Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: Promptly after the effective date of this registration statement.

If any securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☐

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

The information in this preliminary 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 preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state or jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Subject to Completion, dated            , 2021​

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

$200,000,000

Aurora Acquisition Corp.

20,000,000 Units

Aurora Acquisition Corp. is a Cayman Islands exempted company newly incorporated as a blank check company 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 as our initial business combination. We have not selected any potential business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any stage of its corporate evolution or in any industry or sector, we intend to focus our search on technology and media companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

This is an initial public offering of our securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-quarter of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of  $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, as described herein. Only whole warrants are exercisable. The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and 12 months from the closing of this offering, and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. The underwriters have a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to 15% of additional units to cover over-allotments, if any.

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (excluding any amounts then on deposit in the trust account that are allocable to the Novator private placement shares) described below calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (net of taxes payable), but excluding any interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that are allocable to the Novator private placement shares, divided by the number of then outstanding Class A ordinary shares, subject to the limitations described herein. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem 100% of our Class A ordinary shares and Novator private placement shares for cash, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as further described herein.

Our initial shareholders, which include our sponsor, own an aggregate of 6,625,000 Class B ordinary shares (up to 750,000 shares of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised), which will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis. Only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to appoint directors in any election held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

Our sponsor, Novator Capital Sponsor Ltd., an affiliate of Novator Capital (Guernsey) Ltd., has agreed to purchase 4,000,000 warrants (or 4,400,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of  $1.50 per warrant, in a private placement of warrants that will close concurrently with the closing of this offering. We refer to these warrants as the private placement warrants.

Additionally, our sponsor, as well as certain of our directors and executive officers, have agreed to purchase 3,500,000 units, at a price of  $10.00 per unit for an aggregate purchase price of $35,000,000 in a private placement that will close concurrently with the closing of this offering. The gross proceeds of the Novator private placement will be deposited into the trust account. We refer to these units as the Novator private placement units. The Novator private placement units are identical to the units being sold in this offering, subject to certain limited exceptions described in this prospectus. Our sponsor, as well as directors and executive officers of our Company, have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Novator private placement units in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

Currently, there is no public market for our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants. We have applied to have our units listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol ‘‘AURCU’’ on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing. We expect our Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units to begin separate trading on the Nasdaq under the symbols ‘‘AURC’’ and ‘‘AURCW,’’ respectively, on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless the representative of the underwriters permits earlier separate trading and we have satisfied certain conditions.

We are an ‘‘emerging growth company’’ under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements.

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully review and consider the section entitled ‘‘Risk Factors’’ beginning on page 35 of this prospectus. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.​

Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or 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.

(1)

Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 in the aggregate (or up to $8,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein and will only be payable upon consummation of our initial business combination. Does not include certain fees and expenses payable to the underwriters in connection with this offering. See also ‘‘Underwriting’’ for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriters.

​

Of the proceeds we receive from this offering, the sale of the Novator private placement units and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $235 million, or $265 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a segregated trust account located in a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. 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 and holders of the Novator private placement shares.

The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about            , 2021.

No offer or invitation to subscribe for any securities is being made to the public in the Cayman Islands.

Barclays

Prospectus dated            , 2021

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with different or additional information, and neither we nor the underwriters take any responsibility for any other information others may give to you. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.

 

 

 

2

 

3

 

4

 

5

 

​

6

 

7

 

8

 

9

 

10

 

11

 

 

13

 

14

 

15

 

16

 

​

17

 

18

 

​

19

 

20

 

21

 

​

22

 

23

 

24

 

25

 

​

26

 

27

 

28

 

29

 

​

30

 

31

 

32

 

 

 

 

(assuming that the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full). Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.

Pursuant to the letter agreement, our initial shareholders, sponsor, and directors and executive officers have agreed to vote their founder shares, Novator private placement shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions), in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares and the Novator private placement shares owned by our sponsor, and directors and executive officers, we would need 5,312,501 or approximately 26.6%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders, our sponsor, and directors and executive officers to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.

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.”

The report of our independent registered public accounting firm on our financial statements includes an explanatory paragraph stating that our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on the consummation of this offering. However, our management has determined that our Company has access to funds that are sufficient to fund our working capital needs until the earlier of the consummation of this offering or a minimum of one year from the date of issuance of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our ability to continue as a going concern. Moreover, there is no assurance that we will consummate our initial business combination. These factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.

We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions, or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.

The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to

 

36

 

restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.

The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.

If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.

The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our liquidation deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.

Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 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 initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.

