it qualifies as sale of the ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as described under “— Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution with the tax consequences described above under “— Taxation of Distributions.” Whether a redemption qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our shares treated as held by the U.S. Holder (including any shares constructively owned by the U.S. Holder as described in the following paragraph) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after such redemption. The redemption of ordinary shares generally will be treated as a sale of the ordinary shares (rather than as a distribution) if such redemption (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. Holder, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. Holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. Holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
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In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. Holder takes into account not only our ordinary shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder, but also our shares that are constructively owned by it. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition to shares owned directly, shares owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. Holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. Holder, as well as any shares the U.S. Holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include ordinary shares which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of warrants. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of ordinary shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80 percent of the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately before the redemption. Prior to our business combination, the ordinary shares may not be treated as voting shares for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially disproportionate test may not be applicable. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (i) all of our shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed or (ii) all of our shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed and the U.S. Holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of shares owned by certain family members and the U.S. Holder does not constructively own any other shares of ours. The redemption of the ordinary shares will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend with respect to a U.S. Holder if it results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority shareholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” A U.S. Holder should consult with its own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption.
If none of the foregoing tests are satisfied, then the redemption may be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “— Taxation of Distributions” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. Holder in the redeemed ordinary shares will be added to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its remaining shares, or, if it has none, to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its warrants or possibly in other shares constructively owned by it. A U.S. Holder should consult with its own tax advisors as to the allocation of remaining tax basis.
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Exercise or Expiration of Warrants
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will not recognize income, gain or loss on the exercise of a warrant for cash. A U.S. Holder’s tax basis in ordinary shares received upon the exercise of a warrant will equal the sum of (i) the initial tax basis of the warrant exercised (as determined pursuant to the rules discussed above under “Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and (ii) the exercise price of the warrant. The U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary share received upon exercise of a warrant will begin on the day after such exercise (or possibly on the date of exercise) and will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrant.
The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current law. Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a cashless exercise may not be taxable, either because the exercise is not a realization event or because the exercise is treated as a recapitalization for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In either situation, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the ordinary shares received generally should equal the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants exercised therefor. If the cashless exercise was not a realization event, it is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares received would be treated as commencing on the date of exercise of the warrants or the day following the date of exercise of the warrants; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrants. If the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the ordinary shares received would include the holding period of the warrants.
It is also possible that a cashless exercise could be treated in part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a U.S. Holder could be deemed to have surrendered a number of warrants equal to the number of ordinary shares having a value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. In such case, subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, the U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss with respect to the warrants deemed surrendered in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the ordinary shares that would have been received in a regular exercise of the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants deemed surrendered. In this case, a U.S. Holder’s aggregate tax basis in the ordinary shares received would equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrants deemed exercised (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrants, as described above under “— Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the aggregate exercise price of such warrants. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares would commence on the date of exercise of the warrants or the day following the date of exercise of the warrants; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrants.
Due to the absence of authority on the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, there can be no assurance regarding which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences and holding periods described above would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.
If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to significant limitations.
Constructive Distributions on Our Warrants
Under Section 305 of the Code, an adjustment to the number of ordinary shares that will be issued on the exercise of our warrants, or an adjustment to the exercise price of such warrants, may be treated as a constructive distribution to a U.S. Holder of the warrants if, and to the extent that, such adjustment has the effect of increasing such U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in our “earnings and profits” or assets, depending on the circumstances of such adjustment (for example, if such adjustment is to compensate for a distribution of cash or other property to holders of our common shares). Adjustments to the exercise price of a warrant made pursuant to a bona fide reasonable adjustment formula that has the effect of preventing dilution of the interest of the holder of the warrant generally should not result in a constructive distribution. Any constructive distributions generally would be subject to the tax treatment described above under “Taxation of Distributions.”
Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
A foreign (i.e., non-U.S.) corporation will be classified as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes if either (i) at least 75% of its gross income in a taxable year, including its pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, is passive income or (ii) at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year (ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year), including its pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, are held for the production of, or produce, passive income. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of passive assets.
Because we are a blank check company, with no current active business, we believe that it is likely that we will meet the PFIC asset or income test for our current taxable year. However, pursuant to a start-up exception, a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year the corporation has gross income (the “start-up year”), if (i) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC; (ii) the corporation satisfies the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the first two taxable years following the start-up year; and (iii) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. The applicability of the start-up exception to us is uncertain and will not be known until after the close of our current taxable year (or possibly not until after the close of the first two taxable years following our start-up year, as described under the start-up exception). Depending upon the structure and domicile of the target company, it is possible that our taxable year may close at approximately the same time as the closing date, which would result in a short taxable year. After the acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination, we may still meet one of the PFIC tests depending on the timing of the acquisition and the amount of our passive income and assets as well as the passive income and assets of the acquired business. If the company that we acquire in a business combination is a PFIC, then we will likely not qualify for the start-up exception and will be a PFIC for our current taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Accordingly, there can be no assurance with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any future taxable year. In addition, our U.S. counsel expresses no opinion with respect to our PFIC status for our current or future taxable years.
Although our PFIC status is determined annually, an initial determination that our company is a PFIC generally will apply for subsequent years to a U.S. Holder who held ordinary shares or warrants while we were a PFIC, whether or not we meet the test for PFIC status in those subsequent years. If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder of our ordinary shares or warrants and, in the case of our ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder did not make either a qualified electing fund (“QEF”) election or a mark-to-market election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) ordinary shares, as described below, such U.S. Holder generally will be subject to special rules with respect to (i) any gain recognized by the U.S. Holder on the sale or other disposition of its ordinary shares or warrants (which may include gain realized by reason of transfers of ordinary shares or warrants that would otherwise qualify as nonrecognition transactions for U.S. federal income tax purposes) and (ii) any “excess distribution” made to the U.S. Holder (generally, any distributions to such U.S. Holder during a taxable year of the U.S. Holder that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. Holder in respect of the ordinary shares during the three preceding taxable years of such U.S. Holder or, if shorter, such U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares).
Under these rules:
| • | the U.S. Holder’s gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares or warrants; |
| • | the amount allocated to the U.S. Holder’s taxable year in which the U.S. Holder recognized the gain or received the excess distribution, or to the period in the U.S. Holder’s holding period before the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, will be taxed as ordinary income; |
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| • | the amount allocated to other taxable years (or portions thereof) of the U.S. Holder and included in its holding period will be taxed at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and applicable to the U.S. Holder; and |
| • | an additional tax equal to the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed on the U.S. Holder with respect to the tax attributable to each such other taxable year of the U.S. Holder. |
In general, if we are determined to be a PFIC, a U.S. Holder may avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above in respect of our ordinary shares (but likely not our warrants) by making a timely and valid QEF election (if eligible to do so) to include in income its pro rata share of our net capital gains (as long-term capital gain) and other earnings and profits (as ordinary income), on a current basis, in each case whether or not distributed, in the taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which or with which our taxable year ends. A U.S. Holder generally may make a separate election to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject to an interest charge.
If a U.S. Holder makes a QEF election with respect to its ordinary shares in a year after our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) ordinary shares, then notwithstanding such QEF election, the excess distribution rules discussed above, adjusted to take into account the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, will continue to apply with respect to such U.S. Holder’s ordinary shares, unless the U.S. Holder makes a purging election under the PFIC rules. Under one type of purging election, the U.S. Holder will be deemed to have sold such shares at their fair market value and any gain recognized on such deemed sale will be treated as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of such purging election, the U.S. Holder will have additional basis (to the extent of any gain recognized on the deemed sale) and, solely for purposes of the PFIC rules, a new holding period in the ordinary shares. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors as to the application of the rules governing purging elections to their particular circumstances.
It is not entirely clear how various aspects of the PFIC rules apply to the warrants. However, a U.S. Holder may not make a QEF election with respect to its warrants. As a result, if a U.S. Holder sells or otherwise disposes of such warrants (other than upon exercise of such warrants) and we were a PFIC at any time during the U.S. Holder’s holding period of such warrants, any gain recognized generally will be treated as an excess distribution, taxed as described above. If a U.S. Holder that exercises such warrants properly makes and maintains a QEF election with respect to the newly acquired ordinary shares (or has previously made a QEF election with respect to our ordinary shares), the QEF election will apply to the newly acquired ordinary shares. Notwithstanding such QEF election, the rules relating to “excess distributions” discussed above, adjusted to take into account the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, will continue to apply with respect to such newly acquired ordinary shares (which, while not entirely clear, generally will be deemed to have a holding period for purposes of the PFIC rules that includes the period the U.S. Holder held the warrants), unless the U.S. Holder makes a purging election under the PFIC rules. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors as to the application of the rules governing purging elections to their particular circumstances.
The QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, can be revoked only with the consent of the IRS. A U.S. Holder generally makes a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621 (Information Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund), including the information provided in a PFIC annual information statement, to a timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. Retroactive QEF elections generally may be made only by filing a protective statement with such return and if certain other conditions are met or with the consent of the IRS. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election under their particular circumstances.
In order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, a U.S. Holder must receive a PFIC annual information statement from us. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the IRS may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a QEF election, but there is no assurance that we will timely provide such required information. There is also no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the required information to be provided.
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If a U.S. Holder has made a QEF election with respect to our ordinary shares, and the excess distribution rules discussed above do not apply to such shares (because of a timely QEF election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) such shares or a purge of the PFIC taint pursuant to a purging election, as described above), any gain recognized on the sale of our ordinary shares generally will be taxable as capital gain and no additional interest charge will be imposed under the PFIC rules. As discussed above, if we are a PFIC for any taxable year, a U.S. Holder of our ordinary shares that has made a QEF election will be currently taxed on its pro rata share of our earnings and profits, whether or not distributed for such year. A subsequent distribution of such earnings and profits that were previously included in income generally should not be taxable when distributed to such U.S. Holder. The tax basis of a U.S. Holder’s shares in a QEF will be increased by amounts that are included in income, and decreased by amounts distributed but not taxed as dividends, under the above rules. In addition, if we are not a PFIC for any taxable year, such U.S. Holder will not be subject to the QEF inclusion regime with respect to our ordinary shares for such taxable year.
Alternatively, if we are a PFIC and our ordinary shares constitutes “marketable stock,” a U.S. Holder may avoid the adverse PFIC tax consequences discussed above if such U.S. Holder, at the close of the first taxable year in which it holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares, makes a mark-to-market election with respect to such shares for such taxable year. Such U.S. Holder generally will include for each of its taxable years as ordinary income the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of such year over its adjusted basis in its ordinary shares. The U.S. Holder also generally will recognize an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of its adjusted basis in its ordinary shares over the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election). The U.S. Holder’s basis in its ordinary shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts, and any further gain recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition of its ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary income.
The mark-to-market election is available only for “marketable stock,” generally, stock that is regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including NASDAQ (on which we have been approved to list the ordinary shares), or on a foreign exchange or market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. If made, a mark-to-market election would be effective for the taxable year for which the election was made and for all subsequent taxable years unless the ordinary shares ceased to qualify as “marketable stock” for purposes of the PFIC rules or the IRS consented to the revocation of the election. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election with respect to our ordinary shares under their particular circumstances.
If we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a foreign subsidiary that is classified as a PFIC, U.S. Holders generally would be deemed to own a portion of the shares of such lower-tier PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the lower-tier PFIC or the U.S. Holders otherwise were deemed to have disposed of an interest in the lower-tier PFIC. Upon written request, we will endeavor to cause any lower-tier PFIC to provide to a U.S. Holder the information that may be required to make or maintain a QEF election with respect to the lower-tier PFIC. There can be no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such lower-tier PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in any such lower-tier PFIC and thus there can be no assurance we will be able to cause the lower-tier PFIC to provide such required information. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by lower-tier PFICs.
A U.S. Holder that owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year of the U.S. Holder, may have to file an IRS Form 8621 (whether or not a QEF or mark-to-market election is made) and such other information as may be required by the U.S. Treasury Department. Failure to do so, if required, will extend the statute of limitations until such required information is furnished to the IRS.
The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF, purging and mark-to-market elections are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, U.S. Holders of our ordinary shares and warrants should consult their own tax advisors concerning the application of the PFIC rules to our securities under their particular circumstances.
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Tax Reporting
Information reporting requirements generally will apply to dividends paid to a U.S. Holder and to the proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our securities unless the U.S. Holder is an exempt recipient and certifies to such exempt status. Backup withholding may apply to such payments if the U.S. Holder fails to provide a taxpayer identification number or a certification of exempt status or has been notified by the IRS that it is subject to backup withholding (and such notification has not been withdrawn). Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Rather, the U.S. federal income tax liability (if any) of persons subject to backup withholding will be reduced by the amount of tax withheld. If backup withholding results in an overpayment of taxes, a refund generally may be obtained, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
Certain U.S. Holders may be required to file an IRS Form 926 (Return by a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation) to report a transfer of property (including cash) to us. Substantial penalties may be imposed on a U.S. Holder that fails to comply with this reporting requirement and the period of limitations for assessment and collection of U.S. federal income taxes will be extended in the event of a failure to comply. Furthermore, certain U.S. Holders who are individuals and certain entities will be required to report information with respect to such U.S. Holder’s investment in “specified foreign financial assets” on IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), subject to certain exceptions. Specified foreign financial assets generally include any financial account maintained with a non-U.S. financial institution and should also include the ordinary shares and warrants if they are not held in an account maintained with a U.S. financial institution. Persons who are required to report specified foreign financial assets and fail to do so may be subject to substantial penalties and the period of limitations for assessment and collection of U.S. federal income taxes will be extended in the event of a failure to comply. Potential investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the foreign financial asset and other reporting obligations and their application to an investment in our ordinary shares and warrants.
Non-U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a “Non-U.S. Holder.” As used herein, the term “Non-U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of our units, ordinary shares or warrants who or that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
| • | a non-resident alien individual (other than certain former citizens and residents of the United States subject to U.S. tax as expatriates); |
| • | a foreign corporation or |
| • | an estate or trust that is not a U.S. Holder; |
but generally does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition. If you are such an individual, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership or sale or other disposition of our securities.
Dividends (including constructive dividends) paid or deemed paid to a Non-U.S. Holder in respect of our ordinary shares generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax, unless the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States). In addition, a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain attributable to a sale or other disposition of our ordinary shares or warrants unless such gain is effectively connected with its conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States).
Dividends (including constructive dividends) and gains that are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base in the United States) generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the same regular U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to a comparable U.S. Holder and, in the case of a Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate.
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In general, a Non-U.S. Holder will not be required to recognize income, gain or loss upon the exercise of a warrant by payment of the exercise price. The expiration of a warrant will be treated as if the Non-U.S. Holder sold or exchanged the warrant and recognized a capital loss equal to the Non-U.S. Holder’s basis in the warrant. A Non-U.S. Holder will not be able to utilize a loss recognized upon expiration of a warrant against the Non-U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, however, unless the loss (i) is effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if an income tax treaty applies, is attributable to a “permanent establishment” or “fixed base” in the United States) or (ii) is treated as a U.S. source loss and the Non-U.S. Holder is present in the United States 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition and certain other conditions are met.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Dividend payments with respect to our ordinary shares and proceeds from the sale, exchange or redemption of our ordinary shares may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and possible U.S. backup withholding. Backup withholding will not apply, however, to a U.S. Holder who furnishes a correct taxpayer identification number and makes other required certifications, or who is otherwise exempt from backup withholding and establishes such exempt status. A Non-U.S. Holder generally will eliminate the requirement for information reporting and backup withholding by providing certification of its foreign status, under penalties of perjury, on a duly executed applicable IRS Form W-8 or by otherwise establishing an exemption.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against a holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, and a holder generally may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules, by timely filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS and furnishing any required information.
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UNDERWRITING
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. is acting as sole book-running manager of the offering. Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an underwriting agreement, we have agreed to sell to the underwriter 10,000,000 units.
The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriter is obligated to purchase all the units in the offering if any are purchased, other than those units covered by the over-allotment option described below. The underwriting agreement provides that following the completion of this offering, the obligations of the underwriter with respect to this offering will be deemed satisfied and the underwriter is not bound by any commitment or obligation to offer or sell to the public any of our securities or of any target business in a business combination or otherwise solicit holders of our securities or any target business in a business combination to approve the business combination.
We have granted to the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase on a pro rata basis up to 1,500,000 additional units at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The option may be exercised only to cover any over-allotments of units.
The underwriter proposes to offer the units initially at the public offering price on the cover page of this prospectus and to selling group members at that price less a selling concession of $ per unit. The underwriter and the selling group members may allow a discount of $ per unit on sales to other broker/dealers. After the initial public offering, the underwriter may change the public offering price and concession and discount to broker/dealers.
The following table shows the underwriting discount and commissions to be paid by us to the underwriter. This information assumes either no exercise or full exercise by the underwriter of its over-allotment option.
| Payable by Three Lions Acquisition Corp. |
||||||||
| No Exercise (1) | Full Exercise (1) | |||||||
| Per Unit |
$ | 0.20 | $ | 0.20 | ||||
| Total |
$ | 2,000,000 | $ | 2,300,000 | ||||
| (1) | Includes $0.20 per unit, or $2,000,000 in the aggregate (or up to $2,300,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable to EBC upon the closing of this offering. |
We estimate that the total expenses of the offering payable by us, not including the underwriting discounts and commissions, will be approximately $600,000. We have agreed to pay for the FINRA-related fees and expenses of the underwriter’s legal counsel, not to exceed $15,000, and the expenses of investigations and background checks, not to exceed $3,500 per individual or $25,000 in the aggregate, all of which are included in the total estimated expenses of $600,000.
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No discounts or commissions will be paid on the sale of the private units.
The underwriter has informed us that it does not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.
We have applied to have our units listed on the NASDAQ, under the symbol “TLACU” and, once the ordinary shares and warrants begin separate trading, they will be listed on the NASDAQ under the symbols “TLAC” and “TLACW”, respectively.
There is currently no public market for our securities. The initial public offering price for the units was determined by negotiations between us and the underwriter.
The determination of our per unit offering price was more arbitrary than would typically be the case if we were an operating company. Among the factors considered in determining initial public offering price were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management and currently prevailing general conditions in equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company. We cannot assure you, however, that the price at which the units, ordinary shares or warrants will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, ordinary shares or warrants will develop and continue after this offering.
On March 23, 2026, we issued an aggregate of 200,000 ordinary shares to EBC for an aggregate purchase price of $1,739.13. On June 29, 2026, the Company effected a 1 for 1.33333 share split of the EBC founder shares, resulting in EBC holding 266,667 EBC founder shares. On the same day, EBC agreed to forfeit and cancel 66,667 EBC founder shares. As a result, EBC holds 200,000 founder shares. The EBC founder shares have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a lock-up for a period of 180 days from the commencement of sales of this offering pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1). Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1), these securities will not be sold during the offering, or sold, transferred, assigned, pledged, or hypothecated, or be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days from the commencement of sales of the public offering, except to any underwriter and selected dealer participating in the offering and their officers or partners, registered persons or affiliates provided that all securities so transferred remain subject to the lockup restriction above for the remainder of the time period.
EBC has agreed (i) to waive its redemption rights (or right to participate in any tender offer) with respect to its EBC founder shares and private shares in connection with the completion of our business combination and (ii) to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such shares if we fail to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of this offering.
We have granted the holders of the EBC founder shares the registration rights as described under the section “Description of Securities — Registration Rights.” Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8), EBC may only make a demand on one occasion and only during the 5-year period beginning on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and EBC may participate in a “piggy-back” registration only during the seven-year period beginning on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
EBC has committed that it and/or its designees will purchase from us 100,000 private units for a total purchase price of $1,000,000. This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. EBC has also agreed that if the over-allotment option is exercised by the underwriter in full or in part, it and/or its designees will purchase from us an additional number of private units (up to 9,375 private units at $10.00 per private unit) necessary to maintain in the trust account $10.05 per unit sold to the public in this offering. Private units are identical to units sold in this offering, subject to limited exceptions. The private units and the underlying securities are deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a 180-day lock-up pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1). Additionally, the private units and underlying securities purchased by EBC may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated or be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a 180-day period following the effective date of this prospectus except to any selected dealer participating in the offering and the bona fide officers or partners of the underwriter and any such participating selected dealer. EBC has agreed that the private units and underlying securities it purchases will not be sold or transferred by it (except to certain permitted transferees) until we have completed a business combination. We have granted the holders of private units (and underlying securities), including EBC, the registration rights as described under the section “Description of Securities — Registration Rights.” In compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8), the registration rights granted to EBC are limited to demand and “piggy back” rights for periods of five and seven years, respectively, from the effective date of this prospectus with respect to the registration under the Securities Act of the private units (and underlying securities) and the demand rights may only be exercised on one occasion.
Pursuant to a Business Combination Marketing Agreement entered into between the Company and EBC, we have engaged EBC as an advisor in connection with our initial business combination to assist us in holding meetings with our shareholders to discuss the potential business combination and the target business’ attributes, introduce us to potential investors that are interested in purchasing our securities in connection with our initial business combination and assist us with our press releases and public filings in connection with the business combination. We will pay EBC a cash fee for such services upon the consummation of our initial business combination of up to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering as further described in the Business Combination Marketing Agreement, a copy of which has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. In addition, we will pay EBC a cash fee in an amount equal to 1.0% of the total consideration payable in the initial business combination if it introduces us to the target business with whom we complete our initial business combination; provided that the foregoing fee will not be paid prior to the date that is 60 days from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriter’s compensation in connection with this offering pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110.
Regulatory Restrictions on Purchase of Securities
In connection with the offering, the underwriter may purchase and sell units in the open market. The underwriter has advised us that, in accordance with Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, it may engage in short sale transactions, purchases to cover short positions, which may include
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purchases pursuant to the over-allotment option, stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions or the imposition of penalty bids in connection with this offering. These activities may have the effect of stabilizing or maintaining the market price of our units at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market.
| • | Short sales involve secondary market sales by the underwriter of a greater number of units than it is required to purchase in the offering. |
| • | “Covered” short sales are sales of units in an amount up to the number of units represented by the underwriter’s over-allotment option. |
| • | “Naked” short sales are sales of units in an amount in excess of the number of units represented by the underwriter’s over-allotment option. |
| • | Covering transactions involve purchases of units either pursuant to the over-allotment option or in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions. |
| • | To close a naked short position, the underwriter must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriter is concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. |
| • | To close a covered short position, the underwriter must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed or must exercise the over-allotment option. In determining the source of units to close the covered short position, the underwriter will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the over-allotment option. |
| • | Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase units so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum. |
Purchases to cover short positions and stabilizing purchases, as well as other purchases by the underwriter for its own account, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units.
They may also cause the price of the units to be higher than the price that would otherwise exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The underwriter may conduct these transactions in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. Neither we, nor the underwriter make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our ordinary shares. The underwriter is not obligated to engage in these activities and, if commenced, any of the activities may be discontinued at any time.
Other Terms
We have granted EBC a right of first refusal under certain circumstances for a period commencing from the consummation of this offering until the earlier of the consummation of our business combination and the liquidation of the trust account in the event that we fail to consummate our business combination within the prescribed time period (but in no event longer than three years from consummation of this offering) to act as book running manager, placement agent and/or arranger for all equity-linked financings relating to or in connection with a business combination.
Subject to certain conditions, we have granted EBC, for a period commencing from the consummation of this offering until 12 months after the date of the consummation of our business combination (or the liquidation of the trust account in the event we fail to consummate our business combination within the prescribed time), a right of first refusal to act as lead underwriter for any U.S. registered public offering of securities undertaken by our Sponsor or Berke Bakay, Brett Johnson and/or Harry Brandler for the purpose of raising capital and placing 90% or more of the proceeds in a trust account (or other similar account) to be used to acquire one or more operating businesses that have not been identified at the time of the public offering.
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Except as set forth above, we are not under any contractual obligation to engage the underwriter to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so. However, the underwriter may, among other things, introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital, as needs may arise in the future. If the underwriter provides services to us after this offering, we may pay the underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with the underwriter and no fees for such services will be paid to the underwriter prior to the date which is 60 days after the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriter’s compensation in connection with this offering.
Indemnification
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriter against some liabilities, including civil liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriter may be required to make in this respect.
Electronic Distribution
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available by e-mail or on the web sites or through online services maintained by the underwriter or its affiliates. In those cases, prospective investors may view offering terms online and may be allowed to place orders online. The underwriter may agree with us to allocate a specific number of common shares for sale to online brokerage account holders. Any such allocation for online distributions will be made by the underwriter on the same basis as other allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on the underwriter’s web sites and any information contained in any other web site maintained by the underwriter is not part of this prospectus, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or the underwriter and should not be relied upon by investors.
Other Activities and Relationships
The underwriter and its affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. Certain of the underwriter and its affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for us or our affiliates, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In addition, in the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriter and its affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers and may at any time hold long and short positions in such securities and instruments. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriter and its affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
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Selling Restrictions
Canada
Resale Restrictions
We intend to distribute our securities in the Province of Ontario, Canada (the “Canadian Offering Jurisdiction”) by way of a private placement and exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in such Canadian Offering Jurisdiction. Any resale of our securities in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws that will vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Canadian resale restrictions in some circumstances may apply to resales of interests made outside of Canada. Canadian purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of our securities. We may never be a “reporting issuer”, as such term is defined under applicable Canadian securities legislation, in any province or territory of Canada in which our securities will be offered and there currently is no public market for any of the securities in Canada, and one may never develop. Canadian investors are advised that we have no intention to file a prospectus or similar document with any securities regulatory authority in Canada qualifying the resale of the securities to the public in any province or territory in Canada.
Representations of Purchasers
A Canadian purchaser will be required to represent to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:
| • | the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase our securities without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws; |
| • | where required by law, that the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent; |
| • | the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions; and |
| • | the purchaser acknowledges and consents to the provision of specified information concerning its purchase of our securities to the regulatory authority that by law is entitled to collect the information. |
Rights of Action — Ontario Purchasers Only
Under Ontario securities legislation, certain purchasers who purchase a security offered by this prospectus during the period of distribution will have a statutory right of action for damages, or while still the owner of our securities, for rescission against us in the event that this prospectus contains a misrepresentation without regard to whether the purchaser relied on the misrepresentation. The right of action for damages is exercisable not later than the earlier of 180 days from the date the purchaser first had knowledge of the facts giving rise to the cause of action and three years from the date on which payment is made for our securities. The right of action for rescission is exercisable not later than 180 days from the date on which payment is made for our securities. If a purchaser elects to exercise the right of action for rescission, the purchaser will have no right of action for damages against us. In no case will the amount recoverable in any action exceed the price at which our securities were offered to the purchaser and if the purchaser is shown to have purchased the securities with knowledge of the misrepresentation, we will have no liability. In the case of an action for damages, we will not be liable for all or any portion of the damages that are proven to not represent the depreciation in value of our securities as a result of the misrepresentation relied upon. These rights are in addition to, and without derogation from, any other rights or remedies available at law to an Ontario purchaser. The foregoing is a summary of the rights available to an Ontario purchaser. Ontario purchasers should refer to the complete text of the relevant statutory provisions.
Enforcement of Legal Rights
A majority of our directors and officers as well as the experts named herein are located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All of our assets and the assets of those persons are located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.
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Collection of Personal Information
If a Canadian purchaser is resident in or otherwise subject to the securities laws of the Province of Ontario, the Purchaser authorizes the indirect collection of personal information pertaining to the Canadian purchaser by the Ontario Securities Commission (the “OSC”) and each Canadian purchaser will be required to acknowledge and agree that the Canadian purchaser has been notified by us (i) of the delivery to the OSC of personal information pertaining to the Canadian purchaser, including, without limitation, the full name, residential address and telephone number of the Canadian purchaser, the number and type of securities purchased and the total purchase price paid in respect of the securities, (ii) that this information is being collected indirectly by the OSC under the authority granted to it in securities legislation, (iii) that this information is being collected for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of the securities legislation of Ontario, and (iv) that the title, business address and business telephone number of the public official in Ontario who can answer questions about the OSC’s indirect collection of the information is the Administrative Assistant to the Director of Corporate Finance, the Ontario Securities Commission, Suite 1903, Box 5520, Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 3S8, Telephone: (416) 593-8086, Facsimile: (416) 593-8252.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Australia
No placement document, prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document has been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”), in relation to the offering. This prospectus does not constitute a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act 2001 (the “Corporations Act”) and does not purport to include the information required for a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act.
Any offer in Australia of the shares may only be made to persons (the “Exempt Investors”) who are “sophisticated investors” (within the meaning of section 708(8) of the Corporations Act), “professional investors” (within the meaning of section 708(11) of the Corporations Act) or otherwise pursuant to one or more exemptions contained in section 708 of the Corporations Act so that it is lawful to offer the shares without disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act.
The shares applied for by Exempt Investors in Australia must not be offered for sale in Australia in the period of 12 months after the date of allotment under the offering, except in circumstances where disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act would not be required pursuant to an exemption under section 708 of the Corporations Act or otherwise or where the offer is pursuant to a disclosure document which complies with Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act. Any person acquiring shares must observe such Australian on-sale restrictions.
This prospectus contains general information only and does not take account of the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. It does not contain any securities recommendations or financial product advice. Before making an investment decision, investors need to consider whether the information in this prospectus is appropriate to their needs, objectives and circumstances, and, if necessary, seek expert advice on those matters.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the Dubai International Financial Centre
This prospectus relates to an Exempt Offer in accordance with the Offered Securities Rules of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”). This prospectus is intended for distribution only to persons of a type specified in the Offered Securities Rules of the DFSA. It must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The DFSA has not approved this prospectus nor taken steps to verify the information set forth herein and has no responsibility for the prospectus. The shares to which this prospectus relates may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the shares offered should conduct their own due diligence on the shares. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus you should consult an authorized financial advisor.
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Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area
In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area that has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “relevant member state”), with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that relevant member state (the “relevant implementation date”), an offer of units described in this prospectus may not be made to the public in that relevant member state prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units that has been approved by the competent authority in that relevant member state or, where appropriate, approved in another relevant member state and notified to the competent authority in that relevant member state, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that, with effect from and including the relevant implementation date, an offer of our units may be made to the public in that relevant member state at any time:
| • | to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive; |
| • | to fewer than 100, or, if the relevant member state has implemented the relevant provisions of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the relevant Dealer or Dealers nominated by the issuer for any such offer; or natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined below) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriter for any such offer; or |
| • | in any other circumstances that do not require the publication by us of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive. |
Each purchaser of units described in this prospectus located within a relevant member state will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that it is a “qualified investor” within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive.
For the purpose of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in any relevant member state means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the units, as the expression may be varied in that member state by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that member state, and the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the PD 2010 Amending Directive to the extent implemented by the relevant member state) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each relevant member state, and the expression 2010 PD Amending Directive means Directive 2010/73/EU.
We have not authorized and do not authorize the making of any offer of securities through any financial intermediary on their behalf, other than offers made by the underwriter with a view to the final placement of the units as contemplated in this prospectus. Accordingly, no purchaser of the units, other than the underwriter, is authorized to make any further offer of the units on behalf of us or the underwriter.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Switzerland
The shares may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (“SIX”) or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This document has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the shares or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.
Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the Company or the shares have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this document will not be filed with, and the offer of shares will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA (FINMA), and the offer of shares has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (“CISA”). The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of shares.
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Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom
This prospectus is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, persons in the United Kingdom that are qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive that are also (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”) or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as a “relevant person”). The units are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to purchase or otherwise acquire such units will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. This prospectus and its contents are confidential and should not be distributed, published or reproduced (in whole or in part) or disclosed by recipients to any other persons in the United Kingdom. Any person in the United Kingdom that is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.
Notice to Prospective Investors in France
Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the units described in this prospectus has been submitted to the clearance procedures of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers or by the competent authority of another member state of the European Economic Area and notified to the Autorité des Marchés Financiers.
The units have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in France. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the units has been or will be:
| • | released, issued, distributed or caused to be released, issued or distributed to the public in France; or |
| • | used in connection with any offer for subscription or sale of the units to the public in France. Such offers, sales and distributions will be made in France only: |
| • | to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) and/or to a restricted circle of investors (cercle restreint d’investisseurs), in each case investing for their own account, all as defined in, and in accordance with, Article L.411-2, D.411-1, D.411-2, D.734-1, D.744-1, D.754-1 and D.764-1 of the French Code monètaire et financier; |
| • | to investment services providers authorized to engage in portfolio management on behalf of third parties; or |
| • | in a transaction that, in accordance with article L.411-2-II-1° -or-2° -or 3° of the French Code monétaire et financier and article 211-2 of the General Regulations (Règlement Général) of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, does not constitute a public offer (appel public à l’épargne). |
The units may be resold directly or indirectly, only in compliance with Articles L.411-1, L.411-2, L.412-1 and L.621-8 through L.621-8-3 of the French Code monétaire et financier.
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Notice to Prospective Investors in Hong Kong
The units may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong), (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong) and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the units may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to units which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Japan
The units have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948, as amended) and, accordingly, will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan, or for the benefit of any Japanese Person or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to any Japanese Person, except in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines promulgated by relevant Japanese governmental or regulatory authorities in effect at the relevant time. For the purposes of this paragraph, “Japanese Person” shall mean any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Singapore
This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the units may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the units be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions
Where the units are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is
| • | a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or |
| • | a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary is an accredited investor, |
| • | shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the shares pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except: |
| • | to an institutional investor (for corporations, under Section 274 of the SFA) or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person pursuant to an offer that is made on terms that such shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or such rights and interest in that trust are acquired at a consideration of not less than $10.00 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) for each transaction, whether such amount is to be paid for in cash or by exchange of securities or other assets, and further for corporations, in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA; |
| • | where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer; or |
| • | where the transfer is by operation of law. |
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LEGAL MATTERS
Greenberg Traurig, LLP is acting as counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act, and as such, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to the units and the warrants. Appleby (Cayman) Ltd. will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to the ordinary shares and matters of Cayman Islands law. In connection with this offering, Graubard Miller is acting as counsel to the underwriter.
EXPERTS
The financial statements of Three Lions Acquisition Corp. as of March 31, 2026, and for the period from March 10, 2026 (inception) through March 31, 2026, appearing in this prospectus have been audited by CBIZ CPAs P.C., the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company, as set forth in their report thereon (which contains an explanatory paragraph related to substantial doubt about the ability of Three Lions Acquisition Corp. to continue as a going concern as described in Note 2 to the financial statements) appearing elsewhere in this prospectus and are included in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.
Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
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June 30, 2026 (unaudited) |
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Includes an aggregate of up to |
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On June 29, 2026, the Company effected a 1 for |
For the Period from March 10, 2026 (Inception) through June 30, 2026 (unaudited) |
For the Period from March 10, 2026 (Inception) through March 31, 2026 |
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Excludes an aggregate of up to |
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Includes an aggregate of up to |
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On June 29, 2026, the Company effected a 1 for |
For the Period from March 10, 2026 (Inception) through June 30, 2026 (Unaudited) |
For the Period from March 10, 2026 (Inception) through March 31, 2026 |
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| • | at any time after the warrants become exercisable, |
| • | upon not less than of |
| • | if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $ business days prior to the notice of redemption to warrant holders; and |
| • | if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the ordinary shares underlying such warrants. |
June 30, 2026 (unaudited) |
March 31, 2026 |
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Deferred offering costs |
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For the Period from March 10, 2026 (Inception) through June 30, 2026 (unaudited) |
For the Period from March 10, 2026 (Inception) through March 31, 2026 |
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Formation, general and administrative expenses |
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Table of Contents
$100,000,000
10,000,000 Units
THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP.
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
Book-Running Manager
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
, 2026
Until , 2026 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our ordinary shares, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriter and with respect to its unsold allotments or subscriptions.
Table of Contents
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with the offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discounts and commissions) will be as follows:
| Legal fees and expenses |
$ | 275,000 | ||
| Accounting fees and expenses |
$ | 50,000 | ||
| SEC/FINRA expenses |
$ | 50,197 | ||
| NASDAQ listing and filing fees |
$ | 80,000 | ||
| Printing and engraving expenses |
$ | 40,000 | ||
| Miscellaneous expenses |
$ | 104,803 | ||
|
|
|
|||
| Total offering expenses (excluding underwriting discounts and commissions) |
$ | 600,000 | ||
|
|
|
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful neglect, civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We expect to purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate a business combination.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
We will enter into indemnity agreements with each of our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, a form of which is to be filed as an exhibit to this Registration Statement. These agreements will require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted under Cayman Islands law and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified.
Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration Statement, we have agreed to indemnify the underwriter and the underwriter has agreed to indemnify us against certain civil liabilities that may be incurred in connection with this offering, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act.
Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
On March 23, 2026, we issued an aggregate of 2,875,000 ordinary shares to our Sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, and 200,000 ordinary shares to EBC for an aggregate purchase price of $1,739.13. On June 29, 2026, the Company effected a 1 for 1.33333 share split of the founder shares and EBC founder shares, resulting in our Sponsor holding an aggregate of 3,833,333 founder shares, and EBC holding 266,667 EBC founder shares. On the same day, EBC agreed to forfeit and cancel 66,667 EBC founder shares. On August 20, 2026, our Sponsor agreed transfer an aggregate of 75,000 shares to our director nominees. As a result, prior to the offering, our Sponsor holds 3,758,333 founder shares and EBC holds 200,000 founder shares. Up to 500,000 founder shares held by our Sponsor are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment is not exercised in full. In addition, subject to the third-party investors purchasing the private placement units indicated elsewhere in the prospectus, our Sponsor intends to transfer an aggregate of 800,000 founder shares to such third-party investors at the closing of this offering.
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Such securities were issued pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
In addition, our Sponsor, certain third-party investors and EBC have agreed that they and/or their designees will purchase from us an aggregate of 400,000 private units at a price of $10.00 per unit for a total purchase price of $4,000,000 in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Of those 400,000 private placement units, our Sponsor has agreed to purchase 200,000 private placement units, third-party investors have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 100,000 private placement units, and EBC has agreed to purchase 100,000 private placement units. Our Sponsor and EBC have also agreed that if the over-allotment option is exercised by the underwriter in full or in part, it and/or its designees will purchase from us up to an additional 37,500 private units (up to 28,125 private units to be purchased by our Sponsor and up to 9,375 private units to be purchased by EBC or its designees) at a price of $10.00 per unit in an amount that is necessary to maintain in the trust account $10.05 per unit sold to the public in this offering. The third-party investors will not purchase any additional private placement units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full or in part. These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously this offering. The issuance will be made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
| (a) | Exhibits. The list of exhibits immediately preceding the signature page of this registration statement is incorporated herein by reference. |
| (b) | Financial Statements. See page F-1 for an index to the financial statements and schedules included in the registration statement. |
Item 17. Undertakings.
| (a) | The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser. |
| (b) | Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. |
| (c) | The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that: |
| (1) | For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective. |
| (2) | For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
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| (3) | For the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser, if the registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use. |
| (4) | For the purpose of determining liability of a registrant under the Securities Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of an undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser. |
| i. | Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424; |
| ii. | Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by an undersigned registrant; |
| iii. | The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and |
| iv. | Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser. |
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EXHIBIT INDEX
| * | Previously filed. |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement on Form S-1 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in La Jolla, California, on the 21st day of August, 2026.
| Three Lions Acquisition Corp. | ||
| By: | /s/ Brett Johnson | |
| Name: | Brett Johnson | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Name |
Position |
Date | ||
| /s/ Brett Johnson Brett Johnson |
Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) |
August 21, 2026 | ||
| /s/ Harry Brandler Harry Brandler |
Chief Financial Officer and Director (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
August 21, 2026 | ||
| /s/ Berke Bakay Berke Bakay |
Chairman and Director |
August 21, 2026 | ||
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AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REGISTRANT
Pursuant to the requirement of the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned has signed this registration statement, solely in his capacity as the duly authorized representative of Silicon Valley Acquisition Corp. in La Jolla, California on August 21, 2026.
| By: | /s/ Brett Johnson | |
| Name: | Brett Johnson | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
6
Exhibit 1.1
10,000,000 Units
THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP.
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
New York, New York
________, 2026
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
366 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10017
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), hereby confirms its agreement with EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. (“EarlyBird” or the “Underwriter”) as follows:
1. Purchase and Sale of Securities.
1.1. Units.
1.1.1. Purchase of Units. On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained, but subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell to the Underwriter an aggregate of 10,000,000 units of the Company (the “Firm Units”) at a purchase price (net of discounts and commissions) of $9.80 per Firm Unit. Each Firm Unit consists of one ordinary share, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Ordinary Shares”), and one-half of one redeemable warrant (the “Warrant(s)”), each whole Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Ordinary Share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The Ordinary Shares and Warrants included in the Firm Units will not be separately tradable until 90 days after the date hereof unless the Underwriter informs the Company of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to the Company filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) containing an audited balance sheet (the “Audited Balance Sheet”) reflecting the Company’s receipt of the gross proceeds of the Offering (defined below) and the sale of the Private Units (as defined in Section 1.3.3) and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. The Underwriter agrees to purchase from the Company the number of Firm Units set forth opposite its name on Schedule A. The Firm Units are to be offered initially to the public (the “Offering”) at the offering price of $10.00 per Firm Unit.
1.1.2. Payment and Delivery. Delivery and payment for the Firm Units shall be made at 10:00 A.M., New York time, on the first (1st) Business Day (as defined below) following the commencement of trading of the Firm Units, or at such earlier time as shall be agreed upon by the Underwriter and the Company at the offices of the Underwriter or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Underwriter and the Company. The closing of the Offering is referred to herein as the “Closing” and the hour and date of delivery and payment for the Firm Units is referred to herein as the “Closing Date.” Payment for the Firm Units shall be made on the Closing Date through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) by wire transfer in Federal (same day) funds. Of the proceeds received by the Company from the sale of the Firm Units and the Private Units, an aggregate of $100,500,000 shall be deposited on the Closing Date into the trust account (the “Trust Account”, with such funds deposited into the Trust Account from the proceeds of the Offering and the Private Placement, collectively, the “Trust Funds”) established by the Company for the benefit of the Public Shareholders, as described in the Registration Statement (as defined in Section 2.1.1 below) and pursuant to the terms of an Investment Management Trust Agreement (the “Trust Agreement”) between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee (“CST&T”), substantially in the form annexed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. The remaining proceeds (less actual expense payments or other fees payable pursuant to this Agreement) shall be paid to the order of the Company upon delivery of certificates (in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriter) representing the Firm Units (or through the facilities of DTC for the account of the Underwriter). The Firm Units shall be registered in such name or names and in such authorized denominations as the Underwriter may request in writing at least two (2) Business Days prior to the Closing Date. The Company will permit the Underwriter to examine and package the Firm Units for delivery at least one (1) full Business Day prior to the Closing Date. The Company shall not be obligated to sell or deliver the Firm Units except upon tender of payment by the Underwriter for all the Firm Units. As used herein, the term “Business Day” means any day other than Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in The
City of New York are authorized or required by law to remain closed; provided, however, for clarification, commercial banks shall not be deemed to be authorized or required by law to remain closed due to “stay at home”, “shelter-in-place”, “non-essential employee” or any other similar orders or restrictions or the closure of any physical branch locations at the direction of any governmental authority so long as the electronic funds transfer systems (including for wire transfers) of commercial banks in the City of New York are generally open for use by customers on such day, and the term “Public Shareholders” means the holders of Ordinary Shares sold in the Offering or acquired in the aftermarket, including any of the Insiders (as defined in Section 1.3.1 below) to the extent they acquire such Ordinary Shares in the Offering or in the aftermarket (and solely with respect to such shares).
1.2. Over-Allotment Option
1.2.1. The Underwriter shall have the option (the “Over-Allotment Option”) to purchase all or less than all of an additional 1,500,000 Units (the “Option Units”) solely for the purposes of covering any over-allotments in connection with the distribution and sale of the Firm Units. Such Option Units shall, at the Underwriter’s election, be purchased for the account of the Underwriter. Such Option Units shall be identical in all respects to the Firm Units. The Firm Units and the Option Units are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Public Securities.” No Option Units shall be sold or delivered unless the Firm Units previously have been, or simultaneously are, sold and delivered. The right to purchase the Option Units, or any portion thereof, may be exercised from time to time and to the extent not previously exercised may be surrendered and terminated at any time upon notice by the Underwriter to the Company. The purchase price to be paid for each Option Unit (net of discounts and commissions) will be $9.80 per Option Unit.
1.2.2. Exercise of Option. The Over-Allotment Option granted pursuant to Section 1.2.1 hereof may be exercised by the Underwriter as to all (at any time) or any part (from time to time) of the Option Units within forty-five (45) days after the date hereof. The Underwriter will not be under any obligation to purchase any Option Units prior to the exercise of the Over-Allotment Option. The Over-Allotment Option granted hereby may be exercised by the giving of oral notice to the Company by the Underwriter, which must be confirmed in accordance with Section 9.1 herein setting forth the number of Option Units to be purchased and the date and time for delivery of and payment for the Option Units, if other than the Closing Date (the “Option Closing Date”), which shall not be earlier than the Closing Date or be later than ten (10) full Business Days after the date of the notice or such other time as shall be agreed upon by the Company and the Underwriter, at the offices of the Underwriter or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Company and the Underwriter. Upon exercise of the Over-Allotment Option, the Company will become obligated to convey to the Underwriter, and, subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Underwriter will become obligated to purchase the number of Option Units specified in such notice.
1.2.3. Payment and Delivery. Payment for the Option Units shall be made on the Option Closing Date at the Underwriter’s election by wire transfer in Federal (same day) funds or by certified or bank cashier’s check(s) in New York Clearing House funds, payable as follows: $9.80 per Option Unit shall be deposited in the Trust Account pursuant to the Trust Agreement upon delivery of certificates (in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriter) representing the Option Units (or through the facilities of DTC) for the account of the Underwriter. The certificates representing the Option Units to be delivered will be in such denominations and registered in such names as the Underwriter requests not less than two (2) full Business Days prior to the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, and will be made available to the Underwriter for inspection, checking and packaging at the aforesaid office of the Company’s transfer agent or correspondent not less than one (1) full Business Day prior to such Closing Date.
1.3. Private Placements.
1.3.1. On March 23, 2026, the Company issued to Three Lions Sponsor, LLC (the “Sponsor”) for aggregate consideration of $25,000 an aggregate of 2,875,000 Ordinary Shares in a private placement intended to be exempt from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”). On June 29, 2026, the Company effected a 1 for 1.33333 share split of the Ordinary Shares, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 3,833,333 Ordinary Shares (the “Founder Shares”), including an aggregate of 75,000 Founder Shares that the Sponsor will transfer to the Company’s independent director nominees prior to the Offering and 800,000 Founder Shares that the Sponsor will transfer to certain TPIs (as defined below) prior to the Offering. No underwriting discounts, commissions or placement fees have been or will be payable in connection with the sale of the Founder
Shares. The Founder Shares shall be held in escrow and subject to restrictions on transfer as set forth in the Registration Statement. The Insiders shall have no right to any liquidation distributions with respect to any portion of the Founder Shares in the event the Company fails to consummate any proposed initial merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (“Business Combination”) within the required time period except with respect to any funds held outside of the Trust Account remaining after payment of all fees and expenses. The Insiders shall not have redemption rights with respect to the Founder Shares, nor shall they be entitled to sell such Founder Shares to the Company in any tender offer in connection with a proposed Business Combination. To the extent that the Over-Allotment Option is not exercised by the Underwriter in full or in part, up to 500,000 of the Founder Shares shall be forfeited in an amount necessary to maintain the 25% ownership interest in the Ordinary Shares of the Sponsor and the other holders of the Founder Shares outstanding immediately prior to the Closing of the Offering (collectively, the “Insiders”) after giving effect to the Offering and exercise, if any, of the Underwriter’s Over-Allotment Option (and excluding the EBC Founder Shares (defined below), the Private Shares (defined below), shares underlying Warrants and any shares purchased in the Offering by the Insiders).
1.3.2. On March 23, 2026, the Company issued to the Underwriter, for an aggregate purchase price of $1,739.13, an aggregate of 200,000 Ordinary Shares in a private placement intended to be exempt from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the Act. On June 29, 2026, the Company effected a 1 for 1.33333 share split of the Ordinary Shares issued to the Underwriter, resulting in the Underwriter holding 266,667 Ordinary Shares. On the same day, the Underwriter forfeited and surrendered 66,667 Ordinary Shares. As a result, the Underwriter holds 200,000 Ordinary Shares (the “EBC Founder Shares”). No underwriting discounts, commissions or placement fees have been or will be payable in connection with the sale of the EBC Founder Shares. The holders of the EBC Founder Shares have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any EBC Founder Shares without the Company’s prior consent until the completion of an initial Business Combination, except to certain permitted transferees. The EBC Founder Shares are identical to the Ordinary Shares included in the Firm Units except the holders (i) shall not be entitled to exercise any redemption rights with respect to such EBC Founder Shares and shall not be entitled to sell any such shares to the Company in any tender offer in connection with a proposed Business Combination or amendment to the Charter Documents (as defined below) relating to pre-Business Combination activity and (ii) will have no right to any liquidation distributions with respect to any portion of the EBC Founder Shares in the event the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination within the required time period except with respect to any funds held outside of the Trust Account remaining after payment of all fees and expenses. The holders of the EBC Founder Shares will not sell, transfer, assign, pledge or hypothecate any of the EBC Founder Shares for a period of 180 days pursuant to the Conduct Rule 5110(e)(1) of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) following the commencement of sales of the Offering to anyone other than (i) the Underwriter or selected dealer in connection with the Offering, or (ii) a bona fide officer or partner of the Underwriter or of any such selected dealer. Additionally, pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e), the EBC Founder Shares will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the commencement of sales of the Offering. The certificates for the EBC Founder Shares (or uncertificated book-entry forms if no certificates are prepared) shall contain legends to reflect the above FINRA and contractual transfer restrictions. The holders of the EBC Founder Shares shall have registration rights as provided for in the Registration Rights Agreement (as defined in Section 2.24.5).
1.3.3. Simultaneously with the Closing Date, the Sponsor, certain third-party investors (the “TPIs”) and the Underwriter and/or their respective designees will purchase from the Company pursuant to Purchase Agreements (as defined in Section 2.24.2 below), an aggregate of 400,000 units (the “Private Units” or “Private Securities”), each Private Unit consisting of one Ordinary Share (the “Private Shares”) and one-half of one Warrant (the “Private Warrants”), with the Sponsor purchasing 200,000 Private Units, the TPIs purchasing an aggregate of 100,000 Private Units and the Underwriter and/or its designees purchasing 100,000 Private Units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per Private Unit in a private placement (the “Private Placement”) intended to be exempt from registration under the Act. The terms of the Private Units are as described in the Prospectus (as defined in Section 2.1.1 below). No underwriting discounts, commissions or placement fees have been or will be payable in connection with the Private Placement. The Sponsor and the Underwriter have also agreed that, in the event the Over-Allotment Option is exercised, they and/or their designees will purchase up to 37,500 additional Private Units, with the Sponsor purchasing up to 28,125 additional Private Units and the Underwriter and/or its designees purchasing up to 9,375 additional Private Units, and the Company shall cause to be deposited an amount of additional proceeds from the sale of such additional Private Units into the Trust Account such that the amount of the Trust Funds in the Trust Account shall be $10.05 per Public Share sold in the Offering.
1.4. Working Capital; Trust Account Proceeds.
1.4.1. Working Capital. Upon the Closing of the Offering, it is intended that approximately $900,000 of the proceeds from the sale of the Firm Units and Private Units will be released to the Company and held outside of the Trust Account to fund the working capital requirements of the Company.
1.4.2. Trust Account Proceeds. Prior to the liquidation of the Trust Account in accordance with the Trust Agreement, interest income on the funds held in the Trust Account may be released to the Company from the Trust Account only in accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement to pay any taxes incurred by the Company (excluding excise taxes) and up to $100,000 for liquidation and dissolution expenses, all as more fully described in the Prospectus.
1.5. No Additional Obligations. Following the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date, the obligations of the Underwriter with respect to the Offering will be deemed completed and satisfied and the Underwriter is not bound by any further commitment or obligation under this Agreement to (i) offer or sell any securities of the Company or of any prospective target business in a Business Combination, (ii) solicit holders of the Company’s securities or of any target business to approve such Business Combination, or (iii) otherwise assist the Company or any target business in any manner in connection with such Business Combination except as set forth in the Business Combination Marketing Agreement (as defined in Section 2.26 below).
2. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to the Underwriter as follows:
2.1. Filing of Registration Statement.
2.1.1. Pursuant to the Act. The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement and an amendment or amendments thereto, on Form S-1 (File No. 333-297177), including any related preliminary prospectus (the “Preliminary Prospectus”, including any prospectus that is included in the registration statement immediately prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement), for the registration of the Public Securities under the Act, which registration statement and amendment or amendments have been prepared by the Company in conformity with the requirements of the Act, and the rules and regulations (the “Regulations”) of the Commission under the Act. Except as the context may otherwise require, such registration statement, as amended, on file with the Commission at the time the registration statement was declared effective by the Commission (“Effective Date”) (including the prospectus, financial statements, schedules, exhibits and all other documents filed as a part thereof or incorporated therein and all information deemed to be a part thereof as of such time pursuant to Rule 430A of the Regulations), is hereinafter called the “Registration Statement,” and the form of the final prospectus included in the Registration Statement (or, if applicable, the form of final prospectus containing information permitted to be omitted at the time of effectiveness by Rule 430A of the Regulations, filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 of the Regulations), is hereinafter called the “Prospectus.” For purposes of this Agreement, “Time of Sale,” as used in the Act, means 5:00 p.m. New York City time, on the date of this Agreement. Prior to the Time of Sale, the Company prepared a Preliminary Prospectus, which was included in the Registration Statement filed on ________, 2026, for distribution by the Underwriter (such Preliminary Prospectus used most recently prior to the Time of Sale, the “Statutory Prospectus”). Unless otherwise specified, any reference herein to the term “Registration Statement” shall be deemed to include any Registration Statement filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Act registering additional securities (a “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement”). Other than the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and the Form 8-A referred to below in Section 2.1.2, no other document with respect to the Registration Statement has been filed with the Commission. All of the Public Securities have been or will be registered under the Act pursuant to the Registration Statement. The Registration Statement has been declared effective by the Commission on ________, 2026. If, subsequent to the date of this Agreement, the Company or the Underwriter has determined that at the Time of Sale the Statutory Prospectus included an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted a statement of material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading and have agreed to provide an opportunity to purchasers of the Firm Units to terminate their old purchase contracts and enter into new purchase contracts, then the Statutory Prospectus will be deemed to include any additional information available to purchasers at the time of entry into the first such new purchase contract.
2.1.2. Pursuant to the Exchange Act. The Company has filed with the Commission a Registration Statement on Form 8-A (File No. 001-[•]) providing for the registration under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), of the Units, Ordinary Shares and Warrants. The registration of the Units, Ordinary Shares and Warrants under the Exchange Act has been declared effective by the Commission on the date hereof.
2.2. No Stop Orders, etc. Neither the Commission nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any foreign or state regulatory authority has issued any order or threatened to issue any order preventing or suspending the use of any Statutory Prospectus or Prospectus or has instituted or, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, threatened to institute any proceedings with respect to such an order.
2.3. Disclosures in Registration Statement.
2.3.1. 10b-5 Representation. At the time of effectiveness of the Registration Statement (or at the effective time of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement) and at all times subsequent thereto up to the Closing Date, the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus contained or will contain all material statements that are required to be stated therein in accordance with the Act and the Regulations, and did or will, in all material respects, conform to the requirements of the Act and the Regulations. On the Effective Date and at the Time of Sale, the Registration Statement did not, and on the Closing Date it will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading; on the date of any filing pursuant to Rule 424(b) and on the Closing Date, the Prospectus (together with any supplement thereto) will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and at the Time of Sale, the Statutory Prospectus does not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the representation and warranty made in this Section 2.3.1 does not apply to statements made or statements omitted in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company with respect to the Underwriter by the Underwriter expressly for use in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus or Prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, which information, it is agreed, shall consist solely of the names of the Underwriter, the eighth, tenth and eleventh paragraphs of the section captioned “Underwriting,” and the subsections titled “Regulatory Restrictions on Purchase of Securities” and “Selling Restrictions” included in the section captioned “Underwriting.”
2.3.2. Disclosure of Agreements. The agreements and documents described in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus conform in all material respects to the descriptions thereof contained therein and there are no agreements or other documents required to be described in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus or to be filed with the Commission as exhibits to the Registration Statement, that have not been so described or filed. Each agreement or other instrument (however characterized or described) to which the Company is a party or by which its property or business is or may be bound or affected and (i) that is referred to in the Registration Statement or attached as an exhibit thereto, or (ii) is material to the Company’s business, has been duly and validly executed by the Company, is in full force and effect in all material respects and is enforceable against the Company and, to the Company’s knowledge, the other parties thereto, in all material respects in accordance with its terms, except (x) as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, (y) as enforceability of any indemnification or contribution provision may be limited under the foreign, federal and state securities laws, and (z) that the remedy of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to the equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought, and none of such agreements or instruments has been assigned by the Company, and neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any other party is in breach or default thereunder and, to the Company’s knowledge, no event has occurred that, with the lapse of time or the giving of notice, or both, would constitute a breach or default thereunder. To the Company’s knowledge, performance by the Company of the material provisions of such agreements or instruments will not result in a violation of any existing applicable law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any governmental agency or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its assets or businesses, including, without limitation, those relating to environmental laws and regulations.
2.3.3. Prior Securities Transactions. No securities of the Company have been sold by the Company or by or on behalf of, or for the benefit of, any person or persons controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Company since the date of the Company’s formation, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement.
2.3.4. Regulations. The disclosures in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus concerning the effects of foreign, federal, state and local regulation on the Company’s business as currently contemplated are correct in all material respects and do not omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading.
2.4. Changes After Dates in Registration Statement.
2.4.1. No Material Adverse Change. Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, except as otherwise specifically stated therein: (i) there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or business prospects of the Company; (ii) there have been no material transactions entered into by the Company, other than as contemplated pursuant to this Agreement; (iii) no member of the Company’s board of directors or management has resigned from any position with the Company; and (iv) no event or occurrence has taken place which materially impairs, or would likely materially impair, with the passage of time, the ability of the members of the Company’s board of directors or management to act in their capacities with the Company as described in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus.
2.4.2. Recent Securities Transactions, etc. Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus and except as may otherwise be indicated or contemplated herein or therein, the Company has not: (i) issued any securities or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, for borrowed money; or (ii) declared or paid any dividend or made any other distribution on or in respect to its shares.
2.5. Independent Accountants. CBIZ CPAs P.C. (“CBIZ”), whose report is filed with the Commission as part of the Registration Statement and included in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, are independent registered public accountants as required by the Act, the Regulations and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”), including the rules and regulations promulgated by such entity. To the Company’s knowledge, CBIZ is duly registered and in good standing with the PCAOB. CBIZ has not, during the periods covered by the financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, provided to the Company any non- audit services, as such term is used in Section 10A(g) of the Exchange Act.
2.6. Financial Statements; Statistical Data.
2.6.1. Financial Statements. The financial statements, including the notes thereto and supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, fairly present in all material respects the financial position and the results of operations of the Company at the dates and for the periods to which they apply; and such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), consistently applied throughout the periods involved; and the supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement present fairly in all material respects the information required to be stated therein in conformity with the Regulations. No other financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus. The Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus disclose all material off-balance sheet transactions, arrangements, obligations (including contingent obligations), and other relationships of the Company with unconsolidated entities or other persons that may have a material current or future effect on the Company’s financial condition, changes in financial condition, results of operations, prospects, liquidity, capital expenditures, capital resources, or significant components of revenues or expenses. There are no pro forma or as adjusted financial statements which are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus in accordance with Regulation S-X of the Regulations which have not been included as so required.
2.6.2. Statistical Data. The statistical, industry-related and market-related data included in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and/or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably and in good faith believes are reliable and accurate, and such data agree with the sources from which they are derived.
2.7. Authorized Capital; Options, etc. The Company had at the date or dates indicated in each of the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, as the case may be, duly authorized, issued and outstanding capitalization as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus. Based on the assumptions stated in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company will have on the Closing Date the adjusted share capitalization set forth therein. Except as set forth in, or contemplated by, the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, on the Effective Date and on the Closing Date, there will be no options, warrants, or other rights to purchase or otherwise acquire any authorized, but unissued Ordinary Shares or any security convertible into Ordinary Shares, or any contracts or commitments to issue or sell Ordinary Shares or any such options, warrants, rights or convertible securities.