We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering due to factors beyond our control, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and Novator private placement shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and other market risks that are not in our control. For example, the outbreak of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, continues to impact both the U.S. and global economy (including business revenue generation, logistics and supply chain, consumer demand and travel restrictions), and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 and its ongoing negative impact on the global economy may negatively impact businesses we may seek to

 

37

 

acquire. As a result of COVID-19 or other factors beyond our control, if we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares and Novator private placement 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 (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares and Novator private placement shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights and holders of Novator private placement shares as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, sponsor, directors, executive officers and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, executive officers or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, other than as expressly stated herein, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions.

In the event that our sponsor, directors, executive officers or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See “Proposed Business—​Permitted purchases of our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, executive officers or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.

In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for submitting or tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.

We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such shareholder may not

 

38

 

become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or submit public shares for redemption. For example, we intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent at least two business days prior to the vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business—Delivering Share Certificates in Connection with the Exercise of Redemption Rights.”

Risks Relating to Our Securities

The securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the aggregate value of the assets held in the trust account such that the per share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than your anticipated per share redemption amount.

The funds in the trust account and the restricted account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds that meet certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act and that invest only in direct U.S. government obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury bills currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income not released to us, net of taxes payable.

You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares and Novator private placement shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 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 to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares and Novator private placement shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

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. We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Following the date that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be separately listed on Nasdaq. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on

 

39

 

Nasdaq. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the Nasdaq listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, following our initial public offering, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholder’s equity (generally $2.5 million) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholder’s equity would generally be required to be at least $5 million. 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 Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;

​

•

a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

​

•

a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.

​

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are expected to qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.

You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.

Since the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the Novator private placement units and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of  $5,000,001 upon the completion of this offering, the sale of the Novator private placement units and the sale of the private placement warrants and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our

 

40

 

offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, see “Proposed Business—Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 20% of the public shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 20% of the public shares.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 20% of the public shares without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold the Excess Shares and, in order to dispose of such Excess Shares, would be required to sell your Excess Shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We expect to encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the Novator private placement units and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.

If the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the Novator private placement units and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.

Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the Novator private placement units, only $1,000,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe

 

41

 

that, upon closing of this offering and the sale of the Novator private placement units, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.

Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our share price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.

Even if we conduct due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our executive officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.

Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements, they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.

Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver

 

42

 

or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares and Novator private placement shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares could be less than the $10.00 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to a letter agreement with our sponsor, 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 entered into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and per Novator private placement share and (ii) the actual amount per share and per Novator private placement share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters 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, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our Company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share and per Novator private placement share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares (or Novator private placement shares). None of our executive officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares may be reduced below $10.00 per share.

We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.

We have agreed to indemnify our executive officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our executive officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our executive officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing

 

43

 

a lawsuit against our executive officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our executive officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our executive officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy or insolvency court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” 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 having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our Company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares 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 executive officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable to a fine of $18,292.68 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up 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 and holders of Novator private placement shares, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy 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.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:

•

restrictions on the nature of our investments; and

​

•

restrictions on the issuance of securities,

​

each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:

 

44

 

•

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 assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.

We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. 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 the following: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares and Novator private placement shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering; or (iii) absent an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares as part of our redemption of the public shares and Novator private placement shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.

We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable law and regulations may be difficult, time-consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable law or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.

If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, our shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 24 months before redemption from our trust account.

If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of

 

45

 

interest to pay liquidation expenses and net of taxes payable), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares and Novator private placement shares, as described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind-up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Law. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 24 months from the closing of this offering before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation of our public shares and Novator private placement shares unless we consummate our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their public shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares be entitled to distributions if we are unable to complete our initial business combination.

We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to appoint directors.

In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until the anniversary of our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Law for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management. In addition, holders of our Class A ordinary shares and holders of our Novator private placement shares will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors until after the consummation of our initial business combination.

You may only be able to exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis” under certain circumstances, and if you do so, you will receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.

The warrant agreement provides that in the following circumstances holders of public warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do for cash and will, instead, be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act: (i) if the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement; (ii) if we have so elected and the Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act; and (iii) if we have so elected and we call the public warrants for redemption. If you exercise your public warrants on a cashless basis, you would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the public warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined in the next sentence) over the exercise price of the public warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.

The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders, directors and executive officers may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A shares.

Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our sponsor, directors, executive officers and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the shares of Class A shares into which our shares of Class B shares are convertible, the Novator

 

46

 

private placement shares, the private placement warrants and the Novator private placement warrants, the Class A shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants and any warrants issued in satisfaction of loans made to us by our sponsor or its affiliates held, or to be held, by them. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A shares that is expected when the securities owned by our initial shareholders, directors, executive officers or their respective permitted transferees are registered.