2.8. Valid Issuance of Securities, etc.
2.8.1. Outstanding Securities. All issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares of the Company, including the Founder Shares and EBC Founder Shares, have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable; the holders thereof have no rights of rescission with respect thereto, and are not subject to personal liability by reason of being such holders; and none of such securities were issued in violation of the preemptive rights of any holders of any security of the Company or similar contractual rights granted by the Company. The outstanding Ordinary Shares, including the Founder Shares and EBC Founder Shares, conform in all material respects to the descriptions thereof contained in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus. All offers, sales and any transfers of the outstanding Ordinary Shares of the Company, including the Founder Shares and EBC Founder Shares, were at all relevant times either registered under the Act and the applicable state securities or Blue Sky laws (based in part on the representations and warranties of the purchasers of the Ordinary Shares) or exempt from such registration requirements.
2.8.2. Securities To Be Sold.
2.8.2.1. The Public Securities have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance and when issued and paid for in accordance with this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non- assessable; the holders thereof are not and will not be subject to personal liability by reason of being such holders; except as may be disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Public Securities are not and will not be subject to the preemptive rights of any holders of any security of the Company or similar contractual rights granted by the Company; and all corporate action required to be taken for the authorization, issuance and sale of the Public Securities has been duly and validly taken. The Public Securities conform in all material respects to the descriptions thereof contained in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, as the case may be.
2.8.2.2. The Private Securities (and underlying securities) have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance and when issued and paid for in accordance with the Purchase Agreements, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable; the holders thereof are not and will not be subject to personal liability by reason of being such holders; the Private Securities are not and will not be subject to the preemptive rights of any holders of any security of the Company or similar contractual rights granted by the Company; and all corporate action required to be taken for the authorization, issuance and sale of the Private Securities has been duly and validly taken. The Private Securities conform in all material respects to the descriptions thereof contained in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, as the case may be. The offer and sale of the Private Securities was exempt from the registration requirements of the Act.
2.8.3. No Integration. Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates has, prior to the date hereof, made any offer or sale of any securities which are required to be “integrated” pursuant to the Act or the Regulations with the offer and sale of the Public Securities pursuant to the Registration Statement.
2.9. Registration Rights of Third Parties. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, no holders of any securities of the Company or any rights exercisable for or convertible or exchangeable into securities of the Company have the right to require the Company to register any such securities of the Company under the Act or to include any such securities in a registration statement to be filed by the Company.
2.10. Validity and Binding Effect of Agreements. This Agreement, the Trust Agreement, the Purchase Agreements, the Business Combination Marketing Agreement, the Services Agreement (as defined in Section 2.24.6), the Warrant Agreement (as defined in Section 2.27), the Escrow Agreement (as defined in Section 2.24.7) and the Registration Rights Agreement (collectively, the “Transaction Documents”) have been duly and validly authorized by the Company and, when executed and delivered by the Company and the other parties thereto, will constitute valid and binding agreements of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their respective terms, except: (i) as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally; (ii) as enforceability of any indemnification or contribution provision may be limited under foreign, federal and state securities laws; and (iii) that the remedy of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to the equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
2.11. No Conflicts, etc. The execution, delivery, and performance by the Company of the Transaction Documents, the consummation by the Company of the transactions herein and therein contemplated and the compliance by the Company with the terms hereof and thereof do not and will not, with or without the giving of notice or the lapse of time or both: (i) result in a breach or violation of, or conflict with any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, or result in the creation, modification, termination or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company pursuant to the terms of any agreement, obligation, condition, covenant or instrument to which the Company is a party or bound or to which its property is subject except pursuant to the Trust Agreement; (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company, as amended and restated (collectively, the “Charter Documents”); or (iii) violate any existing applicable statute, law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any governmental agency or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties, business or assets.
2.12. No Defaults; Violations. No material default or violation exists in the due performance and observance of any term, covenant or condition of any material license, contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, note, loan or credit agreement, or any other agreement or instrument evidencing an obligation for borrowed money, or any other material agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company may be bound or to which any of the properties or assets of the Company is subject. The Company is not in violation of any term or provision of its Charter Documents or in violation of any franchise, license, permit, applicable law, rule, regulation, judgment or decree of any governmental agency or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties or businesses.
2.13. Corporate Power; Licenses; Consents.
2.13.1. Conduct of Business. The Company has all requisite corporate power and authority, and has all necessary authorizations, approvals, orders, licenses, certificates and permits of and from all governmental regulatory officials and bodies that it needs as of the date hereof to conduct its business for the purposes described in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus. The disclosures in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus concerning the effects of foreign, federal, state and local regulation on the Offering and the Company’s business purpose as currently contemplated are correct in all material respects and do not omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. Since its formation and except as described in the Registration Statement, the Company has conducted no business and has incurred no liabilities other than in connection with its formation and in furtherance of the Offering.
2.13.2. Transactions Contemplated Herein. The Company has all corporate power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to carry out the provisions and conditions hereof, and all consents, authorizations, approvals and orders required in connection therewith have been obtained. No consent, authorization or order of, and no filing with, any court, government agency or other body, foreign or domestic, is required for the valid issuance, sale and delivery, of the Public Securities, Private Securities, Founder Shares and EBC Founder Shares and the
consummation of the transactions and agreements contemplated by the Transaction Documents and as contemplated by the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and Prospectus, except with respect to applicable foreign, federal and state securities laws, the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market (“NASDAQ”) and the rules and regulations promulgated by FINRA.
2.14. D&O Questionnaires. To the Company’s knowledge, all information contained in the questionnaires (the “Questionnaires”) completed by each of the Company’s officers and directors prior to the initial filing of the Registration Statement and provided to the Underwriter, as such Questionnaires may have been updated from time to time and confirmed by each of the respondents, as well as in the biographies previously provided to the Underwriter, is true and correct in all material respects and the Company has not become aware of any information that would cause the information disclosed in the Questionnaires to become inaccurate and incorrect.
2.15. Litigation; Governmental Proceedings. There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry, arbitration, investigation, litigation or governmental proceeding pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened against, or involving the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any of the Company’s executive officers and directors, that is required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus and which has not been disclosed therein.
2.16. Good Standing. The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as an exempted company with limited liability and is in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation and is duly qualified to do business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation in each jurisdiction in which its ownership or lease of property or the conduct of business requires such qualification, except where the failure to qualify would not have a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), prospects, earnings, business or properties of the Company, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto) (a “Material Adverse Effect”).
2.17. No Contemplation of a Business Combination. The Company does not have any specific Business Combination under consideration and it has not (nor has anyone on its behalf), directly or indirectly, contacted any target business (“Target Business”) or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction with the Company.
2.18. Transactions Affecting Disclosure to FINRA.
2.18.1. To the Company’s knowledge, all information contained in the questionnaires (the “FINRA Questionnaires”) completed by each Company Affiliate (defined below) and provided to the Underwriter, as such FINRA Questionnaires may have been updated from time to time and confirmed by each of the respondents, is true and correct in all material respects and the Company has not become aware of any information which would cause the information disclosed in the FINRA Questionnaires to become inaccurate and incorrect.
2.18.2. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, there are no claims, payments, arrangements, agreements or understandings relating to the payment of a finder’s, consulting or origination fee by the Company or any Company Affiliate with respect to the sale of the Public Securities hereunder or any other arrangements, agreements or understandings of the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any Insider that may affect the Underwriter’s compensation, as determined by FINRA.
2.18.3. Except as described herein or in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company has not made any direct or indirect payments (in cash, securities or otherwise) to: (i) any person, as a finder’s fee, consulting fee or otherwise, in consideration for such person raising capital for the Company or introducing to the Company persons who raised or provided capital to the Company; (ii) to any “participating member,” as defined in FINRA Rule 5110, with respect to the Offering (“Participating Member”); or (iii) to any person or entity that has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any Participating Member, within the one hundred eighty (180)-day period prior to the initial filing date of the Registration Statement with the Commission.
2.18.4. To the Company’s knowledge, except as set forth in the FINRA Questionnaires, no executive officer or director of the Company or any direct or indirect beneficial owner of 5% or greater of any class of the Company’s securities, excluding the Underwriter but including the Insiders and holders of the Private Securities (whether debt or equity, registered or unregistered, regardless of the time acquired or the source from which derived) (any such individual or entity, a “Company Affiliate”) is a Participating Member or a person associated or affiliated with a Participating Member.
2.18.5. To the Company’s knowledge, except as set forth in the FINRA Questionnaires, no Company Affiliate is an owner of stock or other securities of any Participating Member (other than securities purchased on the open market).
2.18.6. To the Company’s knowledge, except as set forth in the FINRA Questionnaires, no Company Affiliate has made a subordinated loan to any Participating Member.
2.18.7. No proceeds from the sale of the Public Securities or Private Securities (excluding underwriting compensation) will be paid to any Participating Member, or any persons associated or affiliated with a Participating Member, except as specifically authorized herein.
2.18.8. The Company has not issued any warrants or other securities, or granted any options, directly or indirectly to anyone who is a Participating Member within the 180-day period prior to the initial filing date of the Registration Statement with the Commission, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus.
2.18.9. To the Company’s knowledge, except as set forth in the FINRA Questionnaires, no person to whom securities of the Company have been privately issued within the 180-day period prior to the initial filing date of the Registration Statement with the Commission has any relationship or affiliation or association with any Participating Member.
2.18.10. To the Company’s knowledge, except with respect to the Underwriter, no Participating Member has a conflict of interest (as defined by FINRA rules) with the Company.
2.18.11. Except with respect to the Underwriter in connection with the Offering, the Company has not entered into any agreement or arrangement (including, without limitation, any consulting agreement or any other type of agreement) during the 180-day period prior to the initial filing date of the Registration Statement with the Commission, which arrangement or agreement provides for the receipt of any item of value and/or the transfer or issuance of any warrants, options, or other securities from the Company to a Participating Member, any person associated with a Participating Member, any potential underwriter in the Offering and/or any related persons.
2.19. Taxes.
2.19.1. There are no transfer taxes or other similar fees or charges under Cayman Islands law, U.S. federal law or the laws of any U.S. state or any political subdivision thereof, required to be paid in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the issuance or sale by the Company of the Public Securities.
2.19.2. The Company has filed all non-U.S. and U.S. federal, state and local tax returns that are required to be filed or has requested extensions thereof, except in any case in which the failure to so file would not have a Material Adverse Effect, and has paid all taxes required to be paid by it and any other assessment, fine or penalty levied against it, to the extent that any of the foregoing is due and payable, except for any such assessment, fine or penalty that is currently being contested in good faith or as would not have a Material Adverse Effect.
2.19.3. Assuming the Company satisfies the “start up exception” (as described in the Registration Statement) to the “passive foreign investment company” (“PFIC”) provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and subject to the discussion of PFICs and other Federal income tax issues set forth in the Registration Statement under the heading “Taxation”, the Company will not be a PFIC for Federal income tax purposes for its initial taxable year ending December 31, 2026.
2.20. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of the Company’s officers or directors or any other person acting on behalf of the Company is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that: (i) would result in a violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “FCPA”) or otherwise subject the Company to any damage or penalty in any civil, criminal or governmental litigation or proceeding; (ii) if not done in the past, might reasonably be expected to have had a Material Adverse Effect or (iii) if not continued in the future, might reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the assets, business or operations of the Company, including, without limitation, given or agreed to give any money, gift or similar benefit (other than legal price concessions to customers in the ordinary course of business) to any customer, supplier, employee or agent of a customer or supplier, or official or employee of any governmental agency or instrumentality of any government (domestic or foreign) or any political party or candidate for office (domestic or foreign) or other person who was, is, or may be in a position to help or hinder the business of the Company (or assist it in connection with any actual or proposed transaction). The Company’s internal accounting controls and procedures are sufficient in all material respects to perform the functions for which they were established and to comply with the FCPA and any applicable requirements of Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act.
2.21. Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act. The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transaction Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, threatened.
2.22. Bank Secrecy Act; Money Laundering; Patriot Act. Neither the Company, nor to the Company’s knowledge, any Company Affiliate, has violated: (i) the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended, (ii) the Money Laundering Laws or (iii) the Uniting and Strengthening of America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001, and/or the rules and regulations promulgated under any such law, or any successor law.
2.23. Officer’s Certificate. Any certificate signed by any duly authorized officer of the Company and delivered to the Underwriter or to its counsel shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to the Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby.
2.24. Agreements With Company Affiliates.
2.24.1. Insider Letters. The Company has caused to be duly executed legally binding and enforceable agreements (except (i) as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as enforceability of any indemnification contribution provision may be limited under foreign, federal and state securities laws, and (iii) that the remedy of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to the equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought) in the form annexed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement (the “Insider Letters”), pursuant to which each of the Insiders agrees to certain matters, including but not limited to, the voting of the Ordinary Shares held by them and certain other matters described as being agreed to by them under the “Proposed Business” section of the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and Prospectus.
2.24.2. Purchase Agreements. The Sponsor, the TPIs and the Underwriter have executed and delivered purchase agreements, the forms of which are annexed as exhibits to the Registration Statement (the “Purchase Agreements”), pursuant to which the Sponsor, the TPIs and the Underwriter have agreed, among other things, that they and/or their designees will purchase on the Closing Date the Private Units in the Private Placement. Pursuant to the Purchase Agreements, the Sponsor, TPIs and the Underwriter have waived any and all rights and claims they may have to any proceeds, and any interest thereon, held in the Trust Account if the Company fails to consummate an initial Business Combination.
2.24.3. Non-Competition/Solicitation. To the Company’s knowledge, no executive officer or director of the Company is subject to any non-competition agreement or non-solicitation agreement with any employer or prior employer which could materially affect such individual’s ability to be and act in the capacity of a director or executive officer of the Company, as applicable.
2.24.4. Loans. The Sponsor has agreed to make loans to the Company in the aggregate amount of up to $150,000, as described in the Registration Statement (the “Insider Loans”). The Insider Loans will not bear any interest and will be repayable by the Company on the Closing Date of the Offering.
2.24.5. Registration Rights Agreement. The Company, the Insiders, the holders of the EBC Founder Shares and the holders of the Private Units have entered into a registration rights agreement (“Registration Rights Agreement”) substantially in the form annexed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, whereby such parties will be entitled to certain registration rights with respect to their securities, as set forth in such Registration Rights Agreement and described more fully in the Registration Statement.
2.24.6. Services Agreement. The Company has entered into an agreement (“Services Agreement”) with the Sponsor, substantially in the form filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, pursuant to which such entity will make available to the Company, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, certain, administrative, operating and other services, including office space, in consideration for payment by the Company of an aggregate of $10,000 per month.
2.24.7. Escrow Agreement. The Company has caused the Sponsor to enter into an escrow agreement (the “Escrow Agreement”) with CST&T substantially in the form filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement whereby the Founder Shares held by it will be held in escrow by CST&T for a period of time as described in the Registration Statement (the “Escrow Period”). During the Escrow Period, such parties shall be prohibited from selling or otherwise transferring such Founder Shares, except in certain limited circumstances set forth in the Escrow Agreement. To the Company’s knowledge, the Escrow Agreement is enforceable against the Sponsor and will not, with or without the giving of notice or the lapse of time or both, result in a breach of, or conflict with, any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, an agreement or instrument to which the Sponsor is a party.
2.25. Investment Management Trust Agreement. The Company has entered into the Trust Agreement with respect to certain proceeds of the Offering and the Private Placement substantially in the form filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, pursuant to which the funds held in the Trust Account may be released under limited circumstances. The Trust Agreement shall not be amended, modified or otherwise changed in any way that modifies the rights or obligations of the Company without the prior written consent of the Underwriter.
2.26. Business Combination Marketing Agreement. The Company and the Underwriter have entered into a separate business combination marketing agreement substantially in the form filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement (the “Business Combination Marketing Agreement”).
2.27. Warrant Agreement. The Company has entered into a warrant agreement with respect to the Warrants, Private Warrants and any other warrants that may be issued by the Company with CST&T substantially in the form filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement (the “Warrant Agreement”).
2.28. Investments. No more than 45% of the “value” (as defined in Section 2(a)(41) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Investment Company Act”)) of the Company’s total assets (exclusive of cash items and “Government Securities,” as defined in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act) consist of, and no more than 45% of the Company’s net income after taxes is derived from, securities other than Government Securities.
2.29. Investment Company Act. The Company is not required, and upon the issuance and sale of the Public Securities as herein contemplated and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the Prospectus will not be required, to register as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act.
2.30. Subsidiaries. The Company does not own an interest in any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust or other business entity.
2.31. Related Party Transactions. No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among any of the Company or any Company Affiliate, on the one hand, and any director, officer, customer or supplier of the Company or any Company Affiliate, on the other hand, which is required by the Act, the Exchange Act or the Regulations to be described in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, which is not so described as required. There are no outstanding loans, advances or guarantees of indebtedness by the Company to or for the benefit of any of the executive officers or directors of the Company or any of their respective family members, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus. The Company has not extended or maintained credit, arranged for the extension of credit, or renewed an extension of credit, in the form of a personal loan to or for any director or executive officer of the Company.
2.32. No Influence. The Company has not offered, or caused the Underwriter to offer, the Firm Units to any person or entity with the intention of unlawfully influencing: (a) a customer or supplier of the Company or any affiliate of the Company to alter the customer’s or supplier’s level or type of business with the Company or such affiliate or (b) a journalist or publication to write or publish favorable information about the Company or any such affiliate.
2.33. Sarbanes-Oxley. The Company is in material compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (“SOX”), and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder and related or similar rules and regulations promulgated by any governmental or self-regulatory entity or agency, that are applicable to it as of the date hereof.
2.34. NASDAQ Eligibility. As of the date hereof, the Public Securities have been approved for listing on NASDAQ, subject to official notice of issuance and evidence of satisfactory distribution. There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply with (as and when applicable), and immediately following the effectiveness of the Registration Statement the Company will be in compliance with, the rules of NASDAQ, as amended.
2.35. Emerging Growth Status. From the date of the Company’s formation through the date hereof, the Company has been and is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”).
2.36. Free-Writing Prospectus and Testing-the-Waters. The Company has not made any offer relating to the Public Securities that would constitute an issuer free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 433 under the Act, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act. The Company (a) has not engaged in any Testing-the-Waters Communication other than Testing-the- Waters Communications with the consent of the Underwriter with entities that are qualified institutional buyers within the meaning of Rule 144A under the Act or institutions that are accredited investors within the meaning of Rule 501 under the Act and (b) has not authorized anyone to engage in Testing-the-Waters Communications other than its officers and the Underwriter and individuals engaged by the Underwriter. The Company has not distributed any written Testing-the-Waters Communications other than those listed on Schedule B hereto. As used herein, “Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Act.
2.37. Disclosure Controls and Procedures. The Company maintains effective “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined under Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act to the extent required by such rule).
2.38. Definition of “Knowledge”. As used in herein, the term “knowledge of the Company” (or similar language) shall mean the knowledge of the Company’s executive officers and directors, with the assumption that such officers and directors shall have made reasonable and diligent inquiry of the matters presented.
3. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees as follows:
3.1. Amendments to Registration Statement. The Company will deliver to the Underwriter, prior to filing, any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus proposed to be filed after the Effective Date and shall not file any such amendment or supplement to which the Underwriter shall reasonably object in writing.
3.2. Federal Securities Laws.
3.2.1. Compliance. During the time when a prospectus is required to be delivered under the Act, the Company will use its best efforts to comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Act, the Regulations and the Exchange Act and by the regulations under the Exchange Act, as from time to time in force, so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of or dealings in the Public Securities in accordance with the provisions hereof and the Prospectus. If at any time when a Prospectus relating to the Public Securities is required to be delivered under the Act, any event shall have occurred as a result of which, in the opinion of counsel for the Company or counsel for the Underwriter, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented includes an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or if it is necessary during such period to amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the Statutory Prospectus and Prospectus to comply with the Act, the Company will notify the Underwriter promptly and prepare and file with the Commission, subject to Section 3.1 hereof, an appropriate amendment to the Registration Statement or amendment or supplement to the Statutory Prospectus and Prospectus (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance.
3.2.2. Filing of Final Prospectus. The Company will promptly file the Prospectus (in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriter) with the Commission pursuant to the requirements of Rule 424 of the Regulations.
3.2.3. Exchange Act Registration. For a period of five years from the Effective Date (except in connection with a going private transaction), or until such earlier time upon which the Trust Account is to be liquidated if a Business Combination has not been consummated as required by its Charter Documents (the “Termination Date”): the Company (i) will use its best efforts to maintain the registration of the Ordinary Shares and Warrants under the provisions of the Exchange Act and (ii) will not deregister the Ordinary Shares or Warrants under the Exchange Act without the prior written consent of the Underwriter.
3.2.4. Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company agrees that it will not make any offer relating to the Public Securities that would constitute an issuer free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 433 under the Act.
3.2.5. Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance. As soon as it is legally required to do so, the Company shall take all actions necessary to obtain and thereafter maintain material compliance with each applicable provision of SOX and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder and related or similar rules and regulations promulgated by any other governmental or self-regulatory entity or agency with jurisdiction over the Company.
3.3. Emerging Growth Company Status. The Company will promptly notify the Underwriter if the Company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time prior to the earlier of five years after the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination, and the liquidation of the Trust Account if a Business Combination is not consummated by the Termination Date.
3.4. Delivery of Materials to Underwriter. The Company will deliver to the Underwriter, without charge and from time to time during the period when a prospectus is required to be delivered under the Act or the Exchange Act, such number of copies of each Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus and all amendments and supplements to such documents as the Underwriter may reasonably request.
3.5. Effectiveness and Events Requiring Notice to the Underwriter. The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Registration Statement to remain effective and will notify the Underwriter immediately and confirm the notice in writing of the: (i) effectiveness of the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto; (ii) issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, or any post-effective amendment thereto or preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or of the initiation, or the threatening, of any proceeding for that purpose; (iii) issuance by any foreign or state securities commission of any proceedings for the suspension of the qualification of the Public Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction or of the initiation, or the threatening, of any proceeding for that purpose; (iv) mailing and delivery to the Commission for filing of any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus; (v) receipt of any comments or request for any additional information from the Commission; and (vi) happening of any event during the period described in this Section 3.5 hereof that, in the judgment of the Company or its counsel, makes any statement of a material fact made in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus untrue or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, (with respect to the Prospectus and the Statutory Prospectus and in light of the circumstances under which they were made), not misleading. If the Commission or any foreign or state securities commission shall enter a stop order or suspend such qualification at any time, the Company will make every reasonable effort to obtain promptly the lifting of such order.
3.6. Review of Financial Statements. Until the earlier of five years from the Effective Date, or until the liquidation of the Trust Account if a Business Combination is not consummated by the Termination Date, the Company, at its expense, shall cause its regularly engaged independent certified public accountants to review (but not audit) the Company’s financial statements for each of the first three fiscal quarters prior to the announcement of quarterly financial information, the filing of the Company’s Form 10-Q quarterly report.
3.7. Affiliated Transactions.
3.7.1. Business Combinations. The Company will not consummate a Business Combination with an entity that is affiliated with any Insider unless in each case a majority of the Company’s disinterested and independent directors (if there are any) approve such transaction and the Company obtains a Fairness Opinion (as defined in Section 3.29.3).
3.7.2. Compensation. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Company shall not pay any Insider or Company Affiliate or any of their affiliates any fees or compensation for services rendered to the Company prior to, or in connection with, either the Offering or the Business Combination.
3.8. Reports to the Underwriter.
3.8.1. Periodic Reports, etc. For a period of five years from the Effective Date or until such earlier time upon which the Company is required to be liquidated and dissolved, the Company will furnish or make available to the Underwriter and its counsel copies of such financial statements and other periodic and special reports as the Company from time to time furnishes generally to holders of any class of its securities, and promptly furnish or make available to the Underwriter: (i) a copy of each periodic report the Company shall be required to file with the Commission; (ii) a copy of every press release and every news item and article with respect to the Company or its affairs which was released by the Company; (iii) a copy of each Current Report on Form 8-K and any Schedules 13D, 13G, 14D-1 or 13E-4 received or prepared by the Company (other than a Schedule 13D or Schedule 13G filed by or on behalf of the Underwriter and its designees); (iv) five copies of each registration statement filed by the Company with the Commission under the Securities Act; and (v) such additional documents and information with respect to the Company and the affairs of any future subsidiaries of the Company as the Underwriter may from time to time reasonably request; provided that the Underwriter shall sign, if requested by the Company, a Regulation FD compliant confidentiality agreement which is reasonably acceptable to the Underwriter and its counsel in connection with the Underwriter’s receipt of such information. Documents filed with the Commission pursuant to Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”) shall be deemed to have been delivered to the Underwriter pursuant to this section.
3.8.2. For a period of five years following the Effective Date or until such earlier time upon which the Company is required to be liquidated, the Company shall retain a transfer agent and warrant agent reasonably acceptable to the Underwriter. CST&T is acceptable to the Underwriter.
3.9. Payment of Expenses. The Company hereby agrees to pay for, on each of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, if any, to the extent not paid at Closing Date, or such later date as may be agreed to by the Underwriter in its sole discretion, all fees and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement, including, but not limited to: (i) the preparation, printing, filing and mailing (including the payment of postage with respect to such mailing) of the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus, and the final Prospectus and mailing of this Agreement and related documents, including the cost of all copies thereof and any amendments thereof or supplements thereto supplied to the Underwriter in quantities as may be required by the Underwriter; (ii) the printing, engraving, issuance and delivery of the Units, Ordinary Shares and Warrants included in the Units, including any transfer or other taxes payable thereon; (iii) NASDAQ filing fees or, if necessary, the qualification of the Public Securities under state or foreign securities or Blue Sky laws; (iv) fees and expenses incurred in registering the Offering with FINRA (including legal fees of the Underwriter’s counsel, not to exceed $15,000); (v) fees and disbursements of the transfer and warrant agent; (vi) all costs and expenses of the Company associated with
“road show” marketing and “due diligence” trips for the Company’s management to meet with prospective investors, including without limitation, all travel, food and lodging expenses associated with such trips incurred by the Company or such management; and (vii) all other costs and expenses customarily borne by an issuer incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section 3.9. The Company also agrees that it will pay up to $3,500 per individual, or $25,000 in the aggregate, for an investigative search firm of the Underwriter’s choice to conduct an investigation of the principals of the Company as shall be mutually selected by the Underwriter and the Company. If the Offering is consummated, the Underwriter may deduct from the net proceeds of the Offering payable to the Company on the Closing Date the expenses set forth above (which shall be mutually agreed upon between the Company and the Underwriter prior to the Closing Date) to be paid by the Company to the Underwriter and others. If the Offering is not consummated for any reason (other than a breach by the Underwriter of any of its obligations hereunder), then the Company shall reimburse the Underwriter in full for its out-of-pocket accountable expenses actually incurred through such date, including, without limitation, reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriter.
3.10. Application of Net Proceeds. The Company will apply the net proceeds from the Offering received by it in a manner substantially consistent with the application described under the caption “Use of Proceeds” in the Prospectus.
3.11. Delivery of Earnings Statements to Security Holders. The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable, but not later than the first day of the sixteenth full calendar month following the Effective Date, an earnings statement (which need not be certified by independent public or independent certified public accountants unless required by the Act or the Regulations, but which shall satisfy the provisions of Rule 158(a) under Section 11(a) of the Act) covering a period of at least twelve consecutive months beginning after the Effective Date.
3.12. Notice to FINRA.
3.12.1. Assistance with Business Combination. For a period of sixty (60) days following the Effective Date, in the event any person or entity (regardless of any FINRA affiliation or association) is engaged to assist the Company in its search for a Business Combination candidate or to provide any similar Business Combination-related services, the Company will provide the following information (the “Business Combination Information”) to the Underwriter: (i) complete details of all services and copies of agreements governing such services (which details or agreements may be appropriately redacted to account for privilege or confidentiality concerns); and (ii) justification as to why the person or entity providing the Business Combination-related services should not be considered an “underwriter and related person” with respect to the Company’s initial public offering, as such term is defined in Rule 5110 of FINRA’s Conduct Rules. The Company also agrees that proper disclosure of such arrangement or potential arrangement will be made in the proxy statement which the Company will file for purposes of soliciting shareholder approval for the Business Combination. Upon the Company’s delivery of the Business Combination Information to the Underwriter, the Company hereby expressly authorizes the Underwriter to provide such information directly to FINRA as a result of representations the Underwriter has made to FINRA in connection with the Offering.
3.12.2. Broker/Dealer. In the event the Company intends to register as a broker/dealer, merge with or acquire a registered broker/dealer, or otherwise become a member of FINRA, it shall promptly notify the Underwriter.
3.13. Stabilization. Neither the Company, nor, to its knowledge, any of its employees, officers, directors or shareholders (without the consent of the Underwriter) has taken or will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that has constituted or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act, or otherwise, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Units.
3.14. Internal Controls. From and after the Closing Date, the Company will maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that: (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary in order to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.
3.15. Accountants. For a period of five years from the Effective Date or until such earlier time upon which the Trust Account is required to be liquidated, the Company shall retain CBIZ or other independent public accountants reasonably acceptable to the Underwriter.
3.16. Form 8-Ks. The Company has retained CBIZ to audit the Audited Balance Sheet reflecting the receipt by the Company of the proceeds of the Offering and the Private Placement. Within four (4) Business Days of the Closing Date, the Company shall file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Commission, which Report shall contain the Company’s Audited Balance Sheet. If the Over-Allotment Option has not been exercised on the Effective Date, the Company will also file an amendment to the Form 8-K, or a new Form 8-K, to provide updated financial information of the Company to reflect the exercise and consummation of the Over-Allotment Option.
3.17. FINRA. Until the Option Closing Date, if any, the Company shall advise the Underwriter if it is aware that any 10% or greater shareholder of the Company becomes an affiliate or associated person of a FINRA member participating in the distribution of the Public Securities.
3.18. Corporate Proceedings. All corporate proceedings and other legal matters necessary to carry out the provisions of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby shall have been done to the reasonable satisfaction of counsel for the Underwriter.
3.19. Investment Company. The Company shall cause the Trust Funds to be held in the Trust Account to be invested only as set forth in the Trust Agreement as in effect on the date hereof and disclosed in the Prospectus. The Company will conduct its business in a manner so that it will not become subject to the Investment Company Act. Furthermore, once the Company consummates a Business Combination, it will be engaged in a business other than that of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading securities.
3.20. Press Releases. The Company agrees that it will not issue press releases or engage in any other publicity, without the Underwriter’s prior written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld), for a period of twenty-five (25) days after the Closing Date; provided that in no event shall the Company be prohibited from issuing any press release or engaging in any other publicity required by law.
3.21. Electronic Prospectus. The Company shall cause to be prepared and delivered to the Underwriter, at its expense, promptly, but in no event later than two (2) Business Days from the date of this Agreement, an Electronic Prospectus to be used by the Underwriter in connection with the Offering. As used herein, the term “Electronic Prospectus” means a form of prospectus, and any amendment or supplement thereto, that meets each of the following conditions: (i) it shall be encoded in an electronic format, satisfactory to the Underwriter, that may be transmitted electronically by the Underwriter to offerees and purchasers of the Ordinary Shares for at least the period during which a Prospectus relating to the Ordinary Shares is required to be delivered under the Act; (ii) it shall disclose the same information as the paper prospectus and prospectus filed pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent that graphic and image material cannot be disseminated electronically, in which case such graphic and image material shall be replaced in the electronic prospectus with a fair and accurate narrative description or tabular representation of such material, as appropriate; and (iii) it shall be in or convertible into a paper format or an electronic format, satisfactory to the Underwriter, that will allow recipients thereof to store and have continuously ready access to the prospectus at any future time, without charge to such recipients (other than any fee charged for subscription to the Internet as a whole and for on-line time). The Company hereby confirms that it has included or will include in the Prospectus filed pursuant to EDGAR or otherwise with the Commission and in the Registration Statement at the time it was declared effective an undertaking that, upon receipt of a request by an investor or his or her representative within the period when a prospectus relating to the Ordinary Shares is required to be delivered under the Act, the Company shall transmit or cause to be transmitted promptly, without charge, a paper copy of the Prospectus.
3.22. Future Financings. The Company agrees that neither it, nor any successor or subsidiary of the Company, will consummate any public or private equity or debt financing prior to or in connection with the consummation of a Business Combination, unless all investors in such financing expressly waive, in writing, any rights in or claims against the Trust Account.
3.23. NASDAQ Maintenance. Until the consummation of a Business Combination, the Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the listing by NASDAQ of the Units and the Ordinary Shares and Warrants included within the Units.
3.24. Private Placement Proceeds. On the Closing Date, the Company and the Underwriter shall cause to be deposited $4,000,000 of proceeds from the Private Placement into the Trust Account. On the Option Closing Date, if any, the Company and the Underwriter shall cause to be deposited an amount of additional proceeds from the additional Private Units sold on the Option Closing Date into the Trust Account such that the amount of the Trust Funds in the Trust Account shall be $10.05 per Public Share sold in the Offering.
3.25. Reservation of Shares. The Company will reserve and keep available that maximum number of its authorized but unissued securities which are issuable pursuant to the Warrants and the Private Warrants (as well as any other warrants that may be issued and covered by the Warrant Agreement) outstanding from time to time.
3.26. Testing-the-Waters Communications. If at any time following the distribution of any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication included or would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein in light of the circumstances existing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly (i) notify the Underwriter so that use of the Written Testing-the-Waters Communication may cease until it is amended or supplemented; (ii) amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Written Testing-the- Waters Communication to eliminate or correct such untrue statement or omission; and (iii) supply any amendment or supplement to the Underwriter in such quantities as may be reasonably requested.
3.27. Rights of First Refusal.
3.27.1. The Underwriter is hereby granted a right of first refusal for a period commencing on the Closing Date of the Offering and continuing until the earlier of the consummation of an initial Business Combination or the liquidation of the Trust Account in the event that the Company fails to consummate an initial Business Combination within the prescribed time period (but in no event longer than three years from the Closing Date of the Offering), to act as book running manager, placement agent and/or arranger (with the Underwriter on the cover page of any offering materials related to such financing and holding the role and responsibilities conventionally understood to be associated with such name placement, including, without limitation, billing, directory and stabilization), as the case may be, for all financings where the Company seeks to raise equity, equity-linked, debt or mezzanine financings relating to or in connection with a Business Combination and to receive at least 45% of the aggregate gross spread or fees from any and all such financings (such gross spread or fees in any and all such financings to be mutually determined in good faith by the Company and the Underwriter and based on the prevailing market for similar transactions).
3.27.2. For a period commencing on the Closing Date of the Offering and continuing until one year after the consummation of the Business Combination, the Underwriter shall have the right to act as lead underwriter for the next U.S.-registered public offering of securities undertaken by the Sponsor and any Insiders that are officers of the Company for the purpose of raising capital and placing 90% or more of the proceeds in a trust (or similar) account to be used to acquire one or more operating businesses which have not been identified at the time of the capital raising transaction. The terms of such offering shall be mutually determined in good faith by the parties thereto and will be based on the prevailing market for similar offerings; provided that the economic terms offered to the Sponsor or Insiders that are officers of the Company in such subsequent offering are no less favorable than those in this Offering or, if different, are no more than 10% higher in cost to the Insiders as determined in good faith by the Sponsor.
3.28. Business Combination Securities Disclosure Documents. The Company agrees that at the time of any applicable offer, issuance or distribution of any securities by any person in connection with the consummation of a Business Combination (the “Business Combination Securities”), no registration statement, preliminary or final prospectus, proxy statement, tender offer document or offering memorandum, including, without limitation, any
document incorporated by reference into any of the foregoing, or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing, or any other marketing document used by the Company or any Registrant (as defined below) or filed with or furnished to the Commission in connection with the Business Combination (each a “Business Combination Securities Disclosure Document”), in each case relating to such offer, issuance or distribution, will contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements made therein not misleading. The Company further represents and warrants that any projections or other information provided by any Registrant or its representatives to the Underwriter or contained in any Business Combination Securities Disclosure Document will have been prepared in good faith and will be based upon assumptions which, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, are reasonable. In the event that the Underwriter resigns from its role or roles in connection with the Business Combination (if any), the Company shall include disclosure regarding such resignation in any registration statement, statutory prospectus, prospectus and proxy statement filed subsequent to such resignation in connection with the Business Combination, provide the Underwriter with a reasonable advance opportunity to comment thereon and give reasonable consideration to any comments made by the Underwriter and its representatives. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing herein shall be deemed to require the Underwriter to limit its rights to compensation or to reimbursement of expenses without its express agreement or otherwise to assume any liability other than as may be expressly required under the Securities Act.
3.29. Obligations in Connection with Business Combination. If requested by the Underwriter:
3.29.1. Prior to and after entering into any definitive agreement with respect to the Business Combination and until such time as such Business Combination is consummated:
| a. | The Company will furnish or arrange to have furnished to the Underwriter all information concerning the Company, the target business of such proposed Business Combination, any entity that succeeds or will succeed the Company as a public company in connection with the Business Combination, or any direct or indirect parent or subsidiary of any of them (any such issuer or co- issuer, a “Registrant”) and the proposed Business Combination that the Underwriter deems appropriate and will provide the Underwriter with reasonable access to the officers, directors, employees, affiliates, appraisers, independent accountants, financial advisors, legal counsel and other agents, consultants and advisors (“Registrant Representatives”) and properties of any Registrant, during normal business hours, as requested by the Underwriter. The Company shall take all reasonable steps requested by the Underwriter to ensure that each Registrant and each of the Registrant Representatives cooperate fully with all reasonable requests by the Underwriter for such information and access. |
| b. | The Company agrees to notify the Underwriter with respect to, and to permit the Underwriter, at its request, to participate in all diligence sessions with any Registrant or its Registrant Representatives. |
| c. | The Company shall provide drafts of all Business Combination Securities Disclosure Documents to the Underwriter and its legal counsel reasonably in advance of the filing of any Business Combination Securities Disclosure Document with the Commission or the circulation of any Business Combination Securities Disclosure Document to any prospective investor, sufficient to allow the Underwriter and its legal counsel a reasonable time to request changes determined by them to be necessary or appropriate to such Business Combination Securities Disclosure Document before its filing or circulation. The Company shall not permit the filing with or furnishing to the Commission of any Business Combination Securities Disclosure Documents, in each case relating to the issuance of Business Combination Securities, without the prior written consent of the Underwriter, which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld, delayed or conditioned. |
3.29.2. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary herein, in connection with any Business Combination, the Company shall use all reasonable efforts to (i) require counsel to the Company and the Registrant to provide negative assurance letters to the Underwriter as of the consummation of the Business Combination in form
and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriter, (ii) require the accounting firm or firms that have audited any financial statements set forth in any Business Combination Securities Disclosure Document to provide “comfort letters” to the Underwriter pursuant to AU 634 of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board as of the effectiveness of any Business Combination Securities Disclosure Document that was filed with, and declared effective by, the Commission, and as of the consummation of the Business Combination, and (iii) take any other actions reasonably requested by the Underwriter.
3.29.3. In connection with the Business Combination, the Company will, unless the Company’s Board of Directors believes that because of the financial skills and background of its directors, it is qualified to conclude that a Business Combination is fair from a financial perspective, retain an independent investment banking firm or an independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions (“the Fairness Opinion Provider”) to prepare a report and provide an opinion (the “Fairness Opinion”) concerning the fairness, from a financial point of view, of the Business Combination to the Company based upon, among other things, a financial review of the target business in the Business Combination (“Target Business”) and its business and operations; provided that the Company shall obtain a Fairness Opinion for any transaction where the Target Business is affiliated with an Insider. The Company shall disclose in reasonable detail in a Business Combination Securities Disclosure Document the results of that report and, as necessary or appropriate, shall include therein a copy of that report. Each Registrant shall provide the Fairness Opinion Provider with all information and access to persons and documents that the Fairness Opinion Provider deems reasonably necessary and appropriate in connection with the preparation of its Fairness Opinion.
3.29.4. In connection with the Business Combination, the Company will engage an investigative search firm to conduct an investigation of the directors and executive officers of the Target Business and the Company shall provide copies of the search reports to the Underwriter.
3.29.5. Prior to the consummation of the Business Combination, if the Business Combination does not directly or indirectly provide for the assumption of the Company’s obligations hereunder and the Company is not and will not be the surviving public company of such Business Combination, the Company shall ensure that each Target Business or other Registrant agrees to execute and deliver to the Underwriter a joinder agreement, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriter (such satisfaction not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), pursuant to which it shall join this Agreement as a signatory and a party and thus to be subject to all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement that remain in full force and effect after consummation of the Business Combination. In addition, in connection with the Business Combination, the Company will, and will use all reasonable efforts to cause each Registrant to, comply with the obligations and covenants of the Company set forth in this Agreement that then remain in full force and effect and comply in all material respects with all laws, rules and regulations applicable either to any Registrant and its business activities or to the Business Combination, as such laws, rules and regulations may be in effect at the time of the consummation of the Business Combination.
3.29.6. To the extent that the Underwriter determines, in its sole judgment, that the Underwriter is required to make any filing with FINRA other than in connection with the Offering (as referred to in Section 3.9(iv)) or otherwise to comply with FINRA rules in connection with the Business Combination, the Company shall, upon the reasonable request of the Underwriter accompanied by a reasonable explanation of the applicable requirement(s), provide all necessary cooperation to the Underwriter and shall provide or cause to be provided to the Underwriter all information that the Underwriter deems necessary in order to make any such filings and in order to comply with FINRA rules. The Company shall be responsible for the fees and expenses of the Underwriter in connection with such filings, including the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel up to $15,000 and all filing fees associated therewith.
3.29.7. The Company acknowledges and agrees that, except as required by the Business Combination Marketing Agreement, nothing in this Section 3.29 shall be interpreted to obligate the Underwriter to take any action, or to refrain from taking any action, in connection with the Business Combination and any such actions will be undertaken by the Underwriter, in respect of itself, in its sole discretion and may be governed by a separate, definitive written agreement between the Underwriter and the Company or another Registrant as such parties may mutually agree.
4. Conditions.
4.1. Conditions of Underwriter’s Obligations. The obligations of the Underwriter to purchase and pay for the Public Securities, as provided herein, shall be subject to the continuing accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, if any, to the accuracy of the statements of officers of the Company made pursuant to the provisions hereof and to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and to the following conditions:
4.1.1. Regulatory Matters.
4.1.1.1. Effectiveness of Registration Statement. The Registration Statement shall have become effective not later than 5:00 p.m., New York time, on the date of this Agreement or such later date and time as shall be consented to in writing by the Underwriter, and, at the Closing Date, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued and no proceedings for the purpose shall have been instituted or shall be pending or contemplated by the Commission and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information shall have been complied with.
4.1.1.2. FINRA Clearance. By the Effective Date, the Underwriter shall have received clearance from FINRA as to the amount of compensation allowable or payable to the Underwriter as described in the Registration Statement.
4.1.1.3. No Commission Stop Order. At the Closing Date, the Commission has not issued any order or threatened to issue any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any part thereof, and has not instituted or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened to institute any proceedings with respect to such an order.
4.1.1.4. NASDAQ Listing. The Public Securities shall have been approved for listing on NASDAQ, subject to official notice of issuance and evidence of satisfactory distribution.
4.1.2. Company Counsel Matters.
4.1.2.1. Opinions of Company Counsel. On each of the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, if any, the Underwriter shall have received the favorable opinions (along with negative assurance letters) of Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Appleby (Cayman) Ltd., counsels to the Company, addressed to the Underwriter and the Company, respectively, and in form mutually agreed to by the Company and the Underwriter.
4.1.2.2. Reliance. In rendering such opinions, such counsels may rely: (i) as to matters involving the application of laws other than the laws of the United States and jurisdictions in which they are admitted, to the extent such counsels deem proper and to the extent specified in such opinion, if at all, upon an opinion or opinions (in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriter) of other counsel reasonably acceptable to the Underwriter, familiar with the applicable laws; and (ii) as to matters of fact, to the extent they deem proper, on certificates or other written statements of officers of the Company and officers of departments of various jurisdictions having custody of documents respecting the corporate existence or good standing of the Company, provided that copies of any such statements or certificates shall be delivered to the Underwriter’s counsel if requested. The opinions of counsels for the Company and any opinion relied upon by such counsel for the Company shall include a statement to the effect that it may be relied upon by counsel for the Underwriter in its opinion delivered to the Underwriter.
4.1.3. Cold Comfort Letter. At the time this Agreement is executed, and at the Closing Date and Option Closing Date, if any, the Underwriter shall have received a letter, addressed to the Underwriter and in form and substance satisfactory in all respects (including the non-material nature of the changes or decreases, if any, referred to in clause (iii) below) to the Underwriter from CBIZ dated, respectively, as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date and Option Closing Date, if any:
(i) Confirming that they are independent accountants with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Act and the applicable Regulations and that they have not, during the periods covered by the financial statements included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, provided to the Company any non-audit services, as such term is used in Section 10A(g) of the Exchange Act;
(ii) Stating that in their opinion the financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the Act and the published Regulations thereunder;
(iii) Stating that, on the basis of a limited review which included a reading of the latest available unaudited interim financial statements of the Company (with an indication of the date of the latest available unaudited interim financial statements), a reading of the latest available minutes of the shareholders and board of directors and the various committees of the board of directors, consultations with officers and other employees of the Company responsible for financial and accounting matters and other specified procedures and inquiries, nothing has come to their attention which would lead them to believe that: (a) the unaudited financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus do not comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the Act and the Regulations or are not fairly presented in conformity with GAAP applied on a basis substantially consistent with that of the audited financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus; or (b) at a date immediately prior to the Effective Date or Closing Date, as the case may be, there was any change in the capital stock or long- term debt of the Company, or any decrease in the shareholders’ equity of the Company as compared with amounts shown in the March 31, 2026 balance sheet included in the Registration Statement, other than as set forth in or contemplated by the Registration Statement, or, if there was any decrease, setting forth the amount of such decrease, and (c) during the period from March 31, 2026 to a specified date immediately prior to the Effective Date or Closing Date, as the case may be, there was any changes in revenues, net earnings (losses), or net earnings (losses) per share, in each case as compared with the Statement of Operations for the period from March 10, 2026 (Inception) to March 31, 2026 included in the Registration Statement, or, if there was any such change, setting forth the amount of such change;
(iv) Stating that they have compared specific dollar amounts, numbers of shares, percentages of revenues and earnings, statements and other financial information pertaining to the Company set forth in the Registration Statement in each case to the extent that such amounts, numbers, percentages, statements and information may be derived from the general accounting records, including work sheets, of the Company and excluding any questions requiring an interpretation by legal counsel, with the results obtained from the application of specified readings, inquiries and other appropriate procedures (which procedures do not constitute an examination in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards) set forth in the letter and found them to be in agreement; and
(v) Statements as to such other matters incident to the transaction contemplated hereby as the Underwriter may reasonably request.
4.1.4. Officers’ Certificates.
4.1.4.1. Officers’ Certificate. As of each of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, if any, the Underwriter shall have received a certificate of the Company signed by the Chairman of the Board or President (in their capacities as such), respectively, to the effect that the Company has performed all covenants and complied with all conditions required by this Agreement to be performed or complied with by the Company prior to and as of the Closing Date and that the conditions set forth in Section 4 hereof have been satisfied as of such date and that, as of Closing Date, the representations and warranties of the Company set forth in Section 2 hereof are true and correct. In addition, the Underwriter will have received such other and further certificates of officers of the Company as the Underwriter may reasonably request.
4.1.4.2. Secretary’s Certificate. As of each of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, if any, the Underwriter shall have received a certificate of the Company signed by the Secretary or another officer of the Company, certifying: (i) that the Memorandum and Articles of Association, as amended and restated, of the Company are true and complete, have not been modified and are in full force and effect; (ii) that the resolutions relating to the Offering are in full force and effect and have not been modified; (iii) all correspondence between the Company or its counsel and the Commission; (iv) all correspondence between the Company or its counsel and NASDAQ; and (v) as to the incumbency of the officers of the Company. The documents referred to in such certificate shall be attached to such certificate.
4.1.5. No Material Changes. Prior to each of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, if any: (i) there shall have been no material adverse change or development involving a material adverse change in the condition or prospects or the business activities, financial or otherwise, of the Company from the latest dates as of which such condition is set forth in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and Prospectus; (ii) no action suit or proceeding, at law or in equity, shall have been pending or threatened against the Company or any Company Affiliate before or by any court or foreign, federal or state commission, board or other administrative agency wherein an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding may materially adversely affect the business, operations, prospects or financial condition or income of the Company, except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and Prospectus; (iii) no stop order shall have been issued under the Act against the Company and no proceedings therefor shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and (iv) the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto shall contain all material statements which are required to be stated therein in accordance with the Act and the Regulations and shall conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the Regulations, and none of the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto shall contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (in the case of the Statutory Prospectus and Prospectus, in light of the circumstances under which they were made), not misleading.
4.1.6. Delivery of Agreements. On the date hereof, the Company shall have delivered to the Underwriter executed copies of the Transaction Documents.
4.1.7. Private Units. On the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, as applicable, the Private Units have been purchased as provided for in the Purchase Agreements and a portion of the purchase price for such securities shall be deposited into the Trust Account.
5. Indemnification.
5.1. Indemnification of Underwriter.
5.1.1. General. Subject to the conditions set forth below, the Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriter and each of its directors, officers, partners and employees and each person, if any, who controls the Underwriter (a “Controlling Person”) within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act, against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever (including, but not limited to, any and all legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever, whether arising out of any action between the Underwriter and the Company or between the Underwriter and any third party or otherwise) to which they or any of them may become subject under the Act, the Exchange Act or any other foreign, federal, state or local statute, law, rule, regulation or ordinance or at common law or otherwise or under the laws, rules and regulations of foreign countries, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained or included in, or an omission or an alleged omission to state a material fact in, (i) the Registration Statement or any amendments or supplements thereto, required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; (ii) (A) any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto or (B) any application or other document or written communication (in this Section 5 collectively called “application”) executed by the Company (or based upon written information furnished by the Company for use in such application) specifically for the purpose of qualifying the Public Securities under the securities laws of any jurisdiction, necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and, in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii), other than statements contained or included therein under the section captioned “Underwriting—Selling Restrictions”; or (iii) any Business Combination Securities Disclosure Document; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, liability, claim, damage or expense arises out of or is based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereof), or in any application or Business Combination Securities Disclosure Document, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company with respect to an Underwriter by or on behalf of the Underwriter specifically for use in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereof), or in any application or Business Combination Securities Disclosure Document, as the case may be, which furnished written information, it is expressly agreed, consists solely of the information described in the proviso of the last sentence of Section 2.3.1 with respect to any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement and Prospectus. With respect to any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue
statement or omission made in the Preliminary Prospectus, the indemnity agreement contained in this paragraph shall not inure to the benefit of the Underwriter to the extent that any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense of the Underwriter results from the fact that a copy of the Prospectus was not given or sent to the person asserting any such loss, liability, claim or damage at or prior to the written confirmation of sale of the Public Securities to such person as required by the Act and the Regulations, and if the untrue statement or omission has been corrected in the Prospectus. The Company agrees promptly to notify the Underwriter of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against the Company or any of its officers, directors or controlling persons in connection with the issue and sale of the Public Securities or in connection with the Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or any Business Combination Securities Disclosure Document.
5.1.2. Procedure. If any action is brought against the Underwriter or a Controlling Person in respect of which indemnity may be sought against the Company pursuant to Section 5.1.1, the Underwriter shall promptly notify the Company in writing of the institution of such action and the Company shall assume the defense of such action, including the employment and fees of counsel (subject to the reasonable approval of the Underwriter or Controlling Person, as applicable) and payment of actual expenses. The Underwriter or such Controlling Person shall have the right to employ its own counsel in any such case, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of the Underwriter or such Controlling Person unless: (i) the employment of such counsel at the expense of the Company shall have been authorized in writing by the Company in connection with the defense of such action; (ii) the Company shall not have employed counsel to have charge of the defense of such action; or (iii) counsel to such indemnified party or parties shall have reasonably concluded that there may be defenses available to it or them which are different from or additional to those available to the Company (in which case the Company shall not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party or parties), in any of which events the reasonable fees and expenses of not more than one additional firm of attorneys selected by the Underwriter and/or Controlling Person shall be borne by the Company. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, if the Underwriter or such Controlling Person shall assume the defense of such action as provided above, the Company shall have the right to approve the terms of any settlement of such action which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
5.2. Indemnification of the Company. The Underwriter agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors, officers, and employees and agents who control the Company (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the foregoing indemnity from the Company to the Underwriter, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, or in any application, in reliance upon, and in strict conformity with, written information furnished to the Company with respect to the Underwriter by or on behalf of the Underwriter expressly for use in such Registration Statement, Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto or in any such application, which furnished written information, it is expressly agreed, consists solely of the information described in the proviso of the last sentence of Section 2.3.1. In case any action shall be brought against the Company or any other person so indemnified based on any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto or any application, and in respect of which indemnity may be sought against the Underwriter, the Underwriter shall have the rights and duties given to the Company, and the Company and each other person so indemnified shall have the rights and duties given to the Underwriter by the provisions of Section 5.1.2.
5.3. Contribution.
5.3.1. Contribution Rights. In order to provide for just and equitable contribution under the Act in any case in which (i) any person entitled to indemnification under this Section 5 makes a claim for indemnification pursuant hereto but it is judicially determined (by the entry of a final judgment or decree by a court of competent jurisdiction and the expiration of time to appeal or the denial of the last right of appeal) that such indemnification may not be enforced in such case notwithstanding the fact that this Section 5 provides for indemnification in such case; or (ii) contribution under the Act, the Exchange Act or otherwise may be required on the part of any such person in circumstances for which indemnification is provided under this Section 5 but is unavailable, then, and in each such case, the Company and the Underwriter shall contribute to the aggregate losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses of the nature contemplated by said indemnity agreement incurred by the Company and the Underwriter, as incurred, in such proportions that the Underwriter is responsible for that portion represented by the percentage that the underwriting discount appearing on the cover page of the Prospectus bears to the initial offering price appearing
thereon and the Company is responsible for the balance; provided, that, no person guilty of a fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 5.3.1, the Underwriter shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Public Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages that the Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay in respect of such losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses. For purposes of this Section, each director, officer and employee of the Underwriter or the Company, as applicable, and each person, if any, who controls the Underwriter or the Company, as applicable, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Underwriter or the Company, as applicable.
5.3.2. Contribution Procedure. Within fifteen (15) days after receipt by any party to this Agreement (or its representatives) of notice of the commencement of any action, suit or proceeding, such party will, if a claim for contribution in respect thereof is to be made against another party (“contributing party”), notify the contributing party of the commencement thereof, but the omission to so notify the contributing party will not relieve it from any liability which it may have to any other party other than for contribution hereunder. In case any such action, suit or proceeding is brought against any party, and such party notifies a contributing party or its representatives of the commencement thereof within the aforesaid fifteen (15) days, the contributing party will be entitled to participate therein with the notifying party and any other contributing party similarly notified. Any such contributing party shall not be liable to any party seeking contribution on account of any settlement of any claim, action or proceeding effected by such party seeking contribution without the written consent of such contributing party. The contribution provisions contained in this Section are intended to supersede, to the extent permitted by law, any right to contribution under the Act, the Exchange Act or otherwise available. The Underwriter’s obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 5.3 are as set forth herein.
6. Additional Covenants.
6.1. Additional Shares or Options. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Company hereby agrees that until the Company consummates a Business Combination, it shall not issue any Ordinary Shares or any options or other securities convertible into Ordinary Shares or any preferred shares which participate in any manner in the Trust Account or which vote on a Business Combination.
6.2. Trust Account Waiver Acknowledgements. The Company hereby agrees that, prior to commencing its due diligence investigation of any Target Business or obtaining the services of any vendor (including Greenberg Traurig LLP and Appleby (Cayman) Ltd., as legal counsel to the Company), it will use its reasonable best efforts to have such Target Business or vendor acknowledge in writing, whether through a letter of intent, memorandum of understanding, agreement in principle or other similar document (and subsequently acknowledges the same in any definitive document replacing any of the foregoing), that (a) it has read the Prospectus, and understands that the Company has established the Trust Account, initially in an amount of $100,500,000 for the benefit of the Public Shareholders and that, except for the interest earned on the Trust Funds held in the Trust Account (as provided for in the Trust Agreement), the Company may disburse monies from the Trust Account only: (i) to the Public Shareholders in the event of the redemption of their shares upon consummation of a Business Combination or amendment to the Company’s Charter relating to pre-Business Combination activity, (ii) to the Public Shareholders in connection with the Company’s liquidation in the event the Company is unable to consummate a Business Combination within the required time period or (iii) to the Company and others concurrently with, or after it consummates a Business Combination, and (b) for and in consideration of the Company (1) agreeing to evaluate such Target Business for purposes of consummating a Business Combination with it or (2) agreeing to engage the services of the vendor, as the case may be, such Target Business or vendor agrees that it does not have any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies of the Trust Account including any monies distributed by the Company to Public Shareholders from the Trust Account (“Claim”) and waives any Claim it may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with the Company and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever. The foregoing letters shall substantially be in the form attached hereto as Exhibits A and B, respectively.
6.3. Insider Letters. The Company shall not take any action or omit to take any action which would cause a breach of any of the Insider Letters executed between each Company Affiliate and the Underwriter and will not allow any amendments to, or waivers of, such Insider Letters without the prior written consent of the Underwriter.
6.4. Rule 419. The Company agrees that it will use its best efforts to prevent the Company from becoming subject to Rule 419 under the Act prior to the consummation of any Business Combination, including, but not limited to, using its best efforts to prevent any of the Company’s outstanding securities from being deemed to be a “penny stock” as defined in Rule 3a-51-1 under the Exchange Act during such period.
6.5. Target Fair Market Value. The Company agrees that the Target Business that it acquires must have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the Trust Account (excluding interest earned on the Trust Account and released to the Company to pay taxes) at the time of signing the definitive agreement for the Business Combination with such Target Business. The fair market value of such business must be determined by the Board of Directors of the Company based upon standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and book value. If the Board of Directors of the Company is not able to independently determine that the target business meets such fair market value requirement, the Fairness Opinion rendered by the Fairness Opinion Provider will contain a confirmatory statement that the Target Business satisfies such requirement.
7. Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery. Except as the context otherwise requires, all representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to be representations, warranties and agreements at the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as applicable, and such representations, warranties and agreements of the Underwriter and Company, including the indemnity agreements contained in Section 5 hereof, shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Underwriter, the Company or any controlling person, and shall survive termination of this Agreement or the issuance and delivery of the Public Securities to the Underwriter until the earlier of the expiration of any applicable statute of limitations and the seventh (7th) anniversary of the Closing Date, at which time the representations, warranties and agreements shall terminate and be of no further force and effect.
8. Effective Date of This Agreement and Termination Thereof.
8.1. Effective Date. This Agreement shall become effective on the date hereof.
8.2. Termination. The Underwriter shall have the right to terminate this Agreement at any time prior to any Closing Date: (i) if any domestic or international event or act or occurrence has materially disrupted or, in the Underwriter’s sole opinion, will in the immediate future materially disrupt, general securities markets in the United States; or (ii) if trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the NYSE American, NASDAQ or on the OTC Bulletin Board (or successor trading market) shall have been suspended, or minimum or maximum prices for trading shall have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices for securities shall have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices for securities shall have been required on the OTC Bulletin Board or by order of the Commission or any other government authority having jurisdiction, or (iii) if the United States shall have become involved in a war or an increase in existing major hostilities, or (iv) if a banking moratorium has been declared by a New York State or federal authority, or (v) if a moratorium on foreign exchange trading has been declared which materially adversely impacts the United States securities market, or (vi) if the Company shall have sustained a material loss by fire, flood, accident, hurricane, earthquake, theft, sabotage or other calamity or malicious act which, whether or not such loss shall have been insured, will, in the Underwriter’s sole opinion, make it inadvisable to proceed with the delivery of the Firm Units, (vii) if any of the Company’s representations, warranties or covenants hereunder are breached, or (viii) if the Underwriter shall have become aware after the date hereof of a Material Adverse Effect on the Company, or such adverse material change in general market conditions, including, without limitation, as a result of terrorist activities or any other calamity or crisis either within or outside the United States after the date hereof, or any increase in any of the foregoing, as in the Underwriter’s sole judgment would make it impracticable to proceed with the offering, sale and/or delivery of the Firm Units or to enforce contracts made by the Underwriter for the sale of the Firm Units.
8.3. Expenses. In the event that this Agreement shall not be carried out for any reason whatsoever, within the time specified herein or any extensions thereof pursuant to the terms herein, the obligations of the Company to pay the out of pocket expenses related to the transactions contemplated herein shall be governed by Section 3.9 hereof.
8.4. Indemnification. Notwithstanding any contrary provision contained in this Agreement, any election hereunder or any termination of this Agreement, and whether or not this Agreement is otherwise carried out, the provisions of Section 5 shall not be in any way effected by, such election or termination or failure to carry out the terms of this Agreement or any part hereof.
9. Miscellaneous.
9.1. Notices. All communications hereunder, except as herein otherwise specifically provided, shall be in writing and shall be mailed by certified mail (with return receipt), delivered by hand or reputable overnight courier, delivered by facsimile transmission (with printed confirmation of receipt) and confirmed, or by electronic transmission via PDF and shall be deemed given when so mailed, delivered, or faxed or transmitted (or if mailed, five days after such mailing):
If to the Underwriter:
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
366 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10017
Fax No.: (212) 661-4936
Attn: Steven Levine
Email: slevine@ebcap.com
With a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Graubard Miller
The Chrysler Building
405 Lexington Avenue, 44th Floor
New York, New York 10174
Fax No.: (212) 818-8881
Attn: David Alan Miller, Esq.; Jeffrey M. Gallant, Esq.
Email: dmiller@graubard.com; jgallant@graubard.com
If to the Company, to:
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
888 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
Attn: Brett Johnson
Email: brett@threelionscapital.com
With a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
1750 Tysons Boulevard, Suite 1000
McLean, Virginia 22102
Attn: Alan Annex, Esq.; Jason Simon, Esq.
Email: alan.annex@gtlaw.com; Jason.simon@gtlaw.com
9.2. Headings. The headings contained herein are for the sole purpose of convenience of reference, and shall not in any way limit or affect the meaning or interpretation of any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement.
9.3. Amendment. This Agreement may only be amended by a written instrument executed by each of the parties hereto.
9.4. Entire Agreement. This Agreement (together with the other agreements and documents being delivered pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement) constitute the entire agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof, and supersede all prior agreements and understandings of the parties, oral and written, with respect to the subject matter hereof.
9.5. Binding Effect. This Agreement shall inure solely to the benefit of and shall be binding upon the Underwriter, the Company and the controlling persons, directors and officers referred to in Section 5 hereof, and their respective successors, legal representatives and assigns, and no other person shall have or be construed to have any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of or by virtue of this Agreement or any provisions herein contained.
9.6. Governing Law, Venue, etc.
This Agreement shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without giving effect to conflict of laws.
In the event of any dispute under this Agreement, including, but not limited to, a failure by the Company to pay any fees to the Underwriter, and/or then and in such event, each party hereto agrees that the dispute shall either be (i) resolved through final and binding arbitration in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) or (ii) brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York, County of New York under the accelerated adjudication procedures of the Commercial Division, or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, in each event at the discretion of the party initiating the dispute. Once a party files a dispute (if arbitration, by sending AAA a Demand for Arbitration) or commences an action in one of the above forums, the parties agree that all issues regarding such dispute or this Agreement must be resolved before such forum rather than seeking to resolve it through another alternative forum set forth above.
In the event the dispute is brought before the AAA, the arbitration shall be brought before the AAA’s offices in New York City, New York, will be conducted in English and will be decided by a panel of three arbitrators selected from the AAA Commercial Disputes Panel. Each of the parties agrees that the decision and/or award made by the arbitrators shall be final and enforceable by any court having jurisdiction over the party from whom enforcement is sought. Furthermore, the parties to any such arbitration shall be entitled to make one motion for summary judgment within 60 days of the commencement of the arbitration, which shall be decided by the arbitrators prior to the commencement of the hearings. The prevailing party shall move to confirm any arbitration award within ten (10) business days of receipt of the award and the losing party shall not oppose such application or seek to vacate the award.
In the event the dispute is brought by a party in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, each party irrevocably submits to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be exclusive. Each party hereby waives any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction or that such courts represent an inconvenient forum. Any such process, summons and/or complaint to be served upon a party may be served by transmitting a copy thereof by Federal Express or other overnight courier, addressed to such party at the address set forth at the beginning of this Agreement. Such delivery shall be deemed personal service and shall be legal and binding upon the party being served in any action, proceeding or claim. The parties agree that the prevailing party(ies) in any such action shall be entitled to recover from the other party(ies) all of its reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses incurred in such action, proceeding or arbitration.
THE COMPANY (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ON BEHALF OF ITS EQUITY HOLDERS AND CREDITORS) HEREBY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY CLAIM BASED UPON, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT AND THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED BY THIS AGREEMENT, THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE PROSPECTUS.
9.7. Execution in Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, and by the different parties hereto in separate counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement, and shall become effective when one or more counterparts has been signed by each of the parties hereto and delivered to each of the other parties hereto. Delivery of a signed counterpart of this Agreement by fax or email/.pdf transmission shall constitute valid and sufficient delivery thereof.
9.8. Waiver, etc. The failure of any of the parties hereto to at any time enforce any of the provisions of this Agreement shall not be deemed or construed to be a waiver of any such provision, nor to in any way affect the validity of this Agreement or any provision hereof or the right of any of the parties hereto to thereafter enforce each and every provision of this Agreement. No waiver of any breach, non- compliance or non-fulfillment of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be effective unless set forth in a written instrument executed by the party or parties against whom or which enforcement of such waiver is sought; and no waiver of any such breach, non-compliance or non-fulfillment shall be construed or deemed to be a waiver of any other or subsequent breach, non-compliance or non-fulfillment.
9.9. No Fiduciary Relationship. The Company hereby acknowledges that the Underwriter is acting solely as underwriter in connection with the offering of the Public Securities. The Company further acknowledges that the Underwriter is acting pursuant to a contractual relationship created solely by this Agreement entered into on an arm’s length basis and in no event do the parties intend that the Underwriter act or be responsible as a fiduciary to the Company, its management, shareholders, creditors or any other person in connection with any activity that the Underwriter may undertake or may have undertaken in furtherance of the offering of the Public Securities, either before or after the date hereof. The Underwriter hereby expressly disclaims any fiduciary or similar obligations to the Company, either in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any matters leading up to such transactions, and the Company hereby confirms its understanding and agreement to that effect. The Company and the Underwriter agree that each is responsible for making its own independent judgments with respect to any such transactions, and that any opinions or views expressed by the Underwriter to the Company regarding such transactions, including but not limited to any opinions or views with respect to the price or market for the Public Securities, do not constitute advice or recommendations to the Company. The Company hereby waives and releases, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims that the Company may have against the Underwriter with respect to any breach or alleged breach of any fiduciary or similar duty to the Company in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any matters leading up to such transactions.
[Signature Page Follows]
If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Underwriter and the Company, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between us.
| Very Truly Yours, | ||
| THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| Agreed to and accepted | ||
| as of the date first written above: | ||
| EARLYBIRDCAPITAL, INC. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: |
||
| Title: |
||
[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement, dated ________, 2026]
SCHEDULE A
THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP.
10,000,000 Units
| Underwriter |
Number of Firm Units to be Purchased |
|||
| EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. |
10,000,000 | |||
| TOTAL |
10,000,000 | |||
SCHEDULE B
[None]
EXHIBIT A
Form of Target Business Letter
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
888 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Reference is made to the Final Prospectus of Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”), dated ________, 2026 (the “Prospectus”). Capitalized terms used and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Prospectus.
We have read the Prospectus and understand that the Company has established the Trust Account, initially in an amount of at least $100,500,000, for the benefit of the Public Shareholders and that, except for the interest earned on the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Company may disburse monies from the Trust Account only: (i) to the Public Shareholders in the event of the redemption of their shares upon consummation of a Business Combination or amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association relating to pre-Business Combination activity, (ii) to the Public Shareholders in connection with the Company’s liquidation in the event the Company is unable to consummate a Business Combination within the required time period or (iii) to the Company concurrently with, or after it consummates a Business Combination.
For and in consideration of the Company agreeing to evaluate the undersigned for purposes of consummating a Business Combination with it, the undersigned hereby agrees that it does not have any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account including any monies distributed by the Company to Public Shareholders from the Trust Account (each, a “Claim”) and hereby waives any Claim it may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with the Company and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever.
Print Name of Target Business |
Authorized Signature of Target Business |
EXHIBIT B
Form of Vendor Letter
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
888 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Reference is made to the Final Prospectus of Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”), dated ________, 2026 (the “Prospectus”). Capitalized terms used and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Prospectus.
We have read the Prospectus and understand that the Company has established the Trust Account, initially in an amount of at least $100,500,000, for the benefit of the Public Shareholders and that, except for the interest earned on the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Company may disburse monies from the Trust Account only: (i) to the Public Shareholders in the event of the redemption of their shares upon consummation of a Business Combination or amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association relating to pre-Business Combination activity, (ii) to the Public Shareholders in connection with the Company’s liquidation in the event the Company is unable to consummate a Business Combination within the required time period or (iii) to the Company concurrently with, or after it consummates a Business Combination.
For and in consideration of the Company agreeing to use the services of the undersigned, the undersigned hereby agrees that it does not have any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account including any monies distributed by the Company to Public Shareholders from the Trust Account (each, a “Claim”) and hereby waives any Claim it may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to the Company and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever.
Print Name of Vendor |
Authorized Signature of Vendor |
Exhibit 3.2
THE COMPANIES ACT (AS REVISED)
OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
AMENDED AND RESTATED MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION
OF
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
(ADOPTED BY WAY OF SPECIAL RESOLUTION EFFECTIVE ______ 2026)
1
THE COMPANIES ACT (AS REVISED)
OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
AMENDED AND RESTATED MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION
OF
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
(ADOPTED BY WAY OF SPECIAL RESOLUTION EFFECTIVE ______ 2026)
| 1. | The name of the Company is Three Lions Acquisition Corp. |
| 2. | The registered office of the Company will be situated at the offices of Appleby Global Services (Cayman) Limited, Suite 210, 2nd Floor, Windward III, Regatta Office Park, PO Box 500, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, KY1-1106 or at such other place in the Cayman Islands as the Directors may from time to time decide. |
| 3. | The objects for which the Company is established are unrestricted and the Company shall have full power and authority to carry out any object that is not prohibited by the laws of the Cayman Islands. |
| 4. | The liability of each Member is limited to the amount, if any, unpaid on such Member’s shares. |
| 5. | The share capital of the Company is US$20,100.00 divided into 200,000,000 ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each, and 1,000,000 preference shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each. |
| 6. | The Company has power to register by way of continuation as a body corporate limited by shares under the laws of any jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands and to be deregistered in the Cayman Islands. |
| 7. | Capitalised terms that are not defined in this Amended and Restated Memorandum of Association bear the respective meanings given to them in the Amended and Restated Articles of Association of the Company. |
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THE COMPANIES ACT (AS REVISED)
OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
AMENDED AND RESTATED ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
OF
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
(ADOPTED BY WAY OF SPECIAL RESOLUTION EFFECTIVE ______ 2026)
| 1. | INTERPRETATION |
| 1.1 | In these Articles, Table A in the First Schedule to the Statute does not apply and, unless there is something in the subject or context inconsistent therewith: |
Affiliate: means, with respect to a Person, any other person that, directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, Controls, is Controlled by, or is under common Control with, such Person, and (a) in the case of a natural person, shall include such Person’s spouse, parents, children, siblings, mother-in-law and father-in-law and brothers and sisters-in-law, whether by blood, marriage or adoption or anyone residing in such person’s home, a trust for the benefit of any of the foregoing, or a corporation, a company, a partnership or other entity wholly or jointly owned by any of the foregoing and (b) in the case of an entity, shall include a corporation, a company, a partnership or other entity which directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, Controls, is Controlled by, or is under common Control with, such entity. The term Affiliated has meaning correlative to the foregoing;
Applicable Law: means, with respect to any Person, all applicable provisions of all constitutions, treaties, statutes, laws (including the common law), codes, rules, regulations, ordinances or orders of any Governmental Authority, and any orders, decisions, injunctions, judgments, awards and decrees of or agreements with any Governmental Authority;
Articles: means these amended and restated articles of association of the Company;
Audit Committee: means the audit committee of the board of Directors of the Company formed pursuant to the Articles, or any successor committee;
Auditor: means the Person for the time being performing the duties of auditor of the Company (if any);
Business Combination: means a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganisation or similar business combination involving the Company, with one or more businesses or assets (the target business), which Business Combination: (a) as long as the securities of the Company are listed on a Designated Stock Exchange, must occur with one or more target businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80 per cent of the net assets held in the Trust Account (net of interest income earned on the Trust Account that is released to the Company to pay taxes) at the time of signing the definitive agreement to enter into such Business Combination; and (b) must not be effectuated solely with another blank cheque company or a similar company with nominal operations;
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business day: means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday or a day on which banking institutions or trust companies are authorised or obligated by law to close in New York City;
Clearing House: means a clearing house recognised by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the Shares (or depositary receipts therefor) are listed or quoted on a stock exchange or interdealer quotation system in such jurisdiction;
Company: means the above named company;
Company’s Website: means the website of the Company and/or its web-address or domain name (if any);
Compensation Committee: means the compensation committee of the board of Directors of the Company established pursuant to the Articles, or any successor committee;
Control: means with respect to a Person, the power or authority, whether exercised or not, to direct the business, management and policies of such Person, directly or indirectly, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise; provided that such power or authority shall conclusively be presumed to exist upon possession of beneficial ownership or power to direct the vote of more than fifty per cent (50%) of the votes entitled to be cast at a meeting of the members or shareholders of such Person or power to control the composition of a majority of the board of directors of such Person. The terms Controlled and Controlling have meanings correlative to the foregoing;
Designated Stock Exchange: means any national securities exchange or automated system on which the Company’s securities are listed for trading, including The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC;
Directors: means the directors for the time being of the Company;
Dividend: means any dividend (whether interim or final) resolved to be paid on Shares pursuant to the Articles;
Electronic Communication: means a communication sent by electronic means, including electronic posting to the Company’s Website, transmission to any number, address or internet website (including the website of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission) or other electronic delivery methods as otherwise decided and approved by the Directors;
Electronic Record: has the same meaning as in the Electronic Transactions Act;
Electronic Transactions Act: means the Electronic Transactions Act (2003 Revision) of the Cayman Islands;
Founders: means the Sponsor and all Members immediately prior to the consummation of the IPO (other than an Underwriter);
Governmental Authority: means any nation or government or any province or state or any other political subdivision thereof, or any entity, authority or body exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative functions of or pertaining to government, including any court, tribunal, government authority, agency, department, board, commission or instrumentality or any political subdivision thereof, any court, tribunal or arbitrator, and any self-regulatory organization;
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Indemnified Person: has the meaning ascribed to such term in Article 47.1;
Independent Director: has the same meaning as in the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange and/or the US Exchange Act, as the case may be;
IPO: means the Company’s initial public offering of securities;
IPO Redemption: has the meaning given to it in Article 52.4;
Management: has the meaning given to it in Article 53.1;
Member: has the same meaning as in the Statute;
Memorandum: means the amended and restated memorandum of association of the Company;
Officer: means a person appointed to hold an office in the Company;
Ordinary Resolution: means a resolution:
| (a) | passed by a simple majority of the Members as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting of the Company and where a poll is taken regard shall be had in computing a majority to the number of votes to which each Member is entitled; or |
| (b) | approved in writing by all of the Members entitled to vote at a general meeting of the Company in one or more instruments each signed by one or more of the Members; |
Ordinary Shares: means an ordinary share of a par value of US$0.0001 in the share capital of the Company;
Over-Allotment Option: means the option of the Underwriter to purchase up to an additional 15 per cent of the units issued in the IPO;
Person: means any individual, corporation, company, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, exempted limited partnership, proprietorship, association, joint venture, institution, public benefit corporation, exempted company, firm, trust, estate or other enterprise or entity (whether or not having a separate legal personality) or Governmental Authority or any of them as the context so requires, other than in respect of a Director or Officer of the Company in which circumstances Person shall mean any individual or entity permitted to act as such in accordance with the laws of the Cayman Islands;
Preference Share: means a preference share of a par value of US$0.0001 in the share capital of the Company;
Public Share: means an Ordinary Share issued as part of the units issued in the IPO;
Redemption Notice: means a notice in a form approved by the Company by which a holder of Public Shares is entitled to require the Company to redeem its Public Shares, subject to any conditions contained therein;
Redemption Price: has the meaning given to it in Article 53.4;
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Register of Members: means the register of Members maintained in accordance with the Statute and includes (except where otherwise stated) any branch or duplicate register of Members;
Registered Office: means the registered office for the time being of the Company;
Representative: means a representative of the Underwriter;
Seal: means the common seal of the Company and includes every duplicate seal;
SEC: means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission;
Share: means an Ordinary Share or a Preference Share and includes a fraction of a share in the Company;
Share Premium Account: means the share premium account established in accordance with the Articles and the Statute;
Special Resolution: has the same meaning in the Statute, and includes a unanimous written resolution;
Sponsor: Three Lions Sponsor, LLC;
Statute: means the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands;
Treasury Share: means a Share held in the name of the Company as a treasury share in accordance with the Statute;
Trust Account: means the trust account established by the Company upon the consummation of its IPO and into which a certain amount of the net proceeds of the IPO, together with a certain amount of the proceeds of the private placement of the private placement units simultaneously with the closing date of the IPO, will be deposited;
Underwriter: means an underwriter of the IPO from time to time and any successor underwriter; and
US Exchange Act: means the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any similar U.S. federal statute and the rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder, all as the same shall be in effect at the time.
| 1.2 | In these Articles: |
| (a) | words importing the singular number include the plural number and vice versa; |
| (b) | words importing the masculine gender include the feminine gender; |
| (c) | words importing persons include corporations and any other legal or natural persons; |
| (d) | “written” and “in writing” include all modes of representing or reproducing words in visible form, including in the form of an Electronic Record; |
| (e) | “shall” shall be construed as imperative and “may” shall be construed as permissive; |
| (f) | references to provisions of any law or regulation shall be construed as references to those provisions as amended, modified, re-enacted or replaced; |
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| (g) | any phrase introduced by the terms “including”, “include”, “in particular” or any similar expression shall be construed as illustrative and shall not limit the sense of the words preceding those terms; |
| (h) | the term “and/or” is used herein to mean both “and” as well as “or.” The use of “and/or” in certain contexts in no respects qualifies or modifies the use of the terms “and” or “or” in others. The term “or” shall not be interpreted to be exclusive and the term “and” shall not be interpreted to require the conjunctive (in each case, unless the context otherwise requires); |
| (i) | headings are inserted for reference only and shall be ignored in construing the Articles; |
| (j) | any requirements as to delivery under the Articles include delivery in the form of an Electronic Record; |
| (k) | any requirements as to execution or signature under the Articles including the execution of the Articles themselves can be satisfied in the form of an electronic signature as defined in the Electronic Transactions Act; |
| (l) | sections 8 and 19(3) of the Electronic Transactions Act shall not apply; |
| (m) | the term “clear days” in relation to the period of a notice means that period excluding the day when the notice is received or deemed to be received and the day for which it is given or on which it is to take effect; |
| (n) | the term “holder” in relation to a Share means a Person whose name is entered in the Register of Members as the holder of such Share; |
| (o) | reference to any determination by the Directors shall be construed as a determination by the Directors in their sole and absolute discretion and shall be applicable either generally or in any particular case; and |
| (p) | reference to a dollar or dollars or USD or US$ or $ and to a cent or cents is reference to dollars and cents of the United States of America. |
| 2. | COMMENCEMENT OF BUSINESS |
| 2.1 | The business of the Company may be commenced as soon after incorporation of the Company as the Directors shall see fit. |
| 2.2 | The Directors may pay, out of the capital or any other monies of the Company, all expenses incurred in or about the formation and establishment of the Company, including the expenses of registration. |
| 3. | ISSUE OF SHARES AND OTHER SECURITIES |
| 3.1 | Subject to the provisions, if any, in the Memorandum (and to any direction that may be given by the Company in general meeting) and, where applicable, the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or otherwise under Applicable Law, and without prejudice to any rights attached to any existing Shares, the Directors may allot, issue, grant options over or otherwise dispose of Shares (including fractions of a Share) with or without preferred, deferred or other rights or restrictions, whether in regard to Dividends or other distributions, voting, return of capital or otherwise and to such Persons, at such times and on such other terms as they think proper, and may also (subject to the Statute and the Articles) vary such rights. |
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| 3.2 | The Company may issue rights, options, warrants or convertible securities or securities of similar nature conferring the right upon the holders thereof to subscribe for, purchase or receive any class of Shares or other securities in the Company, upon such terms as the Directors may from time to time determine and for such purposes the Directors may reserve an appropriate number of Shares for the time being unissued. |
| 3.3 | The Company may issue units of securities in the Company, which may be comprised of whole or fractional Shares, rights, options, warrants or convertible securities or securities of similar nature conferring the right upon the holders thereof to subscribe for, purchase or receive any class of Shares or other securities in the Company, upon such terms as the Directors may from time to time determine and for such purposes the Directors may reserve an appropriate number of Shares for the time being unissued. The securities comprising any such units which are issued pursuant to the IPO can only be traded separately from one another on the 90th day following the date of the prospectus relating to the IPO (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless the Representative(s) determines that an earlier date is acceptable, subject to the Company having filed a current report on Form 8-K with the SEC and a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Prior to such date, the units can be traded, but the securities comprising such units cannot be traded separately from one another. |
| 3.4 | The Company shall not issue Shares to bearer. |
| 4. | REGISTER OF MEMBERS |
| 4.1 | The Company shall maintain or cause to be maintained the Register of Members in accordance with the Statute. |
| 4.2 | The Directors may determine that the Company shall maintain one or more branch registers of Members in accordance with the Statute. The Directors may also determine which register of Members shall constitute the principal register and which shall constitute the branch register or registers, and to vary such determination from time to time. |
| 5. | CLOSING OF REGISTER OF MEMBERS OR FIXING RECORD DATE |
| 5.1 | For the purpose of determining Members entitled to notice of, or to vote at any meeting of Members or any adjournment thereof, or Members entitled to receive payment of any Dividend or other distribution, or in order to make a determination of Members for any other purpose, the Directors may, by any means in accordance with the requirements of the Designated Stock Exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or otherwise under Applicable Law, provide that the Register of Members shall be closed for transfers for a stated period which shall not in any case exceed forty days. |
| 5.2 | In lieu of, or apart from, closing the Register of Members, the Directors may fix in advance or arrears a date as the record date for any such determination of Members entitled to notice of, or to vote at any meeting of the Members or any adjournment thereof, or for the purpose of determining the Members entitled to receive payment of any Dividend or other distribution, or in order to make a determination of Members for any other purpose. |
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| 5.3 | If the Register of Members is not so closed and no record date is fixed for the determination of Members entitled to notice of, or to vote at, a meeting of Members or Members entitled to receive payment of a Dividend or other distribution, the date on which notice of the meeting is sent or the date on which the resolution of the Directors resolving to pay such Dividend or other distribution is passed, as the case may be, shall be the record date for such determination of Members. When a determination of Members entitled to vote at any meeting of Members has been made as provided in this Article, such determination shall apply to any adjournment thereof. |
| 6. | CERTIFICATES FOR SHARES |
| 6.1 | A Member shall only be entitled to a share certificate if the Directors resolve that share certificates shall be issued. Share certificates representing Shares, if any, shall be in such form as the Directors may determine. Share certificates shall be signed by one or more Directors or other Person authorised by the Directors. The Directors may authorise certificates to be issued with the authorised signature(s) affixed by mechanical process. All certificates for Shares shall be consecutively numbered or otherwise identified and shall specify the Shares to which they relate. All certificates surrendered to the Company for transfer shall be cancelled and, subject to the Articles, no new certificate shall be issued until the former certificate representing a like number of relevant Shares shall have been surrendered and cancelled. |
| 6.2 | The Company shall not be bound to issue more than one certificate for Shares held jointly by more than one Person and delivery of a certificate to one joint holder shall be a sufficient delivery to all of them. |
| 6.3 | If a share certificate is defaced, worn out, lost or destroyed, it may be renewed on such terms (if any) as to evidence and indemnity and on the payment of such expenses reasonably incurred by the Company in investigating evidence, as the Directors may prescribe, and (in the case of defacement or wearing out) upon delivery of the old certificate. |
| 6.4 | Every share certificate sent in accordance with the Articles will be sent at the risk of the Member or other Person entitled to the certificate. The Company will not be responsible for any share certificate lost or delayed in the course of delivery. |
| 6.5 | Share certificates shall be issued within the relevant time limit as prescribed by the Statute, if applicable, or as the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or otherwise under Applicable Law may from time to time determine, whichever is shorter, after the allotment or, except in the case of a Share transfer which the Company is for the time being entitled to refuse to register and does not register, after lodgement of a Share transfer with the Company. |
| 7. | TRANSFER OF SHARES |
| 7.1 | Subject to the terms of the Articles, any Member may transfer all or any of his Shares by an instrument of transfer provided that such transfer complies with the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or otherwise under Applicable Law. If the Shares in question were issued in conjunction with rights, options or warrants issued pursuant to the Articles on terms that one cannot be transferred without the other, the Directors shall refuse to register the transfer of any such Share without evidence satisfactory to them of the like transfer of such option or warrant. |
| 7.2 | The instrument of transfer of any Share shall be in writing in the usual or common form or in a form prescribed by the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or otherwise under Applicable Law or in any other form approved by the Directors and shall be executed by or on behalf of the transferor (and if the Directors so require, signed by or on behalf of the transferee) and may be under hand or, if the transferor or transferee is a Clearing House or its nominee(s), by hand or by machine imprinted signature or by such other manner of execution as the Directors may approve from time to time. The transferor shall be deemed to remain the holder of a Share until the name of the transferee is entered in the Register of Members. |
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| 8. | REDEMPTION, REPURCHASE AND SURRENDER OF SHARES |
| 8.1 | Subject to the provisions of the Statute and the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or otherwise under Applicable Law, the Company may: |
| (a) | issue Shares that are to be redeemed or are liable to be redeemed at the option of the Member or the Company in such manner and upon such other terms as the Directors may determine before the issuance of the Shares; and |
| (b) | purchase its own Shares (including any redeemable Shares) in such manner and on such other terms as the Directors may determine and agree with the relevant Member. |
| 8.2 | The Company may make a payment in respect of the redemption or purchase of its own Shares in any manner permitted by the Statute, including out of capital. |
| 8.3 | With respect to redeeming or repurchasing the Shares: |
| (a) | Members who hold Public Shares are entitled to request the redemption of such Shares in the circumstances described in Article 52; |
| (b) | Public Shares shall be repurchased by way of tender offer in the circumstances set out in Article 52; and |
| (c) | Ordinary Shares held by the Sponsor shall be surrendered by the Sponsor for no consideration on a pro-rata basis to the extent that the Over-Allotment Option is not exercised in full so that the Founders will own 25 per cent of the Company’s issued Shares immediately after the IPO (exclusive of any securities purchased simultaneously with the IPO in a private placement, any securities purchased by an Underwriter prior to the IPO, any Shares underlying warrants, and assuming that the Founders do not subscribe for any Public Shares in the IPO and Shares underlying warrants). |
| 8.4 | Subject to the provisions of the Statute, and, where applicable, the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or otherwise under Applicable Law, the Company may purchase its own Shares (including any redeemable Shares) in such manner and on such other terms as the Directors may agree with the relevant Member. For the avoidance of doubt, redemptions, repurchases and surrenders of Shares in the circumstances described in the Article above shall not require further approval of the Members. |
| 8.5 | Any Share in respect of which notice of redemption has been given shall not be entitled to participate in the profits of the Company in respect of the period after the date specified as the date of redemption in the Redemption Notice. |
| 8.6 | The redemption, purchase or surrender of any Share shall not be deemed to give rise to the redemption, purchase or surrender of any other Share. |
| 8.7 | The Company may make a payment in respect of the redemption or purchase of its own Shares in any manner permitted by the Statute, including out of capital. |
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| 8.8 | The Directors may accept the surrender for no consideration of any fully paid Share (including any redeemable share). |
| 9. | TREASURY SHARES |
| 9.1 | The Directors may, prior to the purchase, redemption or surrender of any Share, determine that such Share shall be held as a Treasury Share. |
| 9.2 | The Directors may determine to cancel a Treasury Share or transfer a Treasury Share on such terms as they think proper (including, without limitation, for nil consideration). |
| 10. | VARIATION OF SHARE RIGHTS |
| 10.1 | Subject to Article 3.1, if at any time the share capital of the Company is divided into different classes of Shares, all or any of the rights attached to any class (unless otherwise provided by the terms of issue of the Shares of that class) may, whether or not the Company is being wound up, be varied without the consent of the holders of the issued Shares of that class where such variation is considered by the Directors not to have a material adverse effect upon such rights; otherwise, any such variation shall be made only with the consent in writing of the holders of not less than two-thirds of the issued Shares of that class, or with the approval of a resolution passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the votes cast at a separate meeting of the holders of the Shares of that class. For the avoidance of doubt, the Directors reserve the right, notwithstanding that any such variation may not have a material adverse effect, to obtain consent from the holders of Shares of the relevant class. To any such meeting all the provisions of the Articles relating to general meetings shall apply mutatis mutandis, except that the necessary quorum shall be one or more Persons holding or representing by proxy at least one-third of the issued Shares of the class (but so that if at any adjourned meeting of such holders a quorum as above defined is not present, those Members who are present shall form a quorum) and that any holder of Shares of the class present in person or by proxy may demand a poll. |
| 10.2 | For the purposes of a separate class meeting, the Directors may treat two or more or all the classes of Shares as forming one class of Shares if the Directors consider that such class of Shares would be affected in the same way by the proposals under consideration, but in any other case shall treat them as separate classes of Shares. |
| 10.3 | The rights conferred upon the holders of the Shares of any class issued with preferred or other rights shall not, unless otherwise expressly provided by the terms of issue of the Shares of that class, be deemed to be varied by the creation or issue of further Shares ranking pari passu therewith or Shares issued with preferred or other rights. |
| 11. | COMMISSION ON SALES OF SHARES |
The Company may, in so far as the Statute permits, pay a commission to any Person in consideration of his subscribing or agreeing to subscribe (whether absolutely or conditionally) or procuring or agreeing to procure subscriptions (whether absolutely or conditionally) for any Shares. Such commissions may be satisfied by the payment of cash and/or the issue of fully or partly paid-up Shares. The Company may also on any issue of Shares pay such brokerage as may be lawful.
| 12. | NON-RECOGNITION OF TRUSTS |
The Company shall not be bound by or compelled to recognise in any way (even when notified) any equitable, contingent, future or partial interest in any Share, or (except only as is otherwise provided by the Articles or the Statute) any other rights in respect of any Share other than an absolute right to the entirety thereof in the holder.
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| 13. | LIEN ON SHARES |
| 13.1 | The Company shall have a first and paramount lien on all Shares (whether fully paid-up or not) registered in the name of a Member (whether solely or jointly with others) for all debts, liabilities or engagements to or with the Company (whether presently payable or not) by such Member or his estate, either alone or jointly with any other Person, whether a Member or not, but the Directors may at any time declare any Share to be wholly or in part exempt from the provisions of this Article. The registration of a transfer of any such Share shall operate as a waiver of the Company’s lien thereon. The Company’s lien on a Share shall also extend to any amount payable in respect of that Share. |
| 13.2 | The Company may sell, in such manner as the Directors think fit, any Shares on which the Company has a lien, if a sum in respect of which the lien exists is presently payable, and is not paid within fourteen clear days after notice has been received or deemed to have been received by the holder of the Shares, or to the Person entitled to it in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of the holder, demanding payment and stating that if the notice is not complied with the Shares may be sold. |
| 13.3 | To give effect to any such sale the Directors may authorise any Person to execute an instrument of transfer of the Shares sold to, or in accordance with the directions of, the purchaser. The purchaser or his nominee shall be registered as the holder of the Shares comprised in any such transfer, and he shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, nor shall his title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the sale or the exercise of the Company’s power of sale under the Articles. |
| 13.4 | The net proceeds of such sale after payment of costs, shall be applied in payment of such part of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable and any balance shall (subject to a like lien for sums not presently payable as existed upon the Shares before the sale) be paid to the Person entitled to the Shares at the date of the sale. |
| 14. | CALLS ON SHARES |
| 14.1 | Subject to the terms of the allotment and issue of any Shares, the Directors may make calls upon the Members in respect of any monies unpaid on their Shares (whether in respect of par value or premium), and each Member shall (subject to receiving at least fourteen clear days’ notice specifying the time or times of payment) pay to the Company at the time or times so specified the amount called on the Shares. A call may be revoked or postponed, in whole or in part, as the Directors may determine. A call may be required to be paid by instalments. A Person upon whom a call is made shall remain liable for calls made upon him notwithstanding the subsequent transfer of the Shares in respect of which the call was made. |
| 14.2 | A call shall be deemed to have been made at the time when the resolution of the Directors authorising such call was passed. |
| 14.3 | The joint holders of a Share shall be jointly and severally liable to pay all calls in respect thereof. |
| 14.4 | If a call remains unpaid after it has become due and payable, the Person from whom it is due shall pay interest on the amount unpaid from the day it became due and payable until it is paid at such rate as the Directors may determine (and in addition all expenses that have been incurred by the Company by reason of such non-payment), but the Directors may waive payment of the interest or expenses wholly or in part. |
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| 14.5 | An amount payable in respect of a Share on issue or allotment or at any fixed date, whether on account of the par value of the Share or premium or otherwise, shall be deemed to be a call and if it is not paid all the provisions of the Articles shall apply as if that amount had become due and payable by virtue of a call. |
| 14.6 | The Directors may issue Shares with different terms as to the amount and times of payment of calls, or the interest to be paid. |
| 14.7 | The Directors may, if they think fit, receive an amount from any Member willing to advance all or any part of the monies uncalled and unpaid upon any Shares held by him, and may (until the amount would otherwise become payable) pay interest at such rate as may be agreed upon between the Directors and the Member paying such amount in advance. |
| 14.8 | No such amount paid in advance of calls shall entitle the Member paying such amount to any portion of a Dividend or other distribution payable in respect of any period prior to the date upon which such amount would, but for such payment, become payable. |
| 15. | FORFEITURE OF SHARES |
| 15.1 | If a call or instalment of a call remains unpaid after it has become due and payable the Directors may give to the Person from whom it is due not less than fourteen clear days’ notice requiring payment of the amount unpaid together with any interest which may have accrued and any expenses incurred by the Company by reason of such non-payment. The notice shall specify where payment is to be made and shall state that if the notice is not complied with the Shares in respect of which the call was made will be liable to be forfeited. |
| 15.2 | If the notice is not complied with, any Share in respect of which it was given may, before the payment required by the notice has been made, be forfeited by a resolution of the Directors. Such forfeiture shall include all Dividends, other distributions or other monies payable in respect of the forfeited Share and not paid before the forfeiture. |
| 15.3 | A forfeited Share may be sold, re-allotted or otherwise disposed of on such terms and in such manner as the Directors think fit and at any time before a sale, re-allotment or disposition the forfeiture may be cancelled on such terms as the Directors think fit. Where for the purposes of its disposal a forfeited Share is to be transferred to any Person the Directors may authorise some Person to execute an instrument of transfer of the Share in favour of that Person. |
| 15.4 | A Person any of whose Shares have been forfeited shall cease to be a Member in respect of them and shall surrender to the Company for cancellation the certificate for the Shares forfeited and shall remain liable to pay to the Company all monies which at the date of forfeiture were payable by him to the Company in respect of those Shares together with interest at such rate as the Directors may determine, but his liability shall cease if and when the Company shall have received payment in full of all monies due and payable by him in respect of those Shares. |
| 15.5 | A certificate in writing under the hand of one Director or Officer of the Company that a Share has been forfeited on a specified date shall be conclusive evidence of the facts stated in it as against all Persons claiming to be entitled to the Share. The certificate shall (subject to the execution of an instrument of transfer) constitute a good title to the Share and the Person to whom the Share is sold or otherwise disposed of shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, if any, nor shall his title to the Share be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the forfeiture, sale or disposal of the Share. |
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| 15.6 | The provisions of the Articles as to forfeiture shall apply in the case of non-payment of any sum which, by the terms of issue of a Share, becomes payable at a fixed time, whether on account of the par value of the Share or by way of premium as if it had been payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified. |
| 16. | TRANSMISSION OF SHARES |
| 16.1 | If a Member dies, the survivor or survivors (where he was a joint holder), or his legal personal representatives (where he was a sole holder), shall be the only Persons recognised by the Company as having any title to his Shares. The estate of a deceased Member is not thereby released from any liability in respect of any Share, for which he was a joint or sole holder. |
| 16.2 | Any Person becoming entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy or liquidation or dissolution of a Member (or in any other way than by transfer) may, upon such evidence being produced as may be required by the Directors, elect, by a notice in writing sent by him to the Company, either to become the holder of such Share or to have some Person nominated by him registered as the holder of such Share. If he elects to have another Person registered as the holder of such Share he shall sign an instrument of transfer of that Share to that Person. The Directors shall, in either case, have the same right to decline or suspend registration as they would have had in the case of a transfer of the Share by the relevant Member before his death or bankruptcy or liquidation or dissolution or any other case than by transfer, as the case may be. |
| 16.3 | A Person becoming entitled to a Share by reason of the death or bankruptcy or liquidation or dissolution of a Member (or in any other case than by transfer) shall be entitled to the same Dividends, other distributions and other advantages to which he would be entitled if he were the holder of such Share. However, he shall not, before becoming a Member in respect of a Share, be entitled in respect of it to exercise any right conferred by membership in relation to general meetings of the Company and the Directors may at any time give notice requiring any such Person to elect either to be registered himself or to have some Person nominated by him be registered as the holder of the Share (but the Directors shall, in either case, have the same right to decline or suspend registration as they would have had in the case of a transfer of the Share by the relevant Member before his death or bankruptcy or liquidation or dissolution or any other case than by transfer, as the case may be). If the notice is not complied with within ninety days of being received or deemed to be received (as determined pursuant to the Articles) the Directors may thereafter withhold payment of all Dividends, other distributions, bonuses or other monies payable in respect of the Share until the requirements of the notice have been complied with. |
| 17. | AMENDMENTS OF MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION AND ALTERATION OF CAPITAL |
| 17.1 | The Company may by Ordinary Resolution: |
| (a) | increase its share capital by such sum as the Ordinary Resolution shall prescribe and with such rights, priorities and privileges annexed thereto; |
| (b) | consolidate and divide all or any of its share capital into Shares of larger amount than its existing Shares; |
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| (c) | convert all or any of its paid-up Shares into stock, and reconvert that stock into paid- up Shares of any denomination; |
| (d) | by subdivision of its existing Shares or any of them divide the whole or any part of its share capital into Shares of smaller amount than is fixed by the Memorandum or into Shares without par value; and |
| (e) | cancel any Shares that at the date of the passing of the Ordinary Resolution have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any Person and diminish the amount of its share capital by the amount of the Shares so cancelled. |
| 17.2 | All new Shares created in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Article shall be subject to the same provisions of the Articles with reference to the payment of calls, liens, transfer, transmission, forfeiture and otherwise as the Shares in the original share capital. |
| 17.3 | Subject to the provisions of the Statute, the provisions of the Articles as regards the matters to be dealt with by Ordinary Resolution and Article 30.4, the Company may by Special Resolution: |
| (a) | change its name; |
| (b) | alter or add to the Articles; |
| (c) | alter or add to the Memorandum with respect to any objects, powers or other matters specified therein; and |
| (d) | reduce its share capital or any capital redemption reserve fund. |
| 18. | OFFICES AND PLACE OF BUSINESS |
Subject to the provisions of the Statute, the Company may by resolution of the Directors change the location of its Registered Office. The Company may, in addition to its Registered Office, maintain such other offices or places of business as the Directors determine.
| 19. | GENERAL MEETINGS |
| 19.1 | All general meetings other than annual general meetings shall be called extraordinary general meetings. |
| 19.2 | The Company may, but shall not (unless required by the Statute) be obliged to, in each year hold a general meeting as its annual general meeting, and shall specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it. Any annual general meeting shall be held at such time and place as the Directors shall appoint. At these meetings the report of the Directors (if any) shall be presented. |
| 19.3 | The Directors or the chairman of the board of Directors may, whenever they think fit, call general meetings. |
| 19.4 | Members seeking to bring business before the annual general meeting or to nominate candidates for appointment as Directors at the annual general meeting must deliver notice to the principal executive offices of the Company not less than one hundred and twenty calendar days before the date of the Company’s proxy statement released to Members in connection with the previous year’s annual general meeting or, if the Company did not hold an annual general meeting the previous year, or if the date of the current year’s annual general meeting has been changed by more than thirty days from the date of the previous year’s annual general meeting, then the deadline shall be set by the Directors with such deadline being a reasonable time before the Company begins to print and send its related proxy materials. |
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| 20. | NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETINGS |
| 20.1 | At least five clear days’ notice shall be given of any general meeting. Every notice shall specify the place, the day and the hour of the meeting and the general nature of the business to be conducted at the general meeting and shall be given in the manner hereinafter mentioned or in such other manner if any as may be prescribed by the Company by Ordinary Resolution to such Persons as are, under the Articles, entitled to receive such notices from the Company, provided that a general meeting of the Company shall, whether or not the notice specified in this Article has been given and whether or not the provisions of the Articles regarding general meetings have been complied with, be deemed to have been duly convened if it is so agreed: |
| (a) | in the case of an annual general meeting, by all of the Members entitled to attend and vote thereat; and |
| (b) | in the case of an extraordinary general meeting, by a majority in number of the Members having a right to attend and vote at the meeting, together holding not less than ninety-five per cent in par value of the Shares giving that right. |
| 20.2 | The accidental omission to give notice of a general meeting to, or the non-receipt of notice of a general meeting by, any Person entitled to receive such notice shall not invalidate the proceedings of that general meeting. |
| 21. | PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS |
| 21.1 | No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum is present. Save as otherwise provided by the Articles, one or more Members holding at least one-half of the paid up voting share capital of the Company present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote at that meeting, or if a corporation or other non-natural person by its duly authorized representative or proxy shall form a quorum. |
| 21.2 | A Person may participate at a general meeting by conference telephone, video, a virtual platform or other communications equipment by means of which all the Persons participating in the meeting can communicate with each other. Participation by a Person in a general meeting in this manner is treated as presence in person at that meeting. |
| 21.3 | A resolution (including a Special Resolution) in writing (in one or more counterparts) signed by or on behalf of all of the Members for the time being entitled to receive notice of and to attend and vote at general meetings (or, being corporations or other non-natural persons, signed by their duly authorised representatives) shall be as valid and effective as if the resolution had been passed at a general meeting of the Company duly convened and held. |
| 21.4 | If a quorum is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting to commence, the meeting shall stand adjourned to the same day in the next week at the same time and/or place or to such other day, time and/or place as the Directors may determine, and if at the adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting to commence, the Members present shall be a quorum. |
| 21.5 | The Directors may, at any time prior to the time appointed for the meeting to commence, appoint any Person to act as chairman of a general meeting of the Company or, if the Directors do not make any such appointment, the chairman, if any, of the board of Directors shall preside as chairman at such general meeting. If there is no such chairman, or if he shall not be present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for the meeting to commence, or is unwilling to act, the Directors present shall elect one of their number to be chairman of the meeting. |
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| 21.6 | If no Director is willing to act as chairman or if no Director is present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for the meeting to commence, the Members present shall choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting. |
| 21.7 | The chairman may, with the consent of a meeting at which a quorum is present (and shall if so directed by the meeting) adjourn the meeting from time to time and from place to place, but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting other than the business left unfinished at the meeting from which the adjournment took place. |
| 21.8 | When a general meeting is adjourned for thirty days or more, notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given as in the case of an original meeting. Otherwise it shall not be necessary to give any such notice of an adjourned meeting. All proxy forms submitted for the original general meeting shall remain valid for the postponed meeting. The Directors may postpone a general meeting which has already been postponed. |
| 21.9 | A resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided on a poll. |
| 21.10 | If, prior to a Business Combination, a notice is issued in respect of a general meeting and the Directors, in their absolute discretion, consider that it is impractical or undesirable for any reason to hold that general meeting at the place, the day and the hour specified in the notice calling such general meeting, the Directors may postpone the general meeting to another place, day and/or hour provided that notice of the place, the day and the hour of the rearranged general meeting is promptly given to all Members. No business shall be transacted at any postponed meeting other than the business specified in the notice of the original meeting. |
| 21.11 | A poll shall be taken in such manner as the chairman directs, and the result of the poll shall be deemed to be the resolution of the general meeting at which the poll was demanded. |
| 21.12 | In the case of an equality of votes the chairman of the general meeting shall be entitled to a second or casting vote. |
| 21.13 | A poll on the election of a chairman or on a question of adjournment shall be taken forthwith. A poll on any other question shall be taken at such date, time and place as the chairman of the general meeting directs, and any business other than that upon which a poll has been demanded or is contingent thereon may proceed pending the taking of the poll. |
| 22. | VOTES OF MEMBERS |
| 22.1 | Subject to any rights or restrictions attached to any Shares (including as set out at Article 30.4), every Member who being an individual is present in person or by proxy or, if a corporation or other non-natural person is present by its duly authorised representative or by proxy, shall have one vote for every Share of which he is the holder. |
| 22.2 | In the case of joint holders the vote of the senior holder who tenders a vote, whether in person or by proxy (or, in the case of a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorised representative or proxy), shall be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of the other joint holders, and seniority shall be determined by the order in which the names of the holders stand in the Register of Members. |
| 22.3 | A Member of unsound mind, or in respect of whom an order has been made by any court, having jurisdiction in lunacy, may vote, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, by his committee, receiver, curator bonis, or other Person on such Member’s behalf appointed by that court, and any such committee, receiver, curator bonis or other Person may vote by proxy. |
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| 22.4 | No Person shall be entitled to vote at any general meeting unless he is registered as a Member on the record date for such meeting nor unless all calls or other monies then payable by him in respect of Shares have been paid. |
| 22.5 | No objection shall be raised as to the qualification of any voter except at the general meeting or adjourned general meeting at which the vote objected to is given or tendered and every vote not disallowed at the meeting shall be valid. Any objection made in due time in accordance with this Article shall be referred to the chairman whose decision shall be final and conclusive. |
| 22.6 | Votes may be cast either personally or by proxy (or in the case of a corporation or other non- natural person by its duly authorised representative or proxy). A Member may appoint more than one proxy or the same proxy under one or more instruments to attend and vote at a meeting. Where a Member appoints more than one proxy the instrument of proxy shall specify the number of Shares in respect of which each proxy is entitled to exercise the related votes. |
| 22.7 | A Member holding more than one Share need not cast the votes in respect of his Shares in the same way on any resolution and therefore may vote a Share or some or all such Shares either for or against a resolution and/or abstain from voting a Share or some or all of the Shares and, subject to the terms of the instrument appointing him, a proxy appointed under one or more instruments may vote a Share or some or all of the Shares in respect of which he is appointed either for or against a resolution and/or abstain from voting a Share or some or all of the Shares in respect of which he is appointed. |
| 23. | PROXIES |
| 23.1 | The instrument appointing a proxy shall be in writing and shall be executed under the hand of the appointor or of his attorney duly authorised in writing, or, if the appointor is a corporation or other non-natural person, under the hand of its duly authorised representative. A proxy need not be a Member. |
| 23.2 | The Directors may, in the notice convening any meeting or adjourned meeting, or in an instrument of proxy sent out by the Company, specify the manner by which the instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited and the place and the time (being not later than the time appointed for the commencement of the meeting or adjourned meeting to which the proxy relates) at which the instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited. In the absence of any such direction from the Directors in the notice convening any meeting or adjourned meeting or in an instrument of proxy sent out by the Company, the instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited physically at the Registered Office not less than 48 hours before the time appointed for the meeting or adjourned meeting to commence at which the Person named in the instrument proposes to vote. |
| 23.3 | The chairman may in any event at his discretion declare that an instrument of proxy shall be deemed to have been duly deposited. An instrument of proxy that is not deposited in the manner permitted, or which has not been declared to have been duly deposited by the chairman, shall be invalid. |
| 23.4 | The instrument appointing a proxy may be in any usual or common form (or such other form as the Directors may approve) and may be expressed to be for a particular meeting or any adjournment thereof or generally until revoked. An instrument appointing a proxy shall be deemed to include the power to demand or join or concur in demanding a poll. |
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| 23.5 | Votes given in accordance with the terms of an instrument of proxy shall be valid notwithstanding the previous death or insanity of the principal or revocation of the proxy or of the authority under which the proxy was executed, or the transfer of the Share in respect of which the proxy is given unless notice in writing of such death, insanity, revocation or transfer was received by the Company at the Registered Office before the commencement of the general meeting, or adjourned meeting at which it is sought to use the proxy. |
| 24. | CORPORATE MEMBERS |
Any corporation or other non-natural person which is a Member may in accordance with its constitutional documents, or in the absence of such provision by resolution of its directors or other governing body, authorise such Person as it thinks fit to act as its representative at any meeting of the Company or of any class of Members, and the Person so authorised shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the corporation which he represents as the corporation could exercise if it were an individual Member.
| 25. | CLEARING HOUSES |
If a Clearing House (or its nominee(s)), being a corporation, is a Member it may authorise such Person or Persons as it thinks fit to act as its representative or representatives at any general meeting of the Company or at any meeting of any class of Members provided that, if more than one Person is so authorised, the authorisation shall specify the number and class of Shares in respect of which each such Person is so authorised. A Person so authorised pursuant to this Article shall be deemed to have been duly authorised without further evidence of the facts and be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the clearing house (or its nominee(s)) which he represents as if such Person was the registered holder of such Shares held by the Clearing House (or its nominee(s)).
| 26. | SHARES THAT MAY NOT BE VOTED |
Shares in the Company that are beneficially owned by the Company shall not be voted, directly or indirectly, at any meeting and shall not be counted in determining the total number of outstanding Shares at any given time.
| 27. | DIRECTORS |
| 27.1 | The Company may by Ordinary Resolution from time to time fix the maximum and minimum number of Directors to be appointed but unless such numbers are fixed as aforesaid the minimum number of Directors shall be one (exclusive of alternate Directors) and the maximum number of Directors shall be unlimited. |
| 27.2 | Except as the Statute or other Applicable Law may otherwise require, in the interim between annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings called for the appointment of Directors and/or the removal of one or more Directors and the filling of any vacancy in that connection, additional Directors and any vacancies in the board of Directors, including unfilled vacancies resulting from the removal of Directors for cause, may be filled by the vote of a majority of the remaining Directors then in office, although less than a quorum (as defined in the Articles), or by the sole remaining Director. All Directors shall hold office until the expiration of their respective terms of office and until their successors shall have been appointed and qualified. A Director appointed to fill a vacancy resulting from the death, resignation or removal of a Director shall serve for the remainder of the full term of the Director whose death, resignation or removal shall have created such vacancy and until his successor shall have been appointed and qualified. |
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| 28. | POWERS OF DIRECTORS |
| 28.1 | Subject to the provisions of the Statute, the Memorandum and the Articles and to any directions given by Special Resolution, the business of the Company shall be managed by the Directors who may exercise all the powers of the Company. No alteration of the Memorandum or Articles and no such direction shall invalidate any prior act of the Directors which would have been valid if that alteration had not been made or that direction had not been given. A duly convened meeting of the Directors at which a quorum is present may exercise all powers exercisable by the Directors. |
| 28.2 | All cheques, promissory notes, drafts, bills of exchange and other negotiable or transferable instruments and all receipts for monies paid to the Company shall be signed, drawn, accepted, endorsed or otherwise executed, as the case may be, in such manner as the Directors shall determine by resolution. |
| 28.3 | The Directors on behalf of the Company may pay a gratuity or pension or allowance on retirement to any Director who has held any other salaried office or place of profit with the Company or to his widow or dependants and may make contributions to any fund and pay premiums for the purchase or provision of any such gratuity, pension or allowance. |
| 28.4 | The Directors may exercise all the powers of the Company to borrow money and to mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and assets (present and future) and uncalled capital or any part thereof and to issue debentures, debenture stock, mortgages, bonds and other such securities whether outright or as security for any debt, liability or obligation of the Company or of any third party. |
| 28.5 | The Directors shall have the authority to present a winding up petition on behalf of the Company without the sanction of a resolution passed by the Company in general meeting. |
| 29. | APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS |
| 29.1 | The Company may by Ordinary Resolution appoint any Person to be a Director or officer of the Company, or may by Ordinary Resolution remove any Director. The Directors may appoint any Person to be a Director, either to fill a vacancy or as an additional Director, provided that the appointment does not cause the number of Directors to exceed any number fixed by or in accordance with the Articles as the maximum number of Directors. The Directors may appoint any Person to be an officer of the Company. |
| 29.2 | At the time of or following the consummation of a Business Combination, the Company may by Ordinary Resolution appoint any person to be a Director or may by Ordinary Resolution remove any Director. |
| 30. | VACATION OF OFFICE OF DIRECTOR |
The office of a Director shall be vacated if:
| (a) | the Director gives notice in writing to the Company that he resigns the office of Director; or |
| (b) | the Director absents himself (for the avoidance of doubt, without being represented by proxy or an alternate Director appointed by him) from three consecutive meetings of the board of Directors without special leave of absence from the Directors, and the Directors pass a resolution that he has by reason of such absence vacated office; or |
| (c) | the Director dies, becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors generally; or |
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| (d) | the Director is found to be or becomes of unsound mind; or |
| (e) | all of the other Directors (being not less than two in number) determine that he should be removed as a Director, either by a resolution passed by all of the other Directors at a meeting of the Directors duly convened and held in accordance with the Articles or by a resolution in writing signed by all of the other Directors; or |
| (f) | the Director is removed from office pursuant to any other provision of the Articles. |
| 31. | PROCEEDINGS OF DIRECTORS |
| 31.1 | The quorum for the transaction of the business of the Directors may be fixed by the Directors, and unless so fixed shall be a majority of the Directors then in office. |
| 31.2 | Subject to the provisions of the Articles, the Directors may regulate their proceedings as they think fit. Questions arising at any meeting of the Directors shall be decided by a majority of votes. In the case of an equality of votes, the chairman shall have a second or casting vote. A Director who is also an alternate Director shall be entitled in the absence of his appointor to a separate vote on behalf of his appointor in addition to his or her own vote. |
| 31.3 | A Person may participate in a meeting of the Directors or any committee of Directors by conference telephone, video, a virtual platform or other communications equipment by means of which all the Persons participating in the meeting can communicate with each other at the same time. Participation by a Person in a meeting in this manner is treated as presence in person at that meeting. Unless otherwise determined by the Directors the meeting shall be deemed to be held at the place where the chairman is located at the start of the meeting. |
| 31.4 | A resolution in writing (in one or more counterparts) signed by all the Directors or all the members of a committee of the Directors or, in the case of a resolution in writing relating to the removal of any Director or the vacation of office by any Director, all of the Directors other than the Director who is the subject of such resolution (an alternate Director being entitled to sign such a resolution on behalf of his appointor and if such alternate Director is also a Director, being entitled to sign such resolution both on behalf of his appointer and in his capacity as a Director) shall be as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Directors, or committee of Directors as the case may be, duly convened and held. |
| 31.5 | A Director may, or other Officer of the Company on the direction of a Director, call a meeting of the Directors by at least two days’ notice in writing to every Director and alternate Director which notice shall set forth the general nature of the business to be considered unless notice is waived by all the Directors (or their alternates) either at, before or after the meeting is held. To any such notice of a meeting of the Directors all the provisions of the Articles relating to the giving of notices by the Company to the Members shall apply mutatis mutandis. |
| 31.6 | The continuing Directors (or a sole continuing Director, as the case may be) may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their body, but if and so long as their number is reduced below the number fixed by or pursuant to the Articles as the necessary quorum of Directors the continuing Directors or Director may act for the purpose of increasing the number of Directors to be equal to such fixed number, or of summoning a general meeting of the Company, but for no other purpose. |
| 31.7 | The Directors may elect a chairman of their board and determine the period for which he or she is to hold office, but if no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within five minutes after the time appointed for the meeting to commence, the Directors present may choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting. |
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| 31.8 | Subject to any regulations imposed on it by the Directors, including where the Directors have designated a chairman of the committee, a committee appointed by the Directors may elect a chairman of its meetings and determine the period for which he is to hold office; but if no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within five minutes after the time appointed for the meeting to commence, the committee members present may choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting. |
| 31.9 | A committee appointed by the Directors may meet and adjourn as it thinks proper. Subject to any regulations imposed on it by the Directors, questions arising at any committee meeting shall be determined by a majority of votes of the committee members present and in case of an equality of votes the chairman shall have a second or casting vote. |
| 31.10 | All acts done by any meeting of the Directors or of a committee of the Directors (including any Person acting as an alternate Director) shall, notwithstanding that it is afterwards discovered that there was some defect in the appointment of any Director or alternate Director, and/or that they or any of them were disqualified, and/or had vacated their office and/or were not entitled to vote, be as valid as if every such Person had been duly appointed and/or not disqualified to be a Director or alternate Director and/or had not vacated their office and/or had been entitled to vote, as the case may be. |
| 31.11 | A Director but not an alternate Director may be represented at any meetings of the board of Directors by a proxy appointed in writing by him. The proxy shall count towards the quorum and the vote of the proxy shall for all purposes be deemed to be that of the appointing Director. |
| 32. | PRESUMPTION OF ASSENT |
A Director or alternate Director who is present at a meeting of the board of Directors at which action on any Company matter is taken shall be presumed to have assented to the action taken unless his dissent shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless he shall file his written dissent from such action with the Person acting as the chairman of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall forward such dissent by registered post to such Person immediately after the adjournment of the meeting. Such right to dissent shall not apply to a Director or alternate Director who voted in favour of such action.
| 33. | DIRECTORS’ INTERESTS |
| 33.1 | A Director or alternate Director may hold any other office or place of profit under the Company (other than the office of Auditor) in conjunction with his office of Director for such period and on such terms as to remuneration and otherwise as the Directors may determine. |
| 33.2 | A Director or alternate Director may act by himself or by, through or on behalf of his firm, in a professional capacity for the Company and he or his firm shall be entitled to remuneration for professional services as if he were not a Director or alternate Director. |
| 33.3 | A Director or alternate Director may be or become a director or other Officer of or otherwise interested in any company promoted by the Company or in which the Company may be interested as a shareholder, a contracting party or otherwise, and no such Director or alternate Director shall be accountable to the Company for any remuneration or other benefits received by him as a director or Officer of, or from his interest in, such other company. |
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| 33.4 | No Person shall be disqualified from the office of Director or alternate Director or prevented by such office from contracting with the Company, either as vendor, purchaser or otherwise, nor shall any such contract or any contract or transaction entered into by or on behalf of the Company in which any Director or alternate Director shall be in any way interested be or be liable to be avoided, nor shall any Director or alternate Director so contracting or being so interested be liable to account to the Company for any profit realised by or arising in connection with any such contract or transaction by reason of such Director or alternate Director holding office or of the fiduciary relationship thereby established. A Director (or his alternate Director in his absence) shall be at liberty to vote in respect of any contract or transaction in which he is interested provided that the nature of the interest of any Director or alternate Director in any such contract or transaction shall be disclosed by him at or prior to its consideration and any vote thereon. |
| 33.5 | A general notice that a Director or alternate Director is a shareholder, director, Officer or employee of any specified firm or company and is to be regarded as interested in any transaction with such firm or company shall be sufficient disclosure for the purposes of voting on a resolution in respect of a contract or transaction in which he has an interest, and after such general notice it shall not be necessary to give special notice relating to any particular transaction. |
| 34. | MINUTES |
| 34.1 | The Directors shall cause minutes to be made in books kept for the purpose of recording all appointments of Officers made by the Directors, all proceedings at meetings of the Company or the holders of any class of Shares and of the Directors, and of committees of the Directors, including the names of the Directors or alternate Directors present at each meeting. |
| 35. | DELEGATION OF DIRECTORS’ POWERS |
| 35.1 | The Directors may delegate any of their powers, authorities and discretions, including the power to sub-delegate, to any committee consisting of one or more Directors (including, without limitation, the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee); any committee so formed shall in the exercise of the powers so delegated conform to any conditions that may be imposed on it by the Directors. The Directors may also delegate to any managing director or any Director holding any other executive office such of their powers, authorities and discretions as they consider desirable to be exercised by him provided that an alternate Director may not act as managing director and the appointment of a managing director shall be revoked forthwith if he ceases to be a Director. Any such delegation may be made subject to any conditions the Directors may impose and either collaterally with or to the exclusion of their own powers and any such delegation may be revoked or altered by the Directors. Subject to any such conditions that may be imposed by the Directors, the proceedings of a committee of Directors shall be governed by the Articles regulating the proceedings of Directors, so far as they are capable of applying. |
| 35.2 | The Directors may establish any committees, local boards or agencies or appoint any Person to be a manager or agent for managing the affairs of the Company and may appoint any Person to be a member of such committees, local boards or agencies and such Person need not be a Director or Officer of the Company. Any such appointment may be made subject to any conditions the Directors may impose, and either collaterally with or to the exclusion of their own powers and any such appointment may be revoked or altered by the Directors. Subject to any such conditions that may be imposed by the Directors, the proceedings of any such committee, local board or agency shall be governed by the Articles regulating the proceedings of Directors, so far as they are capable of applying. |
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| 35.3 | The Directors may adopt formal written charters for committees and, if so adopted, shall review and assess the adequacy of such formal written charters on an annual basis. Each of these committees shall be empowered to do all things necessary to exercise the rights of such committee set forth in the Articles and shall have such powers as the Directors may delegate pursuant to the Articles and as required by the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or otherwise under Applicable Law. Each of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee, if established, shall consist of such number of Directors as the Directors shall from time to time determine (or such minimum number as may be required from time to time by the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or otherwise under Applicable Law). For so long as any class of Shares is listed on the Designated Stock Exchange, the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee shall be made up of such number of Independent Directors as is required from time to time by the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or otherwise under Applicable Law. |
| 35.4 | The Directors may by power of attorney or otherwise appoint any Person to be the agent of the Company on such conditions as the Directors may determine, provided that the delegation is not to the exclusion of their own powers and may be revoked by the Directors at any time. |
| 35.5 | The Directors may by power of attorney or otherwise appoint any company, firm, Person or body of Persons, whether nominated directly or indirectly by the Directors, to be the attorney or authorised signatory of the Company for such purpose and with such powers, authorities and discretions (not exceeding those vested in or exercisable by the Directors under the Articles) and for such period and subject to such conditions as they may think fit, and any such powers of attorney or other appointment may contain such provisions for the protection and convenience of Persons dealing with any such attorneys or authorised signatories as the Directors may think fit and may also authorise any such attorney or authorised signatory to delegate all or any of the powers, authorities and discretions vested in him. |
| 35.6 | The Directors may from time to time appoint any Person, whether or not a Director, to hold such office in the Company as the Directors may think necessary for the administration of the Company (including, for the avoidance of doubt and without limitation, a chairman, chief executive officer, president, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, vice-presidents, secretary, assistant secretaries, treasurer or any other officers as may be determined by the Directors), for such term and at such remuneration (whether by way of salary or commission or participation in profits or partly in one way and partly in another), and with such powers and duties as the Directors may think fit. Any Person so appointed by the Directors may be removed by resolution of the Directors or by the Company by Ordinary Resolution. An Officer of the Company may vacate his office at any time if he gives notice in writing to the Company that he resigns his office. |
| 36. | ALTERNATE DIRECTORS |
| 36.1 | Any Director (but not an alternate Director) may by writing appoint any other Director, or any other Person willing to act, to be an alternate Director and by writing may remove from office an alternate Director so appointed by him. |
| 36.2 | An alternate Director shall be entitled to receive notice of all meetings of Directors and of all meetings of committees of Directors of which his appointor is a member, to attend and vote at every such meeting at which the Director appointing him is not personally present, to sign any written resolution of the Directors (except where such written resolution of the Directors have been signed by the appointing Director), and generally to perform all the functions of his appointor as a Director in his absence. |
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| 36.3 | An alternate Director shall cease to be an alternate Director if his appointor ceases to be a Director. |
| 36.4 | Any appointment or removal of an alternate Director shall be by notice to the Company signed by the Director making or revoking the appointment or in any other manner approved by the Directors. |
| 36.5 | Subject to the provisions of the Articles, an alternate Director shall be deemed for all purposes to be a Director and shall alone be responsible for his own acts and defaults and shall not be deemed to be the agent of the Director appointing him. |
| 37. | NO MINIMUM SHAREHOLDING |
The Company in general meeting may fix a minimum shareholding required to be held by a Director, but unless and until such a shareholding qualification is fixed, a Director is not required to hold Shares.
| 38. | REMUNERATION OF DIRECTORS |
| 38.1 | The remuneration to be paid to the Directors, if any, shall be such remuneration as the Directors shall determine. The Directors shall also be entitled to be paid all travelling, hotel and other expenses properly incurred by them in connection with their attendance at meetings of Directors or committees of Directors, or general meetings of the Company, or separate meetings of the holders of any class of Shares or debentures of the Company, or otherwise in connection with the business of the Company or the discharge of their duties as a Director, or to receive a fixed allowance in respect thereof as may be determined by the Directors, or a combination partly of one such method and partly the other. |
| 38.2 | The Directors may by resolution approve additional remuneration to any Director for any services which in the opinion of the Directors go beyond his ordinary routine work as a Director. Any fees paid to a Director who is also counsel, attorney or solicitor to the Company, or otherwise serves it in a professional capacity, shall be in addition to his remuneration as a Director. |
| 39. | SEAL |
| 39.1 | The Company may, if the Directors so determine, have a Seal. The Seal shall only be used by the authority of the Directors or of a committee of the Directors authorised by the Directors. Every instrument to which the Seal has been affixed shall be signed by at least one Person who shall be either a Director or Officer of the Company or other Person appointed by the Directors for the purpose. |
| 39.2 | The Company may have for use in any place or places outside the Cayman Islands a duplicate Seal or Seals each of which shall be a facsimile of the common Seal of the Company and, if the Directors so determine, with the addition on its face of the name of every place where it is to be used. |
| 39.3 | A Director or Officer, representative or attorney of the Company may without further authority of the Directors affix the Seal over his signature alone to any document of the Company required to be authenticated by him under seal or to be filed with the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere wheresoever. |
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| 40. | DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND RESERVE |
| 40.1 | Subject to the Statute and this Article and except as otherwise provided by the rights attached to any Shares, the Directors may resolve to pay Dividends and other distributions on Shares in issue and authorise payment of the Dividends or other distributions out of the funds of the Company lawfully available therefor. A Dividend shall be deemed to be an interim Dividend unless the terms of the resolution pursuant to which the Directors resolve to pay such Dividend specifically state that such Dividend shall be a final Dividend. No Dividend or other distribution shall be paid except out of the realised or unrealised profits of the Company, out of the Share Premium Account or as otherwise permitted by law. |
| 40.2 | Except as otherwise provided by the rights attached to any Shares, all Dividends and other distributions shall be paid according to the par value of the Shares that a Member holds. If any Share is issued on terms providing that it shall rank for Dividend as from a particular date, that Share shall rank for Dividend accordingly. |
| 40.3 | The Directors may deduct from any Dividend or other distribution payable to any Member all sums of money (if any) then payable by him to the Company on account of calls or otherwise. |
| 40.4 | The Directors may resolve that any Dividend or other distribution be paid wholly or partly by the distribution of specific assets and in particular (but without limitation) by the distribution of shares, debentures, or securities of any other company or in any one or more of such ways and where any difficulty arises in regard to such distribution, the Directors may settle the same as they think expedient and in particular may issue fractional Shares and may fix the value for distribution of such specific assets or any part thereof and may determine that cash payments shall be made to any Members upon the basis of the value so fixed in order to adjust the rights of all Members and may vest any such specific assets in trustees in such manner as may seem expedient to the Directors. |
| 40.5 | Except as otherwise provided by the rights attached to any Shares, Dividends and other distributions may be paid in any currency. The Directors may determine the basis of conversion for any currency conversions that may be required and how any costs involved are to be met. |
| 40.6 | The Directors may, before resolving to pay any Dividend or other distribution, set aside such sums as they think proper as a reserve or reserves which shall, at the discretion of the Directors, be applicable for any purpose of the Company and pending such application may, at the discretion of the Directors, be employed in the business of the Company. |
| 40.7 | Any Dividend, other distribution, interest or other monies payable in cash in respect of Shares may be paid by wire transfer to the holder or by cheque or warrant sent through the post directed to the registered address of the holder or, in the case of joint holders, to the registered address of the holder who is first named on the Register of Members or to such Person and to such address as such holder or joint holders may in writing direct. Every such cheque or warrant shall be made payable to the order of the Person to whom it is sent. Any one of two or more joint holders may give effectual receipts for any Dividends, other distributions, bonuses, or other monies payable in respect of the Share held by them as joint holders. |
| 40.8 | No Dividend or other distribution shall bear interest against the Company. |
| 40.9 | Any Dividend or other distribution which cannot be paid to a Member and/or which remains unclaimed after six months from the date on which such Dividend or other distribution becomes payable may, in the discretion of the Directors, be paid into a separate account in the Company’s name, provided that the Company shall not be constituted as a trustee in respect of that account and the Dividend or other distribution shall remain as a debt due to the Member. Any Dividend or other distribution which remains unclaimed after a period of six years from the date on which such Dividend or other distribution becomes payable shall be forfeited and shall revert to the Company. |
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| 41. | CAPITALISATION |
The Directors may at any time capitalise any sum standing to the credit of any of the Company’s reserve accounts or funds (including the Share Premium Account and capital redemption reserve fund) or any sum standing to the credit of the profit and loss account or otherwise available for distribution; appropriate such sum to Members in the proportions in which such sum would have been divisible amongst such Members had the same been a distribution of profits by way of Dividend or other distribution; and apply such sum on their behalf in paying up in full unissued Shares for allotment and distribution credited as fully paid-up to and amongst them in the proportion aforesaid. In such event the Directors shall do all acts and things required to give effect to such capitalisation, with full power given to the Directors to make such provisions as they think fit in the case of Shares becoming distributable in fractions (including provisions whereby the benefit of fractional entitlements accrue to the Company rather than to the Members concerned). The Directors may authorise any Person to enter on behalf of all of the Members interested into an agreement with the Company providing for such capitalisation and matters incidental or relating thereto and any agreement made under such authority shall be effective and binding on all such Members and the Company.
| 42. | SHARE PREMIUM ACCOUNT |
| 42.1 | The Directors shall in accordance with the Statute establish a Share Premium Account and shall carry to the credit of such account from time to time a sum equal to the amount or value of the premium paid on the issue of any Share. |
| 42.2 | There shall be debited to any Share Premium Account on the redemption or purchase of a Share the difference between the nominal value of such Share and the redemption or purchase price provided always that at the determination of the Directors such sum may be paid out of the profits of the Company or, if permitted by the Statute, out of capital. |
| 43. | BOOKS OF ACCOUNT |
| 43.1 | The Directors shall cause proper books of account (including, where applicable, material underlying documentation including contracts and invoices) to be kept with respect to all sums of money received and expended by the Company and the matters in respect of which the receipt or expenditure takes place, all sales and purchases of goods by the Company and the assets and liabilities of the Company. Such books of account must be retained for a minimum period of five years from the date on which they are prepared. Proper books shall not be deemed to be kept if there are not kept such books of account as are necessary to give a true and fair view of the state of the Company’s affairs and to explain its transactions. |
| 43.2 | The Directors shall determine whether and to what extent and at what times and places and under what conditions or regulations the accounts and books of the Company or any of them shall be open to the inspection of Members not being Directors and no Member (not being a Director) shall have any right of inspecting any account or book or document of the Company except as conferred by Statute or authorised by the Directors or by the Company in general meeting. |
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| 43.3 | The Directors may cause to be prepared and to be laid before the Company in general meeting profit and loss accounts, balance sheets, group accounts (if any) and such other reports and accounts as may be required by law. |
| 44. | AUDIT |
| 44.1 | The Directors may appoint an Auditor of the Company who shall hold office on such terms as the Directors determine. |
| 44.2 | If the office of Auditor becomes vacant by resignation or death of the Auditor, or by his becoming incapable of acting by reason of illness or other disability at a time when his services are required, the Directors shall fill the vacancy. |
| 44.3 | Every Auditor of the Company shall have a right of access at all times to the books and accounts and vouchers of the Company and shall be entitled to require from the Directors and Officers of the Company such information and explanation as may be necessary for the performance of the duties of the Auditor. |
| 44.4 | Auditors shall, if so required by the Directors, make a report on the accounts of the Company during their tenure of office at the next annual general meeting following their appointment in the case of a company which is registered with the Registrar of Companies as an ordinary company, and at the next extraordinary general meeting following their appointment in the case of a company which is registered with the Registrar of Companies as an exempted company, and at any other time during their term of office, upon request of the Directors or any general meeting of the Company. |
| 44.5 | Without prejudice to the freedom of the Directors to establish any other committee, if any of the Shares (or depositary receipts therefor) are listed or quoted on a Designated Stock Exchange, and if required by the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or otherwise under Applicable Law, the Directors shall establish and maintain an Audit Committee as a committee of the board of Directors and shall adopt a formal written audit committee charter and review and assess the adequacy of the formal written charter on an annual basis. The composition and responsibilities of the Audit Committee shall comply with the rules and regulations of the SEC and the Designated Stock Exchange and/or any other competent regulatory authority or otherwise under Applicable Law. The Audit Committee (if one exists) shall meet at least once every financial quarter, or more frequently as circumstances dictate. |
| 44.6 | If any of the Shares (or depositary receipts therefor) are listed or quoted on a Designated Stock Exchange, the Company shall conduct an appropriate review of all related party transactions on an ongoing basis and shall utilise the Audit Committee for the review and approval of potential conflicts of interest. |
| 44.7 | The remuneration of the Auditor shall be fixed by the Audit Committee (if one exists) or otherwise by the Directors. |
| 44.8 | Any payment made to members of the Audit Committee (if one exists) shall require the review and approval of the Directors, with any Director interested in such payment abstaining from such review and approval. |
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| 45. | NOTICES |
| 45.1 | Notices shall be in writing and may be given by the Company to any Member either personally or by sending it by courier, post, cable, telex, fax or e-mail to him or to his address as shown in the Register of Members (or where the notice is given by e-mail by sending it to the e-mail address provided by such Member). For so long as any of the Shares are traded on a Designated Stock Exchange, notice must also be served in accordance with the requirements of the Designated Stock Exchange. Notice may also be served by Electronic Communication in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or by placing it on the Company’s Website. |
| 45.2 | Where a notice is sent by: |
| (a) | courier, service of the notice shall be deemed to be effected by delivery of the notice to a courier company, and shall be deemed to have been received on the third day (not including Saturdays or Sundays or public holidays) following the day on which the notice was delivered to the courier; |
| (b) | post, service of the notice shall be deemed to be effected by properly addressing, pre paying and posting a letter containing the notice, and shall be deemed to have been received on the fifth day (not including Saturdays or Sundays or public holidays in the Cayman Islands) following the day on which the notice was posted; |
| (c) | cable, telex or fax, service of the notice shall be deemed to be effected by properly addressing and sending such notice and shall be deemed to have been received on the same day that it was transmitted; |
| (d) | e-mail service shall be deemed to be effected by transmitting the e-mail to the e-mail address provided by the intended recipient and shall be deemed to have been received on the same day that it was sent, and it shall not be necessary for the receipt of the e-mail to be acknowledged by the recipient; and |
| (e) | placing it on the Company’s Website, service of the notice shall be deemed to have been effected one hour after the notice or document was placed on the Company’s Website. |
| 45.3 | A notice may be given by the Company to the Person or Persons which the Company has been advised are entitled to a Share or Shares in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Member in the same manner as other notices which are required to be given under the Articles and shall be addressed to them by name, or by the title of representatives of the deceased, or trustee of the bankrupt, or by any like description at the address supplied for that purpose by the Persons claiming to be so entitled, or at the option of the Company by giving the notice in any manner in which the same might have been given if the death or bankruptcy had not occurred. |
| 45.4 | Notice of every general meeting shall be given in any manner authorised by the Articles to every holder of Shares carrying an entitlement to receive such notice on the record date for such meeting except that in the case of joint holders the notice shall be sufficient if given to the joint holder first named in the Register of Members and every Person upon whom the ownership of a Share devolves by reason of his being a legal personal representative or a trustee in bankruptcy of a Member where the Member but for his death or bankruptcy would be entitled to receive notice of the meeting, and no other Person shall be entitled to receive notices of general meetings. |
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| 46. | WINDING UP |
| 46.1 | If the Company shall be wound up, the liquidator shall apply the assets of the Company in satisfaction of creditors’ claims in such manner and order as such liquidator thinks fit. Subject to the rights attaching to any Shares, in a winding up: |
| (a) | if the assets available for distribution amongst the Members shall be insufficient to repay the whole of the Company’s issued share capital, such assets shall be distributed so that, as nearly as may be, the losses shall be borne by the Members in proportion to the par value of the Shares held by them; or |
| (b) | if the assets available for distribution amongst the Members shall be more than sufficient to repay the whole of the Company’s issued share capital at the commencement of the winding up, the surplus shall be distributed amongst the Members in proportion to the par value of the Shares held by them at the commencement of the winding up subject to a deduction from those Shares in respect of which there are monies due, of all monies payable to the Company for unpaid calls or otherwise. |
| 46.2 | If the Company shall be wound up the liquidator may, subject to the rights attaching to any Shares and with the approval of a Special Resolution of the Company and any other approval required by the Statute, divide amongst the Members in kind the whole or any part of the assets of the Company (whether such assets shall consist of property of the same kind or not) and may for that purpose value any assets and determine how the division shall be carried out as between the Members or different classes of Members. The liquidator may, with the like approval, vest the whole or any part of such assets in trustees upon such trusts for the benefit of the Members as the liquidator, with the like approval, shall think fit, but so that no Member shall be compelled to accept any asset upon which there is a liability. |
| 47. | INDEMNITY AND INSURANCE |
| 47.1 | Every Director and Officer (which for the avoidance of doubt, shall not include auditors of the Company), together with every former Director and former Officer (each an “Indemnified Person”) shall be indemnified out of the assets of the Company against any liability, action, proceeding, claim, demand, costs, damages or expenses, including legal expenses, whatsoever which they or any of them may incur as a result of any act or failure to act in carrying out their functions other than such liability (if any) that they may incur by reason of their own actual fraud, wilful neglect or wilful default. No Indemnified Person shall be liable to the Company for any loss or damage incurred by the Company as a result (whether direct or indirect) of the carrying out of their functions unless that liability arises through the actual fraud, wilful neglect or wilful default of such Indemnified Person. No person shall be found to have committed actual fraud, wilful neglect or wilful default under this Article unless or until a court of competent jurisdiction shall have made a finding to that effect. |
| 47.2 | The Company shall advance to each Indemnified Person reasonable attorneys’ fees and other costs and expenses incurred in connection with the defence of any action, suit, proceeding or investigation involving such Indemnified Person for which indemnity will or could be sought. In connection with any advance of any expenses hereunder, the Indemnified Person shall execute an undertaking to repay the advanced amount to the Company if it shall be determined by final judgment or other final adjudication that such Indemnified Person was not entitled to indemnification pursuant to this Article. If it shall be determined by a final judgment or other final adjudication that such Indemnified Person was not entitled to indemnification with respect to such judgment, costs or expenses, then such party shall not be indemnified with respect to such judgment, costs or expenses and any advancement shall be returned to the Company (without interest) by the Indemnified Person. |
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| 47.3 | The Directors, on behalf of the Company, may purchase and maintain insurance for the benefit of any Director or Officer of the Company against any liability which, by virtue of any rule of law, would otherwise attach to such Person in respect of any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust of which such Person may be guilty in relation to the Company. |
| 48. | FINANCIAL YEAR |
Unless the Directors otherwise prescribe, the financial year of the Company shall end on 31st December in each year and, following the year of incorporation, shall begin on 1st January in each year.
| 49. | TRANSFER BY WAY OF CONTINUATION |
| 49.1 | If the Company is exempted as defined in the Statute, it shall, subject to the provisions of the Statute and with the approval of a Special Resolution, have the power to register by way of continuation as a body corporate under the laws of any jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands and to be deregistered in the Cayman Islands. |
| 49.2 | At the time of or following the consummation of a Business Combination, if the Company is exempted as defined in the Statute, it shall, subject to the provisions of the Statute and with the approval of a Special Resolution, have the power to register by way of continuation as a body corporate under the laws of any jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands and to be deregistered in the Cayman Islands. |
| 50. | MERGERS AND CONSOLIDATIONS |
The Company shall have the power to merge or consolidate with one or more other constituent companies (as defined in the Statute) upon such terms as the Directors may determine and (to the extent required by the Statute) with the approval of a Special Resolution.
| 51. | DISCLOSURE |
The Directors, Officers of the Company or any authorised service providers (including the registered office agent of the Company), shall be entitled to disclose to any regulatory or judicial authority, or to any Designated Stock Exchange on which the Shares may from time to time be listed, any information regarding the affairs of the Company including, without limitation, information contained in the Register of Members and books of the Company.
| 52. | BUSINESS COMBINATION |
| 52.1 | Notwithstanding any other provision of the Articles, this Article shall apply during the period commencing upon the adoption of the Articles and terminating upon the first to occur of the consummation of a Business Combination and the full distribution of the Trust Account pursuant to this Article. In the event of a conflict between this Article and any other Articles, the provisions of this Article shall prevail. |
| 52.2 | Prior to the consummation of any Business Combination, the Company shall either: |
| (a) | submit such Business Combination to the Members for approval by way of an Ordinary Resolution; or |
| (b) | provide Members with the opportunity to have their Shares repurchased by means of a tender offer for a per-Share repurchase price payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of such Business Combination, including interest earned on the Trust Account (less taxes paid or payable), divided by the number of then issued Public Shares. Such obligation to repurchase Shares is subject to the completion of the proposed Business Combination to which it relates. |
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| 52.3 | If the Company initiates any tender offer in accordance with Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the US Exchange Act in connection with a proposed Business Combination, it shall file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing such Business Combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about such Business Combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the US Exchange Act. If, alternatively, the Company holds a general meeting to approve a proposed Business Combination, the Company will conduct any redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the US Exchange Act, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and file proxy materials with the SEC. |
| 52.4 | At a general meeting called for the purposes of approving a Business Combination pursuant to this Article, in the event that such Business Combination is approved by Ordinary Resolution, the Company shall be authorised to consummate such Business Combination. |
| 52.5 | Any Member holding Public Shares who is not the Sponsor, a Founder, Officer or Director may, in connection with and at least two business days’ prior to any vote on a Business Combination, elect to have their Public Shares redeemed for cash, in accordance with any applicable requirements provided for in the related proxy materials (the “IPO Redemption”), provided that no such Member acting together with any Affiliate of his or any other person with whom he is acting in concert or as a partnership, limited partnership, syndicate, or other group for the purposes of acquiring, holding, or disposing of Shares may exercise this redemption right with respect to more than 15 per cent of the Public Shares in the aggregate without the prior consent of the Company and provided further that any beneficial holder of Public Shares on whose behalf a redemption right is being exercised must identify itself to the Company in connection with any redemption election in order to validly redeem such Public Shares. If so demanded, the Company shall pay any such redeeming Member, regardless of whether he is voting for or against such proposed Business Combination, a per-Share redemption price payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the Business Combination, including interest earned on the Trust Account (less taxes paid or payable) divided by the number of then issued Public Shares (such redemption price being referred to herein as the “Redemption Price”), but only in the event that the applicable proposed Business Combination is approved and consummated. |
| 52.6 | A Member may not withdraw a Redemption Notice once submitted to the Company unless the Directors determine (in their sole discretion) to permit the withdrawal of such redemption request (which they may do in whole or in part in their sole and absolute discretion). |
| 52.7 | In the event that the Company does not consummate a Business Combination within 21 months from the consummation of the IPO, or such later time as the Members may approve in accordance with the Articles, the Company shall: |
| (a) | cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; |
| (b) | 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 the Company pursuant to permitted withdrawals (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public Members’ rights as Members (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to Applicable Law; and |
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| (c) | as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining Members and the Directors, liquidate and dissolve, |
subject in each case to its obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of Applicable Law.
| 52.8 | In the event that any amendment is made to the Articles: |
| (a) | to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with a Business Combination or redeem 100 per cent of the Public Shares if the Company does not consummate a Business Combination within 21 months after the date of the closing of the IPO, or such later time as the Members may approve in accordance with the Articles, or |
| (b) | with respect to any other provision relating to Members’ rights or pre-Business Combination activity, of the Articles relating to the rights of holders of Ordinary Shares, |
each holder of Public Shares who is not the Sponsor, a Founder, Officer or Director shall be provided with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares upon the approval or effectiveness 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 the Company to pay its taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares.
| 52.9 | A holder of Public Shares shall be entitled to receive distributions from the Trust Account only in the event of an IPO Redemption, a repurchase of Shares by means of a tender offer pursuant to this Article, or a distribution of the Trust Account pursuant to this Article. In no other circumstance shall a holder of Public Shares have any right or interest of any kind in the Trust Account. |
| 52.10 | After the issue of Public Shares, and prior to the consummation of a Business Combination, the Company shall not issue additional Shares or any other securities that would entitle the holders thereof to: |
| (a) | receive funds from the Trust Account; or |
| (b) | vote as a class with Public Shares on a Business Combination. |
| 52.11 | As long as the securities of the Company are listed on a Designated Stock Exchange, the Company must complete one or more Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80 per cent of the assets held in the Trust Account (net of amounts previously disbursed to the Company for taxes) at the time of the Company’s signing a definitive agreement in connection with a Business Combination. A Business Combination must not be effectuated with another blank cheque company or a similar company with nominal operations. |
| 52.12 | A Director may vote in respect of a Business Combination in which such Director has a conflict of interest with respect to the evaluation of such Business Combination. Such Director must disclose such interest or conflict to the other Directors. |
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| 52.13 | The Company may enter into a Business Combination with a target business that is Affiliated with the Sponsor, a Founder, a Director or an Officer. In the event the Company seeks to consummate a Business Combination with a target that is Affiliated with the Sponsor, a Founder, a Director or an Officer, the Company, or a committee of Independent Directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such a Business Combination is fair to the Company from a financial point of view. |
| 53. | BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES |
| 53.1 | To the fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law, no individual serving as a Director or an officer (“Management”) shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as the Company. To the fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law, the Company renounces any interest or expectancy of the Company in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for Management, on the one hand, and the Company, on the other. Except to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to the fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law, Management shall have no duty to communicate or offer any such corporate opportunity to the Company and shall not be liable to the Company or its Members for breach of any fiduciary duty as a Member, Director and/or officer solely by reason of the fact that such party pursues or acquires such corporate opportunity for itself, himself or herself, directs such corporate opportunity to another person, or does not communicate information regarding such corporate opportunity to the Company. |
| 53.2 | Except as provided elsewhere in this Article, the Company hereby renounces any interest or expectancy of the Company in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for both the Company and Management, about which a Director and/or officer who is also a member of Management acquires knowledge. |
| 53.3 | To the extent a court might hold that the conduct of any activity related to a corporate opportunity that is renounced in this Article to be a breach of duty to the Company or its Members, the Company hereby waives, to the fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law, any and all claims and causes of action that the Company may have for such activities. To the fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law, the provisions of this Article apply equally to activities conducted in the future and that have been conducted in the past. |
| 54. | EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION AND FORUM |
| 54.1 | Unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts of the Cayman Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or dispute arising out of or in connection with the Memorandum, the Articles or otherwise related in any way to each Member’s shareholding in the Company, including but not limited to: |
| (a) | any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company; |
| (b) | any action asserting a claim of breach of any fiduciary or other duty owed by any current or former Director, Officer or other employee of the Company to the Company or the Members; |
| (c) | any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Statute, the Memorandum or the Articles; or |
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| (d) | any action asserting a claim against the Company governed by the “Internal Affairs Doctrine” (as such concept is recognized under the laws of the United States of America). |
| 54.2 | Each Member irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Cayman Islands over all such claims or disputes. |
| 54.3 | Without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that the Company may have, each Member acknowledges that damages alone would not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum and that accordingly the Company shall be entitled, without proof of special damages, to the remedies of injunction, specific performance or other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum. |
| 54.4 | This Article 54 shall not apply to any action or suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Exchange Act, or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are, as a matter of the laws of the United States, the sole and exclusive forum for determination of such a claim. |
35
Exhibit 4.1
| NUMBER |
||
| U- |
UNITS | |
| SEE REVERSE FOR CERTAIN DEFINITIONS |
CUSIP G88765 121
THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP.
UNITS CONSISTING OF ONE ORDINARY SHARE AND ONE-HALF OF ONE REDEEMABLE WARRANT, EACH WHOLE WARRANT ENTITLING THE HOLDER TO PURCHASE ONE ORDINARY SHARE
THIS CERTIFIES THAT is the owner of Units of Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), transferrable on the books of the Company in person or by duly authorized attorney upon surrender of this certificate properly endorsed.
Each Unit (“Unit”) consists of one (1) ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share (“Ordinary Shares”), of the Company, and one-half (1/2) of one redeemable warrant (the “Warrant”). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one (1) Ordinary Share (subject to adjustment) for $11.50 per share (subject to adjustment). Only whole Warrants are exercisable. Each Warrant will become exercisable commencing thirty (30) days after the Company’s completion of a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses (each a “Business Combination”), and will expire, unless exercised before 5:00 p.m., New York City Time, on the date that is five (5) years after the date on which the Company completes its initial Business Combination, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. The Ordinary Shares and Warrants comprising the Units represented by this certificate are not transferable separately prior to , 2026 unless EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. elects to allow separate trading earlier, subject to the Company’s filing of a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission containing an audited balance sheet reflecting the Company’s receipt of the gross proceeds of the Company’s initial public offering and issuing a press release announcing when separate trading will begin. The terms of the Warrants are governed by a Warrant Agreement, dated as of , 2026 (the “Warrant Agreement”), between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as Warrant Agent, and are subject to the terms and provisions contained therein, all of which terms and provisions the holder of this certificate consents to by acceptance hereof. Copies of the Warrant Agreement are on file at the office of the Warrant Agent at 1 State Street, 30th Floor, New York, New York 10004, and are available to any Warrant holder on written request and without cost.
Upon the consummation of the initial Business Combination, the Units represented by this certificate will automatically separate into the Ordinary Shares and Warrants comprising such Units.
This certificate is not valid unless countersigned by the Transfer Agent and registered by the Registrar of the Company.
This certificate shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York.
Witness the facsimile signature of a duly authorized signatory of the Company.
| Authorized Signatory |
| Transfer Agent |
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
The Company will furnish without charge to each unitholder who so requests, a statement of the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of equity or series thereof of the Company and the qualifications, limitations, or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights.
The following abbreviations, when used in the inscription on the face of this certificate, shall be construed as though they were written out in full according to applicable laws or regulations:
| TEN COM | — | as tenants in common | UNIF GIFT MIN ACT | — | Custodian | |||||||||||
| (Cust) | (Minor) | |||||||||||||||
| TEN ENT | — | as tenants by the entireties | Under Uniform Gifts to Minors Act | |||||||||||||
| JT TEN | — | as joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common | (State) | |||||||||||||
Additional abbreviations may also be used though not in the above list.
For value received, hereby sell, assign and transfer unto
(PLEASE INSERT SOCIAL SECURITY OR OTHER IDENTIFYING NUMBER OF ASSIGNEE)
(PLEASE PRINT OR TYPEWRITE NAME AND ADDRESS, INCLUDING ZIP CODE, OF ASSIGNEE)
Units represented by the within certificate, and do hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint Attorney to transfer the said Units on the books of the within named Company with full power of substitution in the premises.
Dated
| Notice: | The signature to this assignment must correspond with the name as written upon the face of the certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatever. |
| Signature(s) Guaranteed: |
| THE SIGNATURE(S) MUST BE GUARANTEED BY AN ELIGIBLE GUARANTOR INSTITUTION (BANKS, STOCKBROKERS, SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS AND CREDIT UNIONS WITH MEMBERSHIP IN AN APPROVED SIGNATURE GUARANTEE MEDALLION PROGRAM, PURSUANT TO S.E.C. RULE 17Ad-15 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED (OR ANY SUCCESSOR RULE)). |
As more fully described in, and subject to the terms and conditions described in, the Company’s final prospectus for its initial public offering dated , 2026 (“Prospectus”), the holder(s) of this certificate shall be entitled to receive a pro-rata portion of certain funds held in the trust account established in connection with the Company’s initial public offering in the event that (i) the Company redeems the Ordinary Shares sold in its initial public offering and liquidates because it does not consummate an initial Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, as the same may be amended from time to time, or (ii) if the holder(s) properly redeem for cash his, her or its respective shares included in the Units represented by this certificate in connection with (x) a tender offer (or proxy solicitation, solely in the event the Company seeks shareholder approval of the proposed initial Business Combination) setting forth the details of a proposed initial Business Combination or (y) a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide for redemption rights as set forth in the Prospectus or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, as the same may be amended from time to time. In no other circumstances shall the holder(s) have any right or interest of any kind in or to the trust account.
Exhibit 4.2
| NUMBER | SHARES | |
| C- |
SEE REVERSE FOR CERTAIN DEFINITIONS
CUSIP G88765 105
THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP.
ORDINARY SHARES
THIS CERTIFIES THAT is the owner of ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (each, a “Share”), of Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), transferable on the books of the Company in person or by duly authorized attorney upon surrender of this certificate properly endorsed.
This certificate is not valid unless countersigned by the Transfer Agent and registered by the Registrar of the Company.
Witness the facsimile signature of a duly authorized signatory of the Company.
| Authorized Signatory | Transfer Agent | |||
|
|
| |||
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
The Company will furnish without charge to each shareholder who so requests, a statement of the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of equity or series thereof of the Company and the qualifications, limitations, or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights. This certificate and the shares represented thereby are issued and shall be held subject to all the provisions of the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company and all amendments thereto and resolutions of the Board of Directors providing for the issue of securities (copies of which may be obtained from the secretary of the Company), to all of which the holder of this certificate by acceptance hereof assents.
The following abbreviations, when used in the inscription on the face of this certificate, shall be construed as though they were written out in full according to applicable laws or regulations:
| TEN COM | — | as tenants in common | UNIF GIFT MIN ACT | — | Custodian | |||||||||
| (Cust) | (Minor) | |||||||||||||
| TEN ENT | — | as tenants by the entireties | Under Uniform Gifts to Minors Act | |||||||||||
| JT TEN | — | as joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common |
(State) | |||||||||||
Additional abbreviations may also be used though not in the above list.
For value received, hereby sells, assigns and transfers unto
(PLEASE INSERT SOCIAL SECURITY OR OTHER IDENTIFYING NUMBER(S) OF ASSIGNEE(S))
(PLEASE PRINT OR TYPEWRITE NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES), INCLUDING ZIP CODE, OF ASSIGNEE(S))
Shares represented by the within certificate, and do hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint Attorney to transfer the said Shares on the books of the within named Company with full power of substitution in the premises.
Dated
|
| ||
| Notice: | The signature to this assignment must correspond with the name as written upon the face of the certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatever. |
| Signature(s) Guaranteed: |
|
|
| THE SIGNATURE(S) MUST BE GUARANTEED BY AN ELIGIBLE GUARANTOR INSTITUTION (BANKS, STOCKBROKERS, SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS AND CREDIT UNIONS WITH MEMBERSHIP IN AN APPROVED SIGNATURE GUARANTEE MEDALLION PROGRAM, PURSUANT TO S.E.C. RULE 17Ad-15 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED (OR ANY SUCCESSOR RULE)). |
As more fully described in, and subject to the terms and conditions described in, the Company’s final prospectus for its initial public offering dated ________, 2026 (“Prospectus”), the holder(s) of this certificate shall be entitled to receive a pro-rata portion of certain funds held in the trust account established in connection with the Company’s initial public offering in the event that (i) the Company redeems the shares sold in its initial public offering and liquidates because it does not consummate an initial business combination within the time period set forth in the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, as the same may be amended from time to time, or (ii) if the holder(s) properly redeem for cash his, her or its respective shares represented by this certificate in connection with (x) a tender offer (or proxy solicitation, solely in the event the Company seeks shareholder approval of the proposed initial business combination) setting forth the details of a proposed initial business combination or (y) a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide for redemption rights as set forth in the Prospectus or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. In no other circumstances shall the holder(s) have any right or interest of any kind in or to the trust account.
Exhibit 4.3
SPECIMEN WARRANT CERTIFICATE
[FACE]
| Number | Warrants |
THIS WARRANT SHALL BE VOID IF NOT EXERCISED PRIOR TO
THE EXPIRATION OF THE EXERCISE PERIOD PROVIDED FOR
IN THE WARRANT AGREEMENT DESCRIBED BELOW
THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP.
Incorporated Under the Laws of the Cayman Islands
CUSIP G88765 113
Warrant Certificate
This Warrant Certificate certifies that [•], or registered assigns, is the registered holder of [•] warrant(s) (the “Warrants” and each, a “Warrant”) to purchase Ordinary Shares, $0.0001 par value (“Ordinary Shares”), of Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”). Each Warrant entitles the holder, upon exercise during the period set forth in the Warrant Agreement referred to below, to receive from the Company that number of fully paid and nonassessable Ordinary Shares as set forth below, at the exercise price (the “Exercise Price”) as determined pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, payable in lawful money (or through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement) of the United States of America upon surrender of this Warrant Certificate and payment of the Exercise Price at the office or agency of the Warrant Agent referred to below, subject to the conditions set forth herein and in the Warrant Agreement. Defined terms used in this Warrant Certificate but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Warrant Agreement.
Each Warrant is initially exercisable for one fully paid and non-assessable Ordinary Share. Fractional shares shall not be issued upon exercise of any Warrant. If, upon the exercise of Warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a Ordinary Share, the Company shall, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Ordinary Shares to be issued to the Warrant holder. The number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.
The initial Exercise Price per one Ordinary Share for any Warrant is equal to $11.50 per share. The Exercise Price is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.
Subject to the conditions set forth in the Warrant Agreement, the Warrants may be exercised only during the Exercise Period and to the extent not exercised by the end of such Exercise Period, such Warrants shall become void. The Warrants may be redeemed, subject to certain conditions, as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.
Reference is hereby made to the further provisions of this Warrant Certificate set forth on the reverse hereof and such further provisions shall for all purposes have the same effect as though fully set forth at this place.
This Warrant Certificate shall not be valid unless countersigned by the Warrant Agent, as such term is used in the Warrant Agreement. This Warrant Certificate shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York.
| THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: |
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| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY, AS WARRANT AGENT | ||
| By: |
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| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
[REVERSE]
The Warrants evidenced by this Warrant Certificate are part of a duly authorized issue of Warrants entitling the holder on exercise to receive [•] Ordinary Shares and are issued or to be issued pursuant to a Warrant Agreement dated as of [•], 2026 (the “Warrant Agreement”), entered into by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York corporation, as warrant agent (the “Warrant Agent”), which Warrant Agreement is hereby incorporated by reference in and made a part of this instrument and is hereby referred to for a description of the rights, limitation of rights, obligations, duties and immunities thereunder of the Warrant Agent, the Company and the holders (the words “holders” or “holder” meaning the registered holders or registered holder, respectively) of the Warrants. A copy of the Warrant Agreement may be obtained by the holder hereof upon written request to the Company. Defined terms used in this Warrant Certificate but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Warrant Agreement.
Warrants may be exercised at any time during the Exercise Period set forth in the Warrant Agreement. The holder of Warrants evidenced by this Warrant Certificate may exercise them by surrendering this Warrant Certificate, with the form of Election to Purchase set forth hereon properly completed and executed, together with payment of the Exercise Price as specified in the Warrant Agreement (or through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement) at the principal corporate trust office of the Warrant Agent. In the event that upon any exercise of Warrants evidenced hereby the number of Warrants exercised shall be less than the total number of Warrants evidenced hereby, there shall be issued to the holder hereof or his, her or its assignee, a new Warrant Certificate evidencing the number of Warrants not exercised.
Notwithstanding anything else in this Warrant Certificate or the Warrant Agreement, no Warrant may be exercised unless at the time of exercise (i) a registration statement covering the issuance of the Ordinary Shares to be issued upon exercise is effective under the Act and (ii) a prospectus thereunder relating to the Ordinary Shares is current, except through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement.
The Warrant Agreement provides that upon the occurrence of certain events the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants set forth on the face hereof may, subject to certain conditions, be adjusted. If, upon exercise of a Warrant, the holder thereof would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in an Ordinary Share, the Company shall, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of Ordinary Shares to be issued to the holder of the Warrant.
Warrant Certificates, when surrendered at the principal corporate trust office of the Warrant Agent by the registered holder thereof in person or by legal representative or attorney duly authorized in writing, may be exchanged, in the manner and subject to the limitations provided in the Warrant Agreement, but without payment of any service charge, for another Warrant Certificate or Warrant Certificates of like tenor evidencing in the aggregate a like number of Warrants.
Upon due presentation for registration of transfer of this Warrant Certificate at the office of the Warrant Agent a new Warrant Certificate or Warrant Certificates of like tenor and evidencing in the aggregate a like number of Warrants shall be issued to the transferee(s) in exchange for this Warrant Certificate, subject to the limitations provided in the Warrant Agreement, without charge except for any tax or other governmental charge imposed in connection therewith.
The Company and the Warrant Agent may deem and treat the registered holder(s) hereof as the absolute owner(s) of this Warrant Certificate (notwithstanding any notation of ownership or other writing hereon made by anyone), for the purpose of any exercise hereof, of any distribution to the holder(s) hereof, and for all other purposes, and neither the Company nor the Warrant Agent shall be affected by any notice to the contrary. Neither the Warrants nor this Warrant Certificate entitles any holder hereof to any rights of a shareholder of the Company.
Election to Purchase
(To Be Executed Upon Exercise of Warrant)
The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise the right, represented by this Warrant Certificate, to receive [•] Ordinary Shares and herewith tenders payment for such Ordinary Shares to the order of Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”) in the amount of $[•] in accordance with the terms hereof. The undersigned requests that a certificate for such Ordinary Shares be registered in the name of [•], whose address is [•] and that such Ordinary Shares be delivered to [•] whose address is [•]. If said [•] number of Ordinary Shares is less than all of the Ordinary Shares purchasable hereunder, the undersigned requests that a new Warrant Certificate representing the remaining balance of such Ordinary Shares be registered in the name of [•], whose address is [•]and that such Warrant Certificate be delivered to [•], whose address is [•].
In the event that the Warrant is a Private Placement Warrant that is to be exercised on a “cashless” basis pursuant to subsection 3.3.1(b) of the Warrant Agreement, the number of Ordinary Shares that this Warrant is exercisable for shall be determined in accordance with subsection 3.3.1(b) of the Warrant Agreement.
In the event that the Warrant is to be exercised on a “cashless” basis pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Warrant Agreement, the number of Ordinary Shares that this Warrant is exercisable for shall be determined in accordance with Section 7.4 of the Warrant Agreement.
In the event that the Warrant may be exercised, to the extent allowed by the Warrant Agreement through cashless exercise, the number of Ordinary Shares that this Warrant is exercisable for will be determined in accordance with the relevant section of the Warrant Agreement which allows for such cashless exercise and the holder hereof shall complete the following: The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise the right, represented by this Warrant Certificate, through the cashless exercise provisions of the Warrant Agreement, to receive Ordinary Shares. If said number of shares is less than all of the Ordinary Shares purchasable hereunder (after giving effect to the cashless exercise), the undersigned requests that a new Warrant Certificate representing the remaining balance of such Ordinary Shares be registered in the name of [•], whose address is [•] and that such Warrant Certificate be delivered to [•], whose address is [•].
[Signature Page Follows]
Date: [•], 20[•]
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| Signature Guaranteed: |
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THE SIGNATURE(S) SHOULD BE GUARANTEED BY AN ELIGIBLE GUARANTOR INSTITUTION (BANKS, STOCKBROKERS, SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS AND CREDIT UNIONS WITH MEMBERSHIP IN AN APPROVED SIGNATURE GUARANTEE MEDALLION PROGRAM, PURSUANT TO S.E.C. RULE 17Ad-15 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED).
Exhibit 5.1
August 21, 2026
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
888 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
| Re: | Three Lions Acquisition Corp. |
Registration Statement on Form S-1
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended (the “Registration Statement”), under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), covering up to 11,500,000 units of the Company (the “Units”) (including up to 1,500,000 Units subject to the Underwriters (as defined below) over-allotment option), with each Unit consisting of (i) one ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (“Ordinary Share”) for an aggregate of up to 11,500,000 Ordinary Shares and (ii) one-half of one warrant (“Warrant”), each whole Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one Ordinary Share, at a price of $11.50 per share, for an aggregate of up to 5,750,000 Warrants (including up to 750,000 Warrants included in the Units subject to the Underwriters’ over-allotment option) to be issued under a Warrant Agreement (the “Warrant Agreement”) to be entered into by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as Warrant Agent, to be issued pursuant to the terms of an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) to be executed by the Company and EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., as representative of the underwriters (the “Underwriters”).
We have acted as counsel to the Company in connection with the preparation and filing of the Registration Statement and this opinion is being furnished in accordance with the “Legal Matters” section of the Registration Statement, as it pertains to the portions of New York law set forth below and with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Act.
We have examined copies of such corporate records, agreements, documents and other instruments of the Company and other certificates and documents of officials of the Company, public officials, and others, as we have deemed appropriate for purposes of this letter. We have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, and the conformity to authentic original documents of all copies submitted to us as conformed, certified, or reproduced copies. We have also assumed that (i) upon sale and delivery of the Units, Ordinary Shares and Warrants, the certificates representing such Units, Ordinary Shares and Warrants will conform to the specimens thereof filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement and will have been duly countersigned by the transfer agent and duly registered by the registrar or, if uncertificated, valid book-entry notations for the issuance of the Units, Ordinary Shares and the Warrants in uncertificated form will have been duly made in the register of the Company and (ii) at the time of execution, countersigning, issuance, and delivery of the Warrants, the Warrant Agreement will be a valid and binding obligation of the Warrant Agent, enforceable against the Warrant Agent in accordance with its terms. In addition, in providing the opinions herein, we have relied, with respect to matters related to the Company’s existence, upon the certificates referenced above.
Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, exceptions, qualifications, and limitations stated herein, we are of the opinion that:
1. When the Units have been duly executed, issued and delivered by the respective parties thereto and delivered to and paid for by the Underwriters pursuant to the terms of the Underwriting Agreement, the Units will be valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.
2. When the Warrants have been duly executed, issued and delivered by the respective parties thereto and delivered to and paid for by the Underwriters pursuant to the terms of the Underwriting Agreement and the Warrant Agreement, the Warrants will be valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.
The opinions and other matters in this letter are qualified in their entirety and subject to the following:
A. We express no opinion as to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the laws of the State of New York.
B. The matters expressed in this letter are subject to and qualified and limited by (i) applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer and conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights and remedies generally; and (ii) general principles of equity, including without limitation, concepts of materiality, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing and the possible unavailability of specific performance or injunctive relief (regardless of whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law).
C. This opinion letter is limited to the matters expressly stated herein and no opinion is to be inferred or implied beyond the opinions expressly set forth herein. We undertake no, and hereby disclaim any, obligation to make any inquiry after the date hereof or to advise you of any changes in any matter set forth herein, whether based on a change in the law, a change in any fact relating to the Company or any other person or any other circumstance.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the reference to us under the caption “Legal Matters” in the prospectus comprising a part of the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are included within the category of persons whose consent is required by Section 7 of the Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
| Very truly yours, |
| /s/ GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP |
| GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP |
Exhibit 5.2
| Three Lions Acquisition Corp. | Alexandra Low | |||
| Suite 210, 2nd Floor, Windward III, | alow@applebyglobal.com | |||
| Regatta Office Park, | +1-345-922-2276 | |||
| PO Box 500, Grand Cayman, | ||||
| Cayman Islands, | ||||
| KY1-1106 |
21 August, 2026
| Cayman Office
Appleby (Cayman) Ltd. 9th Floor, 60 Nexus Way Camana Bay PO Box 190 Grand Cayman KY1-1104 Cayman Islands
Tel +1 345 949 4900
applebyglobal.com |
THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP.
We have acted as counsel as to Cayman Islands law to Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) in connection with the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1, including all amendments or supplements thereto, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”) (including its exhibits, the “Registration Statement”) for the purposes of, registering with the Commission under the Act, the offering and sale to the public of:
(a) 10,000,000 units (or up to 1,500,000 units, if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full which EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. is acting as underwriter (“Underwriter”), will have a 45-day option to purchase from the Company to cover over-allotments, if any) (“Units”) at an offering price of US$10.00 per Unit, each Unit consisting of:
(i) one ordinary share of a par value of US$0.0001 of the Company (“Ordinary Shares”); and
(ii) one-half of one warrant, each whole warrant exercisable to purchase one Ordinary Share at a price of US$11.50 per Ordinary Share (“Warrants”);
(b) all Ordinary Shares and Warrants issued as part of the Units; and
(c) all Ordinary Shares that may be issued upon exercise of the Warrants included in the Units.
This opinion letter is given in accordance with the terms of the Legal Matters section of the Registration Statement. | |
| Appleby (Cayman) Ltd. (the Legal Practice) is a company limited by shares incorporated in the Cayman Islands and approved and recognised under the Legal Practitioners (Incorporated Practice) Regulations 2006 (as amended). “Partner” is a title referring to a director, shareholder or an employee of the Legal Practice. A list of such persons can be obtained from your relationship partner. |
Bermuda ◾ British Virgin Islands ◾ Cayman Islands ◾ Guernsey ◾ Hong Kong ◾ Isle of Man ◾ Jersey ◾ Mauritius ◾ Seychelles ◾ Shanghai
| 1. | DOCUMENTS REVIEWED |
We have reviewed originals, copies, drafts or conformed copies of the following documents:
| 1.1 | The certificate of incorporation dated 10 March, 2026 and the memorandum and articles of association of the Company as registered or adopted on 10 March, 2026, and the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be adopted at the time the Registration Statement becomes effective (the “Memorandum and Articles”). |
| 1.2 | The written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company dated 20 March, 2026, 29 April, 2026 and 29 June, 2026 and the resolutions to be adopted at the time the Registration Statement becomes effective (together, the “Resolutions”) and the corporate records of the Company maintained at its registered office in the Cayman Islands. |
| 1.3 | A certificate of good standing with respect to the Company issued by the Registrar of Companies (the “Certificate of Good Standing”). |
| 1.4 | The Registration Statement. |
| 1.5 | A draft of the form of the unit certificate representing the Units (the “Unit Certificate”). |
| 1.6 | A draft of the form of the warrant agreement and the warrant certificate constituting the Warrants. |
| 1.7 | A draft of the underwriting agreement between the Company and the Underwriter. |
The documents listed in paragraphs 1.6 to 1.7 inclusive above shall be referred to collectively herein as the “Documents”.
| 2 | ASSUMPTIONS |
The following opinions are given only as to, and based on, circumstances and matters of fact existing and known to us on the date of this opinion letter. These opinions only relate to the laws of the Cayman Islands which are in force on the date of this opinion letter. In giving the following opinions, we have relied (without further verification) upon the completeness and accuracy, as at the date of this opinion letter, of the Certificate of Good Standing. We have also relied upon the following assumptions, which we have not independently verified:
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Bermuda ◾ British Virgin Islands ◾ Cayman Islands ◾ Guernsey ◾ Hong Kong ◾ Isle of Man ◾ Jersey ◾ Mauritius ◾ Seychelles ◾ Shanghai
| 2.1 | The choice of laws of the State of New York as the governing law of the Documents has been made in good faith and would be regarded as a valid and binding selection which will be upheld by the courts of the State of New York and any other relevant jurisdiction (other than the Cayman Islands) as a matter of the State of New York and all other relevant laws (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands). |
| 2.2 | Copies of documents, conformed copies or drafts of documents provided to us are true and complete copies of, or in the final forms of, the originals. |
| 2.3 | All signatures, initials and seals are genuine. |
| 2.4 | No invitation has been or will be made by or on behalf of the Company to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for any of the Units, the Warrants or the Ordinary Shares. |
| 2.5 | There is no contractual or other prohibition or restriction (other than as arising under Cayman Islands law) binding on the Company prohibiting or restricting it from entering into and performing its obligations under the Documents. |
| 2.6 | No monies paid to or for the account of any party under the Documents or any property received or disposed of by any party to the Documents in each case in connection with the Documents or the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby represent or will represent proceeds of criminal conduct or criminal property or terrorist property (as defined in the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) and the Terrorism Act (As Revised), respectively). |
| 2.7 | There is nothing under any law (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands) which would or might affect the opinions set out below. Specifically, we have made no independent investigation of the laws of New York. |
| 2.8 | The Company will receive money or money’s worth in consideration for the issue of the Ordinary Shares and none of the Ordinary Shares will be issued for less than par value. |
Save as aforesaid we have not been instructed to undertake and have not undertaken any further enquiry or due diligence in relation to the transaction the subject of this opinion letter.
| 3 | OPINIONS |
Based upon, and subject to, the foregoing assumptions and the qualifications set out below, and having regard to such legal considerations as we deem relevant, we are of the opinion that:
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Bermuda ◾ British Virgin Islands ◾ Cayman Islands ◾ Guernsey ◾ Hong Kong ◾ Isle of Man ◾ Jersey ◾ Mauritius ◾ Seychelles ◾ Shanghai
| 3.1 | The Company has been duly incorporated as an exempted company with limited liability and is validly existing and in good standing with the Registrar of Companies under the laws of the Cayman Islands. |
| 3.2 | The Ordinary Shares (included in the Units and the Ordinary Shares underlying the Warrants included in the Units) to be offered and issued by the Company as contemplated by the Registration Statement have been duly authorised for issue, and when issued by the Company against payment in full of the consideration as set out in the Registration Statement and in accordance with the terms set out in the Registration Statement, such Ordinary Shares (included in the Units and the Ordinary Shares underlying the Warrants included in the Units) will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a share is only issued when it has been entered in the register of members (shareholders). |
| 3.3 | The execution, delivery and performance of the Unit Certificate and the Documents have been authorised by and on behalf of the Company and, once the Unit Certificate and the Documents have been executed and delivered by any director or officer of the Company, the Unit Certificate and the Documents will be duly executed and delivered on behalf of the Company and will constitute the legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable in accordance with their terms. |
| 4 | QUALIFICATIONS |
The opinions expressed above are subject to the following qualifications:
| 4.1 | The obligations assumed by the Company under the Documents will not necessarily be enforceable in all circumstances in accordance with their terms. In particular: |
| (a) | enforcement may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, reorganisation, readjustment of debts or moratorium or other laws of general application relating to protecting or affecting the rights of creditors; |
| (b) | enforcement may be limited by general principles of equity. For example, equitable remedies such as specific performance may not be available, inter alia, where damages are considered to be an adequate remedy; |
| (c) | where obligations are to be performed in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, they may not be enforceable in the Cayman Islands to the extent that performance would be illegal under the laws of that jurisdiction; and |
| (d) | some claims may become barred under relevant statutes of limitation or may be or become subject to defences of set off, counterclaim, estoppel and similar defences. |
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Bermuda ◾ British Virgin Islands ◾ Cayman Islands ◾ Guernsey ◾ Hong Kong ◾ Isle of Man ◾ Jersey ◾ Mauritius ◾ Seychelles ◾ Shanghai
| 4.2 | To maintain the Company in good standing with the Registrar of Companies under the laws of the Cayman Islands, annual filing fees must be paid and returns made to the Registrar of Companies within the time frame prescribed by law. |
| 4.3 | Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members (shareholders) is prima facie evidence of title to shares and this register would not record a third party interest in such shares. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. As far as we are aware, such applications are rarely made in the Cayman Islands and for the purposes of the opinion given in paragraph 3.2, there are no circumstances or matters of fact known to us on the date of this opinion letter which would properly form the basis for an application for an order for rectification of the register of members of the Company, but if such an application were made in respect of the Ordinary Shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court. |
| 4.4 | In this opinion letter the phrase “non-assessable” means, with respect to the issuance of shares, that a shareholder shall not, in respect of the relevant shares and in the absence of a contractual arrangement, or an obligation pursuant to the Memorandum and Articles, to the contrary, have any obligation to make further contributions to the Company’s assets (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil). |
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the references to our firm under the headings “Legal Matters”, “Risk Factors”, “Shareholders’ Suits” and “Enforcement of Civil Liabilities” in the prospectus included in the Registration Statement. In providing our consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under section 7 of the Act or the Rules and Regulations of the Commission thereunder.
We offer no opinion: (i) as to any laws other than the laws of the Cayman Islands, and we have not, for the purposes of this opinion, made any investigation of the laws of any other jurisdiction, and we express no opinion as to the enforceability, meaning, validity, or effect of references in the Documents to statutes, rules, regulations, codes or judicial authority of any jurisdiction other than the Cayman Islands; or (ii) except to the extent that this opinion expressly provides otherwise, as to the commercial terms of, or the validity, enforceability or effect of the documents reviewed (or as to how the commercial terms of such documents
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Bermuda ◾ British Virgin Islands ◾ Cayman Islands ◾ Guernsey ◾ Hong Kong ◾ Isle of Man ◾ Jersey ◾ Mauritius ◾ Seychelles ◾ Shanghai
reflect the intentions of the parties), the accuracy of representations, the fulfilment of warranties or conditions, the occurrence of events of default or terminating events or the existence of any conflicts or inconsistencies among the documents and any other agreements into which the Company may have entered or any other documents.
The opinions in this opinion letter are strictly limited to the matters contained in the opinions section above and do not extend to any other matters. We have not been asked to review and we therefore have not reviewed any of the ancillary documents relating to the Documents and express no opinion or observation upon the terms of any such document.
This opinion letter is addressed to you and may be relied upon by you, your counsel and purchasers of Units pursuant to the Registration Statement. This opinion letter is limited to the matters detailed herein and is not to be read as an opinion with respect to any other matter.
Yours faithfully,
Appleby (Cayman) Ltd.
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Bermuda ◾ British Virgin Islands ◾ Cayman Islands ◾ Guernsey ◾ Hong Kong ◾ Isle of Man ◾ Jersey ◾ Mauritius ◾ Seychelles ◾ Shanghai
Exhibit 10.3
[•], 2026
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
888 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
366 Madison Ave 8th Floor
New York, NY 10017
| Re: | Initial Public Offering |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This letter (this “Letter Agreement”) is being delivered to you in accordance with the Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) entered into by and between Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), and EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., as representative (the “Representative”) of the several underwriters (each, an “Underwriter” and collectively, the “Underwriters”), relating to an underwritten initial public offering (the “Public Offering”), of up to 11,500,000 of the Company’s units (including up to 1,500,000 units that may be purchased to cover over-allotments, if any) (the “Units”), each comprised of one ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Shares”), and one-half of one warrant (each, a “Warrant”). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The Units will be sold in the Public Offering pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 and prospectus (the “Prospectus”) filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) and the Company has applied to have the Units, Shares and Warrants listed on the Nasdaq Global Market. Certain capitalized terms used herein are defined in paragraph 11 hereof.
In order to induce the Company and the Underwriters to enter into the Underwriting Agreement and to proceed with the Public Offering and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, each of Three Lions Sponsor, LLC (the “Sponsor”) and each of the undersigned persons and entities, severally and not jointly (namely, directors and officers of the Company, and certain designees of the Sponsor) (each an “Insider” and collectively, the “Insiders”), hereby agrees with the Company as follows:
1. The Sponsor and each Insider agrees that, if the Company seeks shareholder approval of a proposed Business Combination, then, in connection with such proposed Business Combination, it, he or she shall vote any Shares owned by it, him or her in favor of any proposed Business Combination (including any proposals recommended by the Company’s Board of Directors in connection with such Business Combination), subject to applicable securities laws. If the Company seeks to consummate a proposed Business Combination by engaging in a tender offer, the Sponsor and each Insider agrees that it, he or she will not sell or tender any Shares owned by it, him or her in connection therewith.
The Sponsor and each Insider hereby waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares, Private Shares and Offering Shares (each as defined below) they hold in connection with (i) the completion of a Business Combination or (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Charter (as defined below) (A) to modify or delay the substance or timing of the ability of Public Shareholders to seek redemption in connection with a Business Combination or the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the Offering Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Charter or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity; provided that any Insider listed under the heading “Sponsor Designee” on the signature page (the “Sponsor Designees”) to this Letter Agreement does not waive its redemption rights with respect to any Offering Shares under any circumstances whatsoever (including, without limitation, in connection with actions described in clause (i) and/or clause (ii) of this paragraph).
2. The Sponsor and each Insider who is a member of the Company’s board of directors and/or officer of the Company agrees that in the event that the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (as it may be amended from time to time, the “Charter”), the Sponsor and each such Insider shall take all reasonable steps to cause the Company to (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten (10) business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the Shares sold as part of the Units in the Public Offering (the “Offering Shares”), at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account (as defined below), including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Offering Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish all Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law. The Sponsor and each Insider agrees to not propose any amendment to the Charter (A) to delay or modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide for redemption rights as set forth in the Prospectus or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless the Company provides its Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Offering Shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding Offering Shares.
The Sponsor and each Insider acknowledges that it, he or she has no, and hereby waives any, right, title, interest or claim of any kind, including as a result of distributions to shareholders (a “Claim”), in or to any monies held in the Trust Account as a result of any liquidation of the Company with respect to the Founder Shares and Private Shares held by it, him or her and hereby waives any Claim it, he or she may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any contracts or agreements with the Company and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Sponsor, the Insiders and their respective affiliates shall be entitled to liquidation proceeds from the Trust Account with respect to any Offering Shares it or they hold if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Charter.
3. During the period commencing on the effective date of the Underwriting Agreement and ending 180 days after such date, each Sponsor and each Insider shall not, without the prior written consent of the Representative, (i) sell, offer to sell, contract or agree to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of or agree to dispose of, directly or indirectly, or establish or increase a put equivalent position or liquidate or decrease a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder, with respect to, any Units, Shares (including, but not limited to, Founder Shares) and Warrants or any securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, Shares owned by it, him or her, (ii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of any Units, Shares (including, but not limited to, Founder Shares) and Warrants or any securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, Shares owned by it, him or her, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of such securities, in cash or otherwise, or (iii) publicly announce any intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (i) or (ii). Each of the Sponsors and each Insider acknowledges and agrees that, prior to the effective date of any release or waiver, of the restrictions set forth in this paragraph 3 or paragraph 7 below, the Company shall announce the impending release or waiver by press release through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver. Any release or waiver granted shall only be effective two business days after the publication date of such press release. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply to any transfer permitted under paragraph 7(c) hereof or if the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer not for consideration and the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the same terms described in this Letter Agreement to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of the transfer.
4. In the event of the liquidation of the Trust Account upon the failure of the Company to consummate a Business Combination, the Sponsor (the “Indemnitor”) agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever (including, but not limited to, any and all legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, whether pending or threatened) to which the Company may become subject as a result of any claim by (i) any third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company or (ii) any prospective target business with which the Company has
discussed entering into a Business Combination agreement (a “Target”); provided, however, that such indemnification of the Company by the Indemnitor (x) shall apply only to the extent necessary to ensure that such claims by a third party or a Target do not reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.05 per Offering Share and (ii) the actual amount per Offering Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.05 per Offering Share is then held in the Trust Account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, (y) shall not apply to any claims by a third party or a Target which executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) and (z) shall not apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the Company’s auditors or the Underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Indemnitor shall have the right to defend against any such claim with counsel of its choice reasonably satisfactory to the Company if, within 15 days following written receipt of notice of the claim to the Indemnitors, the Indemnitor notifies the Company in writing that it shall undertake such defense.
5. To the extent that the Underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 1,500,000 Units within 45 days from the date of the Prospectus (and as further described in the Prospectus), the Initial Shareholders (as defined below) agree to forfeit, at no cost, a number of Founder Shares, so that the Founder Shares, excluding the EBC Founder Shares, will represent an aggregate of 33.0% of the Offering Shares. The Initial Shareholders further agree that to the extent that the size of the Public Offering is increased or decreased, the Company will purchase or sell Shares or effect a share repurchase or share capitalization, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of the Public Offering in such amount as to maintain the number of Founder Shares, excluding EBC Founder Shares, held by the Initial Shareholders at 33.0% of the number of Offering Shares.
6. The Sponsor and each Insider agrees and acknowledges that: (i) the Underwriters and the Company would be irreparably injured in the event of a breach by such Sponsor or an Insider of its, his or her obligations under paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7(a), 7(b) and 9 as applicable, of this Letter Agreement, (ii) monetary damages may not be an adequate remedy for such breach and (iii) the non-breaching party shall be entitled to injunctive relief, in addition to any other remedy that such party may have in law or in equity, in the event of such breach.
7. (a) Subject to Section 7(c) below, the Sponsor and each Insider agrees that the Founder Shares shall be placed in escrow and that it, he or she shall not Transfer any Founder Shares until six months after the date of the consummation of a Business Combination, or earlier, if, subsequent to a Business Combination, the Company consummates a subsequent liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of its shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property (the “Founder Shares Lock-up Period”) .
(b) Subject to Section 7(c) below, the Sponsor and each Insider agrees that it, he or she shall not Transfer any Private Placement Units (or any Private Shares or Warrants underlying the Private Placement Units) until the completion of a Business Combination (the “Private Placement Units Lock-up Period”, together with the Founder Shares Lock-up Period, the “Lock-up Periods”).
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions set forth in paragraphs 7(a) and (b), Transfers of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Units and the underlying securities that are held by the Sponsor, any Insider or any of their permitted transferees (that have complied with this paragraph 7(c)), are permitted (a) to the Sponsor, the Company’s officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of the Sponsor or the Company’s officers or directors, any members of the Initial Shareholders, or any affiliate of the Initial Shareholders; (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family, to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made at or prior to the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of the laws of the State of Delaware or the organizational documents of the Sponsor upon dissolution of the Sponsor; (g) by any Sponsor Designee pursuant to rights granted to it pursuant to its Subscription Agreement: and (h) to us for no value for cancellation in connection with the consummation of a Business Combination; provided, however, that in each case (except for clause (h) or with the Company’s consent) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in this Letter Agreement.
8. The Sponsor and each Insider represents and warrants that it, he or she has never been suspended or expelled from membership in any securities or commodities exchange or association or had a securities or commodities license or registration denied, suspended or revoked and has never experienced a disqualifying event as enumerated pursuant to Rule 506(d) of Regulation D under the Securities Act. The biographical information furnished to the Company (including any such information included in the Prospectus) for each Insider who is a member of the Company’s board of directors and/or officer is true and accurate in all respects and does not omit any material information with respect to such Insider’s background. The Sponsor and each director and officer of the Company represents and warrants that the questionnaires furnished by such person or entity to the Company is true and accurate in all respects. The Sponsor and each Insider represents and warrants that: it, he or she is not subject to or a respondent in any legal action for, any injunction, cease-and-desist order or order or stipulation to desist or refrain from any act or practice relating to the offering of securities in any jurisdiction; it, he or she has never been convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, any crime (i) involving fraud, (ii) relating to any financial transaction or handling of funds of another person, or (iii) pertaining to any dealings in any securities; and it, he or she is not currently a defendant in any such criminal proceeding.
9. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, neither the Sponsor nor any officer, nor any affiliate of the Sponsor or any officer, nor any director of the Company, shall receive from the Company any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any repayment of a loan or other compensation prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).
10. The Sponsor and each Insider has full right and power, without violating any agreement to which it is bound (including, without limitation, any non-competition or non-solicitation agreement with any employer or former employer), to enter into this Letter Agreement and, as applicable, to serve as an officer and/or director on the board of directors of the Company and hereby consents to being named in the Prospectus as an officer and/or director of the Company.
11. As used herein, (i) “Business Combination” shall mean the initial merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination involving the Company and one or more businesses or entities; (ii) “Founder Shares” shall mean the 3,833,333 Shares issued to the Initial Shareholders prior to the Public Offering (up to 500,000 of which are subject to complete or partial forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the Underwriters); (iii) “Initial Shareholders” shall mean the Sponsor and any Insider that holds Founder Shares prior to the Public Offering; (iv) “Private Placement Units” shall mean the 400,000 units (or 437,500 units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) that the Sponsor and Representative and/or their designees have agreed to purchase for an aggregate purchase price of $4,000,000 (or $4,375,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $10.00 per unit, in a private placement that shall occur simultaneously with the consummation of the Public Offering; (v) “Private Shares” means the Shares underlying the Private Placement Units; (vi) “Public Shareholders” shall mean the holders of Offering Shares; (vii) “Trust Account” shall mean the trust fund into which a portion of the net proceeds of the Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Units shall be deposited; (viii) “Transfer” shall mean the (a) sale of, offer to sell, contract or agreement to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant of any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of or agreement to dispose of, directly or indirectly, or establishment or increase of a put equivalent position or liquidation with respect to or decrease of a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder with respect to, any security, (b) entry into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of any security, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of such securities, in cash or otherwise, or (c) public announcement of any intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (a) or (b); (ix) “EBC Founder Shares” shall mean the 200,000 Shares issued to the Representative prior to the Public Offering and (x) for any Sponsor Designee, “Subscription Agreement” shall mean that certain letter agreement entered into by and between the Company and such Sponsor Designee setting forth the terms of its subscription for Purchased Units (as defined in the Subscription Agreement).
12. The Sponsor hereby grants to the Representative, for a period commencing from the consummation of the Public Offering until 12 months after the date of the consummation of the Business Combination (or the liquidation of the Trust Account in the event the Company fails to consummate its Business Combination within the prescribed time) a right of first refusal to act as lead underwriter for any U.S. registered public offering of securities undertaken by the Sponsor or any Insider who is an officer of the Company for purposes of raising capital and placing 90% or more of the proceeds in a trust account (or other similar account) to be used to acquire one or more operating businesses that have not been identified at the time of the capital raising transaction. The terms of such offering shall be mutually determined in good faith by the Sponsor and the Representative and will be based on the prevailing market for similar offerings.
13. The Company will maintain an insurance policy or policies providing directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, and each director shall be covered by such policy or policies, in accordance with its or their terms, to the maximum extent of the coverage available for any of the Company’s directors or officers.
14. This Letter Agreement constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the parties hereto in respect of the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior understandings, agreements, or representations by or among the parties hereto, written, or oral, to the extent they relate in any way to the subject matter hereof or the transactions contemplated hereby. This Letter Agreement may not be changed, amended, modified, or waived (other than to correct a typographical error) as to any particular provision, except by a written instrument executed by all parties hereto.
15. No party hereto may assign either this Letter Agreement or any of its rights, interests, or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the other parties. Any purported assignment in violation of this paragraph shall be void and ineffectual and shall not operate to transfer or assign any interest or title to the purported assignee. This Letter Agreement shall be binding on each Sponsor and each Insider and their respective successors, heirs and assigns and permitted transferees.
16. Nothing in this Letter Agreement shall be construed to confer upon, or give to, any person or corporation other than the parties hereto any right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this Letter Agreement or of any covenant, condition, stipulation, promise or agreement hereof. All covenants, conditions, stipulations, promises, and agreements contained in this Letter Agreement shall be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the parties hereto and their successors, heirs, personal representatives and assigns and permitted transferees.
17. This Letter Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the other party, it being understood that both parties need not sign the same counterpart. In the event that any signature is delivered in pdf format via electronic mail, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such signature page were an original thereof.
18. This Letter Agreement shall be deemed severable, and the invalidity or unenforceability of any term or provision hereof shall not affect the validity or enforceability of this Letter Agreement or of any other term or provision hereof. Furthermore, in lieu of any such invalid or unenforceable term or provision, the parties hereto intend that there shall be added as a part of this Letter Agreement a provision as similar in terms to such invalid or unenforceable provision as may be possible and be valid and enforceable.
19. This Letter Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts wholly performed within the borders of such state, without giving effect to the conflict of law principles thereof. Any suit, action or proceeding seeking to enforce any provision of, or based on any matter arising out of or in connection with, this Letter Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, whether in contract, tort or otherwise, shall be brought in any state or federal court located in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan, so long as one of such courts shall have subject matter jurisdiction over such suit, action, or proceeding. Any cause of action arising out of or in connection with this letter agreement shall be deemed exclusively to have arisen from a transaction of business in the State of New York. Each of the parties hereby irrevocably consents to the jurisdiction of such courts (and of the appropriate appellate courts therefrom) in any such suit, action, or proceeding and irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such suit, action, or proceeding in any such court or that any such suit, action or proceeding that is brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum. Each party further acknowledges and agrees that any controversy that may arise under this Letter Agreement is likely to involve complicated and difficult issues and, therefore, such party irrevocably and unconditionally waives any right it may have to a trial by jury in respect of any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Letter Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
20. Any notice, consent, or request to be given in connection with any of the terms or provisions of this Letter Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent by express mail or similar private courier service, by certified mail (return receipt requested), by hand delivery, electronic mail or facsimile transmission if to the Company, at the address set forth above, and if to a Sponsor or an Insider, to the address of such party on file with the Company.
21. This Letter Agreement shall terminate on the earlier of (i) the expiration of the Lock-up Periods or (ii) the liquidation of the Company; provided, however, that this Letter Agreement shall terminate earlier in the event that the Public Offering is not consummated and closed by December 31, 2026; provided further that the second paragraph of Section 2 and Section 4 of this Letter Agreement shall survive such liquidation.
22. Each of the undersigned acknowledges and understands that the Underwriters and the Company will rely upon the agreements, representations and warranties set forth herein in proceeding with the Public Offering. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to render the Underwriters a representative of, or a fiduciary with respect to, the Company, its stockholders or any creditor or vendor of the Company with respect to the subject matter hereof.
| Sincerely,
THREE LIONS SPONSOR, LLC | ||
| By: |
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| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS: | ||
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| Berke Bakay | ||
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| Brett Johnson | ||
|
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| Harry Brandler | ||
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| Jeffrey G. Brock | ||
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| Jameson Culp | ||
Jeffrey A. Dunham | ||
| SPONSOR DESIGNEES: (severally and not jointly) | ||
| NAME: |
| |
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| NAME: |
| |
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
Acknowledged and Agreed:
| THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: Brett Johnson | ||
| Title: Chief Executive Officer | ||
| EARLYBIRDCAPITAL, INC. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
Exhibit 10.4
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT TRUST AGREEMENT
This Investment Management Trust Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made effective as of [•], 2026 by and between Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York corporation (the “Trustee”).
WHEREAS, the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-297177) (the “Registration Statement”) and prospectus (the “Prospectus”) for the initial public offering (the “Offering”) of the Company’s units (the “Units”), each of which consists of one ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Shares”), and one-half of one warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, has been declared effective as of the date hereof by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; and
WHEREAS, the Company has entered into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., as representative (the “Representative”) of the several underwriters (the “Underwriters”) named therein;
WHEREAS, as described in the Prospectus, $100,500,000 of the gross proceeds of the Offering and sale of the Private Units (as defined in the Underwriting Agreement) (or $115,575,000 if the Underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be delivered to the Trustee to be deposited and held in a segregated trust account located at all times in the United States (the “Trust Account”) for the benefit of the Company, the holders of the Shares included in the Units issued in the Offering and the Underwriters as hereinafter provided (the amount to be delivered to the Trustee (and any interest subsequently earned thereon) is referred to herein as the “Property,” the shareholders for whose benefit the Trustee shall hold the Property will be referred to as the “Public Shareholders,” and the Public Shareholders, the Company and the Underwriters will be referred to together as the “Beneficiaries”); and
WHEREAS, the Company and the Trustee desire to enter into this Agreement to set forth the terms and conditions pursuant to which the Trustee shall hold the Property.
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS AGREED:
1. Agreements and Covenants of Trustee. The Trustee hereby agrees and covenants to:
(a) Hold the Property in trust for the Beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of this Agreement in the Trust Account established by the Trustee in the United States at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (or at another U.S. chartered commercial bank with consolidated assets of $100 billion or more) and at a brokerage institution selected by the Trustee that is reasonably satisfactory to the Company;
(b) Manage, supervise and administer the Trust Account subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein;
(c) In a timely manner, upon the written instruction of the Company, (i) invest and reinvest the Property in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), having a maturity of 185 days or less, or in money market funds registered under the Investment Company Act that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting the conditions of paragraph (d) of Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations or (ii) deposit the Property into an interest or non-interest bearing demand deposit account at a U.S. chartered commercial bank with consolidated assets of $100 billion or more selected by the Trustee that is reasonably satisfactory to the Company; it being understood that unless the Company instructs the Trustee to do either of the foregoing, the Trust Account will earn no interest while account funds are uninvested awaiting the Company’s instructions hereunder; and while funds are uninvested or invested, the Trustee may earn bank credits or other consideration during such periods;
(d) Collect and receive, when due, all principal, interest or other income arising from the Property, which shall become part of the “Property,” as such term is used herein;
(e) Promptly notify the Company and the Representative of all communications received by the Trustee with respect to any Property requiring action by the Company;
(f) Supply any necessary information or documents as may be requested by the Company (or its authorized agents) in connection with the Company’s preparation of the tax returns relating to assets held in the Trust Account;
(g) Participate in any plan or proceeding for protecting or enforcing any right or interest arising from the Property if, as and when instructed by the Company to do so;
(h) Render to the Company monthly written statements of the activities of, and amounts in, the Trust Account reflecting all receipts and disbursements of the Trust Account;
(i) Commence liquidation of the Trust Account promptly after (x) receipt of, and only in accordance with the terms of, a letter from the Company (“Termination Letter”) in a form substantially similar to that attached hereto as either Exhibit A or Exhibit B, as applicable, signed on behalf of the Company by its Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, President, Executive Vice President, Vice President, Secretary or Chairman of the board of directors of the Company (the “Board”) or other authorized officer of the Company, and, in the case of Exhibit A, acknowledged and agreed to by the Representative, and complete the liquidation of the Trust Account and distribute the Property in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable and, in the case of Exhibit B, up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), only as directed in the Termination Letter and the other documents referred to therein, or (y) upon the date which is the later of (1) 21 months after the closing of the Offering, (2) such date as may be approved by the Company’s shareholders in accordance with the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association if a Termination Letter has not been received by the Trustee prior to such date or (3) upon the end of a 30-day cure period after the date any additional amount of funds was required to be deposited in the Trust Account as a condition of any extension of such date approved by the Company’s shareholder (in any case, the “Deadline”), in which case the Trust Account shall be liquidated by the Trustee in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Termination Letter attached as Exhibit B and the Property in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), shall be distributed to the Public Shareholders of record as of such date. It is acknowledged and agreed there should be no reduction in the aggregate principal amount per share initially deposited in the Trust Account;
(j) Upon written request from the Company, which may be given from time to time in a form substantially similar to that attached hereto as Exhibit C (a “Tax Payment / Liquidation Withdrawal Instruction”), withdraw from the Trust Account and distribute to the Company the amount of interest earned on the Property requested by the Company to cover any tax obligation (excluding excise taxes) or liquidation and dissolution expense (not to exceed $100,000 in the aggregate) owed by the Company, which amount shall be delivered directly to the Company by electronic funds transfer or other method of prompt payment; and the Company shall forward such payment related to taxes to the relevant taxing authority, so long as there is no reduction in the principal amount per share initially deposited in the Trust Account, plus any additional amounts required to be deposited for an extension of the last date to complete a business combination as a condition of any extension of such date approved by the Company’s shareholders; provided, however, that to the extent there is not sufficient cash in the Trust Account for such tax obligation, the Trustee shall liquidate such assets held in the Trust Account as shall be designated by the Company in writing to make such distribution (it being acknowledged and agreed that any such amount in excess of interest income earned on the Property shall not be payable from the Trust Account). The Tax Payment / Liquidation Withdrawal Instruction of the Company referenced above shall constitute presumptive evidence that the Company is entitled to said funds, and the Trustee shall have no responsibility to look beyond said request;
(k) Upon written request from the Company, which may be given from time to time in a form substantially similar to that attached hereto as Exhibit D (a “Shareholder Redemption Withdrawal Instruction”), the Trustee shall distribute to the Public Shareholders on behalf of the Company the amount requested by the Company to be used to redeem Shares from Public Shareholders properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of
association (A) to delay or modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide for redemption rights in accordance with the Registration Statement or to redeem 100% of the Shares included in the Units sold in the Offering (the “Public Shares”) if the Company has not consummated an initial Business Combination within such time as is described in the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity. The written request of the Company referenced above shall constitute presumptive evidence that the Company is entitled to distribute said funds, and the Trustee shall have no responsibility to look beyond said request; and
(l) Not make any withdrawals or distributions from the Trust Account other than pursuant to Section 1(i), (j) or (k) above.
2. Agreements and Covenants of the Company. The Company hereby agrees and covenants to:
(a) Give all instructions to the Trustee hereunder in writing, signed by the Company’s Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer. In addition, except with respect to its duties under Sections 1(i), 1(j) and 1(k) hereof, the Trustee shall be entitled to rely on, and shall be protected in relying on, any verbal or telephonic advice or instruction which it, in good faith and with reasonable care, believes to be given by any one of the persons authorized above to give written instructions, provided that the Company shall promptly confirm such instructions in writing;
(b) Subject to Section 4 hereof, hold the Trustee harmless and indemnify the Trustee from and against any and all documented expenses, including reasonable counsel fees and disbursements, or losses suffered by the Trustee in connection with any action taken by it hereunder and in connection with any action, suit or other proceeding brought against the Trustee involving any claim, or in connection with any claim or demand, which in any way arises out of or relates to this Agreement, the services of the Trustee hereunder, or the Property or any interest earned on the Property, except for expenses and losses resulting from the Trustee’s gross negligence, fraud or willful misconduct. Promptly after the receipt by the Trustee of notice of demand or claim or the commencement of any action, suit or proceeding, pursuant to which the Trustee intends to seek indemnification under this Section 2(b), it shall notify the Company in writing of such claim (hereinafter referred to as the “Indemnified Claim”). The Trustee shall have the right to conduct and manage the defense against such Indemnified Claim; provided that the Trustee shall obtain the consent of the Company with respect to the selection of counsel, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. The Trustee may not agree to settle any Indemnified Claim without the prior written consent of the Company, which such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. The Company may participate in such action with its own counsel;
(c) Pay the Trustee the fees set forth on Schedule A hereto, including an initial acceptance fee, annual administration fee, and transaction processing fee which fees shall be subject to modification by the parties from time to time. It is expressly understood that the Property shall not be used to pay such fees unless and until it is distributed to the Company pursuant to Sections 1(i) through 1(k) hereof. The Company shall pay the Trustee the initial acceptance fee and the first annual administration fee at the consummation of the Offering. The Company shall not be responsible for any other fees or charges of the Trustee except as set forth in this Section 2(c), Schedule A and as may be provided in Section 2(b) hereof;
(d) In connection with any vote of the Company’s shareholders regarding a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination involving the Company and one or more businesses or entities (the “Business Combination”), provide to the Trustee an affidavit or certificate of the inspector of elections for the shareholder meeting verifying the vote of such shareholders regarding such Business Combination;
(e) Provide the Representative with a copy of any Termination Letter(s) and/or any other correspondence that is sent to the Trustee with respect to any proposed withdrawal from the Trust Account promptly after it issues the same; and
(f) Instruct the Trustee to make only those distributions that are permitted under this Agreement, and refrain from instructing the Trustee to make any distributions that are not permitted under this Agreement.
3. Limitations of Liability. The Trustee shall have no responsibility or liability to:
(a) Imply obligations, perform duties, inquire or otherwise be subject to the provisions of any agreement or document other than this Agreement and that which is expressly set forth herein;
(b) Take any action with respect to the Property, other than as directed in Section 1 hereof, and the Trustee shall have no liability to any third party except for liability arising out of the Trustee’s gross negligence, fraud or willful misconduct;
(c) Institute any proceeding for the collection of any principal and income arising from, or institute, appear in or defend any proceeding of any kind with respect to, any of the Property unless and until it shall have received instructions from the Company given as provided herein to do so and the Company shall have advanced or guaranteed to it funds sufficient to pay any expenses incident thereto;
(d) Refund any depreciation in principal of any Property;
(e) Assume that the authority of any person designated by the Company to give instructions hereunder shall not be continuing unless provided otherwise in such designation, or unless the Company shall have delivered a written revocation of such authority to the Trustee;
(f) The other parties hereto or to anyone else for any action taken or omitted by it, or any action suffered by it to be taken or omitted, in good faith and in the Trustee’s best judgment, except for the Trustee’s gross negligence, fraud or willful misconduct. The Trustee may rely conclusively and shall be protected in acting upon any order, notice, demand, certificate, opinion or advice of counsel (including counsel chosen by the Trustee, which counsel may be the Company’s counsel), statement, instrument, report or other paper or document (not only as to its due execution and the validity and effectiveness of its provisions, but also as to the truth and acceptability of any information therein contained) which the Trustee believes, in good faith and with reasonable care, to be genuine and to be signed or presented by the proper person or persons. The Trustee shall not be bound by any notice or demand, or any waiver, modification, termination or rescission of this Agreement or any of the terms hereof, unless evidenced by a written instrument delivered to the Trustee, signed by the proper party or parties and, if the duties or rights of the Trustee are affected, unless it shall give its prior written consent thereto;
(g) Verify the accuracy of the information contained in the Registration Statement;
(h) Provide any assurance that any Business Combination entered into by the Company or any other action taken by the Company is as contemplated by the Registration Statement;
(i) File information returns with respect to the Trust Account with any local, state or federal taxing authority or provide periodic written statements to the Company documenting the taxes payable by the Company, if any, relating to any interest income earned on the Property;
(j) Prepare, execute and file tax reports, income or other tax returns and pay any taxes with respect to any income generated by, and activities relating to, the Trust Account, regardless of whether such tax is payable by the Trust Account or the Company, including, but not limited to, tax obligations, except pursuant to Section 1(j) hereof; or
(k) Verify calculations, qualify or otherwise approve the Company’s written requests for distributions pursuant to Sections 1(i), 1(j) or 1(k) hereof.
4. Trust Account Waiver. The Trustee has no right of set-off or any right, title, interest or claim of any kind (“Claim”) to, or to any monies in, the Trust Account, and hereby irrevocably waives any Claim to, or to any monies in, the Trust Account that it may have now or in the future. In the event the Trustee has any Claim against the Company under this Agreement, including, without limitation, under Section 2(b) or Section 2(c) hereof, the Trustee shall pursue such Claim solely against the Company and its assets outside the Trust Account and not against the Property or any monies in the Trust Account.
5. Termination. This Agreement shall terminate as follows:
(a) If the Trustee gives written notice to the Company that it desires to resign under this Agreement, the Company shall use its reasonable efforts to locate a successor trustee, pending which the Trustee shall continue to act in accordance with this Agreement. At such time that the Company notifies the Trustee that a successor trustee has been appointed and has agreed to become subject to the terms of this Agreement, the Trustee shall transfer the management of the Trust Account to the successor trustee, including but not limited to the transfer of copies of the reports and statements relating to the Trust Account, whereupon this Agreement shall terminate; provided, however, that in the event that the Company does not locate a successor trustee within ninety (90) days of receipt of the resignation notice from the Trustee, the Trustee may submit an application to have the Property deposited with any court in the State of New York or with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and upon such deposit, the Trustee shall be immune from any liability whatsoever; or
(b) At such time that the Trustee has completed the liquidation of the Trust Account and its obligations in accordance with the provisions of Section 1(i) hereof and distributed the Property in accordance with the provisions of the Termination Letter, this Agreement shall terminate except with respect to Section 2(b).
6. Miscellaneous.
(a) The Company and the Trustee will each restrict access to confidential information relating to funds being transferred to or from the Trust Account to authorized persons. Each party must notify the other party immediately if it has reason to believe unauthorized persons may have obtained access to such information, or of any change in its authorized personnel. In executing funds transfers, the Trustee shall rely upon all information supplied to it by the Company, including account names, account numbers, and all other identifying information relating to a beneficiary, beneficiary’s bank, or intermediary bank. Except for any liability arising out of the Trustee’s fraud, gross negligence or willful misconduct, the Trustee shall not be liable for any loss, liability, or expense resulting from any error in the information supplied to it or funds transferred based on such information.
(b) This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to conflicts of law principles that would result in the application of the substantive laws of another jurisdiction. The parties hereto consent to the jurisdiction and venue of any state or federal court located in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan, for purposes of resolving any disputes hereunder. As to any claim, cross-claim, or counterclaim in any way relating to this Agreement, each party waives the right to trial by jury.
(c) This Agreement contains the entire agreement and understanding of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof. Except for Section 1(i), 1(j) and 1(k) hereof (which sections may not be modified, amended or deleted without the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the then outstanding Shares or by a unanimous written resolution of holders of all then outstanding Shares; provided that no such amendment will affect any Public Shareholder who has properly elected to redeem his or her Shares in connection with a shareholder vote to amend this Agreement), this Agreement or any provision hereof may only be changed, amended or modified (other than to correct a typographical error) by a writing signed by each of the parties hereto; provided, however, that no such change, amendment or modification to Section 1(i) or 2(f) or Exhibit A may be made without the prior written consent of the Representative.
(d) The parties hereto consent to the jurisdiction and venue of any state or federal court located in the City of New York, State of New York, for purposes of resolving any disputes hereunder. AS TO ANY CLAIM, CROSS-CLAIM OR COUNTERCLAIM IN ANY WAY RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, EACH PARTY WAIVES THE RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY.
(e) Any notice, consent or request to be given in connection with any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent by express mail or similar private courier service, by certified mail (return receipt requested), by hand delivery or by electronic mail:
if to the Trustee, to:
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company
1 State Street, 30th Floor
New York, New York 10004
Attn: Francis Wolf & Celeste Gonzalez
Email: fwolf@continentalstock.com and cgonzalez@continentalstock.com
if to the Company, to:
Three Lions Acquisition Corp
888 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
Attn: Brett Johnson, Chief Executive Officer
in each case, with copies to:
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
1750 Tysons Boulevard
Suite 1000
McLean, Virginia 22102
Attn: Alan Annex and Jason Simon
Email: aannex@gtlaw.com and Jason.simon@gtlaw.com
and
Graubard Miller
The Chrysler Building
405 Lexington Avenue, 44th Floor
New York, NY 10174
Attn: Jeff Gallant
Email: JGallant@Graubard.com
and
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
366 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor
New York, New York 10017
Attn: General Counsel
(f) Each of the Company and the Trustee hereby represents that it has the full right and power and has been duly authorized to enter into this Agreement and to perform its respective obligations as contemplated hereunder. The Trustee acknowledges and agrees that it shall not make any claims or proceed against the Trust Account, including by way of set-off, and shall not be entitled to any funds in the Trust Account under any circumstance.
(g) This Agreement is the joint product of the Trustee and the Company and each provision hereof has been subject to the mutual consultation, negotiation and agreement of such parties and shall not be construed for or against any party hereto.
(h) This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of a signed counterpart of this Agreement by facsimile or electronic transmission shall constitute valid and sufficient delivery thereof.
(i) Each of the Company and the Trustee hereby acknowledges and agrees that the Representative on behalf of the Underwriters is a third-party beneficiary of this Agreement.
(j) Except as specified herein, no party to this Agreement may assign its rights or delegate its obligations hereunder to any other person or entity without the prior written consent of the other.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have duly executed this Investment Management Trust Agreement as of the date first written above.
| CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY, as Trustee | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | Francis Wolf | |
| Title: | Vice President | |
| THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | Brett Johnson | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
[Signature Page to Investment Management Trust Agreement]
SCHEDULE A
| Fee Item |
Time and method of payment |
Amount | ||||
| Initial set-up fee. |
Initial closing of Offering by wire transfer. | $ | [2,000.00 | ] | ||
| Trustee administration fee |
Payable annually. First year fee payable, at initial closing of Offering by wire transfer, thereafter by wire transfer or check. | $ | [8,000.00 | ] | ||
| Transaction processing fee for disbursements to Company under Section 1 |
Billed to Company following disbursement made to Company under Section 1 | $ | [150.00 | ] | ||
| Paying Agent services as required pursuant to Section 1(i) and 1(k) |
Billed to Company upon delivery of service pursuant to Section 1(i) and 1(k) | Prevailing rates | ||||
EXHIBIT A
[Letterhead of Company]
[Insert date]
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company
1 State Street, 30th Floor
New York, New York 10004
Attn: Francis Wolf & Celeste Gonzalez
Re: Trust Account - Termination Letter
Dear Mr. Wolf and Ms. Gonzalez:
Pursuant to Section 1(i) of the Investment Management Trust Agreement between Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (“Trustee”), dated as of _______, 2026 (the “Trust Agreement”), this is to advise you that the Company has entered into an agreement with____________ (the “Target Business”) to consummate a business combination with Target Business (the “Business Combination”) on or about [insert date]. The Company shall notify you at least seventy-two (72) hours in advance of the actual date (or such shorter period as you may agree) of the consummation of the Business Combination (the “Consummation Date”). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Trust Agreement.
In accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement, we hereby authorize you to commence to liquidate all of the assets of the Trust Account, and to transfer the proceeds to a segregated account held by you on behalf of the Beneficiaries to the effect that, on the Consummation Date, all of the funds held in the Trust Account will be immediately available for transfer to the account or accounts that the Company shall direct on the Consummation Date.
On the Consummation Date (i) counsel for the Company shall deliver to you written notification that the Business Combination has been consummated, or will be consummated concurrently with your transfer of funds to the accounts as directed by the Company (the “Notification”), and (ii) the Company shall deliver to you (a) a certificate of the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer or President, which verifies that the Business Combination has been approved by a vote of the Company’s shareholders, if a vote is held and (b) a written instruction signed by the Company with respect to the transfer of the funds held in the Trust Account, including payment of amounts owed to public shareholders who have properly exercised their redemption rights (the “Instruction Letter”). You are hereby directed and authorized to transfer the funds held in the Trust Account immediately upon your receipt of the Notification and the Instruction Letter, in accordance with the terms of the Instruction Letter. In the event that certain deposits held in the Trust Account may not be liquidated by the Consummation Date without penalty, you will notify the Company in writing of the same and the Company shall direct you as to whether such funds should remain in the Trust Account and be distributed after the Consummation Date to the Company. Upon the distribution of all the funds, net of any payments necessary for reasonable unreimbursed expenses related to liquidating the Trust Account, your obligations under the Trust Agreement shall be terminated.
In the event that the Business Combination is not consummated on the Consummation Date described in the notice thereof and we have not notified you on or before the original Consummation Date of a new Consummation Date, then upon receipt by the Trustee of written instructions from the Company, the funds held in the Trust Account shall be reinvested as provided in Section 1(c) of the Trust Agreement on the business day immediately following the Consummation Date as set forth in such notice as soon thereafter as possible.
| Very truly yours, |
| Three Lions Acquisition Corp. |
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: |
| Agreed and acknowledged by: | ||
| EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
EXHIBIT B
[Letterhead of Company]
[Insert date]
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company
1 State Street, 30th Floor
New York, New York 10004
Attn: Francis Wolf & Celeste Gonzalez
Re: Trust Account - Termination Letter
Dear Mr. Wolf and Ms. Gonzalez
Pursuant to Section 1(i) of the Investment Management Trust Agreement between Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Trustee”), dated as of _______, 2026 (the “Trust Agreement”), this is to advise you that the Company has been unable to effect a Business Combination within the time frame specified in the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, as described in the Company’s Prospectus relating to the Offering. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Trust Agreement.
In accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement, we hereby authorize you to liquidate all of the assets in the Trust Account and to transfer the total proceeds into a segregated account held by you on behalf of the Beneficiaries to await distribution to the Public Shareholders less taxes paid or payable and $100,000 to cover liquidation and dissolution expenses of the Company. In accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement, you are hereby directed and authorized to transfer (via wire transfer) such $100,000 promptly upon your receipt of this letter to the Company’s operating account at:
[WIRE INSTRUCTION INFORMATION]
The Company has selected _________ as the effective date for the purpose of determining when the Public Shareholders will be entitled to receive their share of the liquidation proceeds. You agree to be the Paying Agent of record and, in your separate capacity as Paying Agent, agree to distribute said funds directly to the Company’s Public Shareholders in accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement and the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company. Upon the distribution of all the funds, net of any payments necessary for reasonable unreimbursed expenses related to liquidating the Trust Account, your obligations under the Trust Agreement shall be terminated, except to the extent otherwise provided in Section 1(i) of the Trust Agreement.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| Three Lions Acquisition Corp. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
cc: EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
EXHIBIT C
[Letterhead of Company]
[Insert date]
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company
1 State Street, 30th Floor
New York, New York 10004
Attn: Francis Wolf & Celeste Gonzalez
Re: Trust Account - Tax Payment / Liquidation Withdrawal Instruction
Dear Mr. Wolf and Ms. Gonzalez:
Pursuant to Section 1(j) of the Investment Management Trust Agreement between Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Trustee”), dated as of _______, 2026 (the “Trust Agreement”), the Company hereby requests that you deliver to the Company $__________ of the interest income earned on the Property as of the date hereof. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Trust Agreement.
The Company needs such funds [to pay for the tax obligations as set forth on the attached tax return or tax statement] [dissolution and liquidation expenses, which expenses will not exceed $100,000]. In accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement, you are hereby directed and authorized to transfer (via wire transfer) such funds promptly upon your receipt of this letter to the Company’s operating account at:
[WIRE INSTRUCTION INFORMATION]
| Very truly yours, | ||
| Three Lions Acquisition Corp. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
cc: EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
EXHIBIT D
[Letterhead of Company]
[Insert date]
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company
1 State Street, 30th Floor
New York, New York 10004
Attn: Francis Wolf & Celeste Gonzalez
Re: Trust Account - Shareholder Redemption Withdrawal Instruction
Dear Mr. Wolf and Ms. Gonzalez:
Pursuant to Section 1(k) of the Investment Management Trust Agreement between Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Trustee”), dated as of _______, 2026 (the “Trust Agreement”), the Company hereby requests that you deliver to the redeeming Public Shareholders of the Company $____ of the principal and interest income earned on the Property as of the date hereof to a segregated account held by you on behalf of the Beneficiaries for distribution to the Public Shareholders who have requested redemption of their Shares. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Trust Agreement.
The Company needs such funds to pay its Public Shareholders who have properly elected to have their Shares redeemed by the Company in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. As such, you are hereby directed and authorized to transfer (via wire transfer) such funds promptly upon your receipt of this letter.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| Three Lions Acquisition Corp. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
cc: EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
Exhibit 10.5
REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT
THIS REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”), dated as of [•], 2026, is made and entered into by and among Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), Three Lions Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”), EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. (“EBC”), and each of the undersigned parties listed on the signature page hereto under “Holders”, severally and not jointly (each such party, together with the Sponsor and EBC and any person or entity who hereafter becomes a party to this Agreement pursuant to Section 5.2 of this Agreement, a “Holder” and collectively the “Holders”).
RECITALS
WHEREAS, the Sponsor, certain directors of the Company and certain designees of the Sponsor hold an aggregate of 3,833,333 ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Founder Shares”), up to 500,000 of which will be surrendered to the Company for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters of the Company’s initial public offering exercise their over-allotment option;
WHEREAS, EBC and its designees hold an aggregate of 200,000 ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “EBC Founder Shares”);
WHEREAS, on the date hereof, the Company entered into Private Placement Units Purchase Agreements with the Sponsor and EBC (the “Private Placement Units Purchase Agreements”) pursuant to which the Sponsor and EBC agreed that they and/or their designees (including certain of the Holders) would purchase an aggregate of 400,000 units (or up to 437,500 units to the extent that the over-allotment option in connection with the Company’s initial public offering is exercised) (the “Private Placement Units”) in a private placement transaction occurring simultaneously with the closing of the Company’s initial public offering, with each Private Placement Unit consisted of one ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Private Placement Shares”), and one-half of one warrant (the “Private Placement Warrants”), exercisable for ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment;
WHEREAS, in order to finance the Company’s transaction costs in connection with its search for and consummation of a Business Combination (as defined below), the Sponsor, its affiliates or any of the Company’s officers and directors may but are not obligated to, loan to the Company funds as the Company may require, of which up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units (“Working Capital Units”) equivalent to the Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender; and
WHEREAS, the Company and the Holders desire to enter into this Agreement, pursuant to which the Company shall grant the Holders certain registration rights with respect to certain securities of the Company, as set forth in this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the representations, covenants and agreements contained herein, and certain other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS
1.1 Definitions. The terms defined in this Article I shall, for all purposes of this Agreement, have the respective meanings set forth below:
“Adverse Disclosure” shall mean any public disclosure of material non-public information, which disclosure, in the good faith judgment of the Chief Executive Officer or principal financial officer of the Company, after consultation with counsel to the Company, (i) would be required to be made in any Registration Statement or Prospectus in order for the applicable Registration Statement or Prospectus not to contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements contained therein (in the case of any prospectus and any preliminary prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading, (ii) would not be required to be made at such time if the Registration Statement were not being filed, and (iii) the Company has a bona fide business purpose for not making such information public.
“Agreement” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble.
“Board” shall mean the Board of Directors of the Company.
“Business Combination” shall mean the initial merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities involving the Company.
“Commission” shall mean the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Company” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble.
“Demand Registration” shall have the meaning given in subsection 2.1.1.
“Demanding Holder” shall have the meaning given in subsection 2.1.1.
“EBC” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble.
“EBC Founder Shares” shall have the meaning given in the Recitals hereto.
“EBC Founder Shares Lock-up Period” shall mean, with respect to the EBC Founder Shares, the period ending at the completion of the Company’s Business Combination.
“Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as it may be amended from time to time.
“Form S-1” shall have the meaning given in subsection 2.1.1.
“Form S-3” shall have the meaning given in subsection 2.3.
“Founder Shares” shall have the meaning given in the Recitals hereto.
“Founder Shares Lock-up Period” shall mean, with respect to the Founder Shares, six months after the date of the consummation of the Company’s Business Combination, or earlier, if, subsequent to such Business Combination, the Company consummates a subsequent liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property.
“Holders” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble.
“Insider Letter” shall mean that certain letter agreement, dated as of the date hereof, by and among the Company, the Sponsor, certain designees of the Sponsor and each of the Company’s officers, directors and director nominees.
“Maximum Number of Securities” shall have the meaning given in subsection 2.1.4.
“Misstatement” shall mean an untrue statement of a material fact or an omission to state a material fact required to be stated in a Registration Statement or Prospectus, or necessary to make the statements in a Registration Statement or Prospectus (in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading.
“Permitted Transferees” shall mean any person or entity to whom a Holder of Registrable Securities is permitted to transfer such Registrable Securities prior to the expiration of the Founder Shares Lock-up Period, the EBC Founder Shares Lock-up Period, the Private Placement Lock-up Period or any other lock-up period, as the case may be, under the Insider Letter, a Private Placement Units Purchase Agreement, this Agreement and any other applicable agreement between such Holder and the Company, and to any transferee thereafter.
“Piggyback Registration” shall have the meaning given in subsection 2.2.1.
“Private Placement Lock-up Period” shall mean, with respect to Private Placement Units that are held by the initial purchasers of such Private Placement Units or their Permitted Transferees, and the Private Placement Shares and Private Placement Warrants underlying the Private Placement Units, that are held by the initial purchasers of the Private Placement Units or their Permitted Transferees, the period ending at the completion of the Company’s Business Combination (but, in the case of EBC and its designees, in no event less than 180 days immediately following the commencement of sales of the Company’s initial public offering pursuant to Rule 5110(e)(1) of the FINRA Manual).
“Private Placement Units” shall have the meaning given in the Recitals hereto.
“Private Placement Units Purchase Agreement” shall have the meaning given in the Recitals hereto.
“Pro Rata” shall have the meaning given in subsection 2.1.4.
“Prospectus” shall mean the prospectus included in any Registration Statement, as supplemented by any and all prospectus supplements and as amended by any and all post-effective amendments and including all material incorporated by reference in such prospectus.
“Registrable Security” shall mean (a) the Founder Shares, (b) the EBC Founder Shares, (c) the Private Placement Shares, (d) the Private Placement Warrants (including any Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants), (e) any outstanding Shares or any other equity security (including the Shares issued or issuable upon the exercise or exchange of any other equity security) of the Company held by a Holder as of the date of this Agreement, (f) any equity securities (including the Shares issued or issuable upon the exercise or exchange of any such equity security) of the Company issuable upon conversion of any working capital loans in an amount up to $1,500,000 made to the Company by a Holder (including the Working Capital Units, any Shares and Warrants underlying the Working Capital Units, and any Shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants underlying the Working Capital Units) and (g) any other equity security of the Company issued or issuable with respect to any such security by way of a share capitalization or share split or in connection with a combination of shares, recapitalization, merger, consolidation or reorganization; provided, however, that, as to any particular Registrable Security, such securities shall cease to be Registrable Securities when: (A) a Registration Statement with respect to the sale of such securities shall have become effective under the Securities Act and such securities shall have been sold, transferred, disposed of or exchanged in accordance with such Registration Statement; (B) such securities shall have been otherwise transferred, new certificates for such securities not bearing a legend restricting further transfer shall have been delivered by the Company and subsequent public distribution of such securities shall not require registration under the Securities Act; (C) such securities shall have ceased to be outstanding; or (D) such securities have been sold to, or through, a broker, dealer or underwriter in a public distribution or other public securities transaction.
“Registration” shall mean a registration effected by preparing and filing a registration statement or similar document in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and such registration statement becoming effective.
“Registration Expenses” shall mean the out-of-pocket expenses of a Registration, including, without limitation, the following:
(A) all registration and filing fees (including fees with respect to filings required to be made with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.) and any securities exchange on which the Shares are then listed;
(B) fees and expenses of compliance with securities or blue-sky laws (including reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with blue sky qualifications of Registrable Securities);
(C) printing, messenger, telephone and delivery expenses;
(D) reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company;
(E) reasonable fees and disbursements of all independent registered public accountants of the Company incurred specifically in connection with such Registration; and
(F) reasonable fees and expenses of one (1) legal counsel selected by the majority-in-interest of the Demanding Holders initiating a Demand Registration to be registered for offer and sale in the applicable Registration.
“Registration Statement” shall mean any registration statement that covers Registrable Securities pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, including the Prospectus included in such registration statement, amendments (including post-effective amendments) and supplements to such registration statement, and all exhibits to and all material incorporated by reference in such registration statement.
“Requesting Holder” shall have the meaning given in subsection 2.1.1.
“Securities Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended from time to time.
“Shares” shall mean the ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share.
“Sponsor” shall have the meaning given in the Preamble.
“Underwriter” shall mean a securities dealer who purchases any Registrable Securities as principal in an Underwritten Offering and not as part of such dealer’s market-making activities.
“Underwritten Registration” or “Underwritten Offering” shall mean a Registration in which securities of the Company are sold to an Underwriter in a firm commitment underwriting for distribution to the public.
“Working Capital Units” shall have the meaning given in the Recitals hereto.
ARTICLE II
REGISTRATIONS
2.1 Demand Registration.
2.1.1 Request for Registration. Subject to the provisions of subsection 2.1.4, Section 2.4 and Section 2.5 hereof, at any time and from time to time on or after the date the Company consummates the Business Combination, each of the Sponsor and EBC (the “Demanding Holders”) may make a written demand for Registration of all or part of their Registrable Securities, which written demand shall describe the amount and type of securities to be included in such Registration and the intended method(s) of distribution thereof (such written demand a “Demand Registration”); provided that EBC shall not be entitled to make more than one (1) Demand Registration hereunder. The Company shall, within ten (10) days of the Company’s receipt of the Demand Registration, notify, in writing, all other Holders of Registrable Securities of such demand, and each Holder of Registrable Securities who thereafter wishes to include all or a portion of such Holder’s Registrable Securities in a Registration pursuant to a Demand Registration (each such Holder that includes all or a portion of such Holder’s Registrable Securities in such Registration, a “Requesting Holder”) shall so notify the Company, in writing, within five (5) days after the receipt by the Holder of the notice from the Company. Upon receipt by the Company of any such written notification from a Requesting Holder(s) to the Company, such Requesting Holder(s) shall be entitled to have their Registrable Securities included in a Registration pursuant to a Demand Registration and the Company
shall effect, as soon thereafter as practicable, but not more than forty five (45) days immediately after the Company’s receipt of the Demand Registration, the Registration of all Registrable Securities requested by the Demanding Holders and Requesting Holders pursuant to such Demand Registration. Under no circumstances shall the Company be obligated to effect more than an aggregate of three (3) Registrations pursuant to a Demand Registration under this subsection 2.1.1 with respect to any or all Registrable Securities; provided, however, that a Registration shall not be counted for such purposes unless a Form S-1 or any similar long-form registration statement that may be available at such time (“Form S-1”) has become effective, in accordance with Section 3.1 of this Agreement.
2.1.2 Effective Registration. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 2.1.1 above or any other part of this Agreement, a Registration pursuant to a Demand Registration shall not count as a Registration unless and until (i) the Registration Statement filed with the Commission with respect to a Registration pursuant to a Demand Registration has been declared effective by the Commission and (ii) the Company has complied with all of its obligations under this Agreement with respect thereto; provided, further, that if, after such Registration Statement has been declared effective, an offering of Registrable Securities in a Registration pursuant to a Demand Registration is subsequently interfered with by any stop order or injunction of the Commission, federal or state court or any other governmental agency the Registration Statement with respect to such Registration shall be deemed not to have been declared effective, unless and until, (i) such stop order or injunction is removed, rescinded or otherwise terminated, and (ii) a majority-in-interest of the Demanding Holders initiating such Demand Registration thereafter affirmatively elect to continue with such Registration and accordingly notify the Company in writing, but in no event later than five (5) days, of such election; and provided, further, that the Company shall not be obligated or required to file another Registration Statement until the Registration Statement that has been previously filed with respect to a Registration pursuant to a Demand Registration becomes effective or is subsequently terminated.
2.1.3 Underwritten Offering. Subject to the provisions of subsection 2.1.4, Section 2.4 and Section 2.5 hereof, if a majority-in-interest of the Demanding Holders so advise the Company as part of their Demand Registration that the offering of the Registrable Securities pursuant to such Demand Registration shall be in the form of an Underwritten Offering, then the right of such Demanding Holder or Requesting Holder (if any) to include its Registrable Securities in such Registration shall be conditioned upon such Holder’s participation in such Underwritten Offering and the inclusion of such Holder’s Registrable Securities in such Underwritten Offering to the extent provided herein. All such Holders proposing to distribute their Registrable Securities through an Underwritten Offering under this subsection 2.1.3 shall enter into an underwriting agreement in customary form with the Underwriter(s) selected for such Underwritten Offering by the majority-in-interest of the Demanding Holders initiating the Demand Registration.
2.1.4 Reduction of Underwritten Offering. If the managing Underwriter or Underwriters in an Underwritten Registration pursuant to a Demand Registration, in good faith, advises the Company, the Demanding Holders and the Requesting Holders (if any) in writing that the dollar amount or number of Registrable Securities that the Demanding Holders and the Requesting Holders (if any) desire to sell, taken together with all other Shares or other equity securities that the Company desires to sell and the Shares, if any, as to which a Registration has been requested pursuant to separate written contractual piggy-back registration rights held by any other shareholders who desire to sell, exceeds the maximum dollar amount or maximum number of equity securities that can be sold in the Underwritten Offering without adversely affecting the proposed offering price, the timing, the distribution method, or the probability of success of such offering (such maximum dollar amount or maximum number of such securities, as applicable, the “Maximum Number of Securities”), then the Company shall include in such Underwritten Offering, as follows: (i) first, the Registrable Securities of the Demanding Holders and the Requesting Holders (if any) (pro rata based on the respective number of Registrable Securities that each Demanding Holder and Requesting Holder (if any) has requested be included in such Underwritten Registration (such proportion is referred to herein as “Pro Rata”)) that can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; (ii) second, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clause (i), the Registrable Securities of Holders (Pro Rata, based on the respective number of Registrable Securities that each Holder has so requested) exercising their rights to register their Registrable Securities pursuant to subsection 2.2.1 hereof, without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; and (iii) third, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clauses (i) and (ii), the Shares or other equity securities that the Company desires to sell, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; and (iv) fourth, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clauses (i), (ii) and (iii), the Shares or other equity securities of other persons or entities that the Company is obligated to register in a Registration pursuant to separate written contractual arrangements with such persons and that can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities.
2.1.5 Demand Registration Withdrawal. A majority-in-interest of the Demanding Holders initiating a Demand Registration or a majority-in-interest of the Requesting Holders (if any), pursuant to a Registration under subsection 2.1.1 shall have the right to withdraw from a Registration pursuant to such Demand Registration for any or no reason whatsoever upon written notification to the Company and the Underwriter or Underwriters (if any) of their intention to withdraw from such Registration prior to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement filed with the Commission with respect to the Registration of their Registrable Securities pursuant to such Demand Registration. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the Company shall be responsible for the Registration Expenses incurred in connection with a Registration pursuant to a Demand Registration prior to its withdrawal under this subsection 2.1.5.
2.2 Piggyback Registration.
2.2.1 Piggyback Rights. Subject to the provisions of Section 2.5, if, at any time on or after the date the Company consummates a Business Combination, the Company proposes to file a Registration Statement under the Securities Act with respect to an offering of equity securities, or securities or other obligations exercisable or exchangeable for, or convertible into equity securities, for its own account or for the account of shareholders of the Company (or by the Company and by the shareholders of the Company including, without limitation, pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof), other than a Registration Statement (i) filed in connection with any employee share option or other benefit plan, (ii) for an exchange offer or offering of securities solely to the Company’s existing shareholders, (iii) for an offering of debt that is convertible into equity securities of the Company or (iv) for a dividend reinvestment plan, then the Company shall give written notice of such proposed filing to all of the Holders of Registrable Securities as soon as practicable but not less than ten (10) days before the anticipated filing date of such Registration Statement, which notice shall (A) describe the amount and type of securities to be included in such offering, the intended method(s) of distribution, and the name of the proposed managing Underwriter or Underwriters, if any, in such offering, and (B) offer to all of the Holders of Registrable Securities the opportunity to register the sale of such number of Registrable Securities as such Holders may request in writing within five (5) days after receipt of such written notice (such Registration a “Piggyback Registration”). The Company shall, in good faith, cause such Registrable Securities to be included in such Piggyback Registration and shall use its best efforts to cause the managing Underwriter or Underwriters of a proposed Underwritten Offering to permit the Registrable Securities requested by the Holders pursuant to this subsection 2.2.1 to be included in a Piggyback Registration on the same terms and conditions as any similar securities of the Company included in such Registration and to permit the sale or other disposition of such Registrable Securities in accordance with the intended method(s) of distribution thereof. All such Holders proposing to distribute their Registrable Securities through an Underwritten Offering under this subsection 2.2.1 shall enter into an underwriting agreement in customary form with the Underwriter(s) selected for such Underwritten Offering by the Company.
2.2.2 Reduction of Piggyback Registration. If the managing Underwriter or Underwriters in an Underwritten Registration that is to be a Piggyback Registration, in good faith, advises the Company and the Holders of Registrable Securities participating in the Piggyback Registration in writing that the dollar amount or number of the Shares that the Company desires to sell, taken together with (i) the Shares, if any, as to which Registration has been demanded pursuant to separate written contractual arrangements with persons or entities other than the Holders of Registrable Securities hereunder, (ii) the Registrable Securities as to which registration has been requested pursuant to Section 2.2 hereof, and (iii) the Shares, if any, as to which Registration has been requested pursuant to separate written contractual piggy-back registration rights of other shareholders of the Company, exceeds the Maximum Number of Securities, then:
(a) If the Registration is undertaken for the Company’s account, the Company shall include in any such Registration (A) first, the Shares or other equity securities that the Company desires to sell, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; (B) second, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clause (A), the Registrable Securities of Holders exercising their rights to register their Registrable Securities pursuant to subsection 2.2.1 hereof (pro rata based on the respective number of Registrable Securities that such Holder has requested be included in such Registration), which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; and (C) third, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clauses (A) and (B), the Shares, if any, as to which Registration has been requested pursuant to written contractual piggy-back registration rights of other shareholders of the Company, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities;
(b) If the Registration is pursuant to a request by persons or entities other than the Holders of Registrable Securities, then the Company shall include in any such Registration (A) first, the Shares or other equity securities, if any, of such requesting persons or entities, other than the Holders of Registrable Securities, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; (B) second, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clause (A), the Registrable Securities of Holders exercising their rights to register their Registrable Securities pursuant to subsection 2.2.1, pro rata based on the number of Registrable Securities that each Holder has requested be included in such Registration and the aggregate number of Registrable Securities that the Holders have requested to be included in such Registration, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; (C) third, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clauses (A) and (B), the Shares or other equity securities that the Company desires to sell, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities; and (D) fourth, to the extent that the Maximum Number of Securities has not been reached under the foregoing clauses (A), (B) and (C), the Shares or other equity securities for the account of other persons or entities that the Company is obligated to register pursuant to separate written contractual arrangements with such persons or entities, which can be sold without exceeding the Maximum Number of Securities.
2.2.3 Piggyback Registration Withdrawal. Subject to Section 2.5, any Holder of Registrable Securities shall have the right to withdraw from a Piggyback Registration for any or no reason whatsoever upon written notification to the Company and the Underwriter or Underwriters (if any) of his, her or its intention to withdraw from such Piggyback Registration prior to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement filed with the Commission with respect to such Piggyback Registration (or, in the case of an Underwritten Registration pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act, at least two (2) business days prior to the time of pricing of the applicable offering). The Company (whether on its own good faith determination or as the result of a request for withdrawal by persons pursuant to separate written contractual obligations) may withdraw a Registration Statement filed with the Commission in connection with a Piggyback Registration at any time prior to the effectiveness of such Registration Statement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the Company shall be responsible for the Registration Expenses incurred in connection with the Piggyback Registration prior to its withdrawal under this subsection 2.2.3.
2.2.4 Unlimited Piggyback Registration Rights. For purposes of clarity, and subject to the provisions of Section 2.5, any Registration effected pursuant to Section 2.2 hereof shall not be counted as a Registration pursuant to a Demand Registration effected under Section 2.1 hereof.
2.3 Registrations on Form S-3. The Holders of Registrable Securities may at any time, and from time to time, request in writing that the Company, pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act (or any successor rule promulgated thereafter by the Commission), register the resale of any or all of their Registrable Securities on Form S-3 or any similar short form registration statement that may be available at such time (“Form S-3”); provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to effect such request through an Underwritten Offering. Within five (5) days of the Company’s receipt of a written request from a Holder or Holders of Registrable Securities for a Registration on Form S-3, the Company shall promptly give written notice of the proposed Registration on Form S-3 to all other Holders of Registrable Securities, and each Holder of Registrable Securities who thereafter wishes to include all or a portion of such Holder’s Registrable Securities in such Registration on Form S-3 shall so notify the Company, in writing, within ten (10) days after the receipt by the Holder of the notice from the Company. As soon as practicable thereafter, but not more than twelve (12) days after the Company’s initial receipt of such written request for a Registration on Form S-3, the Company shall register all or such portion of such Holder’s Registrable Securities as are specified in such written request, together with all or such portion of Registrable Securities of any other Holder or Holders joining in such request as are specified in the written notification given by such Holder or Holders; provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to effect any such Registration pursuant to Section 2.3 hereof if (i) a Form S-3 is not available for such offering; or (ii) the Holders of Registrable Securities, together with the Holders of any other equity securities of the Company entitled to inclusion in such Registration, propose to sell the Registrable Securities and such other equity securities (if any) at any aggregate price to the public of less than $1,000,000.
2.4 Restrictions on Registration Rights. If (A) during the period starting with the date sixty (60) days prior to the Company’s good faith estimate of the date of the filing of, and ending on a date one hundred and twenty (120) days after the effective date of, a Company initiated Registration and provided that the Company has delivered written notice to the Holders prior to receipt of a Demand Registration pursuant to subsection 2.1.1 and it continues to actively employ, in good faith, all reasonable efforts to cause the applicable Registration Statement to become effective; (B) the Holders have requested an Underwritten Registration and the Company and the Holders are unable to obtain the commitment of underwriters to firmly underwrite the offer; or (C) in the good faith judgment of the Board such Registration would be seriously detrimental to the Company and the Board concludes as a result that it is essential to defer the filing of such Registration Statement at such time, then in each case the Company shall furnish to such Holders a certificate signed by the Chairwoman of the Board stating that it is necessary to defer the filing of such Registration Statement and the reason for such deferral. In such event, the Company shall have the right to defer such filing for a period of not more than thirty (30) days; provided, however, that the Company shall not defer its obligation in this manner more than once in any 12-month period.
2.5 FINRA Restriction of Registration Rights. The demand and piggyback registration rights being granted to EBC and its respective designees and related persons are subject to FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8) and are limited to one demand and unlimited “piggy-back” rights for periods of five and seven years, respectively, from the commencement of sales of the Company’s initial public offering.
ARTICLE III
COMPANY PROCEDURES
3.1 General Procedures. If at any time on or after the date the Company consummates a Business Combination the Company is required to effect the Registration of Registrable Securities, the Company shall use its best efforts to effect such Registration to permit the sale of such Registrable Securities in accordance with the intended plan of distribution thereof, and pursuant thereto the Company shall, as expeditiously as possible:
3.1.1 prepare and file with the Commission as soon as practicable a Registration Statement with respect to such Registrable Securities and use its reasonable best efforts to cause such Registration Statement to become effective and remain effective until all Registrable Securities covered by such Registration Statement have been sold;
3.1.2 prepare and file with the Commission such amendments and post-effective amendments to the Registration Statement, and such supplements to the Prospectus, as may be requested by the Holders or any Underwriter of Registrable Securities or as may be required by the rules, regulations or instructions applicable to the registration form used by the Company or by the Securities Act or rules and regulations thereunder to keep the Registration Statement effective until all Registrable Securities covered by such Registration Statement are sold in accordance with the intended plan of distribution set forth in such Registration Statement or supplement to the Prospectus;
3.1.3 prior to filing a Registration Statement or prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, furnish without charge to the Underwriters, if any, and the Holders of Registrable Securities included in such Registration, and such Holders’ legal counsel, copies of such Registration Statement as proposed to be filed, each amendment and supplement to such Registration Statement (in each case including all exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein), the Prospectus included in such Registration Statement (including each preliminary Prospectus), and such other documents as the Underwriters and the Holders of Registrable Securities included in such Registration or the legal counsel for any such Holders may request in order to facilitate the disposition of the Registrable Securities owned by such Holders;
3.1.4 prior to any public offering of Registrable Securities, use its best efforts to (i) register or qualify the Registrable Securities covered by the Registration Statement under such securities or “blue sky” laws of such jurisdictions in the United States as the Holders of Registrable Securities included in such Registration Statement (in light of their intended plan of distribution) may request and (ii) take such action necessary to cause such Registrable Securities covered by the Registration Statement to be registered with or approved by such other governmental authorities as may be necessary by virtue of the business and operations of the Company and do any and all other acts and things that may be necessary or advisable to enable the Holders of Registrable Securities included in such Registration Statement to consummate the disposition of such Registrable Securities in such jurisdictions; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to qualify generally to do business in any jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to qualify or take any action to which it would be subject to general service of process or taxation in any such jurisdiction where it is not then otherwise so subject;
3.1.5 cause all such Registrable Securities to be listed on each securities exchange or automated quotation system on which similar securities issued by the Company are then listed;
3.1.6 provide a transfer agent or warrant agent, as applicable, and registrar for all such Registrable Securities no later than the effective date of such Registration Statement;
3.1.7 advise each seller of such Registrable Securities, promptly after it shall receive notice or obtain knowledge thereof, of the issuance of any stop order by the Commission suspending the effectiveness of such Registration Statement or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose and promptly use its reasonable best efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such stop order should be issued;
3.1.8 at least five (5) days prior to the filing of any Registration Statement or Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to such Registration Statement or Prospectus or any document to be incorporated by reference therein furnish a copy thereof to each seller of such Registrable Securities and its counsel, including, without limitation, providing copies promptly upon receipt of any comment letters received with respect to any such Registration Statement or Prospectus;
3.1.9 notify the Holders at any time when a Prospectus relating to such Registration Statement is required to be delivered under the Securities Act, of the happening of any event as a result of which the Prospectus included in such Registration Statement, as then in effect, includes a Misstatement, and then to correct such Misstatement as set forth in Section 3.4 hereof;
3.1.10 permit a representative of the Holders (such representative to be selected by a majority of the participating Holders), EBC, the Underwriters, if any, and any attorney or accountant retained by such Holders or Underwriter to participate, at each such person’s own expense, in the preparation of the Registration Statement, and cause the Company’s officers, directors and employees to supply all information reasonably requested by any such representative, EBC, Underwriter, attorney or accountant in connection with the Registration; provided, however, that such representatives, EBC or Underwriters enter into a confidentiality agreement, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Company, prior to the release or disclosure of any such information; and provided further, the Company may not include the name of any Holder or Underwriter or any information regarding any Holder or Underwriter in any Registration Statement or Prospectus, any amendment or supplement to such Registration Statement or Prospectus, any document that is to be incorporated by reference into such Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any response to any comment letter, without the prior written consent of such Holder or Underwriter and providing each such Holder or Underwriter a reasonable amount of time to review and comment on such applicable document, which comments the Company shall include unless contrary to applicable law;
3.1.11 obtain a “cold comfort” letter from the Company’s independent registered public accountants in the event of an Underwritten Registration which the participating Holders may rely on, in customary form and covering such matters of the type customarily covered by “cold comfort” letters as the managing Underwriter may reasonably request, and reasonably satisfactory to a majority-in-interest of the participating Holders;
3.1.12 on the date the Registrable Securities are delivered for sale pursuant to such Registration, obtain an opinion, dated such date, of counsel representing the Company for the purposes of such Registration, addressed to the Holders, the placement agent or sales agent, if any, and the Underwriters, if any, covering such legal matters with respect to the Registration in respect of which such opinion is being given as the Holders, placement agent, sales agent, or Underwriter may reasonably request and as are customarily included in such opinions and negative assurance letters, and reasonably satisfactory to a majority in interest of the participating Holders;
3.1.13 in the event of any Underwritten Offering, enter into and perform its obligations under an underwriting agreement, in usual and customary form, with the managing Underwriter of such offering;
3.1.14 make available to its security holders, as soon as reasonably practicable, an earnings statement covering the period of at least twelve (12) months beginning with the first day of the Company’s first full calendar quarter after the effective date of the Registration Statement which satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158 thereunder (or any successor rule promulgated thereafter by the Commission);
3.1.15 if the Registration involves the Registration of Registrable Securities involving gross proceeds in excess of $25,000,000, use its reasonable efforts to make available senior executives of the Company to participate in customary “road show” presentations that may be reasonably requested by the Underwriter in any Underwritten Offering; and
3.1.16 otherwise, in good faith, cooperate reasonably with, and take such customary actions as may reasonably be requested by the Holders, in connection with such Registration.
3.2 Registration Expenses. The Registration Expenses of all Registrations shall be borne by the Company. It is acknowledged by the Holders that the Holders shall bear all incremental selling expenses relating to the sale of Registrable Securities, such as Underwriters’ commissions and discounts on such securities, brokerage fees on such securities and, other than as set forth in the definition of “Registration Expenses,” all reasonable fees and expenses of any legal counsel representing the Holders.
3.3 Requirements for Participation in Underwritten Offerings. No person may participate in any Underwritten Offering for equity securities of the Company pursuant to a Registration initiated by the Company hereunder unless such person (i) agrees to sell such person’s securities on the basis provided in any underwriting arrangements approved by the Company and (ii) completes and executes all customary questionnaires, powers of attorney, indemnities, lock-up agreements, underwriting agreements and other customary documents as may be reasonably required under the terms of such underwriting arrangements.
3.4 Suspension of Sales; Adverse Disclosure. Upon receipt of written notice from the Company that a Registration Statement or Prospectus contains a Misstatement, each of the Holders shall forthwith discontinue disposition of Registrable Securities until he, she or it has received copies of a supplemented or amended Prospectus correcting the Misstatement (it being understood that the Company hereby covenants to prepare and file such supplement or amendment as soon as practicable after the time of such notice), or until he, she or it is advised in writing by the Company that the use of the Prospectus may be resumed. If the filing, initial effectiveness or continued use of a Registration Statement in respect of any Registration at any time would require the Company to make an Adverse Disclosure or would require the inclusion in such Registration Statement of financial statements that are unavailable to the Company for reasons beyond the Company’s control, the Company may, upon giving prompt written notice of such action to the Holders, delay the filing or initial effectiveness of, or suspend use of, such Registration Statement for the shortest period of time, but in no event more than thirty (30) days, determined in good faith by the Company to be necessary for such purpose. In the event the Company exercises its rights under the preceding sentence, the Holders agree to suspend, immediately upon their receipt of the notice referred to above, their use of the Prospectus relating to any Registration in connection with any sale or offer to sell Registrable Securities. The Company shall promptly notify the Holders of the expiration of any period during which it exercised its rights under this Section 3.4.
3.5 Reporting Obligations. As long as any Holder shall own Registrable Securities, the Company, at all times while it shall be a reporting company under the Exchange Act, covenants to file timely (or obtain extensions in respect thereof and file within the applicable grace period) all reports required to be filed by the Company after the date hereof pursuant to Sections 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act and to promptly furnish the Holders with true and complete copies of all such filings. The Company further covenants that it shall take such further action as any Holder may reasonably request, all to the extent required from time to time to enable such Holder to sell Shares held by such Holder without registration under the Securities Act within the limitation of the exemptions provided by Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act (or any successor rule promulgated thereafter by the Commission), including providing any legal opinions. Upon the request of any Holder, the Company shall deliver to such Holder a written certification of a duly authorized officer as to whether it has complied with such requirements.
ARTICLE IV
INDEMNIFICATION AND CONTRIBUTION
4.1 Indemnification.
4.1.1 The Company agrees to indemnify, to the extent permitted by law, each Holder of Registrable Securities, its officers and directors and each person who controls such Holder (within the meaning of the Securities Act) against all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) resulting from any untrue or alleged untrue statement of material fact contained in any Registration Statement, Prospectus or preliminary Prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto or any omission or alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, except insofar as the same are caused by or contained in any information furnished in writing to the Company by such Holder expressly for use therein. The Company shall indemnify the Underwriters, their officers and directors and each person who controls such Underwriters (within the meaning of the Securities Act) to the same extent as provided in the foregoing with respect to the indemnification of the Holder.
4.1.2 In connection with any Registration Statement in which a Holder of Registrable Securities is participating, such Holder shall furnish to the Company in writing such information and affidavits as the Company reasonably requests for use in connection with any such Registration Statement or Prospectus and, to the extent permitted by law, shall indemnify the Company, its directors and officers and agents and each person who controls the Company (within the meaning of the Securities Act) against any losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses (including without limitation reasonable attorneys’ fees) resulting from any untrue statement of material fact contained in the Registration Statement, Prospectus or preliminary Prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto or any omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, but only to the extent that such untrue statement or omission is contained in any information or affidavit so furnished in writing by such Holder expressly for use therein; provided, however, that the obligation to indemnify shall be several, not joint and several, among such Holders of Registrable Securities, and the liability of each such Holder of Registrable Securities shall be in proportion to and limited to the net proceeds received by such Holder from the sale of Registrable Securities pursuant to such Registration Statement. The Holders of Registrable Securities shall indemnify the Underwriters, their officers, directors and each person who controls such Underwriters (within the meaning of the Securities Act) to the same extent as provided in the foregoing with respect to indemnification of the Company.
4.1.3 Any person entitled to indemnification herein shall (i) give prompt written notice to the indemnifying party of any claim with respect to which it seeks indemnification (provided that the failure to give prompt notice shall not impair any person’s right to indemnification hereunder to the extent such failure has not materially prejudiced the indemnifying party) and (ii) unless in such indemnified party’s reasonable judgment a conflict of interest between such indemnified and indemnifying parties may exist with respect to such claim, permit such indemnifying party to assume the defense of such claim with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party. If such defense is assumed, the indemnifying party shall not be subject to any liability for any settlement made by the indemnified party without its consent (but such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld). An indemnifying party who is not entitled to, or elects not to, assume the defense of a claim shall not be obligated to pay the fees and expenses of more than one counsel (plus local counsel) for all parties indemnified by such indemnifying party with respect to such claim, unless in the reasonable judgment of any indemnified party a conflict of interest may exist between such indemnified party and any other of such indemnified parties with respect to such claim. No indemnifying party shall, without the consent of the indemnified party, consent to the entry of any judgment or enter into any settlement which cannot be settled in all respects by the payment of money (and such money is so paid by the indemnifying party pursuant to the terms of such settlement) or which settlement does not include as an unconditional term thereof the giving by the claimant or plaintiff to such indemnified party of a release from all liability in respect to such claim or litigation.
4.1.4 The indemnification provided for under this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the indemnified party or any officer, director or controlling person of such indemnified party and shall survive the transfer of securities. The Company and each Holder of Registrable Securities participating in an offering also agrees to make such provisions as are reasonably requested by any indemnified party for contribution to such party in the event the Company’s or such Holder’s indemnification is unavailable for any reason.
4.1.5 If the indemnification provided under Section 4.1 hereof from the indemnifying party is unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses referred to herein, then the indemnifying party, in lieu of indemnifying the indemnified party, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by the indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative fault of the indemnifying party and the indemnified party, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative fault of the indemnifying party and indemnified party shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any action in question, including any untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact, was made by, or relates to information supplied by, such indemnifying party or indemnified party, and the indemnifying party’s and indemnified party’s relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such action; provided, however, that the liability of any Holder under this subsection 4.1.5 shall
be limited to the amount of the net proceeds received by such Holder in such offering giving rise to such liability. The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses or other liabilities referred to above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth in subsections 4.1.1, 4.1.2 and 4.1.3 above, any legal or other fees, charges or expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with any investigation or proceeding. The parties hereto agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this subsection 4.1.5 were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation, which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in this subsection 4.1.5. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution pursuant to this subsection 4.1.5 from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.
ARTICLE V
MISCELLANEOUS
5.1 Notices. Any notice or communication under this Agreement must be in writing and given by (i) deposit in the United States mail, addressed to the party to be notified, postage prepaid and registered or certified with return receipt requested, (ii) delivery in person or by courier service providing evidence of delivery, or (iii) transmission by hand delivery, electronic mail, telecopy, telegram or facsimile. Each notice or communication that is mailed, delivered, or transmitted in the manner described above shall be deemed sufficiently given, served, sent, and received, in the case of mailed notices, on the third business day following the date on which it is mailed and, in the case of notices delivered by courier service, hand delivery, electronic mail, telecopy, telegram or facsimile, at such time as it is delivered to the addressee (with the delivery receipt or the affidavit of messenger) or at such time as delivery is refused by the addressee upon presentation. Any notice or communication under this Agreement must be addressed, if to the Company, to 801 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1900, Miami, Florida 33131, and, if to any Holder, at such Holder’s address or contact information as set forth in the Company’s books and records. Any party may change its address for notice at any time and from time to time by written notice to the other parties hereto, and such change of address shall become effective thirty (30) days after delivery of such notice as provided in this Section 5.1.
5.2 Assignment; No Third-Party Beneficiaries.
5.2.1 This Agreement and the rights, duties and obligations of the Company hereunder may not be assigned or delegated by the Company in whole or in part.
5.2.2 Prior to the expiration of the Founder Shares Lock-up Period, the EBC Founder Shares Lock-up Period or the Private Placement Lock-up Period, as the case may be, no Holder may assign or delegate such Holder’s rights, duties or obligations under this Agreement, in whole or in part, except in connection with a transfer of Registrable Securities by such Holder to a Permitted Transferee (including, in the case of EBC, its respective designees) but only if such Permitted Transferee agrees to become bound by the transfer restrictions set forth in this Agreement.
5.2.3 This Agreement and the provisions hereof shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of each of the parties and its successors and the permitted assigns of the Holders, which shall include Permitted Transferees.
5.2.4 This Agreement shall not confer any rights or benefits on any persons that are not parties hereto, other than as expressly set forth in this Agreement and Section 5.2 hereof.
5.2.5 No assignment by any party hereto of such party’s rights, duties and obligations hereunder shall be binding upon or obligate the Company unless and until the Company shall have received (i) written notice of such assignment as provided in Section 5.1 hereof and (ii) the written agreement of the assignee, in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Company, to be bound by the terms and provisions of this Agreement (which may be accomplished by an addendum or certificate of joinder to this Agreement). Any transfer or assignment made other than as provided in this Section 5.2 shall be null and void.
5.3 Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in multiple counterparts (including facsimile or PDF counterparts), each of which shall be deemed an original, and all of which together shall constitute the same instrument, but only one of which need be produced.
5.4 Governing Law; Venue. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PLACE WHERE THIS AGREEMENT MAY BE EXECUTED BY ANY OF THE PARTIES HERETO, THE PARTIES EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK AS APPLIED TO AGREEMENTS AMONG NEW YORK RESIDENTS ENTERED INTO AND TO BE PERFORMED ENTIRELY WITHIN NEW YORK. ANY LEGAL SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR BASED UPON THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY MAY BE INSTITUTED IN THE FEDERAL COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES OR THE COURTS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK IN EACH CASE LOCATED IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, AND EACH PARTY IRREVOCABLY SUBMITS TO THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF SUCH COURTS IN ANY SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING.
5.5. Waiver of Jury Trial. THE PARTIES HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVE, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
5.6 Amendments and Modifications. Upon the written consent of the Company and the Holders of at least a majority in interest of the Registrable Securities at the time in question, (which majority in interest must include EBC if such amendment or modification affects in any way the rights of EBC hereunder), compliance with any of the provisions, covenants and conditions set forth in this Agreement may be waived, or any of such provisions, covenants or conditions may be amended or modified; provided, however, that notwithstanding the foregoing, any amendment hereto or waiver hereof that adversely affects one Holder, solely in his, her or its capacity as a holder of the capital shares of the Company, in a manner that is materially different from the other Holders (in such capacity) shall require the consent of the Holder so affected. No course of dealing between any Holder or the Company and any other party hereto or any failure or delay on the part of a Holder or the Company in exercising any rights or remedies under this Agreement shall operate as a waiver of any rights or remedies of any Holder or the Company. No single or partial exercise of any rights or remedies under this Agreement by a party shall operate as a waiver or preclude the exercise of any other rights or remedies hereunder or thereunder by such party.
5.7 Other Registration Rights. The Company represents and warrants that, as of the date hereof, no person, other than a Holder of Registrable Securities, has any right to require the Company to register any securities of the Company for sale or to include such securities of the Company in any Registration filed by the Company for the sale of securities for its own account or for the account of any other person. Further, the Company represents and warrants that this Agreement supersedes any other registration rights agreement or agreement with similar terms and conditions and in the event of a conflict between any such agreement or agreements and this Agreement, the terms of this Agreement shall prevail.
5.8 Term. This Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of (i) the tenth anniversary of the date of this Agreement or (ii) the date as of which no Registrable Securities remain outstanding. The provisions of Section 3.5 and Article IV shall survive any termination.
[Signature page follows]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have caused this Agreement to be executed as of the date first written above.
| COMPANY: | ||
| THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP., a Cayman Islands exempted company | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: Brett Johnson | ||
| Title: Chief Executive Officer | ||
| SPONSOR: | ||
| THREE LIONS SPONSOR, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| JEFFREY G. BLOCK | ||
|
| ||
| JAMESON CULP | ||
|
| ||
| JEFFREY A. DUNHAM | ||
|
| ||
| OTHER HOLDERS: (severally and not jointly) | ||
| [ ] | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| [ ] | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
[Signature Page to Registration Rights Agreement]
| EBC: | ||
| EARLYBIRDCAPITAL, INC., a Delaware corporation | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
[Signature Page to Registration Rights Agreement]
Exhibit 10.6
PRIVATE PLACEMENT UNITS PURCHASE AGREEMENT
THIS PRIVATE PLACEMENT UNITS PURCHASE AGREEMENT, dated as of [•], 2026 (as it may from time to time be amended and including all exhibits referenced herein, this “Agreement”), is entered into by and Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), and Three Lions Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Purchaser”).
WHEREAS, the Company intends to consummate an initial public offering (the “Public Offering”) of the Company’s units (the “Public Units”), each Public Unit consisting of one ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (each, a “Share”) and one-half of one warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share (each, a “Warrant”). The Purchaser has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 200,000 units (or 228,125 units in the aggregate to the extent the over-allotment option in connection with the Public Offering is exercised in full) (the “Private Placement Units”).
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises contained in this Agreement and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties to this Agreement hereby, intending legally to be bound, agree as follows:
AGREEMENT
Section 1. Authorization, Purchase and Sale; Terms of the Private Placement Units.
A. Authorization of the Private Placement Units. The Company has duly authorized the issuance and sale of the Private Placement Units to the Purchaser.
B. Purchase and Sale of the Private Placement Units.
The undersigned hereby commits to purchase an aggregate of 200,000 Private Placement Units of the Company (“Initial Units”) at $10.00 per Initial Unit for an aggregate purchase price of $2,000,000 (the “Initial Purchase Price”). Additionally, if the underwriters in the IPO (“Underwriters”) exercise their over-allotment option in full or in part, the undersigned further commits to purchase up to an additional 28,125 Private Placement Units (“Additional Units”) at $10.00 per Additional Unit, for an aggregate purchase price of up to $281,250 (the “Over-Allotment Purchase Price” and together with the Initial Purchase Price, the “Purchase Price”).
At least three business days prior to the effective date of the registration statement (“Registration Statement”) relating to the Public Offering (the “Funding Date”), the Purchaser will cause the Purchase Price to be delivered by wire transfer of immediately available funds to the accounts designated by the Company.
On the date of the consummation of the Public Offering or on such earlier time and date as may be mutually agreed by the Purchaser and the Company (the “IPO Closing Date”), the Company shall issue and sell to the Purchaser, and the Purchaser shall purchase from the Company, an aggregate of 200,000 Initial Units for the Initial Purchase Price. On the IPO Closing Date, the Initial Purchase Price shall be released to the Company and the Company shall effect delivery of the Initial Units to the undersigned in book-entry form.
On the date of the consummation of the closing of the over-allotment option in connection with the Public Offering or on such earlier time and date as may be mutually agreed by the Purchaser and the Company (each such date, an “Over-allotment Closing Date,” and each Over-allotment Closing Date (if any) and the IPO Closing Date being sometimes referred to herein as a “Closing Date”), the Company shall issue and sell to the Purchaser, and the Purchaser shall purchase from the Company, up to an aggregate of 28,125 Additional Units, in the same proportion as the amount of the over-allotment option that is exercised, at a price of $10.00 per unit for the Over-Allotment Purchase Price. On the Over-allotment Closing Date, the Over-Allotment Purchase Price shall be released to the Company and the Company shall effect delivery of the Additional Units to the undersigned in book-entry form.
Any unused portion of the Over-allotment Purchase Price shall be returned to the Purchaser following the Over-allotment Closing Date.
C. Terms of the Private Placement Units.
Each Private Placement Unit will be identical to the Public Units, except as described in the Registration Statement. The Private Placement Units may not be sold, transferred or assigned until the Company consummates an initial business combination, subject to exceptions described in the Registration Statement.
At or prior to the time of the IPO Closing Date, the Company and the Purchaser shall enter into a registration rights agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) pursuant to which the Company will grant certain registration rights to the Purchaser relating to the Private Placement Units and the Shares and Warrants underlying the Private Placement Units.
Section 2. Representations and Warranties of the Company. As a material inducement to the Purchaser to enter into this Agreement and purchase the Private Placement Units, the Company hereby represents and warrants to the Purchaser (which representations and warranties shall survive each Closing Date) that:
A. Organization and Corporate Power. The Company is an exempted company duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the Cayman Islands and is qualified to do business in every jurisdiction in which the failure to so qualify would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, operating results or assets of the Company. The Company possesses all requisite corporate power and authority necessary to carry out the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
B. Authorization; No Breach.
(i) The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Private Placement Units have been duly authorized and approved by the Company. This Agreement constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium, and other laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equitable principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or law). Upon each issuance of Private Placement Units in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms of this Agreement, the Private Placement Units will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable in accordance with their terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equitable principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or law).
(ii) The execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement and the Private Placement Units, the issuance and sale of the Private Placement Units, the issuance of the Shares and Warrants underlying the Private Placement Units and the fulfillment of, and compliance with, the respective terms hereof and thereof by the Company, do not and will not as of each Closing Date (a) conflict with or result in a breach of the terms, conditions or provisions of, (b) constitute a default under, (c) result in the creation of any lien, security interest, charge or encumbrance upon the Company’s capital stock or assets under, (d) result in a violation of, or (e) require any authorization, consent, approval, exemption, action, notice, declaration or filing, in each case, by or to any court or administrative or governmental body or agency pursuant to, the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of the Company (in effect on the date hereof or as may be amended prior to completion of the contemplated Public Offering), or any material law, statute, rule or regulation to which the Company is subject, or any agreement, order, judgment or decree to which the Company is subject, except for any filings required after the date hereof under federal or state securities laws.
C. Title to Securities. Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof, the Placement Units, and the Shares and Warrants underlying the Private Placement Units, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. On the date of issuance of the Placement Units, the Shares and Warrants underlying the Placement Units shall have been reserved for issuance. Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof, the Purchaser will have good title to the Private Placement Units, and the Shares and Warrants underlying such Private Placement Units, free and clear of all liens, claims and encumbrances of any kind, other than (i) transfer restrictions hereunder and under the other agreements contemplated hereby, (ii) transfer restrictions under federal and state securities laws, and (iii) liens, claims or encumbrances imposed due to the actions of the Purchaser.
D. Governmental Consents. No permit, consent, approval, or authorization of, or declaration to or filing with, any governmental authority is required in connection with the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement or the consummation by the Company of any other transactions contemplated hereby.
E. Regulation D Qualification. Neither the Company nor, to its knowledge, any of its affiliates, members, officers, directors or beneficial shareholders of 20% or more of its outstanding securities, has experienced a disqualifying event as enumerated pursuant to Rule 506(d) of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).
Section 3. Representations and Warranties of the Purchaser. As a material inducement to the Company to enter into this Agreement and issue and sell the Private Placement Units to the Purchaser, the Purchaser hereby represents and warrants to the Company (which representations and warranties shall survive each Closing Date) that:
A. Organization and Requisite Authority. The Purchaser possesses all requisite power and authority necessary to carry out the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
B. Authorization; No Breach.
(i) The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement have been duly authorized and approved by the Purchaser. This Agreement constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Purchaser, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium, and other laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equitable principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or law).
(ii) The execution and delivery by the Purchaser of this Agreement and the fulfillment of and compliance with the terms hereof by the Purchaser does not and shall not as of each Closing Date conflict with or result in a breach by the Purchaser of the terms, conditions or provisions of any agreement, instrument, order, judgment, or decree to which the Purchaser is subject that would materially impact its ability to perform its obligations hereunder.
C. Investment Representations.
(i) The Purchaser is acquiring the Private Placement Units, and the Shares and Warrants underlying the Private Placement Units (collectively, the “Securities”) for the Purchaser’s own account, for investment purposes only and not with a view towards, or for resale in connection with, any public sale or distribution thereof.
(ii) The Purchaser is an “accredited investor” as such term is defined in Rule 501(a)(3) of Regulation D of the Securities Act and the Purchaser has not experienced a disqualifying event as enumerated pursuant to Rule 506(d) of Regulation D under the Securities Act.
(iii) The Purchaser understands that the Securities are being offered and will be sold to it in reliance on specific exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States federal and state securities laws and that the Company is relying upon the truth and accuracy of, and the Purchaser’s compliance with, the representations and warranties of the Purchaser set forth herein in order to determine the availability of such exemptions and the eligibility of the Purchaser to acquire such Securities.
(iv) The Purchaser did not decide to enter into this Agreement as a result of any general solicitation or general advertising within the meaning of Rule 502(c) under the Securities Act.
(v) The Purchaser has been furnished with all materials relating to the business, finances and operations of the Company and materials relating to the offer and sale of the Securities which have been requested by the Purchaser. The Purchaser has been afforded the opportunity to ask questions of the executive officers and directors of the Company. The Purchaser understands that its investment in the Securities involves a high degree of risk and it has sought such accounting, legal and tax advice as it has considered necessary to make an informed investment decision with respect to the acquisition of the Securities.
(vi) The Purchaser understands that no United States federal or state agency or any other government or governmental agency has passed on or made any recommendation or endorsement of the Securities or the fairness or suitability of the investment in the Securities by the Purchaser nor have such authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the Securities.
(vii) The Purchaser understands that: (a) the Securities have not been and are not being registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws, and may not be offered for sale, sold, assigned or transferred unless (1) subsequently registered thereunder or (2) sold in reliance on an exemption therefrom; and (b) except as specifically set forth in the Registration Rights Agreement, neither the Company nor any other person is under any obligation to register the Securities under the Securities Act or any state securities laws or to comply with the terms and conditions of any exemption thereunder. While the Purchaser understands that Rule 144 under the Securities Act is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company, the Purchaser understands that Rule 144 includes an exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met: (i) the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company; (ii) the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”); (iii) the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Form 8-K reports; and (iv) at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.
(viii) The Purchaser has knowledge and experience in financial and business matters, understands the high degree of risk associated with investments in the securities of companies in the development stage such as the Company and understands the Private Placement Units will be worthless if the Company does not consummate an initial business combination. The Purchaser is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of an investment in the Securities and is able to bear the economic risk of an investment in the Securities in the amount contemplated hereunder for an indefinite period of time. The Purchaser has adequate means of providing for its current financial needs and contingencies and will have no current or anticipated future needs for liquidity which would be jeopardized by the investment in the Securities. The Purchaser can afford a complete loss of its investment in the Securities.
Section 4. Conditions of the Purchaser’s Obligations. The obligations of the Purchaser to purchase and pay for the Private Placement Units are subject to the fulfillment, on or before each Closing Date, of each of the following conditions:
A. Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Company contained in Section 2 shall be true and correct at and as of such Closing Date as though then made.
B. Performance. The Company shall have performed and complied with all agreements, obligations and conditions contained in this Agreement that are required to be performed or complied with by it on or before such Closing Date.
C. No Injunction. No litigation, statute, rule, regulation, executive order, decree, ruling or injunction shall have been enacted, entered, promulgated, or endorsed by or in any court or governmental authority of competent jurisdiction or any self-regulatory organization having authority over the matters contemplated hereby, which prohibits the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
D. Registration Rights Agreement. The Company shall have entered into the Registration Rights Agreement on terms satisfactory to the Purchaser.
E. Corporate Consents. The Company shall have obtained the consent of its Board of Directors authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Private Placement Units hereunder.
Section 5. Conditions of the Company’s Obligations. The obligations of the Company to the Purchaser under this Agreement are subject to the fulfillment, on or before each Closing Date, of each of the following conditions:
A. Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Purchaser contained in Section 3 shall be true and correct at and as of such Closing Date as though then made.
B. Performance. The Purchaser shall have performed and complied with all agreements, obligations and conditions contained in this Agreement that are required to be performed or complied with by the Purchaser on or before such Closing Date.
C. Corporate Consents. The Company shall have obtained the consent of its Board of Directors authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Private Placement Units hereunder.
D. No Injunction. No litigation, statute, rule, regulation, executive order, decree, ruling or injunction shall have been enacted, entered, promulgated, or endorsed by or in any court or governmental authority of competent jurisdiction or any self-regulatory organization having authority over the matters contemplated hereby, which prohibits the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
Section 6. Termination. This Agreement may be terminated at any time after December 31, 2026 upon the election by either the Company or the Purchaser upon written notice to the other party if the closing of the Public Offering does not occur prior to such date.
Section 7. Survival of Representations and Warranties. All of the representations and warranties contained herein shall survive each Closing Date.
Section 8. Definitions. Terms used but not otherwise defined in this Agreement shall have the meaning assigned to such terms in the registration statement on Form S-1 (SEC File No. 333-297177), which the Company has filed with the SEC under the Securities Act.
Section 9. Miscellaneous.
A. Successors and Assigns. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all covenants and agreements contained in this Agreement by or on behalf of any of the parties hereto shall bind and inure to the benefit of the respective successors of the parties hereto whether so expressed or not. Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the contrary herein, the parties may not assign this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party hereto, other than assignments by the Purchaser to its affiliates (including, without limitation, one or more of its members).
B. Severability. Whenever possible, each provision of this Agreement shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Agreement is held to be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision shall be ineffective only to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of this Agreement.
C. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed simultaneously in two or more counterparts, none of which need contain the signatures of more than one party, but all such counterparts taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement. In the event that any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission or by e-mail delivery of a “pdf” format data file, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such facsimile or “.pdf” signature page were an original thereof.
D. Descriptive Headings; Interpretation. The descriptive headings of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and do not constitute a substantive part of this Agreement. The use of the word “including” in this Agreement shall be by way of example rather than by limitation.
E. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the State of New York and for all purposes shall be construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York.
F. Amendments. This Agreement may not be amended, modified or waived as to any particular provision, except by a written instrument executed by all parties hereto.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement to be effective as of the date first set forth above.
| COMPANY: | ||
| THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP., a Cayman Islands exempted company | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | Brett Johnson | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
| PURCHASER: | ||
| THREE LIONS SPONSOR, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
[Signature Page to Private Placement Units Purchase Agreement (Sponsor)]
Exhibit 10.7
PRIVATE PLACEMENT UNITS PURCHASE AGREEMENT
THIS PRIVATE PLACEMENT UNITS PURCHASE AGREEMENT, dated as of [•], 2026 (as it may from time to time be amended and including all exhibits referenced herein, this “Agreement”), is entered into by and Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), and EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., a Delaware corporation (together with its designees, collectively the “Purchaser”).
WHEREAS, the Company intends to consummate an initial public offering (the “Public Offering”) of the Company’s units (the “Public Units”), each Public Unit consisting of one ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (each, a “Share”) and one-half of one warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share (each, a “Warrant”). The Purchaser has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 100,000 units (or 109,375 units in the aggregate to the extent the over-allotment option in connection with the Public Offering is exercised in full) (the “Private Placement Units”).
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises contained in this Agreement and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties to this Agreement hereby, intending legally to be bound, agree as follows:
AGREEMENT
Section 1. Authorization, Purchase and Sale; Terms of the Private Placement Units.
A. Authorization of the Private Placement Units. The Company has duly authorized the issuance and sale of the Private Placement Units to the Purchaser.
B. Purchase and Sale of the Private Placement Units.
The undersigned hereby commits to purchase an aggregate of 100,000 Private Placement Units of the Company (“Initial Units”) at $10.00 per Initial Unit for an aggregate purchase price of $1,000,000 (the “Initial Purchase Price”). Additionally, if the underwriters in the IPO (“Underwriters”) exercise their over-allotment option in full or in part, the undersigned further commits to purchase up to an additional 9,375 Private Placement Units (“Additional Units”) at $10.00 per Additional Unit, for an aggregate purchase price of up to $93,750 (the “Over-Allotment Purchase Price” and together with the Initial Purchase Price, the “Purchase Price”).
On the date of the consummation of the Public Offering or on such earlier time and date as may be mutually agreed by the Purchaser and the Company (the “IPO Closing Date”), the Company shall issue and sell to the Purchaser, and the Purchaser shall purchase from the Company, an aggregate of 100,000 Initial Units for the Initial Purchase Price. On the IPO Closing Date, the Initial Purchase Price shall be paid to the Company and the Company shall effect delivery of the Initial Units to the undersigned (or its designees) in book-entry form.
On the date of the consummation of the closing of the over-allotment option in connection with the Public Offering or on such earlier time and date as may be mutually agreed by the Purchaser and the Company (each such date, an “Over-allotment Closing Date,” and each Over-allotment Closing Date (if any) and the IPO Closing Date being sometimes referred to herein as a “Closing Date”), the Company shall issue and sell to the Purchaser, and the Purchaser shall purchase from the Company, up to an aggregate of 9,375 Additional Units, in the same proportion as the amount of the over-allotment option that is exercised, at a price of $10.00 per unit for the Over-Allotment Purchase Price. On the Over-allotment Closing Date, the Over-Allotment Purchase Price shall be paid to the Company and the Company shall effect delivery of the Additional Units to the undersigned (or its designees) in book-entry form.
C. Terms of the Private Placement Units.
Each Private Placement Unit will be identical to the Public Units, except as described in the registration statement (“Registration Statement”) relating to the Public Offering. The Private Placement Units may not be sold, transferred or assigned until the Company consummates an initial business combination, subject to exceptions described in the Registration Statement. The Purchaser hereby (i) waives its redemption rights with respect to the Shares underlying the Private Placement Units in connection with the completion of a business combination, (ii) waives its redemption rights with respect to its Shares underlying the Private Placement Units in connection with certain amendments made to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and (iii) waives its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account established in connection with the IPO with respect to its Shares underlying the Private Placement Units if the Company fails to consummate a business combination within the required time period, all as more fully described in the Registration Statement. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Section shall be deemed a waiver by the Purchaser of its right to any remaining funds held by the Company outside the Trust Account after payment of all fees and expenses in respect of the Purchaser’s equity investment in the Company.
At or prior to the time of the IPO Closing Date, the Company and the Purchaser shall enter into a registration rights agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) pursuant to which the Company will grant certain registration rights to the Purchaser relating to the Private Placement Units and the Shares and Warrants underlying the Private Placement Units.
The undersigned acknowledges that the Securities (as defined below) acquired or to be acquired hereby by the undersigned as an affiliate of the underwriters of the Public Offering, including the undersigned’s related persons, associated persons and affiliates (as those terms are defined in FINRA Rules 5110 and 5121), in connection with the Public Offering and as described in the Registration Statement and the related prospectus, are subject to lock-up in compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1) for a period of 180 days from the commencement of sales of the Public Offering and can only be transferred or sold pursuant to the exceptions in FINRA Rule 5110(e)(2)(B). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Purchaser and the Company acknowledge and agree that, from and after the consummation by the Company of its initial business combination, the Securities shall not bear any restrictive legends relating thereto, and the Company shall cause its transfer agent to remove any such legends no later than the consummation of the business combination.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the Registration Rights Agreement, the Units purchased hereunder, and the Shares and Warrants underlying such Units, and the Shares issuable upon exercise of such Warrants shall be subject to compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8). The undersigned may not exercise their demand or “piggyback” registration rights after five and seven years, respectively, after the effective date of the Public Offering and may not exercise its demand rights on more than one occasion.
Section 2. Representations and Warranties of the Company. As a material inducement to the Purchaser to enter into this Agreement and purchase the Private Placement Units, the Company hereby represents and warrants to the Purchaser (which representations and warranties shall survive each Closing Date) that:
A. Organization and Corporate Power. The Company is an exempted company duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the Cayman Islands and is qualified to do business in every jurisdiction in which the failure to so qualify would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, operating results or assets of the Company. The Company possesses all requisite corporate power and authority necessary to carry out the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
B. Authorization; No Breach.
(i) The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Private Placement Units have been duly authorized and approved by the Company. This Agreement constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium, and other laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equitable principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or law). Upon each issuance of Private Placement Units in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms of this Agreement, the Private Placement Units will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable in accordance with their terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equitable principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or law).
(ii) The execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement and the Private Placement Units, the issuance and sale of the Private Placement Units, the issuance of the Shares and Warrants underlying the Private Placement Units, and the fulfillment of, and compliance with, the respective terms hereof and thereof by the Company, do not and will not as of each Closing Date (a) conflict with or result in a breach of the terms, conditions or provisions of, (b) constitute a default under, (c) result in the creation of any lien, security interest, charge or encumbrance upon the Company’s capital stock or assets under, (d) result in a violation of, or (e) require any authorization, consent, approval, exemption, action, notice, declaration or filing, in each case, by or to any court or administrative or governmental body or agency pursuant to, the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of the Company (in effect on the date hereof or as may be amended prior to completion of the contemplated Public Offering), or any material law, statute, rule or regulation to which the Company is subject, or any agreement, order, judgment or decree to which the Company is subject, except for any filings required after the date hereof under federal or state securities laws.
C. Title to Securities. Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof, the Placement Units, and the Shares and Warrants underlying the Private Placement Units, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. On the date of issuance of the Placement Units, the Shares and Warrants underlying the Placement Units shall have been reserved for issuance. Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof, the Purchaser will have good title to the Private Placement Units, and the Shares and Warrants underlying such Private Placement Units, free and clear of all liens, claims and encumbrances of any kind, other than (i) transfer restrictions hereunder and under the other agreements contemplated hereby, (ii) transfer restrictions under federal and state securities laws, and (iii) liens, claims or encumbrances imposed due to the actions of the Purchaser.
D. Governmental Consents. No permit, consent, approval, or authorization of, or declaration to or filing with, any governmental authority is required in connection with the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement or the consummation by the Company of any other transactions contemplated hereby.
E. Regulation D Qualification. Neither the Company nor, to its knowledge, any of its affiliates, members, officers, directors or beneficial shareholders of 20% or more of its outstanding securities, has experienced a disqualifying event as enumerated pursuant to Rule 506(d) of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).
Section 3. Representations and Warranties of the Purchaser. As a material inducement to the Company to enter into this Agreement and issue and sell the Private Placement Units to the Purchaser, the Purchaser hereby represents and warrants to the Company (which representations and warranties shall survive each Closing Date) that:
A. Organization and Requisite Authority. The Purchaser possesses all requisite power and authority necessary to carry out the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
B. Authorization; No Breach.
(i) The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement have been duly authorized and approved by the Purchaser. This Agreement constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Purchaser, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium, and other laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equitable principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or law).
(ii) The execution and delivery by the Purchaser of this Agreement and the fulfillment of and compliance with the terms hereof by the Purchaser does not and shall not as of each Closing Date conflict with or result in a breach by the Purchaser of the terms, conditions or provisions of any agreement, instrument, order, judgment, or decree to which the Purchaser is subject that would materially impact its ability to perform its obligations hereunder.
C. Investment Representations.
(i) The Purchaser is acquiring the Private Placement Units and the Shares and Warrants underlying the Private Placement Units (collectively, the “Securities”) for the Purchaser’s own account, for investment purposes only and not with a view towards, or for resale in connection with, any public sale or distribution thereof.
(ii) The Purchaser is an “accredited investor” as such term is defined in Rule 501(a)(3) of Regulation D of the Securities Act and the Purchaser has not experienced a disqualifying event as enumerated pursuant to Rule 506(d) of Regulation D under the Securities Act.
(iii) The Purchaser understands that the Securities are being offered and will be sold to it in reliance on specific exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States federal and state securities laws and that the Company is relying upon the truth and accuracy of, and the Purchaser’s compliance with, the representations and warranties of the Purchaser set forth herein in order to determine the availability of such exemptions and the eligibility of the Purchaser to acquire such Securities.
(iv) The Purchaser did not decide to enter into this Agreement as a result of any general solicitation or general advertising within the meaning of Rule 502(c) under the Securities Act.
(v) The Purchaser has been furnished with all materials relating to the business, finances and operations of the Company and materials relating to the offer and sale of the Securities which have been requested by the Purchaser. The Purchaser has been afforded the opportunity to ask questions of the executive officers and directors of the Company. The Purchaser understands that its investment in the Securities involves a high degree of risk and it has sought such accounting, legal and tax advice as it has considered necessary to make an informed investment decision with respect to the acquisition of the Securities.
(vi) The Purchaser understands that no United States federal or state agency or any other government or governmental agency has passed on or made any recommendation or endorsement of the Securities or the fairness or suitability of the investment in the Securities by the Purchaser nor have such authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the Securities.
(vii) The Purchaser understands that: (a) the Securities have not been and are not being registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws, and may not be offered for sale, sold, assigned or transferred unless (1) subsequently registered thereunder or (2) sold in reliance on an exemption therefrom; and (b) except as specifically set forth in the Registration Rights Agreement, neither the Company nor any other person is under any obligation to register the Securities under the Securities Act or any state securities laws or to comply with the terms and conditions of any exemption thereunder. While the Purchaser understands that Rule 144 under the Securities Act is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company, the Purchaser understands that Rule 144 includes an exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met: (i) the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company; (ii) the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”); (iii) the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Form 8-K reports; and (iv) at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.
(viii) The Purchaser has knowledge and experience in financial and business matters, understands the high degree of risk associated with investments in the securities of companies in the development stage such as the Company and understands the Private Placement Units will be worthless if the Company does not consummate an initial business combination. The Purchaser is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of an investment in the Securities and is able to bear the economic risk of an investment in the Securities in the amount contemplated hereunder for an indefinite period of time. The Purchaser has adequate means of providing for its current financial needs and contingencies and will have no current or anticipated future needs for liquidity which would be jeopardized by the investment in the Securities. The Purchaser can afford a complete loss of its investment in the Securities.
Section 4. Conditions of the Purchaser’s Obligations. The obligations of the Purchaser to purchase and pay for the Private Placement Units are subject to the fulfillment, on or before each Closing Date, of each of the following conditions:
A. Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Company contained in Section 2 shall be true and correct at and as of such Closing Date as though then made.
B. Performance. The Company shall have performed and complied with all agreements, obligations and conditions contained in this Agreement that are required to be performed or complied with by it on or before such Closing Date.
C. No Injunction. No litigation, statute, rule, regulation, executive order, decree, ruling or injunction shall have been enacted, entered, promulgated, or endorsed by or in any court or governmental authority of competent jurisdiction or any self-regulatory organization having authority over the matters contemplated hereby, which prohibits the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
D. Registration Rights Agreement. The Company shall have entered into the Registration Rights Agreement on terms satisfactory to the Purchaser.
E. Corporate Consents. The Company shall have obtained the consent of its Board of Directors authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Private Placement Units hereunder.
Section 5. Conditions of the Company’s Obligations. The obligations of the Company to the Purchaser under this Agreement are subject to the fulfillment, on or before each Closing Date, of each of the following conditions:
A. Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Purchaser contained in Section 3 shall be true and correct at and as of such Closing Date as though then made.
B. Performance. The Purchaser shall have performed and complied with all agreements, obligations and conditions contained in this Agreement that are required to be performed or complied with by the Purchaser on or before such Closing Date.
C. Corporate Consents. The Company shall have obtained the consent of its Board of Directors authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Private Placement Units hereunder.
D. No Injunction. No litigation, statute, rule, regulation, executive order, decree, ruling or injunction shall have been enacted, entered, promulgated, or endorsed by or in any court or governmental authority of competent jurisdiction or any self-regulatory organization having authority over the matters contemplated hereby, which prohibits the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
Section 6. Termination. This Agreement may be terminated at any time after August 31, 2026, upon the election by either the Company or the Purchaser upon written notice to the other party if the closing of the Public Offering does not occur prior to such date.
Section 7. Survival of Representations and Warranties. All of the representations and warranties contained herein shall survive each Closing Date.
Section 8. Definitions. Terms used but not otherwise defined in this Agreement shall have the meaning assigned to such terms in the registration statement on Form S-1 (SEC File No. 333-•), which the Company has filed with the SEC under the Securities Act.
Section 9. Miscellaneous.
A. Successors and Assigns. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all covenants and agreements contained in this Agreement by or on behalf of any of the parties hereto shall bind and inure to the benefit of the respective successors of the parties hereto whether so expressed or not. Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the contrary herein, the parties may not assign this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party hereto, other than assignments by the Purchaser to its affiliates (including, without limitation, one or more of its members).
B. Severability. Whenever possible, each provision of this Agreement shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Agreement is held to be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision shall be ineffective only to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of this Agreement.
C. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed simultaneously in two or more counterparts, none of which need contain the signatures of more than one party, but all such counterparts taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement. In the event that any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission or by e-mail delivery of a “pdf” format data file, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such facsimile or “.pdf” signature page were an original thereof.
D. Descriptive Headings; Interpretation. The descriptive headings of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and do not constitute a substantive part of this Agreement. The use of the word “including” in this Agreement shall be by way of example rather than by limitation.
E. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the State of New York and for all purposes shall be construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York.
F. Amendments. This Agreement may not be amended, modified or waived as to any particular provision, except by a written instrument executed by all parties hereto.
[Signature page follows]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement to be effective as of the date first set forth above.
| COMPANY: | ||
| THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP., a Cayman Islands exempted company | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: Brett Johnson Title: Chief Executive Officer | ||
[Signature Page to Private Placement Units Purchase Agreement (EarlyBirdCapital)]
| PURCHASER: | ||
| EARLYBIRDCAPITAL, INC., a Delaware corporation | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
[Signature Page to Private Placement Units Purchase Agreement (EarlyBirdCapital)]
Exhibit 10.8
INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
This agreement, made and entered into effective as of [•], 2026 (“Agreement”), by and between Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (“Company”), and the undersigned indemnitee (“Indemnitee”).
WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Company (“Board”) has determined that the ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors is in the best interests of the Company’s shareholders; and
WHEREAS, it is reasonable, prudent and necessary for the Company to obligate itself contractually to indemnify such persons to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law so that such persons will serve or continue to serve the Company free from undue concern that they will not be adequately indemnified; and
WHEREAS, this Agreement is a supplement to and in furtherance of the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and any resolutions adopted pursuant thereto and shall neither be deemed to be a substitute therefor nor to diminish or abrogate any rights of Indemnitee thereunder; and
WHEREAS, Indemnitee is willing to serve on behalf of the Company on the condition that he be indemnified according to the terms of this Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the covenants contained herein, the Company and Indemnitee do hereby covenant and agree as follows:
1. Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement:
1.1 “Change in Control” means a change in control of the Company occurring after the date hereof of a nature that would be required to be reported in response to Item 6(e) of Schedule 14A of Regulation 14A (or in response to any similar item on any similar schedule or form) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), whether or not the Company is then subject to such reporting requirement provided, however, that, without limitation, such a Change in Control shall be deemed to have occurred if after the date hereof (i) any “person” (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act), other than a person who is an officer or director of the Company on the date hereof (or any of such person’s affiliates), is or becomes “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing 50% or more of the combined voting power of the then outstanding securities of the Company without the prior approval of at least two-thirds of the members of the Board in office immediately prior to such person attaining such percentage interest; (ii) the Company is a party to a merger, consolidation, sale of assets or other reorganization, or a proxy contest, as a consequence of which (A) members of the Board in office immediately prior to such transaction or event constitute less than a majority of the Board thereafter or (B) the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior to such transaction do not continue to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity) more than 50% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the surviving entity outstanding immediately after such transaction with the power to elect at least a majority of the board of directors or other governing body of such surviving entity; or (iii) during any period of two consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning of such period constituted the Board (including for this purpose any new director whose election or nomination for election by the Company’s shareholders was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the directors then still in office who were directors at the beginning of such period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the Board.
1.2 “Corporate Status” means the status of a person who is or was a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary of the Company or of any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise which such person is or was serving at the request of the Company. In addition, service at the actual request of the Company, for purposes of this Agreement, Indemnitee shall be deemed to be serving or to have served at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary of any other enterprise if Indemnitee is or was serving as a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary of such enterprise and (A) such
enterprise is or at the time of such service was an affiliate of the Company, (B) such enterprise is or at the time of such service was an employee benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or maintained by the Company or an affiliate of the Company or (C) the Company or an affiliate of the Company directly or indirectly caused Indemnitee to be nominated, elected, appointed, designated, employed, engaged or selected to serve in such capacity.
1.3 “Disinterested Director” means a director of the Company who is not and was not a party to the Proceeding in respect of which indemnification is sought by Indemnitee.
1.4 “Expenses” means all reasonable attorneys’ fees, retainers, court costs (including trial and appeals), transcript costs, fees of experts, witness fees, travel expenses, duplicating costs, printing and binding costs, telephone charges, postage, delivery service fees, federal, state, local, or foreign taxes imposed as a result of the actual or deemed receipt of any payments under this Agreement, and all other disbursements or expenses of the types customarily incurred in connection with prosecuting, defending, preparing to prosecute or defend, appealing, preparing to appeal (including without limitation the premium, security for, and other costs relating to any costs bond, supersedes bond, or other appeal bond or its equivalent), investigating, or being or preparing to be a witness in a Proceeding.
1.5 “Independent Counsel” means a law firm, or a member of a law firm, that is experienced in matters of corporation law and neither presently is, nor in the past five years has been, retained to represent: (i) the Company or Indemnitee in any other matter material to either such party, or (ii) any other party to the Proceeding giving rise to a claim for indemnification hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “Independent Counsel” does not include any person who, under the applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing, would have a conflict of interest in representing either the Company or Indemnitee in an action to determine Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement. Except as provided in the first sentence of Section 9.3 hereof, Independent Counsel shall be selected by (a) the Disinterested Directors or (b) a committee of the Board consisting of two or more Disinterested Directors or if (a) and (b) above are not possible, then by a majority of the full Board.
1.6 “Proceeding” means any action, suit, arbitration, alternate dispute resolution mechanism, investigation, administrative hearing or any other proceeding, whether conducted by or on behalf of the Company or any other party, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, and whether formal or informal, except one initiated by an Indemnitee pursuant to Section 11 of this Agreement to enforce Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement.
2. Services by Indemnitee.
Indemnitee agrees to serve as a director, officer or employee of the Company. Indemnitee may at any time and for any reason resign from such position (subject to any other contractual obligation or any obligation imposed by operation of law).
3. Indemnification - General.
The Company shall indemnify, and, subject to Section 28 hereof, advance Expenses to, Indemnitee as provided in this Agreement to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law in effect on the date hereof and to such greater extent as any amendment to or interpretation of applicable law may thereafter from time to time permit. The rights of Indemnitee provided under the preceding sentence shall include, but shall not be limited to, the rights set forth in the other Sections of this Agreement.
4. Proceedings Other Than Proceedings by or in the Right of the Company.
Indemnitee shall be entitled to the rights of indemnification provided in this Agreement if, by reason of Indemnitee’s Corporate Status, Indemnitee is, was or is threatened to be made, a party to any threatened, pending or completed Proceeding, other than a Proceeding by or in the right of the Company. Pursuant to this Agreement, subject to Section 28 hereof, Indemnitee shall be indemnified against Expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee or on Indemnitee’s behalf in connection with any such Proceeding or any claim, issue or matter therein, if Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company, and, with respect to any criminal Proceeding, Indemnitee had no reasonable cause to believe Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful.
5. Proceedings by or in the Right of the Company.
Indemnitee shall be entitled to the rights of indemnification provided in this Agreement if, by reason of Indemnitee’s Corporate Status, Indemnitee was or is threatened to be made, a party to any threatened, pending or completed Proceeding brought by or in the right of the Company to procure a judgment in its favor. Pursuant to this Agreement, subject to Section 28 hereof, Indemnitee shall be indemnified against amounts paid in settlement and Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee or on Indemnitee’s behalf in connection with the defense or settlement of any such Proceeding if Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no indemnification under this paragraph shall be made in respect of (1) a threatened or pending Proceeding which is settled or otherwise disposed of, or (2) any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Company, by a court of competent jurisdiction and subject to no further appeal, unless and only to the extent that the court in which such Proceeding shall have been brought, was brought or is pending, shall determine, upon application, that Indemnitee is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such portion of the settlement amount and Expenses as the court deems proper.
6. Indemnification for Expenses of Party Who is Wholly or Partly Successful.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement except for Section 28 hereof, to the extent that Indemnitee is, by reason of his or her Corporate Status, a party to and is successful, on the merits, procedurally or otherwise, in any Proceeding, Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all judgments, penalties, fines, amounts paid in settlement and Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee or on Indemnitee’s behalf in connection therewith (in each case, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law). If Indemnitee is not wholly successful in such Proceeding but is successful, on the merits, procedurally or otherwise, as to one or more but less than all claims, issues or matters in such Proceeding, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee against all judgments, penalties, fines, amounts paid in settlement and Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee or on Indemnitee’s behalf in connection with each successfully resolved claim, issue or matter (in each case, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law). For purposes of this Agreement, the term “successful, on the merits or otherwise,” includes, but is not limited to, (i) any termination, withdrawal, or dismissal (with or without prejudice) of any Proceeding against the Indemnitee without any express finding of liability or guilt against Indemnitee, including a settlement (with or without court approval), a motion for summary judgment, or a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, and (ii) the expiration of 90 days after the making of any claim or threat of a Proceeding without the institution of the same and without any promise or payment made to induce a settlement.
7. Indemnification for Expenses as a Witness.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement except for Section 28 hereof, to the extent that Indemnitee is, by reason of Indemnitee’s Corporate Status, a witness in any Proceeding, Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee or on Indemnitee’s behalf in connection therewith.
8. Advancement of Expenses and Other Amounts.
Subject to Section 28 hereof, the Company shall advance all Expenses and, when eligible hereunder, judgments, penalties, fines, and amounts paid in settlement, incurred by or on behalf of Indemnitee in connection with any Proceeding within thirty (30) days after the receipt by the Company of a statement or statements from Indemnitee requesting such advance or advances from time to time, whether prior to or after final disposition of such Proceeding. Such statement or statements shall reasonably evidence the Expenses and, when eligible hereunder, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement, incurred by Indemnitee. In connection with any request for advancement of Expenses, judgments, penalties, fines or amounts paid in settlement, Indemnitee shall not be required to provide any documentation or information to the extent that the provision thereof would undermine or otherwise jeopardize attorney-client privilege. The Indemnitee shall qualify for advances upon the execution and delivery to the Company of this Agreement, which shall constitute an undertaking providing that the Indemnitee undertakes to repay the advance (without interest) if and to the extent that it is ultimately determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final judgment, not subject to further appeal, that Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified by the Company. No other form of undertaking shall be required other than the execution of this Agreement. The Company’s obligation in respect of the advancement of Expenses and, when eligible hereunder, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement in connection with a criminal Proceeding in which Indemnitee is a defendant shall terminate at such time as Indemnitee pleads guilty or is convicted after trial and such
conviction becomes final and no longer subject to appeal. Advances shall be unsecured and interest free. Advances shall be made without regard to Indemnitee’s ability to repay such amounts and, subject to judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement being eligible for indemnification hereunder, without regard to Indemnitee’s ultimate entitlement to indemnification under the other provisions of this Agreement. Without limiting the generality or effect of the foregoing, within thirty days after any request by Indemnitee, the Company shall, in accordance with such request (but without duplication), (a) pay such Expenses on behalf of Indemnitee, (b) advance to Indemnitee funds in an amount sufficient to pay such Expenses, or (c) reimburse Indemnitee for such Expenses. The Company shall not seek from a court, or agree to, a “bar order” which would have the effect of prohibiting or limiting the Indemnitee’s rights to receive advancement of Expenses and, when eligible hereunder, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement under this Agreement.
9. Procedure for Determination of Entitlement to Indemnification.
9.1 To obtain indemnification under this Agreement in connection with any Proceeding, and for the duration thereof, Indemnitee shall submit to the Company a written request, including therein or therewith such documentation and information as is reasonably available to Indemnitee and is reasonably necessary to determine whether and to what extent Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification. The Secretary of the Company shall, promptly upon receipt of any such request for indemnification, advise the Board in writing that Indemnitee has requested indemnification.
9.2 Upon written request by Indemnitee for indemnification pursuant to Section 9.1 hereof, a determination, if required by applicable law, with respect to Indemnitee’s entitlement thereto shall be made in such case: (i) if a Change in Control shall have occurred, by Independent Counsel (unless Indemnitee shall request that such determination be made by the Board or the shareholders, in which case such determination shall be made in the manner provided for in clauses (ii) or (iii) of this Section 9.2) in a written opinion to the Board, a copy of which shall be delivered to Indemnitee; (ii) if a Change of Control shall not have occurred, at the election of the Company, (A) by the Board by a majority vote of a quorum consisting of Disinterested Directors, or (B) if a quorum of the Board consisting of Disinterested Directors is not obtainable, by a majority of a committee of the Board consisting of two or more Disinterested Directors, or (C) by Independent Counsel in a written opinion to the Board, a copy of which shall be delivered to Indemnitee, or (D) by the shareholders of the Company, by a majority vote of a quorum consisting of shareholders who are not parties to the proceeding, or if no such quorum is obtainable, by a majority vote of shareholders who are not parties to such proceeding; or (iii) as provided in Section 10.2 of this Agreement. If it is so determined that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification, payment to Indemnitee shall be made within ten (10) days after such determination. Indemnitee shall cooperate with the person, persons or entity making such determination with respect to Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification, including providing to such person, persons or entity upon reasonable advance request any documentation or information which is not privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure and which is reasonably available to Indemnitee and reasonably necessary to such determination. Any costs or expenses (including attorneys’ fees and disbursements) incurred by Indemnitee in so cooperating with the person, persons or entity making such determination shall be borne by the Company (irrespective of the determination as to Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification) and the Company hereby indemnifies and agrees to hold Indemnitee harmless therefrom.
9.3 If a Change in Control shall have occurred, Independent Counsel shall be selected by Indemnitee (unless Indemnitee shall request that such selection be made by the Board), and Indemnitee (or the Board, as the case may be) shall give written notice to the other party advising it of the identity of Independent Counsel so selected. In either event, Indemnitee or the Company, as the case may be, may, within seven days after such written notice of selection shall have been given, deliver to the Company or to Indemnitee, as the case may be, a written objection to such selection. Such objection may be asserted only on the ground that Independent Counsel so selected does not meet the requirements of “Independent Counsel” as defined in Section 1 of this Agreement, and the objection shall set forth with particularity the factual basis of such assertion. If such written objection is made, Independent Counsel so selected may not serve as Independent Counsel unless and until a court has determined that such objection is without merit. If, within 20 days after submission by Indemnitee of a written request for indemnification pursuant to Section 9.1 hereof, no Independent Counsel shall have been selected and not objected to, either the Company or Indemnitee may petition a court of competent jurisdiction, for resolution of any objection which shall have been made by the Company or Indemnitee to the other’s selection of Independent Counsel and/or for the appointment as Independent Counsel of a person selected by such court or by such other person as such court shall designate, and the person with respect to whom an objection is so resolved or the person so appointed shall act as Independent Counsel under Section 9.2 hereof. The Company shall pay any and all reasonable fees and expenses of Independent
Counsel incurred by such Independent Counsel in connection with its actions pursuant to this Agreement, and the Company shall pay all reasonable fees and expenses incident to the procedures of this Section 9.3, regardless of the manner in which such Independent Counsel was selected or appointed. Upon the due commencement date of any judicial proceeding pursuant to Section 11.1(iii) of this Agreement, Independent Counsel shall be discharged and relieved of any further responsibility in such capacity (subject to the applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing).
10. Presumptions and Effects of Certain Proceedings.
10.1 In making a determination with respect to entitlement to indemnification hereunder, the person or persons or entity making such determination shall presume that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification under this Agreement if Indemnitee has submitted a request for indemnification in accordance with Section 9.1 of this Agreement, and the Company shall have the burden of proof to overcome that presumption by clear and convincing evidence in connection with the making by any person, persons or entity of any determination contrary to that presumption.
10.2 If the person, persons or entity empowered or selected under Section 9 of this Agreement to determine whether Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification shall not have made a determination within sixty (60) days after receipt by the Company of the request therefor, the requisite determination of entitlement to indemnification shall be deemed to have been made and Indemnitee shall be entitled to such indemnification, absent (i) a misstatement by Indemnitee of a material fact, or an omission of a material fact necessary to make Indemnitee’s statement not materially misleading, in connection with the request for indemnification, or (ii) prohibition of such indemnification under applicable law, as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final judgment, not subject to further appeal; provided, however, that such 60-day period may be extended for a reasonable time, not to exceed an additional thirty (30) days, if the person, persons or entity making the determination with respect to entitlement to indemnification in good faith require(s) such additional time for the obtaining or evaluating of documentation and/or information relating thereto; and provided, further, however, that the foregoing provisions of this Section 10.2 shall not apply (i) if the determination of entitlement to indemnification is to be made by the shareholders pursuant to Section 9.2 of this Agreement and if (A) within 15 days after receipt by the Company of the request for such determination the Board has resolved to submit such determination to the shareholders for their consideration at an annual meeting thereof to be held within 75 days after such receipt and such determination is made thereat, or (B) a special meeting of shareholders is called within 15 days after such receipt for the purpose of making such determination, such meeting is held for such purpose within 60 days after having been so called and such determination is made thereat, or (ii) if the determination of entitlement to indemnification is to be made by Independent Counsel pursuant to Section 9.2 of this Agreement. In connection with each meeting at which a shareholder determination will be made, the Company shall solicit proxies that expressly include a proposal to indemnify or reimburse the Indemnitee. The Company shall afford the Indemnitee ample opportunity to present evidence of the facts upon which the Indemnitee relies for indemnification in any Company proxy statement relating to such shareholder determination. Subject to the fiduciary duties of its members under applicable law, the Board will not recommend against indemnification or reimbursement in any proxy statement relating to the proposal to indemnify or reimburse the Indemnitee.
10.3 The termination of any Proceeding or of any claim, issue or matter therein, by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not (except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement) of itself adversely affect the right of Indemnitee to indemnification or create a presumption that Indemnitee did not act in good faith and in a manner which Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company or, with respect to any criminal Proceeding, that Indemnitee had reasonable cause to believe that Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful.
10.4 Reliance as Safe Harbor.
For purposes of this Agreement, the Indemnitee shall be deemed to have acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company, or, with respect to any criminal Proceeding, to have had no reasonable cause to believe Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful, if Indemnitee’s action is based on (i) the records or books of account of the Company, or another enterprise, including financial statements, (ii) information supplied to Indemnitee by the officers of the Company or another enterprise in the course of their duties, (iii) the advice of legal counsel for the Company or another enterprise, or of an independent certified public accountant or an appraiser or other expert selected with reasonable care by the Company or another
enterprise. The term “another enterprise” as used in this Section shall mean any other corporation or any partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise of which the Indemnitee is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, partner, trustee, employee or agent. The provisions of this Section shall not be deemed to be exclusive or to limit in any way the other circumstances in which the Indemnitee may be deemed to have met the applicable standard of conduct set forth herein. Whether or not the foregoing provisions of this Section 10.4 are satisfied, it shall in any event be presumed that Indemnitee has at all times acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company, or, with respect to any criminal Proceeding, to have had no reasonable cause to believe Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful. Anyone seeking to overcome this presumption shall have the burden of proof and the burden of persuasion by clear and convincing evidence.
11. Remedies of Indemnitee.
11.1 In the event that (i) a determination is made pursuant to Section 9 of this Agreement that Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification under this Agreement, (ii) advancement of Expenses is not timely made pursuant to Section 8 of this Agreement, (iii) the determination of indemnification is to be made by Independent Counsel pursuant to Section 9.2 of this Agreement and such determination shall not have been made and delivered in a written opinion within sixty (60) days after receipt by the Company of the request for indemnification, (iv) payment of indemnification is not made pursuant to Section 7 of this Agreement within thirty (30) days after receipt by the Company of a written request therefor, or (v) payment of indemnification is not made within thirty (30) days after a determination has been made that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification or such determination is deemed to have been made pursuant to Section 9 or 10 of this Agreement, Indemnitee shall be entitled to an adjudication in an appropriate court of the Cayman Islands, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, of Indemnitee’s entitlement to such indemnification or advancement of Expenses, judgments, penalties, fines or, when eligible hereunder, amounts paid in settlement. The Company shall not oppose Indemnitee’s right to seek any such adjudication.
11.2 In the event that a determination shall have been made pursuant to Section 9 of this Agreement that Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification, any judicial proceeding commenced pursuant to this Section shall be conducted in all respects as a de novo trial on the merits and Indemnitee shall not be prejudiced by reason of that adverse determination.
11.3 If a determination shall have been made or deemed to have been made pursuant to Section 9 or 10 of this Agreement that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification, the Company shall be bound by such determination in any judicial proceeding commenced pursuant to this Section, absent (i) a misstatement by Indemnitee of a material fact, or an omission of a material fact necessary to make Indemnitee’s statement not materially misleading, in connection with the request for indemnification, or (ii) prohibition of such indemnification under applicable law.
11.4 The Company shall be precluded from asserting in any judicial proceeding commenced pursuant to this Section that the procedures and presumptions of this Agreement are not valid, binding and enforceable and shall stipulate in any such court that the Company is bound by all the provisions of this Agreement.
11.5 In the event that Indemnitee, pursuant to this Section, seeks a judicial adjudication of his or her rights under, or to recover damages for breach of, this Agreement or any other agreement, including any other indemnification, contribution or advancement agreement, or any provision of the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of the Company now or hereafter in effect, or for recovery under directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies maintained by the Company, Indemnitee shall be entitled to recover from the Company, and shall be indemnified by the Company against, any and all expenses (of the kinds described in the definition of Expenses) actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in such judicial adjudication, but only if Indemnitee prevails therein. In any suit brought by the Company to recover an advancement of Expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking, the Company shall pay all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with such suit in the event the Indemnitee has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, in defense of such suit. If it shall be determined in such judicial adjudication that Indemnitee is entitled to receive less than all of the indemnification or advancement of expenses sought, the expenses incurred by Indemnitee in connection with such judicial adjudication shall be appropriately prorated. In addition, the Company shall, if so requested by Indemnitee, advance the foregoing expenses to Indemnitee, subject to and in accordance with Section 8.
12. Procedure Regarding Indemnification.
With respect to any Proceedings, the Indemnitee, prior to taking any action with respect to such Proceeding, shall consult with the Company as to the procedure to be followed in defending, settling, or compromising the Proceeding and may not consent to any settlement or compromise of the Proceeding without the written consent of the Company (which consent may not be unreasonably withheld or delayed). The Company shall be entitled to participate in defending, settling or compromising any Proceeding and to assume the defense of such Proceeding with counsel of its choice and shall assume such defense if requested by the Indemnitee. Notwithstanding the election by, or obligation of, the Company to assume the defense of a Proceeding, the Indemnitee shall have the right to participate in the defense of such Proceeding and to employ counsel of Indemnitee’s choice, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of the Indemnitee unless (i) the employment of such counsel has been authorized in writing by the Company, (ii) Indemnitee shall have reasonably determined that there is a conflict of interest between the Company and Indemnitee in the conduct of the defense of the Proceeding, (iii) the Indemnitee has reasonably concluded that there may be defenses available to Indemnitee which are different from or additional to those available to the Company (in which latter case the Company shall not have the right to direct the defense of such Proceeding on behalf of the Indemnitee), (iv) after a Change in Control, the employment of counsel by Indemnitee has been approved by the Independent Counsel, (v) the Company shall not in fact have employed counsel to assume the defense of such Proceeding, or (vi) the fees and expenses are non-duplicative and reasonably incurred in connection with Indemnitee’s role in the Proceedings, despite the Company’s assumption of the defense, in each of which cases all Expenses of the Proceeding shall be borne by the Company. The Company shall not be entitled to assume the defense of any Proceeding brought by or on behalf of the Company, or as to which Indemnitee shall have made the determination provided for in (ii) above or under the circumstances provided for in (iii) and (iv) above. Indemnitee agrees that any such separate counsel retained by Indemnitee will be not more than one additional firm of attorneys , and such firm shall be a member of any approved list of panel counsel under the Company’s applicable directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policy, should the applicable policy provide for a panel of approved counsel and should such approved panel list comprise law firms with well-established reputations in the type of litigation at issue. For clarity, the fact of a firm’s being part of a panel shall not be evidence of a firm’s having a well-established national reputation for the type of litigation at issue. If the Company assumes the defense of a Proceeding, then counsel for the Company and Indemnitee shall keep Indemnitee reasonably informed of the status of the Proceeding and promptly send to Indemnitee copies of all documents filed or produced in the Proceeding, and the Company shall not compromise or settle any such Proceeding without the written consent of the Indemnitee (which consent may not be unreasonably withheld or delayed) if the relief provided shall be other than monetary damages and shall promptly notify the Indemnitee of any settlement and the amount thereof.
13. Non-Exclusivity; Survival of Rights; Insurance; Subrogation; Contribution.
13.1 The rights of indemnification and to receive advancement of Expenses and, when eligible hereunder, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement as provided by this Agreement shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which Indemnitee may at any time be entitled under applicable law, the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of the Company, any agreement, a vote of shareholders or a resolution of directors, or otherwise. No amendment, alteration or repeal of this Agreement or any provision hereof shall be effective as to any Indemnitee with respect to any action taken or omitted by such Indemnitee in Indemnitee’s Corporate Status prior to such amendment, alteration or repeal.
13.2 To the extent that the Company maintains an insurance policy or policies providing liability insurance for directors, officers, employees, agents or fiduciaries of the Company or of any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise which such person serves at the request of the Company, Indemnitee shall be covered by such policy or policies in accordance with its or their terms to the maximum extent of the coverage available for any such director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary under such policy or policies.
13.3 In the event of any payment under this Agreement, the Company shall be subrogated to the extent of such payment to all of the rights of recovery of Indemnitee, who shall execute all papers required and take all action necessary to secure such rights, including execution of such documents as are reasonably necessary to enable the Company to bring suit to enforce such rights.
13.4 The Company shall not be liable under this Agreement to make any payment of amounts otherwise indemnifiable hereunder if and to the extent that Indemnitee has otherwise actually received such payment under any insurance policy, contract, agreement or otherwise.
13.5 If a determination is made that Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification, after Indemnitee submits a written request therefor, under this Agreement, then in respect of any threatened, pending or completed Proceeding in which the Company is jointly liability with the Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), the Company shall contribute to the amount of Expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement by the Indemnitee in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect (i) the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Indemnitee on the other hand from the transaction from which Proceeding arose, and (ii) the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of the Indemnitee on the other hand in connection with the events that resulted in such Expenses, judgments, penalties, fines or amounts paid in settlement, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of the Indemnitee on the other hand shall be determined by reference to, among other things, the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent the circumstances resulting in such Expenses, judgments, fines or amounts paid in settlement. The Company agrees that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section were determined by pro rata allocation or any other method of allocation that does not take into account the foregoing equitable considerations. The determination as to the amount of the contribution, if any, shall be made by: (i) a court of competent jurisdiction upon the application of both the Indemnitee and the Company (if the Proceeding had been brought in, and final determination had been rendered by such court); (ii) the Board by a majority vote of a quorum consisting of Disinterested Directors; or (iii) Independent Counsel, if a quorum is not obtainable for purpose of (ii) above, or, even if obtainable, a quorum of Disinterested Directors so directs.
14. Duration of Agreement.
This Agreement shall continue so long as Indemnitee may be subject to or a witness in any possible Proceeding in respect of which Indemnitee is granted rights of indemnification or advancement of Expenses hereunder, and until one (1) year after the final termination of any such Proceeding then pending (including any rights of appeal thereto) and of any proceeding commenced by Indemnitee pursuant to Section 11 of this Agreement relating thereto (including any rights of appeal thereto). This Agreement shall be binding upon the Company and its successors and assigns and shall inure to the benefit of Indemnitee and Indemnitee’s spouse, heirs, executors, personal representatives and administrators. The Company shall require and cause any successor (whether direct or indirect by purchase, merger, consolidation, or otherwise) to all, substantially all, or a substantial part, of the business and/or assets of the Company, by written agreement in form and substance satisfactory to Indemnitee, expressly to assume and agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent that the Company would be required to perform to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
15. Severability.
If any provision or provisions of this Agreement shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever: (a) the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, each portion of any Section of this Agreement containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that is not itself invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby; and (b) to the fullest extent possible, the provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, each portion of any Section of this Agreement containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that is not itself invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed so as to give effect to the intent manifested by the provision held invalid, illegal or unenforceable.
16. Entire Agreement.
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the Company and the Indemnitee with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior agreements, understanding, negotiations and discussion, both written and oral, between the parties hereto with respect to such subject matter (the “Prior Agreements”); provided, however, that if this Agreement shall ever be held void or unenforceable for any reasons whatsoever, and is not reformed pursuant to Section 15 hereof, then (i) this Agreement shall not be deemed to have superseded any Prior Agreements; (ii) all of such Prior Agreements shall be deemed to be in full force and effect notwithstanding the execution of this Agreement; and (iii) the Indemnitee shall be entitled to maximum indemnification benefits provided under any Prior Agreements, as well as those provided under applicable law, the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of the Company, a vote of shareholders or resolution of directors.
17. Exception to Right of Indemnification or Advancement of Expenses.
17.1 Except as provided in Section 11.5, Indemnitee shall not be entitled to indemnification or advancement of Expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement under this Agreement with respect to any Proceeding, or any claim therein, brought or made by Indemnitee against the Company.
17.2 Indemnitee shall not be entitled to indemnification or advancement of Expenses under this Agreement with respect to any Proceeding, or any claim therein, arising from the purchase and sale by Indemnitee of securities in violation of Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act or Company similar successor statute.
18. Covenant Not to Sue; Limitation of Actions; Release of Claims.
No legal action shall be brought and no cause of action shall be asserted by or on behalf of the Company (or any of its subsidiaries) against the Indemnitee, Indemnitee’s spouse, heirs, executors, personal representatives or administrators after the expiration of two (2) years from the date of accrual of such cause of action and any claim or cause of action of the Company (or any of its subsidiaries) shall be extinguished and deemed released unless asserted by the filing of a legal action within such two (2) year period; provided, however, that if any shorter period of limitation is otherwise applicable to any such cause of action, such shorter period shall govern.
19. Identical Counterparts.
This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original but all of which together shall constitute one and the same Agreement.
20. Headings.
The headings of the paragraphs of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not be deemed to constitute part of this Agreement or to affect the construction thereof.
21. Modification and Waiver.
No supplement, modification or amendment of this Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing by both of the parties hereto. No waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provisions hereof (whether or not similar) nor shall such waiver constitute a continuing waiver.
22. Notice by Indemnitee.
Indemnitee agrees promptly to notify the Company in writing upon being served with any summons, citation, subpoena, complaint, indictment, information or other document relating any Proceeding or matter which may be subject to indemnification or advancement of Expenses, judgments, penalties, fines or amounts paid in settlement covered hereunder. The failure to notify the Company on a timely basis shall not constitute a waiver of Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement, except to the extent that such failure or delay (i) causes the amounts paid or to be paid by the Company to be greater than they otherwise would have been, (ii) adversely affects the Company’s ability to obtain for itself or Indemnitee coverage or proceeds under any insurance policy available to the Company or Indemnitee, or (iii) otherwise results in prejudice to the Company.
23. Notices.
All notices, requests, demands and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if (i) delivered by hand and receipted for by the party to whom such notice or other communication shall have been directed, (ii) deliver by electronic mail, on the date of delivery, or (iii) mailed by certified or registered mail with postage prepaid, on the third business day after the date on which it is so mailed:
If to Indemnitee, to the address set forth in the signature page hereto.
If to the Company, to:
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
888 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
Attn: Brett Johnson, Chief Executive Officer
or to such other address or such other person as Indemnitee or the Company shall designate in writing in accordance with this Section, except that notices regarding changes in notices shall be effective only upon receipt.
24. Governing Law.
The parties agree that this Agreement shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts made and performed in that state without giving effect to the principles of conflicts of laws. The Company and Indemnitee each hereby irrevocably consents to the jurisdiction of the courts of the State of New York for all purposes in connection with any action or proceeding that arises out of or relates to this Agreement and agrees that any action instituted under this Agreement shall be brought only in the courts of the State of New York.
25. Monetary Damages Insufficient; Specific Performance.
The Company and Indemnitee agree that a monetary remedy for breach of this Agreement may be inadequate, impracticable and difficult of proof, and further agree that such breach may cause Indemnitee irreparable harm. Accordingly, the parties hereto agree that Indemnitee may enforce this Agreement by seeking injunctive relief and/or specific performance hereof, without any necessity of showing actual damage or irreparable harm (having agreed that actual and irreparable harm will result in not forcing the Company to specifically perform its obligations pursuant to this Agreement) and that by seeking injunctive relief and/or specific performance, Indemnitee shall not be precluded from seeking or obtaining any other relief to which he may be entitled. The Company and Indemnitee further agree that Indemnitee shall be entitled to such specific performance and injunctive relief, including temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions and permanent injunctions, without the necessity of posting bonds or other undertaking in connection therewith. The Company acknowledges that in the absence of a waiver, a bond or undertaking may be required of Indemnitee by the Court, and the Company hereby waives any such requirement of a bond or undertaking. If Indemnitee seeks mandatory injunctive relief, it shall not be a defense to enforcement of the Company’s obligations set forth in this Agreement that Indemnitee has an adequate remedy at law for damages.
26. Notice by Company.
If the Indemnitee is the subject of, or is, to the knowledge of the Company, implicated in any way during an investigation, whether formal or informal, that is related to Indemnitee’s Corporate Status and that reasonably could lead to a Proceeding for which indemnification can be provided under this Agreement, the Company shall notify the Indemnitee of such investigation and shall share (to the extent legally permissible) with Indemnitee any information it has provided to any third parties concerning the investigation (“Shared Information”). By executing this Agreement, Indemnitee agrees that such Shared Information is material non-public information that Indemnitee is obligated to hold in confidence and may not disclose publicly; provided, however, that Indemnitee may use the Shared Information and disclose such Shared Information to Indemnitee’s legal counsel and third parties, in each case solely in connection with defending Indemnitee from legal liability.
27. Mutual Acknowledgment.
Both the Company and Indemnitee acknowledge that, in certain instances, Federal law or applicable public policy may prohibit the Company from indemnifying its directors and officers under this Agreement or otherwise. Indemnitee understands and acknowledges that the Company has undertaken or may be required in the future in certain circumstances to undertake with the Securities and Exchange Commission to submit the question of indemnification to a court for a determination of the Company’s right under public policy to indemnify Indemnitee.
28. Waiver of Claims to Trust Account.
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Indemnitee hereby agrees that it does not have any right, title, interest or claim of any kind (each, a “Claim”) in or to any monies in the trust account established in connection with the Company’s initial public offering for the benefit of the Company and holders of shares issued in such offering, and hereby waives any Claim it may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to the Company and will not seek recourse against such trust account for any reason whatsoever.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on the day and year first above written.
| THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: |
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| Name: | Brett Johnson | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
| INDEMNITEE | ||
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| Name: |
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| Address: |
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[Signature Page to Indemnification Agreement]
Exhibit 10.9
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
888 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
[●], 2026
Three Lions Sponsor, LLC
888 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
| Re: | Administrative Services Agreement |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This letter agreement (this “Agreement”) by and between Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) and Three Lions Sponsor, LLC (“Sponsor”), dated as of the date hereof, will confirm our agreement that, commencing on the date the securities of the Company are first listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (the “Listing Date”), pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-1 and prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Registration Statement”) and continuing until the earlier of the consummation by the Company of an initial business combination or the Company’s liquidation (in each case as described in the Registration Statement) (such earlier date hereinafter referred to as the “Termination Date”):
1. Sponsor shall make available, or cause to be made available by an affiliate thereof, to the Company, at 888 Prospect Street, La Jolla, CA 92037 or any successor location, office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative services as may be reasonably required by the Company. In exchange therefor, the Company shall pay Sponsor or an affiliate of Sponsor $10,000 per month beginning on the Listing Date and continuing monthly thereafter until the Termination Date; and
2. Sponsor hereby irrevocably waives any and all right, title, interest, causes of action and claims of any kind as a result of, or arising out of, this Agreement (each, a “Claim”) in or to, and any and all right to seek payment of any amounts due to it out of, the trust account established for the benefit of the public shareholders of the Company and into which substantially all of the proceeds of the Company’s initial public offering will be deposited (the “Trust Account”), including any distributions made from the Trust Account to the Company’s public shareholders, and hereby irrevocably waives any Claim it may have in the future, which Claim would reduce, encumber or otherwise adversely affect the Trust Account or any monies or other assets in the Trust Account, and further agrees not to seek recourse, reimbursement, payment or satisfaction of any Claim against the Trust Account or any monies or other assets in the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever.
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the parties hereto in respect of its subject matter and supersedes all prior understandings, agreements, or representations by or among the parties hereto, written or oral, to the extent they relate in any way to the subject matter hereof or the transactions contemplated hereby.
This Agreement may not be amended, modified or waived as to any particular provision, except by a written instrument executed by the parties hereto.
No party hereto may assign either this Agreement or any of its rights, interests, or obligations hereunder without the prior written approval of the other party. Any purported assignment in violation of this paragraph shall be void and ineffectual and shall not operate to transfer or assign any interest or title to the purported assignee.
This Agreement constitutes the entire relationship of the parties hereto, and any litigation between the parties, whether grounded in contract, tort, statute, law or equity, shall be governed by, construed in accordance with, and interpreted pursuant to the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to conflicts of laws principles that would result in the application of the substantive laws of another jurisdiction.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | Brett Johnson | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
| AGREED AND ACCEPTED BY: | ||
| THREE LIONS SPONSOR, LLC | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
[Signature page to Administrative Services Agreement]
Exhibit 10.10
SHARE ESCROW AGREEMENT
This Share Escrow Agreement, dated as of [•], 2026 (“Agreement”), by and among Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), Three Lions Sponsor, LLC (the “Sponsor”) and each of the initial shareholders listed on Exhibit A attached hereto, severally and not jointly (together with the Sponsor, each, an “Initial Shareholder” and collectively the “Initial Shareholders”) and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York corporation (the “Escrow Agent”).
WHEREAS, the Company has entered into an Underwriting Agreement, dated as of [•], 2026 (“Underwriting Agreement”), with EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. (“EBC”), acting as the representative of the underwriters (collectively, the “Underwriters”), pursuant to which, among other matters, the Underwriters have agreed to purchase 10,000,000 units (“Units”) of the Company, plus an additional 1,500,000 Units if the Underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full. Each Unit consists of one ordinary share of the Company, $0.0001 par value (“Ordinary Shares”), and one-half of one warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, all as more fully described in the Company’s final Prospectus, dated [•], 2026 (“Prospectus”), comprising part of the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333- 297177) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Registration Statement”), effective as of [•], 2026 (“Effective Date”).
WHEREAS, the Initial Shareholders have agreed as a condition of the sale of the Units to deposit their Ordinary Shares, as set forth opposite their respective names in Exhibit A attached hereto, in escrow as hereinafter provided.
WHEREAS, the Company and the Initial Shareholders desire that the Escrow Agent accept the Ordinary Shares, in escrow, to be held and disbursed as hereinafter provided.
IT IS AGREED:
1. Appointment of Escrow Agent. The Company and the Initial Shareholders hereby appoint the Escrow Agent to act in accordance with and subject to the terms of this Agreement and the Escrow Agent hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to act in accordance with and subject to such terms.
2. Deposit of Escrow Shares. On or prior to the date hereof, the Initial Shareholders’ Ordinary Shares set forth on Exhibit A hereto shall be deposited in escrow, to be held and disbursed subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. The Initial Shareholders acknowledge that the Ordinary Shares deposited in escrow will be legended to reflect the deposit of such shares under this Agreement.
3. Disbursement of the Escrow Shares.
3.1 If the over-allotment option to purchase all or a portion of the additional 1,500,000 Units of the Company is not exercised in full within 45 days of the date of the Prospectus (as described in the Underwriting Agreement), the Sponsor agrees that the Escrow Agent shall return to the Company for cancellation, at no cost, the number of Ordinary Shares determined by multiplying 500,000 by a fraction, (i) the numerator of which is 1,500,000 minus the number of Ordinary Shares included in the Units purchased by the Underwriters upon the exercise of the over-allotment option, and (ii) the denominator of which is 1,500,000. The Company shall promptly provide notice to the Escrow Agent of the expiration or termination of the over-allotment option and the number of Units, if any, purchased by the Underwriters in connection with the exercise thereof.
3.2 Except as otherwise set forth herein, the Escrow Agent shall hold the shares remaining after any cancellation required pursuant to Section 3.1 above (such remaining shares to be referred to herein as the “Escrow Shares”) until the earlier of (i) the six-month anniversary of the date of the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination (as defined in the Registration Statement) and (ii) the date on which subsequent to the initial Business Combination, the Company consummates a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Ordinary Shares for cash, securities or other property (such period of time during which the Escrow Shares are held in escrow, the
“Escrow Period”). Upon the occurrence of any of the conditions set forth above, the Company shall promptly provide notice to the Escrow Agent, in form reasonably acceptable to the Escrow Agent. Upon completion of the Escrow Period, the Escrow Agent shall disburse such amount of each Initial Shareholders’ Escrow Shares to the Initial Shareholders. The Escrow Agent shall have no further duties hereunder after the disbursement of the Escrow Shares in accordance with this Section 3.2.
3.3 Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3.2, if the Escrow Agent is notified by the Company pursuant to Section 6.7 hereof that the Company’s Trust Account (as defined in that certain Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated as of the date hereof, by and between the Company and the Escrow Agent as trustee thereunder) is being liquidated, then the Escrow Agent shall deliver the certificates representing the Escrow Shares to the Initial Shareholders promptly after the public shareholders are paid the liquidating distributions and shall have no further duties hereunder.
4. Rights of Initial Shareholders in Escrow Shares.
4.1 Voting Rights as a Shareholder. Subject to the terms of the Insider Letter described in Section 4.4 hereof and except as herein provided, the Initial Shareholders shall retain all of their rights as holders of the Escrow Shares during the Escrow Period, including, without limitation, the right to vote such shares.
4.2 Dividends and Other Distributions in Respect of the Escrow Shares. During the Escrow Period, all dividends payable in cash with respect to the Escrow Shares shall be paid to the Initial Shareholders, but all dividends payable in shares or other non-cash property (“Non-Cash Dividends”) shall be delivered to the Escrow Agent to hold in accordance with the terms hereof. As used herein, the term “Escrow Shares” shall be deemed to include the Non-Cash Dividends distributed thereon, if any.
4.3 Restrictions on Transfer. During the Escrow Period, the only permitted transfers of the Escrow Shares will be (i) to the Sponsor, the Company’s officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of the Sponsor or the Company’s officers or directors, any members of the Initial Shareholders, or any affiliate of the Initial Shareholders; (ii) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family, to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (iii) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (iv) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (v) by private sales or transfers made at or prior to the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (vi) by virtue of the laws of the State of Delaware or the organizational documents of the Sponsor upon dissolution of the Sponsor; (vii) by any applicable Initial Shareholder pursuant to rights granted to it pursuant to that certain letter agreement entered into by and between the Company and such Initial Shareholder (each, a “Subscription Agreement”), setting forth the terms of its subscription for Purchased Units (as defined in the Subscription Agreement): and (viii) to us for no value for cancellation in connection with the consummation of our business combination; provided, however, that in each case (except for clause (viii) or with the Company’s consent), these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by this Agreement and these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the Insider Letter (as defined below).
4.4 Insider Letter. Each of the Initial Shareholders has executed a letter agreement with EBC and the Company, dated as of the date hereof, and the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement (the “Insider Letter”), respecting the rights and obligations of such Initial Shareholder in certain events, including but not limited to the liquidation of the Company.
5. Concerning the Escrow Agent.
5.1 Good Faith Reliance. The Escrow Agent shall not be liable for any action taken or omitted by it in good faith and in the exercise of its own best judgment, and may rely conclusively and shall be protected in acting upon any order, notice, demand, certificate, opinion or advice of counsel (including counsel chosen by the Escrow Agent), statement, instrument, report or other paper or document (not only as to its due execution and the validity and effectiveness of its provisions, but also as to the truth and acceptability of any information therein contained) which is believed by the Escrow Agent to be genuine and to be signed or presented by the proper person or persons. The Escrow Agent shall not be bound by any notice or demand, or any waiver, modification, termination or rescission of this Agreement unless evidenced by a writing delivered to the Escrow Agent signed by the proper party or parties and, if the duties or rights of the Escrow Agent are affected, unless it shall have given its prior written consent thereto.
5.2 Indemnification. Subject to Section 5.8 hereof, the Escrow Agent shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company from and against any expenses, including reasonable counsel fees and disbursements, or loss suffered by the Escrow Agent in connection with any action, suit or other proceeding involving any claim which in any way, directly or indirectly, arises out of or relates to this Agreement, the services of the Escrow Agent hereunder, or the Escrow Shares held by it hereunder, other than expenses or losses arising from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Escrow Agent. Promptly after the receipt by the Escrow Agent of notice of any demand or claim or the commencement of any action, suit or proceeding, the Escrow Agent shall notify the other parties hereto in writing. In the event of the receipt of such notice, the Escrow Agent, in its sole discretion, may commence an action in the nature of interpleader in an appropriate court to determine ownership or disposition of the Escrow Shares or it may deposit the Escrow Shares with the clerk of any appropriate court or it may retain the Escrow Shares pending receipt of a final, non-appealable order of a court having jurisdiction over all of the parties hereto directing to whom and under what circumstances the Escrow Shares are to be disbursed and delivered. The provisions of this Section 5.2 shall survive in the event the Escrow Agent resigns or is discharged pursuant to Sections 5.5 or 5.6 below.
5.3 Compensation. The Escrow Agent shall be entitled to reasonable compensation from the Company for all services rendered by it hereunder. The Escrow Agent shall also be entitled to reimbursement from the Company for all expenses paid or incurred by it in the administration of its duties hereunder including, but not limited to, all counsel, advisors’ and agents’ fees and disbursements and all taxes or other governmental charges.
5.4 Further Assurances. From time to time on and after the date hereof, the Company and the Initial Shareholders shall deliver or cause to be delivered to the Escrow Agent such further documents and instruments and shall do or cause to be done such further acts as the Escrow Agent shall reasonably request to carry out more effectively the provisions and purposes of this Agreement, to evidence compliance herewith or to assure itself that it is protected in acting hereunder.
5.5 Resignation. The Escrow Agent may resign at any time and be discharged from its duties as escrow agent hereunder by its giving the other parties hereto written notice and such resignation shall become effective as hereinafter provided. Such resignation shall become effective at such time that the Escrow Agent shall turn over to a successor escrow agent appointed by the Company, the Escrow Shares held hereunder. If no new escrow agent is so appointed within the 60 day period following the giving of such notice of resignation, the Escrow Agent may deposit the Escrow Shares with any court it reasonably deems appropriate.
5.6 Discharge of Escrow Agent. The Escrow Agent shall resign and be discharged from its duties as escrow agent hereunder if so requested in writing at any time by the other parties hereto, jointly, provided, however, that such resignation shall become effective only upon acceptance of appointment by a successor escrow agent as provided in Section 5.5.
5.7 Liability. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Escrow Agent shall not be relieved from liability hereunder for its own gross negligence or its own willful misconduct.
5.8 Waiver. The Escrow Agent hereby waives any right of set-off or any other right, title, interest or claim of any kind (“Claim”) in, or to any distribution of, the Trust Account and hereby agrees not to seek recourse, reimbursement, payment or satisfaction for any Claim against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever.
6. Miscellaneous.
6.1 Governing Law; Venue. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PLACE WHERE THIS AGREEMENT MAY BE EXECUTED BY ANY OF THE PARTIES HERETO, THE PARTIES EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK AS APPLIED TO AGREEMENTS AMONG NEW YORK RESIDENTS ENTERED INTO AND TO BE PERFORMED ENTIRELY WITHIN NEW YORK. ANY LEGAL SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR BASED UPON THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY MAY BE INSTITUTED IN THE FEDERAL COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES OR THE COURTS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK IN EACH CASE LOCATED IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, AND EACH PARTY IRREVOCABLY SUBMITS TO THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF SUCH COURTS IN ANY SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING.
6.2 Waiver of Jury Trial. THE PARTIES HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVE, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
6.3 Third Party Beneficiaries. The Escrow Agent and the Initial Shareholders hereby acknowledge that EBC is a third party beneficiary of this Agreement and this Agreement may not be modified or changed without the prior written consent of EBC.
6.4 Entire Agreement. This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and, except as expressly provided herein, may not be changed or modified except by an instrument in writing signed by the party to the charged.
6.5 Headings. The headings contained in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation thereof.
6.6 Binding Effect. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the respective parties hereto and their legal representatives, successors and assigns.
6.7 Notices. Any notice or other communication required or which may be given hereunder shall be in writing and either be delivered personally or by electronic mail or be mailed, certified or registered mail, or by private national courier service, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, and shall be deemed given when so delivered personally or by electronic mail or, if mailed, two days after the date of mailing, as follows:
If to the Company, to:
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
888 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
Attn: Brett Johnson, Chief Executive Officer
If to an Initial Shareholder, to the address set forth in Exhibit A.
and
If to the Escrow Agent, to:
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company
1 State Street, 30th Floor
New York, New York 10004
Attn: Compliance Department
A copy (which copy shall not constitute notice) of any notice sent hereunder shall also be sent to:
EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.
366 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10017
Attn: General Counsel
and:
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
1750 Tysons Boulevard
Suite 1000
McLean, Virginia 22102
Attn: Alan Annex and Jason Simon
Email: aannex@gtlaw.com and Jason.simon@gtlaw.com
and:
Graubard Miller
The Chrysler Building
405 Lexington Avenue, 44th Floor
Attn: Jeffrey Michael Gallant
Email: JGallant@graubard.com
The parties may change the persons and addresses to which the notices or other communications are to be sent by giving written notice to any such change in the manner provided herein for giving notice.
6.8 Liquidation of the Company. The Company shall give the Escrow Agent written notification of the liquidation and dissolution of the Company in the event that the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination within the time period specified in the Prospectus.
6.9. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the other party, it being understood that both parties need not sign the same counterpart. In the event that any signature is delivered in pdf format via electronic mail, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such signature page were an original thereof.
WITNESS the execution of this Agreement as of the date first above written.
| COMPANY: | ||
| THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | Brett Johnson | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
| INITIAL SHAREHOLDERS: | ||
| THREE LIONS SPONSOR, LLC | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| JEFFREY G. BROCK | ||
| By: |
| |
| JAMES CULP | ||
| By: |
| |
| JEFFREY A. DUNHAM | ||
| By: |
| |
| [ ] | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| [ ] | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
[Signature Page to Share Escrow Agreement]
EXHIBIT A
| Name and Address of Initial Shareholders[1] |
Number of Shares |
|||
| Three Lions Sponsor, LLC |
[ | •] | ||
| Jeffrey G. Brock |
25,000 | |||
| James Culp |
25,000 | |||
| Jeffrey A. Dunham |
25,000 | |||
| [ ] |
[ | •] | ||
| [ ] |
[ | •] | ||
| [1] | The address of each of the individuals is c/o Three Lions Acquisition Corp, 888 Prospect Street, La Jolla, CA 92037. |
Exhibit 10.11
EARLYBIRDCAPITAL, INC.
366 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10017
___________, 2026
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
888 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This is to confirm our agreement (this “Agreement”) whereby Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (“Company”), has requested EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. (the “Advisor”) to assist it in connection with the Company’s merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination (in each case, a “Business Combination”) with one or more businesses or entities (each a “Target”) as described in the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-297177) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Registration Statement”) in connection with its initial public offering (“IPO”).
1. Services and Fees.
(a) The Advisor will, if requested by the Company:
(i) Assist the Company in the transaction structuring and negotiation of a definitive purchase agreement with respect to the Business Combination;
(ii) Hold meetings to discuss the Business Combination and the Target’s attributes with Company shareholders who request such meetings;
(iii) Attempt to introduce the Company to potential investors to purchase the Company’s securities in connection with the Business Combination; and
(iv) Assist the Company with relevant financial analysis, presentations, press releases and filings related to the Business Combination.
(b) As compensation for the foregoing services, the Company will pay the Advisor a fee of up to 3.5% of the gross proceeds received by the Company in the IPO (“Transaction Fee”). The Transaction Fee shall be payable as follows: (i) 1.5% of the gross proceeds received by the Company in the IPO shall be paid to the Advisor in cash, (ii) up to 1.0% of the gross proceeds received by the Company in the IPO shall be paid to the Advisor in cash in proportion to the amount of capital retained in the Trust Account (defined below) following the initial Business Combination after honoring the redemption rights of public shareholders of the Company, and (iii) 1.0% of the gross proceeds received by the Company in the IPO shall be payable in the form of a convertible note, containing customary terms, convertible into the Company’s ordinary shares commencing six months after the Closing (as the term “Closing” is defined below).
(c) In addition to the Transaction Fee, the Company shall pay to Advisor a cash fee equal to 1.0% of the Total Consideration (as the term “Total Consideration” is defined below) in the event Advisor introduces the Company to the Target with which the Company completes a Business Combination (“Finder Fee” and together with the Transaction Fee, the “Fee”).
(d) The Transaction Fee and any Finder Fee, if applicable, shall be payable to the Advisor by wire transfer at the closing of the Business Combination (“Closing”) from the Trust Account (defined below) and from the Company’s other sources if there are not enough funds held in the Trust Account to pay the entire Fee; provided that the Finder Fee shall not be paid prior to the date that is 60 days from the effective date of the Registration Statement unless the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with the IPO. If a proposed Business Combination is not consummated for any reason, no Fee shall be due or payable to the Advisor hereunder.
(e) For purposes of this Agreement, “Total Consideration” shall mean the total value of all cash, securities, or other property paid or transferred at the Closing (or Closings) by or to the Company, the Target and/or their respective shareholders or to be paid or transferred in the future to such parties with respect to such Business Combination (other than payments of interest or dividends), including, without limitation, any value paid in respect of (i) the assets of the Company or Target, (ii) the share capital of the Company or Target (and any securities convertible into share capital, including options, warrants or other rights to acquire shares), and (iii) the assumption, retirement or defeasance, directly or indirectly (by operation of law or otherwise), of any long-term liabilities of the Company or Target or repayment of indebtedness, including, without limitation, indebtedness secured by the assets of the Company or Target, capital leases or preferred shares obligations. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Business Combination contemplates the Target or newly formed holding company being the surviving entity in the Business Combination and issuing its securities to the Company’s security holders as consideration, the Total Consideration will be deemed to be the fair market value of the Target as indicated in the Business Combination’s definitive acquisition agreement and proxy materials. If Total Consideration paid or transferred in the Business Combination includes non-cash consideration consisting of ordinary shares, options, warrants or rights for which a public trading market existed prior to the Closing, then the value of such securities shall be determined by the closing or last sales price thereof on the date that is two business days prior to the record date for the vote on the Business Combination. If all or a portion of the Total Consideration paid or transferred in the Business Combination is other than cash and securities (as described above), then the value of such other consideration shall be the fair market value thereof on the Closing as mutually agreed upon in good faith by the Company and Advisor. Any amounts payable or transferable to the Company or Target, or any affiliate of the Company or Target or any shareholder of the Company or Target in connection with a non-competition agreement or any employment, consulting, licensing, supply, transfer, assignment, forbearance or other agreement (whether by separate agreement or in the Transaction documents), to the extent that such amounts payable are greater than what would customarily be paid on an arms-length basis, shall be deemed to be part of the Total Consideration paid in the Business Combination. If all or a portion of the Total Consideration payable or transferable in connection with a Business Combination includes future payments, whether or not in escrow, then the Company shall pay Advisor any additional cash fee, determined in accordance with this Section 1, when, and if such payments are made.
2. Expenses.
At the Closing, the Company shall reimburse the Advisor up to $20,000 for its reasonable costs and expenses incurred (including the fees and disbursements of its counsel) in connection with the performance of its services hereunder; provided, however, all expenses in excess of $5,000 in the aggregate shall be subject to the Company’s prior written approval, which approval will not be unreasonably withheld. Reimbursable expenses shall be due and payable to the Advisor by wire transfer at the Closing from the Trust Account and from the Company’s other sources if there are not enough funds in the Trust Account to pay all the expenses.
3. Company Cooperation.
The Company will cooperate with the Advisor including, but not limited to, providing to the Advisor and its counsel, on a timely basis, all documents and information regarding the Company and Target that the Advisor may reasonably request or that are otherwise relevant to the Advisor’s performance of its obligations hereunder (collectively, the “Information”); making the Company’s management, auditors, consultants and advisors available to the Advisor; and, using commercially reasonable efforts to provide the Advisor with reasonable access to the management, auditors, suppliers, customers, consultants and advisors of Target. The Company will promptly notify the Advisor of any change in facts or circumstances or new developments affecting the Company or Target or that might reasonably be considered material to the Advisor’s engagement hereunder.
Additionally, the Company hereby acknowledges and confirms its obligations under Sections 3.31 and 3.32 of the Underwriting Agreement executed by the Company and the Advisor on the date hereof.
4. Representations; Warranties and Covenants.
The Company represents, warrants and covenants to the Advisor that all Information it makes available to the Advisor by or on behalf of the Company in connection with the performance of its obligations hereunder will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading as of the date thereof and as of the consummation of the Business Combination.
5. Indemnity.
The Company shall indemnify the Advisor and its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees, shareholders, representatives and agents in accordance with the indemnification provisions set forth in Annex I hereto, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Notwithstanding the foregoing and Annex I, the Advisor agrees, if there is no Closing, (i) that it does not have any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Company’s trust account established in connection with the IPO (“Trust Account”) with respect to this Agreement (each, a “Claim”); (ii) to waive any Claim it may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to the Company hereunder; and (iii) to not seek recourse against the Trust Account with respect to the Fee.
6. Use of Name and Reports.
Without the Advisor’s prior written consent, neither the Company nor any of its affiliates (nor any director, officer, manager, partner, member, employee, representative or agent thereof) shall quote or refer to, in any filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, any advice rendered by the Advisor to the Company or any communication from the Advisor, in each case, in connection with performance of the Advisor’s services hereunder; provided that, if any such quote or reference is required by applicable federal or state law, regulation or securities exchange rule, then (i) the Company shall provide Advisor with a draft of such disclosure prior to the filing being made; (ii) Advisor shall be given the opportunity to comment on same; and (iii) Advisor’s consent to such disclosure shall not be unreasonably withheld.
7. Status as Independent Contractor.
Advisor shall perform its services as an independent contractor and not as an employee of the Company or affiliate thereof. It is expressly understood and agreed to by the parties that the Advisor shall have no authority to act for, represent or bind the Company or any affiliate thereof in any manner, except as may be expressly agreed to by the Company in writing. In rendering such services, the Advisor will be acting solely pursuant to a contractual relationship on an arm’s-length basis. This Agreement is not intended to create a fiduciary relationship between the parties and neither the Advisor nor any of the Advisor’s officers, directors or personnel will owe any fiduciary duty to the Company or any other person in connection with any of the matters contemplated by this Agreement.
8. Potential Conflicts.
The Company acknowledges that the Advisor is a full-service securities firm engaged in securities trading and brokerage activities and providing investment banking and advisory services from which conflicting interests may arise. Subject to applicable law, in the ordinary course of business, the Advisor and its affiliates may at any time hold long or short positions, and may trade or otherwise effect transactions, for their own account or the accounts of customers, in debt or equity securities of the Company, its affiliates or other entities that may be involved in the transactions contemplated hereby. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to limit or restrict the Advisor or any of its affiliates in conducting such business to the extent permitted by applicable law.
9. Company Acknowledgments.
The Company acknowledges that Advisor: (i) will not be opining or passing upon (A) the fairness to the Company or its shareholders of any Business Combination, or (B) the relative merits of a Business Combination with a particular Target as compared to any alternative transaction; (ii) will rely upon and assume, without independently verifying, the accuracy and completeness of all of the financial and other information that is supplied or otherwise
made available to it and will further rely upon the assurances of the Company’s and Target’s management that they were not aware of any facts or circumstances that would make any such information inaccurate or misleading; (iii) is not a legal, tax, accounting, environmental or regulatory advisor and will not express any views as to any legal, tax, accounting, environmental or regulatory matters relating to a Business Combination and will assume that the Company has obtained or will obtain such advice as it deems necessary or appropriate from qualified legal, tax, accounting, environmental and regulatory experts; (iv) will assume that any projections or financial forecasts provided to it were reasonably prepared on a basis reflecting the best currently available estimates and judgments of the management of the Company and the Target with respect to future financial performance; and (v) may not physically inspect any of Target’s properties or facilities and may not make or obtain any evaluations or appraisals of the Target’s assets or liabilities.
10. Entire Agreement.
This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, oral or written, with respect thereto. This Agreement may not be modified or terminated orally or in any manner other than by an agreement in writing signed by the parties hereto.
11. Notices.
Any notices required or permitted to be given hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given when mailed by Federal Express or other overnight courier addressed to each party at its respective addresses set forth above or to such other address as may be given by a party in a notice provided pursuant to this Section. In addition, notice to the Company may also be provided to Greenberg Traurig, LLP, 1750 Tyson Boulevard, Suite 1000, McLean, Virginia 22102, Attn: Jason Simon, Esq., via Federal Express or other overnight courier or by e-mail to Jason.simon@gtlaw.com, or to such other representative and/or agent in the United States as designated by the Company.
12. Successors and Assigns.
This Agreement may not be assigned by either party without the written consent of the other. This Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and, except where prohibited, to their successors and assigns. Prior to the consummation of a Business Combination, if the Business Combination does not directly or indirectly provide for the assumption of the Company’s obligations hereunder and the Company is not and will not be the surviving public company of such Business Combination, the Company shall ensure that each Target or other surviving parent company agrees to execute and deliver to the Advisor a joinder agreement, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Advisor (such satisfaction not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), pursuant to which it shall join this Agreement as a signatory and a party and thus to be subject to all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
13. Non-Exclusivity.
Nothing herein shall be deemed to restrict or prohibit the engagement by the Company of other consultants providing the same or similar services or the payment by the Company of fees to such other consultants. The Company’s engagement of any other consultant(s) or financial institution(s) shall not (a) create any obligation for the Company to pay the Advisor any additional fee or reimbursement in respect of such services, or (b) affect the Advisor’s right to receive the Fee and reimbursement of expenses pursuant to this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, the Advisor shall only be entitled to the Fee and reimbursement of expenses expressly provided for under this Agreement, and no services rendered by other consultants or banks shall give rise to any payment obligation to the Advisor.
14. Applicable Law; Venue.
This Agreement shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without giving effect to conflict of laws.
In the event of any dispute under this Agreement, including, but not limited to, a failure by the Company to pay the Fee to Advisor, each party hereto agrees that the dispute shall either be (i) resolved through final and binding arbitration in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) or (ii) brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York, County of New York under the accelerated adjudication procedures of the Commercial Division, or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, in each event at the discretion of the party initiating the dispute. Once a party files a dispute (if arbitration, by filing a Demand for Arbitration with AAA) or commences an action in one of the above forums, the parties agree that all issues regarding such dispute or this Agreement must be resolved before such forum rather than seeking to resolve it through another alternative forum set forth above.
In the event the dispute is brought before the AAA, the arbitration shall be brought before the AAA’s offices in New York City, New York, will be conducted in English and will be decided by a panel of three arbitrators selected from the AAA Commercial Disputes Panel. Each of the parties agrees that the decision and/or award made by the arbitrators shall be final and enforceable by any court having jurisdiction over the party from whom enforcement is sought. The prevailing party shall move to confirm any arbitration award within ten (10) business days of receipt of the award and the losing party shall not oppose such application or seek to vacate the award.
In the event the dispute is brought by a party in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, each party irrevocably submits to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be exclusive. Each party hereby waives any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction or that such courts represent an inconvenient forum. Any such process, summons and/or complaint to be served upon a party may be served by transmitting a copy thereof by Federal Express or other overnight courier, addressed to such party at the address set forth at the beginning of this Agreement. Such delivery shall be deemed personal service and shall be legal and binding upon the party being served in any action, proceeding or claim. The parties agree that the prevailing party(ies) in any such action shall be entitled to recover from the other party(ies) all of its reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses incurred in such action, proceeding or arbitration.
In the alternative, the Company hereby appoints Greenberg Traurig, LLP, 1750 Tyson Boulevard, Suite 1000, McLean, Virginia 22102, Attn: Alan Annex, Esq., as its agent to accept and acknowledge on its behalf service of any and all process which may be served in any arbitration, action, proceeding or counterclaim in any way relating to or arising out of this Agreement. The Company further agrees to (i) take any and all action as may be necessary to maintain such designation and appointment of such agent in full force and effect for a period of seven years from the date of this Agreement or (ii) notify Advisor in writing of the name and address of a replacement agent in the United States to accept service of process and any other documents on the Company’s behalf. Service of process on the Company’s agent designated herein shall constitute valid service of process on the Company and shall subject the Company to such jurisdiction as set forth therein.
THE COMPANY (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ON BEHALF OF ITS EQUITY HOLDERS AND CREDITORS) HEREBY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY CLAIM BASED UPON, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT AND THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED BY THIS AGREEMENT, THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE PROSPECTUS.
15. Counterparts.
This Agreement may be executed in several original or facsimile counterparts, each one of which shall constitute an original, and together shall constitute but one instrument.
If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Advisor and the Company with respect to the foregoing, please so indicate your agreement by signing in the place provided below, at which time this letter shall become a binding contract.
| EARLYBIRDCAPITAL, INC | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| AGREED AND ACCEPTED BY:
THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
ANNEX I
Indemnification
In connection with the engagement of EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. (the “Advisor”) pursuant to that certain letter agreement (the “Agreement”) of which this Annex forms a part, Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) hereby agrees, subject to the second paragraph of Section 5 of the Agreement, to indemnify and hold harmless the Advisor and its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, shareholders, agents and employees of any of the foregoing (collectively the “Indemnified Persons”), from and against any and all claims, actions, suits, proceedings (including those of shareholders), damages, liabilities and expenses incurred by any of them (including the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel), as incurred, (collectively a “Claim”), that (A) are related to or arise out of (i) any actions taken or omitted to be taken (including any untrue statements made or any statements omitted to be made) by the Company, or (ii) any actions taken or omitted to be taken by any Indemnified Person in connection with the Company’s engagement of the Advisor, or (B) otherwise relate to or arise out of the Advisor’s activities on the Company’s behalf under the Agreement, and the Company shall reimburse any Indemnified Person for all expenses (including the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel) as incurred by such Indemnified Person in connection with investigating, preparing or defending any such claim, action, suit or proceeding, whether or not in connection with pending or threatened litigation in which any Indemnified Person is a party.
The Company will not, however, be responsible for any Claim that is finally judicially determined to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of any person seeking indemnification for such Claim. The Company further agrees that no Indemnified Person shall have any liability to the Company for or in connection with the Company’s engagement of the Advisor except for any Claim incurred by the Company as a result of such Indemnified Person’s gross negligence or willful misconduct.
The Company further agrees that it will not, without the prior written consent of the Advisor which consent may not be unreasonably withheld, settle, compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any pending or threatened Claim in respect of which indemnification may be sought hereunder (whether or not any Indemnified Person is an actual or potential party to such Claim), unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional, irrevocable release of each Indemnified Person from any and all liability arising out of such Claim.
Promptly upon receipt by an Indemnified Person of notice of any complaint or the assertion or institution of any Claim with respect to which indemnification is being sought hereunder, such Indemnified Person shall notify the Company in writing of such complaint or of such assertion or institution but failure to so notify the Company shall not relieve the Company from any obligation it may have hereunder, except and only to the extent such failure results in the forfeiture by the Company of substantial rights and defenses. If the Company so elects or is requested by such Indemnified Person, the Company will assume the defense of such Claim, including the employment of counsel reasonably satisfactory to such Indemnified Person and the payment of the fees and expenses of such counsel. In the event, however, that legal counsel to such Indemnified Person reasonably determines that having common counsel would present such counsel with a conflict of interest or if the defendant in, or target of, any such Claim, includes an Indemnified Person and the Company, and legal counsel to such Indemnified Person reasonably concludes that there may be legal defenses available to it or other Indemnified Persons different from or in addition to those available to the Company, then such Indemnified Person may employ its own separate counsel to represent or defend him, her or it in any such Claim and the Company shall pay the reasonable fees and expenses of such counsel. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if the Company fails timely or diligently to defend, contest, or otherwise protect against any Claim, the relevant Indemnified Party shall have the right, but not the obligation, to defend, contest, compromise, settle, assert crossclaims, or counterclaims or otherwise protect against the same, and shall be fully indemnified by the Company therefor, including without limitation, for the reasonable fees and expenses of its counsel and all amounts paid as a result of such Claim or the compromise or settlement thereof.
In addition, with respect to any Claim in which the Company assumes the defense, the Indemnified Person shall have the right to participate in such Claim and to retain his, her or its own counsel therefor at his, her or its own expense.
The Company agrees that if any indemnity sought by an Indemnified Person hereunder is held by a court to be unavailable for any reason then (whether or not the Advisor is an Indemnified Person), the Company and the Advisor shall contribute to the Claim for which such indemnity is held unavailable in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits to the Company, on the one hand, and the Advisor on the other, in connection with the Advisor’s engagement referred to above, subject to the limitation that in no event shall the amount of the Advisor’s contribution to such Claim exceed the amount of fees actually received by the Advisor from the Company pursuant to the Advisor’s engagement. The Company hereby agrees that the relative benefits to the Company, on the one hand, and the Advisor on the other, with respect to the Advisor’s engagement shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as (a) the total value paid or proposed to be paid or received by the Company or its shareholders as the case may be, pursuant to the transaction (whether or not consummated) for which the Advisor is engaged to render services bears to (b) the fee paid or proposed to be paid to the Advisor in connection with such engagement.
The Company’s indemnity, reimbursement and contribution obligations under this Agreement (a) shall be in addition to, and shall in no way limit or otherwise adversely affect any rights that any Indemnified Party may have at law or at equity and (b) shall be effective whether or not the Company is at fault in any way.
Exhibit 10.12
THIS PROMISSORY NOTE (THIS “NOTE”) HAS NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”). THIS NOTE HAS BEEN ACQUIRED FOR INVESTMENT ONLY AND MAY NOT BE SOLD, TRANSFERRED OR ASSIGNED IN THE ABSENCE OF REGISTRATION OF THE RESALE THEREOF UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR AN OPINION OF COUNSEL REASONABLY SATISFACTORY IN FORM, SCOPE AND SUBSTANCE TO THE MAKER THAT SUCH REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED.
AMENDED AND RESTATED PROMISSORY NOTE
| Principal Amount: Up to $150,000 | Dated as of August 6, 2026 |
Three Lions Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Maker”), promises to pay to the order of Three Lions Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, or its registered assigns or successors in interest (the “Payee”), the principal sum of One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000), or such lesser amount as may have been advanced by Payee to Maker and remains unpaid under this Note, in lawful money of the United States of America, on the terms and conditions described below. All payments on this Note shall be made by check or wire transfer of immediately available funds or as otherwise determined by the Maker to such account as the Payee may from time to time designate by written notice in accordance with the provisions of this Note. This Note amends, replaces and supersedes in its entirety that certain promissory note, dated March 23, 2026, made by the Maker in favor of the Payee (the “Original Note”), and the unpaid principal balance of the indebtedness evidenced by the Original Note is being merged into and will hereafter be evidenced by this Note.
1. Principal. The principal balance of Note shall be payable on the earlier of: (i) September 30, 2026, and (ii) the date on which Maker consummates an initial public offering of its securities (the “IPO”). The principal balance may be prepaid at any time. Under no circumstances shall any individual, including but not limited to any officer, director, employee or shareholder of the Maker, be obligated personally for any obligations or liabilities of the Maker hereunder.
2. Interest. No interest shall accrue on the unpaid principal balance of this Note.
3. Drawdown Requests. The principal of this Note may be drawn down from time to time prior to the earlier of: (i) September 30, 2026, and (ii) the date on which Maker consummates the IPO, upon request from Maker to Payee (each, a “Drawdown Request”). Payee shall fund each Drawdown Request within two (2) business days after receipt of a Drawdown Request; provided, however, that the maximum amount of drawdowns collectively permitted under this Note is One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000). Once an amount is drawn down under this Note, it shall not be available for future Drawdown Requests even if prepaid. No fees, payments or other amounts shall be due to Payee in connection with, or as a result of, any Drawdown Request by Maker.
4. Application of Payments. All payments shall be applied first to payment in full of any costs incurred in the collection of any sum due under this Note, including (without limitation) reasonable attorney’s fees, then to the payment in full of any late charges and finally to the reduction of the unpaid principal balance of this Note.
5. Events of Default. The following shall constitute an event of default (“Event of Default”):
(a) Failure to Make Required Payments. Failure by Maker to pay the principal amount due pursuant to this Note within five (5) business days of the date specified in Section 1 above.
(b) Voluntary Bankruptcy, Etc. The commencement by Maker of a voluntary case under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, rehabilitation or other similar law, or the consent by it to the appointment of or taking possession by a receiver, liquidator, assignee, trustee, custodian, sequestrator (or other similar official) of Maker or for any substantial part of its property, or the making by it of any assignment for the benefit of creditors, or the failure of Maker generally to pay its debts as such debts become due, or the taking of corporate action by Maker in furtherance of any of the foregoing.
(c) Involuntary Bankruptcy, Etc. The entry of a decree or order for relief by a court having jurisdiction in the premises in respect of Maker in an involuntary case under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law, or appointing a receiver, liquidator, assignee, custodian, trustee, sequestrator (or similar official) of Maker or for any substantial part of its property, or ordering the winding-up or liquidation of its affairs, and the continuance of any such decree or order unstayed and in effect for a period of 60 consecutive days.
6. Remedies.
(a) Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default specified in Section 5(a) hereof, Payee may, by written notice to Maker, declare this Note to be due immediately and payable, whereupon the unpaid principal amount of this Note, and all other amounts payable thereunder, shall become immediately due and payable without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby expressly waived, anything contained herein or in the documents evidencing the same to the contrary notwithstanding.
(b) Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default specified in Sections 5(b) or 5(c), the unpaid principal balance of this Note, and all other sums payable with regard to this Note, shall automatically and immediately become due and payable, in all cases without any action on the part of Payee.
7. Waivers. Maker and all endorsers and guarantors of, and sureties for, this Note waive presentment for payment, demand, notice of dishonor, protest, and notice of protest with regard to the Note, all errors, defects and imperfections in any proceedings instituted by Payee under the terms of this Note, and all benefits that might accrue to Maker by virtue of any present or future laws exempting any property, real or personal, or any part of the proceeds arising from any sale of any such property, from attachment, levy or sale under execution, or providing for any stay of execution, exemption from civil process, or extension of time for payment; and Maker agrees that any real estate that may be levied upon pursuant to a judgment obtained by virtue hereof, on any writ of execution issued hereon, may be sold upon any such writ in whole or in part in any order desired by Payee.
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8. Unconditional Liability. Maker hereby waives all notices in connection with the delivery, acceptance, performance, default, or enforcement of the payment of this Note, and agrees that its liability shall be unconditional, without regard to the liability of any other party, and shall not be affected in any manner by any indulgence, extension of time, renewal, waiver or modification granted or consented to by Payee, and consents to any and all extensions of time, renewals, waivers, or modifications that may be granted by Payee with respect to the payment or other provisions of this Note, and agrees that additional makers, endorsers, guarantors, or sureties may become parties hereto without notice to Maker or affecting Maker’s liability hereunder.
9. Notices. All notices, statements or other documents which are required or contemplated by this Agreement shall be in writing and delivered: (i) personally or sent by first class registered or certified mail, overnight courier service to the address designated in writing by such party, (ii) by facsimile to the number most recently provided to such party or such other address or fax number as may be designated in writing by such party, or (iii) by electronic mail, to the electronic mail address most recently provided to such party or such other electronic mail address as may be designated in writing by such party. Any notice or other communication so transmitted shall be deemed to have been given on the day of delivery, if delivered personally, on the business day following receipt of written confirmation, if sent by facsimile or electronic mail, one (1) business day after delivery to an overnight courier service, or five (5) days after mailing if sent by mail.
10. Construction and Governing Law. THIS NOTE SHALL BE CONSTRUED AND ENFORCED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE, WITHOUT REGARD TO CONFLICT OF LAW PROVISIONS THEREOF.
11. Severability. Any provision contained in this Note which is prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.
12. Trust Waiver. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Payee hereby waives any and all right, title, interest or claim of any kind (“Claim”) in or to any distribution of or from the trust account to be established in which the proceeds of the IPO and the proceeds of the sale of the units issued in private placements to occur prior to the consummation of the IPO are to be deposited, as described in greater detail in the registration statement and prospectus to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the IPO, and hereby agrees not to seek recourse, reimbursement, payment or satisfaction for any Claim against the trust account for any reason whatsoever.
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13. Amendment; Waiver. Any amendment hereto or waiver of any provision hereof may be made with, and only with, the written consent of the Maker and the Payee, except to the extent deemed given by Maker pursuant to Section 8 above.
14. Assignment. No assignment or transfer of this Note or any rights or obligations hereunder may be made by any party hereto (by operation of law or otherwise) without the prior written consent of the other party hereto and any attempted assignment without the required consent shall be void.
[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Maker, intending to be legally bound hereby, has caused this Note to be duly executed by the undersigned as of the day and year first above written.
ACKNOWLEDGED AND AGREED:
| THREE LIONS SPONSOR, LLC | ||
| By: | /s/ Harry Brandler | |
| Name: | Harry Brandler | |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer | |
Exhibit 10.13
August __, 2026
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
888 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
Gentlemen:
Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”), a blank check company formed in the Cayman Islands for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses (a “Business Combination”), intends to register its securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”), pursuant to its registration statement on Form S-1 initially filed on June 30, 2026 (as may be amended, the “Registration Statement”) in connection with its initial public offering (“IPO”).
Subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth herein, each of the undersigned entities, severally and not jointly (collectively referred to herein as the “undersigned”),hereby subscribes for and commits to collectively purchase an aggregate of [_____] units (the “Purchased Units”) of the Company (“Placement Units”), each Placement Unit currently intended to consist of one Class A ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share (“Ordinary Share”), of the Company, and one-half of one warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder to purchase one Ordinary Share at a price of $11.50 per share (subject to adjustment), at $10.00 per Purchased Unit, for an aggregate purchase price of [$_______] (the “Purchase Price”). Subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth herein, at least two business days prior to the anticipated effective date of the Registration Statement (which date the Company shall inform the undersigned as soon as reasonably practicable and, in any case, no later than four (4) business days immediately prior to such effective date), the undersigned will cause the Purchase Price to be delivered to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (“CST”), by wire transfer of immediately available funds as set forth in the instructions attached as Exhibit A, to hold in a non-interest bearing account until the Company consummates the IPO pursuant to the terms of a customary escrow agreement to be entered into between the Company and CST. The Company shall not make a request for payment unless it intends that the Registration Statement will become effective within a four (4) business day period after such request.
In consideration of the above purchase obligations, and subject to the consummation of the sale of the Purchased Units pursuant hereto, on the closing date of the IPO (the “Closing Date”), Three Lions Sponsor, LLC (the “Sponsor”) has agreed, pursuant to a separate letter agreement between the Sponsor and the undersigned, to transfer to the undersigned certain of the founder shares that are currently owned by the Sponsor (the “Transferred Shares”).
The undersigned’s obligation to purchase the Purchased Units and pay the Purchase Price is conditioned upon satisfaction of the following conditions precedent (any or all of which may be waived in writing by the undersigned, as the case may be, in his, her or its sole discretion):
| (i) | As of the date of this letter agreement and on the Closing Date, no legal, administrative or regulatory action, suit or proceeding shall be pending which seeks to restrain or prohibit the transactions contemplated by this letter agreement; |
| (ii) | The Company shall have approved the issuance of the Purchased Units pursuant to this letter agreement in accordance with the applicable laws of the jurisdiction of the Company’s formation and expressly approved this letter agreement; |
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| (iii) | The representations and warranties of the Company contained in this letter agreement shall have been true and correct on the date of this letter agreement and shall be true and correct on the Closing Date of the IPO as if made on the Closing Date, and the Company shall have performed and complied in all material respects with all covenants in this letter agreement to the extent such covenants are to be performed and complied with prior to the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby; and |
| (iv) | the IPO shall have the following terms: (x) each Placement Unit shall be sold at a price of at least $10.00 per Placement Unit and shall consist of one Ordinary Share and one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable to purchase one Ordinary Share at an initial exercise price of $11.50 per Class A Share; (y) the SPAC shall be required by its organizational documents to consummate a Business Combination within twenty-one months of the Closing Date, unless the shareholders of the SPAC vote to extend the date by which a Business Combination must be consummated; and (z) the proceeds from the sale of Placement Units shall be deposited with CST for release only in connection with a Business Combination, redemption of the Ordinary Shares, or liquidation of the SPAC in accordance with the SPAC’s memorandum and articles of association, as in effect at that time. |
The consummation of the purchase and issuance of the Purchased Units shall occur simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO. At the time of the consummation of the IPO, CST shall deposit the Purchase Price, without interest or deduction, into the trust account (“Trust Account”) to be established by the Company for the benefit of the Company’s public shareholders as described in the Registration Statement. If (i) the IPO is not consummated following a request by the Company to fund the Purchase Price, (ii) the IPO is not consummated within two (2) months from the date hereof, or (iii) the conditions set forth herein are not satisfied or waived in writing by the undersigned, this letter agreement shall automatically terminate, unless such date is extended in writing by the undersigned and the Company, and within two business days of such termination, any Purchase Price that has previously been transferred by the undersigned will be returned to the undersigned by wire transfer of immediately available funds in accordance with wire instructions provided by the undersigned, or by such other method as may be reasonably acceptable to the undersigned.
As a condition to the purchase of the Purchased Units pursuant hereto, the undersigned will be required to execute agreements in form and substance typical for transactions of this nature necessary and reasonably acceptable to the undersigned, including but not limited to (i) an insider letter (the “Insider Letter”), (ii) a share escrow agreement (the “Share Escrow Agreement”) and (iii) a registration rights agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), it being acknowledged and agreed that the forms of such agreements attached as exhibits to the Registration Statement are acceptable to the undersigned. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Insider Letter shall include customary provisions applicable to founders and insiders and which will also apply to the undersigned, including agreements:
| • | To vote the Transferred Shares and the Ordinary Shares included in the Purchased Units (the “Placement Shares”) in favor of any proposed Business Combination; |
| • | To not transfer the Purchased Units or underlying securities until the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain exceptions, including those exceptions contained in this letter agreement ; and |
| • | To not participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to the Transferred Shares or Placement Units (but will participate in liquidation distributions with respect to any units or Ordinary Shares purchased by the undersigned in the IPO or in the open market after the IPO) if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination within the required time period. |
Other than the restrictions and other obligations to be contained in the Insider Letter and the registration rights to be contained in the Registration Rights Agreement, the Placement Units will be identical to the units to be sold by the Company in the IPO. Without limiting the provisions of the Registration Rights Agreement, the Company agrees to use its commercially reasonable efforts to file (or cause any successor entity to file) a registration statement covering the resale of the Transferred Shares within 60 business days following the consummation of the initial Business Combination; provided that such obligation shall be deemed satisfied if the Transferred Shares are included in any registration statement on Form S-4 or F-4 filed by the Company (or any successor) in connection with the registration of securities issued in the Business Combination.
The undersigned further acknowledges and agrees that if, in order to consummate any initial Business Combination or extend the amount of time the Company has to consummate an initial Business Combination, the Sponsor is required or otherwise agrees to (i) contribute back to the capital of the Company a portion of any of its founder shares or Placement Units to be cancelled by the Company, (ii) transfer any such securities to third parties, (iii) exchange any such securities for other securities, (iv) amend the terms of all or any portion of such securities or (v) otherwise enter into any arrangements with respect to all or any portion of such securities, the undersigned will contribute back to the capital of the Company or transfer to such third parties, agree to exchange or amend the terms of, or otherwise enter into the same arrangements as the Sponsor, in each case at no cost, with respect to a proportionate number of Transferred Shares, pro rata with the other holders of founder shares, in the case of any contribution back to the capital of the Company for cancellation, after the Sponsor has forfeited a number of founder shares equal to a number of Founder Shares necessary to reduce the aggregate percentage of founder shares from 33% of the shares sold in the IPO to 25% of the shares sold in the IPO (833,333 shares if no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option or 958,333 shares if full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option).
The undersigned hereby represents and warrants to the Company, as of the date hereof and the Closing Date, that:
(a) The undersigned is an “accredited investor” as defined by Rule 501 under the Securities Act and has such knowledge and experience in financial and business matters that the undersigned is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the undersigned’s investment in the Purchased Units and the Transferred Shares (collectively, the “Securities”), of making an informed investment decision with respect thereto, and has the ability and capacity to protect the undersigned’s interests. The undersigned has completed the Accredited Investor Status Checklist attached hereto as Schedule 1 accurately and correctly to reflect the foregoing;
(b) The undersigned understands that (i) the Securities are not presently registered and that, other than as set forth in the Registration Rights Agreement, the Company has no obligation to register the Securities or assist the undersigned in obtaining an exemption from registration; and (ii) the Securities will not be registered under the Securities Act on the grounds that the issuance thereof is exempt under either Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act or Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act as a transaction by an issuer not involving any public offering and that, in the view of the SEC, the statutory basis for the exception claimed would not be present if any of the representations and warranties of the undersigned contained herein are untrue;
(c) The undersigned is purchasing the Securities for investment purposes and not with a view to distribution or resale, nor with the intention of selling, transferring or otherwise disposing of all or any part thereof for any particular price, or at any particular time, or upon the happening of any particular event or circumstance, except selling, transferring, or disposing the Securities made in full compliance with all applicable provisions of the Securities Act, the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC thereunder, and applicable state securities laws; and that the undersigned understands that an investment in the Securities is not a liquid investment;
(d) The undersigned acknowledges that (i) there exists no public market for the Securities, (ii) the Securities, when issued, will be “restricted securities” and as a result, must be held indefinitely unless subsequently registered under the Securities Act or unless an exemption from such registration is available; (iii) the undersigned is aware of the provisions of Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act which permit resales of securities purchased in a private placement subject to certain limitations and to the satisfaction of certain conditions provided for thereunder, and also acknowledges that Rule 144 is not generally available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company;
(e) The undersigned has had both the opportunity to ask questions and receive answers from the officers and directors of the Company and all persons acting on its behalf concerning the terms and conditions of the offer made hereunder and the acquisition of the Securities;
(f) The undersigned is familiar with the proposed business, management, financial condition and affairs of the Company;
(g) The undersigned has all requisite legal and other power and authority to execute and deliver this letter agreement and to carry out and perform the undersigned’s obligations under the terms of this letter agreement; and this letter agreement constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the undersigned, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to laws of general application relating to bankruptcy, insolvency and the relief of debtors and rules of law governing specific performance, injunctive relief or other general principals of equity, whether such enforcement is considered in a proceeding in equity or law;
(h) The undersigned has carefully considered and has discussed with the undersigned’s legal, tax, accounting and financial advisors, to the extent the undersigned has deemed necessary, the suitability of an investment in the Securities and the transactions contemplated hereby for the undersigned’s particular federal, state, local and foreign tax and financial situation and has independently determined that an investment in the Securities and the transactions contemplated hereby are a suitable investment for the undersigned; the undersigned has relied solely on such advisors and not on any statements or representations of the Company, the Sponsor or any of their respective agents; and the undersigned understands that the undersigned (and not the Company or the Sponsor) shall be responsible for the undersigned’s own tax liability that may arise as a result of an investment in the Securities or the transactions contemplated by this letter agreement;
(i) The execution, delivery and performance of and compliance with this letter agreement and the issuance of the Securities will not result in any violation of, or conflict with, or constitute a default under, any of the undersigned’s articles of incorporation, by-laws, operating agreement, partnership agreement, or trust agreement, if applicable, or any agreement to which the undersigned is a party or by which it is bound, nor result in the creation of any mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance or charge against any of the assets or properties of the undersigned or the Securities which, in each case, would have a material adverse effect on the undersigned or its ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by this letter agreement;
(j) The undersigned is not subject to any event that would result in “bad actor” disqualification under Rule 506(d) of Regulation D;
(k) Neither the undersigned, nor, to the undersigned’s knowledge, any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with the undersigned, is (i) the subject of any sanctions administered by the U.S. government (including OFAC), the United Nations, the European Union, the United Kingdom or Mexico, or (ii) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is, or whose government is, the subject of comprehensive sanctions;
(l) The funds used to purchase the Securities are not derived from any unlawful activity and the undersigned is in compliance with applicable anti-money laundering and anti-corruption laws;
(m) The undersigned is not acting in concert with any other person for purposes of forming a “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act) with respect to the Company’s securities, other than as disclosed in the Registration Statement; and
(n) The execution, delivery and performance of this letter agreement by the undersigned do not and will not conflict with, or result in any violation of, any law, regulation, judgment or agreement applicable to the undersigned.
The Company hereby represents and warrants to the undersigned, as of the date hereof and the Closing Date, as follows:
| (a) | The Company is duly organized or formed, validly existing and in good standing (if applicable) under the laws of the Cayman Islands. The Company has the requisite corporate or other legal power and authority to carry on its business and to own, lease and operate all of its properties and assets, as currently conducted, owned, leased or operated. The Company is duly qualified to do business in the jurisdiction in which the nature of its businesses or the character or location of the properties and assets owned, leased or operated by it makes such qualifications necessary other than any failure to be so qualified that, individually and in the aggregate, has not, and is not reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect. Each governing document of the Company is in full force and effect and there are no violations thereof. The Company has full power and authority to execute and deliver this letter agreement, to perform its obligations hereunder and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. |
| (b) | The execution and delivery of this letter agreement, the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder will not (A) conflict with, or result in any violation of or default under (i) any provisions of the Company’s organizational documents, (ii) any agreement, note, contract or other instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company is or the Placement Units are bound, or (iii) any decree, order, statute, law, rule or regulation applicable to the Company or the Placement Units, or (B) result in the creation of any lien upon any of the properties or assets of the Company under any of the terms, conditions or provisions of any contract, whether with or without the giving of notice, the termination of any grace period, or the lapse of time or both, except any, in the case of clauses (A)(ii), (A)(iii) or (B), which would not have or reasonably be expected to have a material adverse impact on the Company or its ability to perform its obligations under this letter agreement and consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. |
| (c) | There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or by any court, public board, government agency, self-regulatory organization or body pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against the Sponsor, the Company or any member, any current or former owner, shareholder, director, manager, officer or employee of the Sponsor or the Company. Neither the Company nor the Sponsor is currently the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury or the U.S. Department of State or the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce. |
| (d) | All necessary action has been duly and validly taken by the Company to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of this letter agreement and the agreements to be entered in herewith by the Company, and the issuance and sale of the Purchased Units to be sold by the Company pursuant to this letter agreement. This letter agreement and the agreements to be entered in herewith has been duly and validly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and constitutes the legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles. |
| (e) | Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof, and registration in the Company’s register of members, the Purchased Units will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof, and registration in the Company’s register of members, the undersigned will have or receive good title to the Purchased Units, free and clear of all liens, claims and encumbrances of any kind, other than (a) transfer restrictions hereunder and other agreements to which the Purchased Units may be subject, (b) transfer restrictions under federal and state securities laws, and (c) liens, claims or encumbrances imposed due to the actions of the undersigned. |
| (f) | The Company shall not require the undersigned to purchase a number of Purchased Units that, when combined with the Transferred Shares, would cause the undersigned to own more than 9.9% of the Ordinary Shares of the Company. |
| (g) | No consent, approval, order or authorization of, or registration, qualification, designation, declaration or filing with, any federal, state or local governmental authority is required on the part of the Company in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this letter agreement. |
| (h) | Neither the Company nor any of its respective subsidiaries or affiliates is or intends to become a “covered foreign person” within the meaning of the Outbound Investment Security Program. “Outbound Investment Security Program” means the regulations implemented by the U.S. Department of the Treasury under Executive Order 14105 “Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern,” as codified at 31 C.F.R. Part 850. |
| (i) | Neither the Company, nor to its knowledge, any person or entity acting on its behalf, has engaged in any form of general solicitation or general advertising (within the meaning of Regulation D under the Securities Act) in connection with the offer or sale of the Purchased Units. |
| (j) | Each of the Company and the Sponsor is in compliance with the applicable terms, conditions, regulations and reporting and disclosure requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act of 2021 (31 U.S.C. § 5336). No officer, managing member or manager of the Company or the Sponsor is or shall become (i) any person that is identified on the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons, the list of Foreign Sanctions Evaders or the Sectorial Sanctions Identifications list (collectively, an “OFAC Listed Person”) published by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, United States Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”), or is restricted from doing business under any statute (including the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (Public Law 107 56) (the “PATRIOT Act”)), executive order (including the September 24, 2001 Executive Order Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism and the Annex thereto, collectively, the “Executive Order”), or other governmental action relating to terrorism financing, terrorism support and/or otherwise relating to terrorism, (ii) any agent, department, or instrumentality of, or any person otherwise beneficially owned by, controlled by or acting on behalf of, directly or indirectly, (A) any OFAC Listed Person or (B) any person that is the target of any sanctions programs administered and/or enforced by OFAC, (iii) any person that is otherwise blocked by or a target of United States economic sanctions, (iv) any person that (A) has been found in violation of, charged with, or convicted of, money laundering, drug trafficking, terrorist-related activities or other money laundering predicate crimes under the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970 (otherwise known as the Bank Secrecy Act), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957, the PATRIOT Act or any other United States law or regulation governing such activities (collectively, “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”) or any United States economic sanctions violations, (B) to the Company’s knowledge after making due inquiry, is under investigation by any governmental authority for possible violation of Anti-Money Laundering Laws or any United States economic sanctions violations, (C) has been assessed civil penalties under any Anti-Money Laundering Laws or any United States economic sanctions, or (D) has had any of its funds seized or forfeited in an action under any Anti-Money Laundering Laws, (v) any person that (A) is owned or controlled by the government of any country or territory that is subject to United States sanctions (the “Sanctioned Countries”) (unless and until any such country or region ceases to be subject to United States sanctions, as evidenced by reference to OFAC’s online resource center |
| (at https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/Programs.aspx) or similar source), (B) is located in any Sanctioned Countries, or (C) does business in or with any Sanctioned Countries, or (vi) any person that (A) is in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (15 U.S.C. §§ 78dd-1, et seq.), (B) is in violation of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act of 2010, or (C) has engaged or will engage in or has conspired or will conspire to engage in any transaction that evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate, any of the prohibitions set forth in the Executive Order or any statutes, laws or regulations referred to in this sentence (a “Prohibited Person”). None of the proceeds of the Purchase Price shall be used to facilitate any business, transactions, or other activity with any Prohibited Person or activities involving the violation of any Anti-Money Laundering Laws. |
| (k) | The Company has not conducted any operations prior to the date of this letter agreement, other than in connection with any preparations for the IPO. |
| (l) | None of the Company, any of its predecessors, any affiliated issuer, any director, executive officer, other officer of the Company participating in the offering hereunder, any beneficial owner of 20% or more of the Company’s outstanding voting equity securities, calculated on the basis of voting power, nor any promoter (as that term is defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) connected with the Company in any capacity at the time of sale (each, an “Issuer Covered Person” and, together, “Issuer Covered Persons”) is subject to any of the “Bad Actor” disqualifications described in Rule 506(d)(1)(i) to (viii) under the Securities Act (a “Disqualification Event”), except for a Disqualification Event covered by Rule 506(d)(2) or (d)(3). The Company has exercised reasonable care to determine whether any Issuer Covered Person is subject to a Disqualification Event. The Company has complied, to the extent applicable, with its disclosure obligations under Rule 506(e), and has furnished to the undersigned a copy of any disclosures provided thereunder. |
From and after the date hereof, the Company shall, without duplication, but subject in all respects to the provisions of the subsequent paragraph, indemnify, defend and hold harmless the undersigned and its affiliates, and its and their respective predecessors, successors and permitted assigns, and its and their respective stockholders, employees, officers, partners, members, trustees, directors, investment advisors, each person or entity who controls the undersigned and agents (each, an “Investor Indemnitee”) from and against any losses, liabilities, obligations, claims, contingencies, damages, costs and expenses, including all judgments, amounts paid in settlements, court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of investigation that any of them may suffer or incur arising out of or resulting from: (i) any inaccuracy in or breach of any representation or warranty in this letter agreement, or (ii) any breach or nonperformance of any of the covenants or other agreements made and to be performed by the Company in this letter agreement. Each Investor Indemnitee is an intended third-party beneficiary with the same rights to enforce the indemnification rights granted hereunder that such Investor Indemnitee would have if such Investor Indemnitee was a party to this letter agreement. Any Investor Indemnitee shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action and participate in the defense thereof.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, neither the undersigned nor any Investor Indemnitee has any right, title, interest or claim of any kind (“Claim”) to, or to any monies in, the Trust Account, and each hereby irrevocably waives any Claim to, or to any monies in, the Trust Account that it may have now or in the future. In the event the undersigned or any Investor Indemnitee has any Claim against the Company under this letter agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, under the immediately preceding paragraph, the undersigned or Investor Indemnitee, as applicable, shall pursue such Claim solely against the Company and its assets outside the Trust Account and not against any monies in the Trust Account.
The Company acknowledges and agrees that it shall not enter into or modify or amend any other letter agreement or similar agreement which grants any other investor any rights or benefits which are more favorable (including, without limitation, with respect to a more favorable purchase price or ratio of founder shares to placement units) than the rights and benefits established in favor of the undersigned under this letter agreement, unless, in any such case, the undersigned has also been provided such rights and benefits pursuant to a written agreement between the undersigned and the Company or the Sponsor, as applicable. In the event that another investor is afforded better terms than were offered to the undersigned, the Company shall so inform the undersigned and offer those terms to the undersigned, in which case this letter agreement shall promptly be amended to effect the same.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein or any of the agreements executed in connection herewith (including the Insider Letter, Share Escrow Agreement and Registration Rights Agreement), the undersigned may directly or indirectly transfer at any time its Purchased Units and/or Transferred Shares to its related entities, affiliates (which affiliates shall include, among others, any undersigned’s owners of an equity interest, investment advisor, other funds managed by the same investment advisor, direct investors, members, shareholders or partners, as the case may be), immediate
family, or to a trust, the primary beneficiary(ies) of which is a member or members of such undersigned’s immediate family (including any distribution by such undersigned to its members, partners or shareholders or other owners of an equity interest (the “Undersigned’s Owners”) or any redemption of the interests in such undersigned held by one or more of the Undersigned’s Owners, and any related distributions or redemptions by the Undersigned’s Owners to their respective members, partners, shareholders or owners of an equity interest), in each case, without consent of the Company or its management (each, a “Permitted Transfer”), provided that the undersigned shall notify the Company in writing of any direct transfer of its Purchased Units and/or Transferred Shares and any such transferee shall, as a condition to such direct transfer of Purchased Units and/or Transferred Shares, execute a joinder to this letter agreement, the Insider Letter and the Share Escrow Agreement, in each case in form reasonably satisfactory to the Company. In connection with a direct transfer of Purchased Units and/or Transferred Shares, the rights and obligations of such undersigned under this letter agreement and all related documents executed in connection herewith shall be assigned to such transferee.
Neither the Company nor the Sponsor shall distribute, furnish or otherwise provide to the undersigned any material non-public information regarding the condition (financial or otherwise), business affairs or prospects of the Company or the Sponsor or the status of any potential Business Combination without first obtaining the prior written consent of the undersigned pursuant to standard “wall-cross” procedures.
Subject to the requirements of law or any request or comments from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the Company agrees not to use or disclose (orally or in writing) the name or identity of the undersigned or any of its affiliates, nor identify the undersigned or any of its affiliates as an investor in the Company, in each case without the prior written consent of the undersigned. The Company agrees that, to its knowledge, the undersigned’s investment in the Company does not constitute a “material interest” in the Company as such term is used in Item 1603(a)(7) of Regulation S K promulgated under the Securities Act. In the event that the undersigned’s investment in the Company constitutes a “material interest” in the Company as such term is used in Item 1603(a)(7) of Regulation S K and the Company or the SPAC is required to make any disclosures thereof, the Company will, and will cause the SPAC to, to the extent legally permissible, in advance of such disclosure, provide the undersigned with prompt written notice of such requirements. The Company also agrees, to the extent legally permissible, to provide the undersigned in advance of any such disclosure, with copies of any proposed disclosure and to cooperate with the undersigned to the extent the undersigned may seek to limit such disclosure.
The undersigned shall execute and deliver such additional instruments (including joinders and instructions to CST) and take such further actions as may reasonably be necessary to carry out the intent and purposes of this letter agreement.
This letter agreement, together with the Insider Letter, the Share Escrow Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the undersigned and the Company with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior oral or written agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. No statement, representation, warranty, covenant or agreement of any kind not expressly set forth in this letter agreement shall affect, or be used to interpret, change or restrict, the express terms and provisions of this letter agreement.
This letter agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts wholly performed within the borders of such state, without giving effect to the conflict of law principles thereof. Any suit, action or proceeding seeking to enforce any provision of, or based on any matter arising out of or in connection with, this letter agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, whether in contract, tort
or otherwise, shall be brought in any state or federal court located in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan, so long as one of such courts shall have subject matter jurisdiction over such suit, action, or proceeding. Any cause of action arising out of or in connection with this letter agreement shall be deemed exclusively to have arisen from a transaction of business in the State of New York. Each of the parties hereby irrevocably consents to the jurisdiction of such courts (and of the appropriate appellate courts therefrom) in any such suit, action, or proceeding and irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such suit, action, or proceeding in any such court or that any such suit, action or proceeding that is brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum. EACH PARTY FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT ANY CONTROVERSY THAT MAY ARISE UNDER THIS LETTER AGREEMENT IS LIKELY TO INVOLVE COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT ISSUES AND, THEREFORE, SUCH PARTY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
This letter agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the other party, it being understood that both parties need not sign the same counterpart. In the event that any signature is delivered in pdf format via electronic mail, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such signature page were an original thereof.
This letter agreement may not be amended without the written consent of all of the parties hereto.
Any term or provision of this letter agreement which is deemed invalid or unenforceable shall be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability without rendering invalid or unenforceable the remaining rights of the person or entity intended to be benefited by such provision or any other provisions of this letter agreement.
The failure by any party to enforce at any time any of the provisions of this letter agreement shall in no way be construed to be a waiver of any such provision nor in any way to affect the validity of this letter agreement or any part hereof or the right of such party thereafter to enforce each and every such provision. No waiver of any breach of or non compliance with this letter agreement shall be held to be a waiver of any other or subsequent breach or non compliance. Any waiver made by any party in connection with this letter agreement shall not be valid unless agreed to in writing (which may be via email) by the Company and the undersigned.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| UNDERSIGNED | ||
| (severally and not jointly) | ||
|
| ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
Remainder of this Page Intentionally Left Blank
| Accepted and Agreed: | ||
| THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
EXHIBIT A
WIRE TRANSFER INSTRUCTIONS
(see attached)
SCHEDULE 1
ACCREDITED INVESTOR STATUS CHECKLIST
Accredited Investor Status:
Please check one or more of the following definitions of “accredited investor,” if any, which applies to you.
☐ A Bank as defined in Section 3(a)(2) of the Securities Act, or any savings association or institution as defined in Section 3(a)(5)(A) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”).
☐ Any broker or dealer registered pursuant to Section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
☐ An insurance company as defined in Section 2(13) of the Securities Act.
☐ Investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”) or a business development company as defined in Section 2(a)(48) of the Investment Company Act.
☐ Small Business Investment Company licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration under Section 301(c) or (d) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, as amended.
☐ Plan established and maintained by a state, or its political subdivisions, or any agency or instrumentality of a state or its political subdivisions for the benefit of its employees, if such plan has total assets in excess of $5,000,000.
☐ Any employee benefit plan within the meaning of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, if the investment decision is made by a plan fiduciary, as defined in the Securities Act, which is either a bank, savings and loan association, insurance company, or registered investment advisor, or if the plan has assets in excess of $5,000,000 or, if a self-directed plan, with investment decisions made solely by persons that are Accredited Investors.
☐ A Private Business Development Company as defined in Section 202(a)(22) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.
☐ An organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, a corporation or Partnership, not formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the securities offered, with total assets in excess of $5,000,000.
☐ A natural person whose individual net worth, or joint net worth with that person’s spouse, at the time of purchase exceeds $1,000,000. For purposes hereof net worth shall be deemed to include ALL of your assets, liquid or illiquid (including such items as home, furnishings, automobile and restricted securities) MINUS any liabilities (including such items as home mortgages and other debts and liabilities).
☐ A natural person who had an individual income in excess of $200,000 in each of the two most recent years or joint income with that person’s spouse in excess of $300,000 in each of those years and has a reasonable expectation of reaching the same income level in the current year.
For purposes hereof the term “income” is not limited to “adjusted gross income” as that term is defined for federal income tax purposes, but rather includes certain items of income which are deducted in computing “adjusted gross income.” For investors who are salaried employees, the gross salary of such investor, minus any significant expenses personally incurred by such investor in connection with earning the salary, plus any income from any other source including unearned income, is a fair measure of “income” for purposes hereof. For investors who are self-employed, “income” is generally construed to mean total revenues received during the calendar year minus significant expenses incurred in connection with earning such revenues.
☐ A trust, with assets in excess of $5,000,000, not formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the Securities, whose purchase is directed by a sophisticated person as described in Rule 506(b)(2) (ii) of Regulation D of the Securities Act.
☐ Any entity in which all of the equity owners are Accredited Investors.
☐ A director or officer of the Company.
Exhibit 14.1
THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP.
CODE OF ETHICS
1. Introduction
The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) has adopted this code of ethics (this “Code”), which is applicable to all directors, officers, and employees (to the extent that employees are hired in the future) (each a “person,” as used herein) of the Company, with the intent to:
| • | promote honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships; |
| • | promote the full, fair, accurate, timely, and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that the Company files with, or submits to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), as well as in other public communications made by or on behalf of the Company; |
| • | promote compliance with applicable governmental laws, rules, and regulations; |
| • | deter wrongdoing; and |
| • | require prompt internal reporting of breaches of, and accountability for adherence to, this Code. |
This Code may be amended only by resolution of the Board. In this Code, references to the “Company” mean Three Lions Acquisition Corp., and include, in appropriate context, the Company’s subsidiaries (if any).
2. Honest, Ethical and Fair Conduct
Each person owes a duty to the Company to act with integrity. Integrity requires, among other things, being honest, fair, and candid. Deceit, dishonesty and subordination of the Company’s interests to personal interests are inconsistent with integrity. Service to the Company should never be subordinated to personal gain or advantage.
Each person must:
| • | Act with integrity, including being honest and candid while still maintaining the confidentiality of the Company’s information where required or in the Company’s interests. |
| • | Observe all applicable governmental laws, rules and regulations. |
| • | Comply with the requirements of applicable accounting and auditing standards, as well as Company policies, in order to maintain a high standard of accuracy and completeness in the Company’s financial records and other business-related information and data. |
| • | Adhere to a high standard of business ethics and not seek competitive advantage through unlawful or unethical business practices. |
| • | Deal fairly with the Company’s customers, suppliers, competitors and employees. |
| • | Refrain from taking advantage of anyone through manipulation, concealment, abuse of privileged information, misrepresentation of material facts, or any other unfair-dealing practice. |
| • | Protect the assets of the Company and ensure their proper use. |
| • | Subject to, and except as permitted by, the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as it may be amended from time to time (the “Charter”), refrain from (i) taking for themselves corporate or business opportunities that are discovered through the use of corporate assets, (ii) using corporate assets, information, or position for personal gain, and (iii) competing with the Company. |
| • | Avoid conflicts of interest, wherever possible, except as may be allowed under guidelines or resolutions approved by the Board (or the appropriate committee of the Board), as disclosed in the Company’s public filings with the SEC or as permitted by the Charter. Anything that would be a conflict for a person subject to this Code also will be a conflict if it is related to a member of his or her family or a close relative. Examples of conflict of interest situations include, but are not limited to, the following: |
| • | any significant ownership interest in any supplier or customer; |
| • | any consulting or employment relationship with any customer, supplier or competitor; |
| • | any outside business activity that detracts from a person’s ability to devote appropriate time and attention to his or her responsibilities with the Company; |
| • | the receipt of any money, non-nominal gifts, or excessive entertainment from any entity with which the Company has current or prospective business dealings; |
| • | being in the position of supervising, reviewing, or having any influence on the job evaluation, pay, or benefit of any close relative; |
| • | selling anything to the Company or buying anything from the Company, except on the same terms and conditions as comparable officers or directors are permitted to so purchase or sell; |
| • | any other financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the Company; and |
| • | any other circumstance, event, relationship, or situation in which the personal interest of a person subject to this Code interferes – or even appears to interfere – with the interests of the Company as a whole. |
3. Disclosure
The Company strives to ensure that the contents of, and the disclosures in, the reports and documents that the Company files with the SEC and other public communications, shall be full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable in accordance with applicable disclosure standards, including standards of materiality, where appropriate. Each person must:
| • | not knowingly misrepresent, or cause others to misrepresent, facts about the Company to others, whether within or outside the Company, including to the Company’s independent auditors, governmental regulators, self-regulating organizations, and other governmental officials, as appropriate; and |
| • | in relation to his or her area of responsibility, properly review and critically analyze proposed disclosure for accuracy and completeness. |
In addition to the foregoing, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company and each subsidiary of the Company (or persons performing similar functions), and each other person that typically is involved in the financial reporting of the Company, must familiarize himself or herself with the disclosure requirements applicable to the Company as well as the business and financial operations of the Company.
Each person must promptly bring to the attention of the Chairman of the audit committee of the Board (the “Audit Committee”) (or the Chairman of the Board if no Audit Committee exists) any information he or she may have concerning (a) significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal and/or disclosure controls which could adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data or (b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s financial reporting, disclosures, or internal controls.
4. Compliance
It is the Company’s obligation and policy to comply with all applicable governmental laws, rules and regulations. It is the personal responsibility of each person to, and each person must, adhere to the standards and restrictions imposed by those laws, rules and regulations, including those relating to accounting and auditing matters.
5. Reporting and Accountability
The Board or Audit Committee, if one exists, is responsible for applying this Code to specific situations in which questions are presented to it and has the authority to interpret this Code in any particular situation. Any person who becomes aware of any existing or potential breach of this Code is required to notify the Chairman of the Board or Audit Committee promptly. Failure to do so is itself a breach of this Code.
Specifically, each person must:
| • | Notify the Chairman promptly of any existing or potential violation of this Code. |
| • | Not retaliate against any other person for reports of potential violations that are made in good faith. |
The Company will follow the following procedures in investigating and enforcing this Code and in reporting on this Code:
| • | The Board or Audit Committee, if one exists, will take all appropriate action to investigate any breaches reported to it. |
| • | If the Audit Committee, if one exists, determines by majority decision that a breach has occurred, it will inform the Board. |
| • | Upon being notified that a breach has occurred, the Board by majority decision will take or authorize such disciplinary or preventive action as it deems appropriate, after consultation with the Audit Committee, if one exists, and/or the Company’s counsel, up to and including dismissal or, in the event of criminal or other serious violations of law, notification of the SEC or other appropriate law enforcement authorities. |
No person following the above procedure shall, as a result of following such procedure, be subject by the Company or any officer or employee thereof to discharge, demotion, suspension, threat, harassment, or, in any manner, discrimination against such person in terms and conditions of employment.
6. Waivers and Amendments
Any waiver (defined below) or an implicit waiver (defined below) from a provision of this Code for the principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, and persons performing similar functions or any amendment (as defined below) to this Code is required to be disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K or in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC.
A “waiver” means the approval by the Board of a material departure from a provision of this Code. An “implicit waiver” means the Company’s failure to take action within a reasonable period of time regarding a material departure from a provision of this Code that has been made known to an executive officer of the Company. An “amendment” means any amendment to this Code other than minor technical, administrative, or other non-substantive amendments hereto.
All persons should note that it is not the Company’s intention to grant or to permit waivers from the requirements of this Code. The Company expects full compliance with this Code.
7. Insider Trading and Dissemination of Inside Information
The Company’s directors, officers or employees who have access to material, non-public information are not permitted to use that information for securities trading purposes or for any purpose unrelated to the Company’s business. It is also against the law to trade or to “tip” others who might make an investment decision based on inside company information. For example, using non-public information to buy or sell the Company securities, options in the Company shares or the shares of any Company supplier, customer or competitor is prohibited. The consequences of insider trading violations can be severe. These rules also apply to the use of material, nonpublic information about other companies (including, for example, the Company’s customers, competitors and potential business partners). In addition to directors, officers or employees, these rules apply to such person’s spouse, children, parents and siblings, as well as any other family members living in such person’s home. Each person shall comply with any policy adopted by the Board regarding insider trading and dissemination of inside information.
8. Financial Statements and Other Records
All of the Company’s books, records, accounts and financial statements must be maintained in reasonable detail, must appropriately reflect the Company’s transactions and must both conform to applicable legal requirements and to the Company’s system of internal controls. Unrecorded or “off the books” funds or assets should not be maintained unless permitted by applicable law or regulation.
Records should always be retained or destroyed according to the Company’s record retention policies. In accordance with those policies, in the event of litigation or governmental investigation, please consult the Board or the Company’s internal or external legal counsel.
9. Improper Influence on Conduct of Audits
No director, officer or employee, or any other person acting under the direction thereof, shall directly or indirectly take any action to coerce, manipulate, mislead or fraudulently influence any public or certified public accountant engaged in the performance of an audit or review of the financial statements of the Company or take any action that such person knows or should know that if successful could result in rendering the Company’s financial statements materially misleading. Any person who believes such improper influence is being exerted should report such action to such person’s supervisor, or if that is impractical under the circumstances, to any of our directors.
Types of conduct that could constitute improper influence include, but are not limited to, directly or indirectly:
| • | Offering or paying bribes or other financial incentives, including future employment or contracts for non-audit services; |
| • | Providing an auditor with an inaccurate or misleading legal analysis; |
| • | Threatening to cancel or canceling existing non-audit or audit engagements if the auditor objects to the Company’s accounting; |
| • | Seeking to have a partner removed from the audit engagement because the partner objects to the Company’s accounting; |
| • | Blackmailing; and |
| • | Making physical threats. |
10. Anti-Corruption Laws
The Company complies with the anti-corruption laws of the countries in which it does business, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. To the extent prohibited by applicable law, directors, officers and employees will not directly or indirectly give anything of value to government officials, including employees of state-owned enterprises or foreign political candidates. These requirements apply both to Company employees and agents, such as third party sales representatives, no matter where they are doing business. If you are authorized to engage agents, you are responsible for ensuring they are reputable and for obtaining a written agreement to uphold the Company’s standards in this area.
11. Violations
Violation of this Code is grounds for disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. Such action is in addition to any civil or criminal liability which might be imposed by any court or regulatory agency.
12. Other Policies and Procedures
Any other policy or procedure set out by the Company in writing or made generally known to employees, officers or directors of the Company prior to the date hereof or hereafter are separate requirements and remain in full force and effect.
13. Inquiries
All inquiries and questions in relation to this Code or its applicability to particular people or situations should be addressed to the Company’s Secretary.
Adopted as of _____, 2026.
PROVISIONS FOR CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND SENIOR FINANCIAL OFFICERS
The CEO and all senior financial officers, including the CFO and principal accounting officer, are bound by the provisions set forth therein relating to ethical conduct, conflicts of interest, and compliance with law. In addition to the Code, the CEO and senior financial officers are subject to the following additional specific policies:
1. Act with honesty and integrity, avoiding actual or apparent conflicts between personal, private interests and the interests of the Company, including receiving improper personal benefits as a result of his or her position.
2. Disclose to the CEO and the Board any material transaction or relationship that reasonably could be expected to give rise to a conflict of interest.
3. Perform responsibilities with a view to causing periodic reports and documents filed with or submitted to the SEC and all other public communications made by the Company to contain information that is accurate, complete, fair, objective, relevant, timely and understandable, including full review of all annual and quarterly reports.
4. Comply with laws applicable to the Company, including but not limited to rules and regulations of U.S. federal, state and other local governments and with the rules and regulations of private and public regulatory agencies having jurisdiction over the Company.
5. Act in good faith, responsibly, with due care, competence and diligence, without misrepresenting or omitting material facts or allowing independent judgment to be compromised or subordinated.
6. Respect the confidentiality of information acquired in the course of performance of his or her responsibilities except when authorized or otherwise legally obligated to disclose any such information; not use confidential information acquired in the course of performing his or her responsibilities for personal advantage.
7. Share knowledge and maintain skills important and relevant to the needs of the Company, its shareholders and other constituencies and the general public.
8. Proactively promote ethical behavior among subordinates and peers in his or her work environment and community.
9. Use and control all corporate assets and resources employed by or entrusted to him or her in a responsible manner.
10. Not use corporate information, corporate assets, corporate opportunities or his or her position with the Company for personal gain; not compete directly or indirectly with the Company.
11. Comply in all respects with this Code.
12. Advance the Company’s legitimate interests when the opportunity arises.
The Board will investigate any reported violations and will oversee an appropriate response, including corrective action and preventative measures. Any officer who violates this Code will face appropriate, case specific disciplinary action, which may include demotion or discharge.
Any request for a waiver of any provision of this Code must be in writing and addressed to the Chairman of the Board. Any waiver of this Code will be disclosed as provided in Section 6 of this Code.
It is the policy of the Company that each officer covered by this Code shall acknowledge and certify to the foregoing annually and file a copy of such certification with the Chairman of the Board.
OFFICER’S CERTIFICATION
I have read and understand the foregoing Code. I hereby certify that I am in compliance with the foregoing Code and I will comply with the Code in the future. I understand that any violation of the Code will subject me to appropriate disciplinary action, which may include demotion or discharge.
Dated:
Name (signature):
Title:
Exhibit 23.3
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We consent to the inclusion in this Registration Statement on Form S-1 of our report dated May 18, 2026, except for the retrospective presentation of the June 29, 2026 share split as described in Note 9, as to which the date is June 30, 2026, with respect to the financial statements of Three Lions Acquisition Corp. included in this Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in such Registration Statement.
/s/ CBIZ CPAS P.C.
New York, New York
August 21, 2026
Exhibit 99.1
CHARTER OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP.
Purpose
The purposes of the Audit Committee (the “Audit Committee”) of the Board of Directors (“Board”) of Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (“Company”) are to assist the Board in monitoring: (1) the integrity of the annual, quarterly, and other financial statements of the Company, (2) the independent auditor’s qualifications and independence, (3) the performance of the Company’s internal audit function and its system of internal controls and independent auditor, (4) 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; (5) the compliance by the Company with legal and regulatory requirements; and (6) such other matters as are assigned to the Committee by the Board pursuant to this Charter or as mandated under applicable laws, rules and regulations (including the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) as well as listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (together, the “Applicable Requirements”). The Audit Committee also shall review and approve all related-party transactions.
Although the Committee has the powers and responsibilities set forth in this Charter, the role of the Committee is oversight. The members of the Committee are not full-time employees of the Company and may or may not be accountants or auditors by profession or experts in the fields of accounting or auditing and, in any event, do not serve in such capacity. Consequently, it is not the duty of the Committee to conduct audits or to determine that the Company’s financial statements and disclosures are complete and accurate and are in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) and other Applicable Requirements. These are the responsibilities of management and the Company’s independent auditor.
The Audit Committee shall prepare the report required by the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) to be included in the Company’s annual proxy statement.
Committee Membership
The Audit Committee shall consist of no fewer than three members of the Board, absent a temporary vacancy. The Audit Committee members shall meet the “Audit Committee Requirements” of The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC and the independence and experience requirements of Section 10A(m)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) and the rules and regulations of the Commission.
The members of the Audit Committee shall be appointed by the Board. Audit Committee members may be removed or replaced by the Board; provided, however, that if removing a member or members of the Committee would cause the Committee to have fewer than three members, then the Board must, based upon the recommendation of a majority of the independent directors of the Board, at the same time appoint enough additional members to the Committee so that the Committee will have at least three qualified members. The Committee’s chairperson shall be designated by the Board on the recommendation of a majority of the independent directors of the Board or, if not so designated, the members of the Committee shall elect a chairperson by a vote of the majority of the full Committee. If present, he or she shall preside at each meeting of the Audit Committee. He or she shall advise and counsel with the executives of the Company, and shall perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned to him or her by the Audit Committee or the Board of Directors.
Meetings and Operations
The Audit Committee shall meet as often as it determines, but not less frequently than quarterly. Meetings shall be called by the chairperson of the Committee or, if there is no chairperson, by a majority of the members of the Committee. Meetings may be held telephonically or by other electronic means to the extent permitted by the Company’s organizational documents and applicable law. Committee actions may be taken by unanimous written consent.
The Audit Committee shall meet periodically with management and the independent auditor in separate executive sessions to discuss any matters that the Committee believes should be discussed privately. The Audit Committee may request any officer or employee of the Company or the Company’s outside counsel or independent auditor to attend a meeting of the Audit Committee or to meet with any members of, or consultants to, the Audit Committee.
The Committee shall maintain minutes of its meetings and records relating to those meetings.
Committee Authority and Responsibilities
In fulfilling its duties and responsibilities hereunder, the Committee will be entitled to rely reasonably on (a) the integrity of those persons within the Company and the professionals and experts (such as the Company’s independent auditor) from whom it receives information, (b) the accuracy of the financial and other information provided to the Committee by such persons and (c) representations made by the Company’s independent auditor as to any services provided by such firm to the Company.
The Audit Committee shall have the sole authority to appoint or replace the independent auditor. The Audit Committee shall be directly responsible for determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent auditor (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The independent auditor shall report directly to the Audit Committee.
The Audit Committee shall pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for the Company by its independent auditor, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in Section 10A(i)(1)(B) of the Exchange Act which are approved by the Audit Committee prior to the completion of the audit). The Audit Committee may form and delegate authority to subcommittees of the Audit Committee consisting of one or more members when appropriate, including the authority to grant pre-approvals of audit and permitted non-audit services, provided that decisions of such subcommittee to grant pre-approvals shall be presented to the full Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting.
The Audit Committee shall have the authority, to the extent it deems necessary or appropriate, to retain independent legal, accounting, or other advisors. The Company shall provide for appropriate funding, as determined by the Audit Committee, for payment of compensation to (i) the independent auditor for the purpose of rendering or issuing an audit report and (ii) any advisors employed by the Audit Committee.
The Audit Committee shall make regular reports to the Board. The Audit Committee shall review and reassess the adequacy of this Charter annually and recommend any proposed changes to the Board for approval. The Audit Committee annually shall review the Audit Committee’s own performance.
The Audit Committee shall:
Financial Statement and Disclosure Matters
| 1. | Meet with the independent auditor prior to the audit to review the scope, planning, and staffing of the audit. |
| 2. | Review and discuss with management and the independent auditor the annual audit report, the financial statements and related notes and the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” proposed to be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, and recommend to the Board whether the audited financial statements and related notes and the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” should be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (or the annual report to shareholders if distributed prior to the filing of the Form 10-K). |
| 3. | Review and discuss with management and the independent auditor the Company’s quarterly financial statements prior to the filing of its Form 10-Q, including the results of the independent auditor’s review of the quarterly financial statements. |
| 4. | Discuss with management and the independent auditor, as appropriate, significant financial reporting issues and judgments made in connection with the preparation of the Company’s financial statements, including: |
| (a) | any significant changes in the Company’s selection or application of accounting principles; |
| (b) | the Company’s critical accounting policies and practices; |
| (c) | all alternative treatments of financial information within GAAP that have been discussed with management and the ramifications of the use of such alternative accounting principles; |
| (d) | any major issues as to the adequacy of the Company’s internal controls and any special steps adopted in light of material control deficiencies; and |
| (e) | any material written communications between the independent auditor and management, such as any management letter or schedule of unadjusted differences. |
| 5. | Discuss with management and the independent auditor and, prior to issuance, review and approve the Company’s earnings releases, including the use of “pro forma” or “adjusted” non-GAAP information, and any financial information and earnings guidance to be included in such releases and provided to analysts and rating agencies. Such discussion may be general and include the types of information to be disclosed and the types of presentations to be made. |
| 6. | Discuss with management and the independent auditor the effect on the Company’s financial statements of (i) regulatory and accounting initiatives and (ii) off-balance sheet structures. |
| 7. | Review and discuss with management and the independent auditor the Company’s major financial risk exposures and the steps management has taken to monitor and control such exposures, including the Company’s risk assessment and risk management policies. |
| 8. | Discuss with the independent auditor the matters required to be discussed by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61 relating to the conduct of the audit, including any difficulties encountered in the course of the audit work, any restrictions on the scope of activities or access to requested information, and any significant disagreements with management. |
| 9. | In consultation with the Company’s management and independent auditor, review the adequacy of the Company’s internal controls, disclosure processes and the procedures designed to ensure compliance with laws and regulations. |
| 10. | Review disclosures made to the Audit Committee by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer (or individuals performing similar functions) during their certification process for the Form 10-K and Form 10-Qs about any significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting and any fraud involving management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. |
Oversight of the Company’s Relationship with the Independent Auditor
| 11. | At least annually, obtain and review a report from the independent auditor, consistent with the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, regarding (a) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures, (b) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the 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, (c) any steps taken to deal with any such issues and (d) all relationships between the independent auditor and the Company. Evaluate the qualifications, performance and independence of the independent auditor, including whether the auditor’s quality controls are adequate and the provision of permitted non-audit services is compatible with maintaining the auditor’s independence, and taking into account the opinions of management and the internal auditor. The Audit Committee shall present its conclusions with respect to the independent auditor to the Board. |
| 12. | Verify the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law. Consider whether, in order to assure continuing auditor independence, it is appropriate to adopt a policy of rotating the independent auditing firm on a regular basis. |
| 13. | Oversee the Company’s hiring of employees or former employees of the independent auditor who participated in any capacity in the audit of the Company. |
| 14. | Periodically discuss with the independent auditor, without management being present, (a) their judgment about the quality, integrity and appropriateness of the Company’s accounting principles and financial disclosure practices as applied in its financial reporting and (b) the completeness and accuracy of the Company’s financial statements. |
| 15. | Be available to the independent auditor during the year for consultation purposes. |
Compliance Oversight Responsibilities
| 16. | Obtain assurance from the independent auditor that Section 10A(b) of the Exchange Act has not been implicated. |
| 17. | To the extent the Audit Committee deems necessary and appropriate, develop and recommend to the Board for approval policies and procedures for the review, approval or ratification of related person transactions required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K, as may be amended from time to time, and any other applicable requirements (the “Related Person Transaction Policy”). Review any Related Person Transaction Policy at least annual and make recommendations to the Board for its approval any changes to that policy. Oversee the implementation of and compliance with any Related Person Transaction Policy, including reviewing, approving or ratifying related person transactions, as appropriate pursuant to the Related Person Transaction Policy. |
| 18. | Inquire and discuss with management the Company’s compliance with applicable laws and regulations and with the Company’s Code of Ethics in effect at such time, if any, and, where applicable, recommend policies and procedures for future compliance. |
| 19. | Establish procedures (which may be incorporated in the Company’s Code of Ethics, in effect at such time, if any) for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by the Company regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding the Company’s financial statements or accounting policies. Review requests for waivers under the Code of Ethics sought with respect to any executive officer or director. Review annually with the Chairperson of the Board or outside counsel, as appropriate, the scope, implementation and effectiveness of the ethics and compliance program, and any significant deviations by officers and employees from the Code of Ethics or other compliance policies, and other matters pertaining to the integrity of management. |
| 20. | Discuss with management and the independent auditor any correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies and any published reports that raise material issues regarding the Company’s financial statements or accounting policies. |
| 21. | Discuss with the Company’s General Counsel legal matters that may have a material impact on the financial statements or the Company’s compliance policies. |
| 22. | To the extent that the Company’s securities continue to be listed on an exchange and subject to Rule 10D-1 under the Exchange Act, the Committee shall, with the assistance of management, advise the Board and any other Board committees if the clawback provisions of the Rule are triggered based upon a financial statement restatement or other financial statement change. |
| 23. | Implement and oversee the Company’s cybersecurity and information security policies, and periodically review the policies and managing potential cybersecurity incidents. |
| 24. | Review and approve all payments made to the Company’s officers and directors or its or their affiliates. Any payments made to members of the Audit Committee will be reviewed and approved by the Board, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval. |
Adopted as of _____, 2026.
Exhibit 99.2
CHARTER OF THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
THREE LIONS ACQUISITION CORP.
Purpose
The Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) is appointed by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) for the purposes of, among other things, (a) discharging the Board’s responsibilities relating to the compensation of the Company’s chief executive officer (the “CEO”) and other executive officers of the Company, (b) administering or delegating the power to administer the Company’s incentive compensation and equity-based compensation plans, and (c) if required by applicable rules and regulations, issuing a “Compensation Committee Report” to be included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K or proxy statement, as applicable.
Composition
The Committee shall be comprised of two or more members (including a chairperson) of the Board, all of whom shall be “independent directors,” as such term is defined in the rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Stock Market, except that the Committee may have as one of its members a “non-independent director” under exceptional and limited circumstances pursuant to the exemption under Rule 5605(d)(2)(B) of the Nasdaq Stock Market. At least two of the Committee members shall be “non-employee directors” as defined by Rule 16b-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). The members of the Committee and the chairperson shall be selected not less frequently than annually by the Board and serve at the pleasure of the Board. A Committee member (including the chairperson) may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by the Board.
The Committee, by resolution approved by a majority of the Committee, may delegate any of its responsibilities to one or more subcommittees as the Committee may from time to time deem appropriate. If at any time the Committee includes a member who is not a “non-employee director” within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act, then a subcommittee comprised entirely of individuals who are “non-employee directors” may be formed by the Committee for the purpose of ratifying any grants of awards under any incentive or equity-based compensation plan for the purposes of complying with the exemption requirements of Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act.
Meetings and Operations
The Committee shall meet as often as necessary to enable it to fulfill its responsibilities. The Committee shall meet at the call of its chairperson or a majority of its members. The Committee may meet by telephone conference call or by any other means permitted by law. A majority of the members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. The Committee shall act on the affirmative vote of a majority of members present at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The Committee may act by unanimous written consent of all members in lieu of a meeting. The Committee shall determine its own rules and procedures, including designation of a chairperson pro tempore in the absence of the chairperson, and designation of a secretary. The secretary need not be a member of the Committee and shall attend Committee meetings and prepare minutes. The Secretary of the Company shall be the Secretary of the Committee unless the Committee designates otherwise. The Committee shall keep written minutes of its meetings, which shall be recorded or filed with the books and records of the Company. Any member of the Board shall be provided with copies of such Committee minutes if requested.
The Committee may ask members of management, employees, outside counsel, or others whose advice and counsel are relevant to the issues then being considered by the Committee to attend any meetings (or a portion thereof) and to provide such pertinent information as the Committee may request.
The chairperson of the Committee shall be responsible for leadership of the Committee, including preparing the agenda which shall be circulated to the members prior to the meeting date, presiding over Committee meetings, making Committee assignments, and reporting the Committee’s actions to the Board. Following each of its meetings, the Committee shall deliver a report on the meeting to the Board, including a description of all actions taken by the Committee at the meeting.
If at any time during the exercise of his or her duties on behalf of the Committee, a Committee member has a direct conflict of interest with respect to an issue subject to determination or recommendation by the Committee, such Committee member shall abstain from participation, discussion, and resolution of the instant issue, and the remaining members of the Committee shall advise the Board of their recommendation on such issue. The Committee shall be able to make determinations and recommendations even if only one Committee member is free from conflicts of interest on a particular issue.
Responsibilities
In addition to such other duties as the Board may from time to time assign, the Committee shall:
| • | Establish, review, and approve the overall executive compensation philosophy and policies of the Company, including the establishment, if deemed appropriate, of performance-based incentives that support and reinforce the Company’s long-term strategic goals, organizational objectives, and shareholder interests. |
| • | Review and approve the Company’s goals and objectives relevant to the compensation of the CEO, annually evaluate the CEO’s performance in light of those goals and objectives and, based on this evaluation, determine the CEO’s compensation level, including, but not limited to, salary, bonus or bonus target levels, long and short-term incentive and equity compensation, retirement plans, and deferred compensation plans as the Committee deems appropriate. In determining the long-term incentive component of the CEO’s compensation, the Committee shall consider, among other factors, the Company’s performance and relative shareholder return, the value of similar incentive awards to CEOs at comparable companies, and the awards given to the Company’s CEO in past years. The CEO shall not be present during voting and deliberations relating to CEO compensation. |
| • | Determine the compensation of all other executive officers, including, but not limited to, salary, bonus or bonus target levels, long and short-term incentive and equity compensation, retirement plans, and deferred compensation plans, as the Committee deems appropriate. Members of senior management may report on the performance of the other executive officers of the Company and make compensation recommendations to the Committee, which will review and, as appropriate, approve the compensation recommendations. |
| • | Receive and evaluate performance target goals for the senior officers and employees (other than executive officers) and review periodic reports from the CEO as to the performance and compensation of such senior officers and employees. |
| • | Administer or delegate the power to administer the Company’s incentive and equity-based compensation plans, including the grant of stock options, restricted stock, and other equity awards under such plans. |
| • | Review and make recommendations to the Board with respect to the adoption of, and amendments to, incentive compensation and equity-based plans and approve for submission to the shareholders all new equity compensation plans that must be approved by shareholders pursuant to applicable law. |
| • | Review and approve any annual or long-term cash bonus or incentive plans in which the executive officers of the Company may participate. |
| • | Review and approve for the CEO and the other executive officers of the Company any employment agreements, severance arrangements, and change in control agreements or provisions. |
| • | Review and discuss with the Company’s management the Compensation Discussion and Analysis set forth in Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation S-K, Item 402, if required, and, based on such review and discussion, determine whether to recommend to the Board of Directors of the Company that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in the Company’s annual report or proxy statement for the annual or general meeting of shareholders. |
| • | Provide the Compensation Committee Report for the Company’s annual report or proxy statement for an annual or general meeting of shareholders, if required. |
| • | Conduct an annual performance evaluation of the Committee. In conducting such review, the Committee shall evaluate and address all matters that the Committee considers relevant to its performance, including at least the following: (a) the adequacy, appropriateness, and quality of the information received from management or others; (b) the manner in which the Committee’s recommendations were discussed or debated; (c) whether the number and length of meetings of the Committee were adequate for the Committee to complete its work in a thorough and thoughtful manner; and (d) whether this Charter appropriately addresses the matters that are or should be within its scope. |
| • | Oversee shareholder communications relating to executive compensation and review and make recommendations with respect to shareholder proposals related to compensation matters. |
| • | Undertake such other responsibilities or tasks as the Board may delegate or assign to the Committee from time to time. |
| • | Approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees. |
| • | Reviewing, evaluating, and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
Authority
The Committee has the authority, to the extent it deems appropriate, to conduct or authorize investigations into or studies of matters within the Committee’s scope of responsibilities and to retain one or more compensation consultants to assist in the evaluation of CEO or executive compensation or other matters. The Committee shall have the sole authority to retain and terminate any such consulting firm, and to approve the firm’s fees and other retention terms. The Committee shall evaluate whether any compensation consultant retained or to be retained by it has any conflict of interest in accordance with Item 407(e)(3)(iv) of Regulation S-K. The Committee shall also have the authority, to the extent it deems necessary or appropriate, to retain legal counsel or other advisors. In retaining compensation consultants, outside counsel, and other advisors, the Committee must take into consideration factors specified in the Nasdaq listing rules. The Company will provide for appropriate funding, as determined by the Committee, for payment of any such investigations or studies and the compensation to any consulting firm, legal counsel, or other advisors retained by the Committee.
Adopted as of _____, 2026.
Exhibit 99.3
Consent of Director Nominee
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
Pursuant to Rule 438 of Regulation C promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), in connection with the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (the “Registration Statement”) of Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”), the undersigned hereby consents to being named and described as a director nominee in the Registration Statement and any amendment or supplement to any prospectus included in such Registration Statement, any amendment to such Registration Statement or any subsequent Registration Statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act and to the filing or attachment of this consent with such Registration Statement and any amendment or supplement thereto.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has executed this consent as of August 21, 2026.
| /s/ Jeffrey G. Brock |
| Name: Jeffrey G. Brock |
Exhibit 99.4
Consent of Director Nominee
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
Pursuant to Rule 438 of Regulation C promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), in connection with the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (the “Registration Statement”) of Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”), the undersigned hereby consents to being named and described as a director nominee in the Registration Statement and any amendment or supplement to any prospectus included in such Registration Statement, any amendment to such Registration Statement or any subsequent Registration Statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act and to the filing or attachment of this consent with such Registration Statement and any amendment or supplement thereto.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has executed this consent as of August 21, 2026.
| /s/ Jameson Culp |
| Name: Jameson Culp |
Exhibit 99.5
Consent of Director Nominee
Three Lions Acquisition Corp.
Pursuant to Rule 438 of Regulation C promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), in connection with the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (the “Registration Statement”) of Three Lions Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”), the undersigned hereby consents to being named and described as a director nominee in the Registration Statement and any amendment or supplement to any prospectus included in such Registration Statement, any amendment to such Registration Statement or any subsequent Registration Statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act and to the filing or attachment of this consent with such Registration Statement and any amendment or supplement thereto.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has executed this consent as of August 21, 2026.
| /s/ Jeffrey A. Dunham |
| Name: Jeffrey A. Dunham |