The requirement that the target business or businesses that we acquire must collectively have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the value of the assets in the trust account (excluding any taxes payable) at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for our initial business combination may limit the type and number of companies with which we may complete such a business combination.

Pursuant to Nasdaq listing rules, the target business or businesses that we acquire must collectively have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the value of the assets in the trust account (excluding any taxes payable) at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for our initial business combination. This restriction may limit the type and number of companies that we may complete a business combination with. If we are unable to locate a target business or businesses that satisfy this net assets test, we may be forced to liquidate and you will only be entitled to receive your pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account, which may be less than $10.00 per share.

Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.

Although we expect to complete a business combination with a EMEA Technology and Media company, our efforts to identify a prospective initial business combination target will not be limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic region. While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a business or businesses that can benefit from our management team’s established global relationships and operating experience. Our management team has extensive experience in identifying and executing strategic investments globally and has done so successfully in a number of sectors, including in telecommunications and pharmaceuticals. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prohibits us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our executive officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our executive officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

 

47

 

Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in our Company.

Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team or businesses associated with them is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of the performance of our management team’s or businesses associated with them as indicative of our future performance of an investment in our Company or the returns our Company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.

We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.

We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our Company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in this offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a business combination outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to ascertain or assess adequately all of the relevant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

We may seek business combination opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.

To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues, cash flows or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our executive officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and, as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash.

In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder

 

48

 

approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view.

Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board of directors cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm that the price we are paying is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.

We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained therein. 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 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, up to 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and up to 5,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 476,500,000 and 44,125,000 (assuming in each case that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option) authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance, which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares. The Class B ordinary shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination. Immediately after this offering, there will be no preference shares issued and outstanding.

We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth therein. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:

•

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering;

​

•

may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares;

​

•

could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present executive officers and directors; and

​

•

may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants.

​

 

49

 

Unlike most other similarly structured blank check companies, our initial shareholders will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue shares to consummate an initial business combination.

The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares on the first business day following the consummation of our initial business combination at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of public shares (including any such shares issued following the exercise of the over-allotment option) and Novator private placement shares, plus (ii) the sum of (a) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by us in connection with or in relation to the consummation of our initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any warrants issued in a private placement to our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor upon conversion of working capital loans, minus (b) the number of public shares redeemed by public shareholders in connection with our initial business combination. This is different than most other similarly structured blank check companies in which the initial shareholders will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to the initial business combination.

Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, consultants and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.

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 a portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this prospectus captioned “Tax Considerations—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations”) of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this prospectus captioned “Tax Considerations—​Consequences to U.S. Holders—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations”). 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 (of which there can be no assurance), we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax

 

50

 

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 “Tax Considerations—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Consequences to U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations.”

We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.

In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.

We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders.

We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval under the Companies Law, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders to pay such taxes. Shareholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.

After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue will be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results
of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal
policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.

The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.

Risks Relating to Our Management Team

We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.

Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.

The executive officers and directors of an initial business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.

The role of an initial business combination candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain

 

51

 

members of an initial business combination candidate’s management team will remain associated with the initial business combination candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an initial business combination candidate will not wish to remain in place.

Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.

Our key personnel may be able to remain with our Company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.

Certain of our executive officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Certain of our executive officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) pursuant to which such executive officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.

For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, see “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”

We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.

When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any 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 unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our executive officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

 

52

 

Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. Our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as executive officers and board members for other entities. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, see “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.”

Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.

We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our executive officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.

The personal and financial interests of our directors and executive officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and executive officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. See the section titled “Description of Securities—Certain Differences in Corporate Law—Shareholder Suits” for further information on the ability to bring such claims. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.

We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.

In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as executive officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Management—Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our initial shareholders are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business—Effecting our initial business combination—Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Potential conflicts of interest 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.

 

53

 

Since our initial shareholders and sponsor, directors and executive officers will lose their entire investment in us in respect of their founder shares, Novator private placement units and private placement warrants if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after this offering or the Novator private placement), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.

On December 9, 2020, our sponsor paid $25,000, or $0.004 per share, to convert certain offering and formation costs of the company in exchange for 5,750,000 founder shares. During February 2021, we effectuated a share dividend of 1,006,250 Class B ordinary shares and subsequently cancelled 131,250 Class B ordinary shares resulting in an aggregate of 6,625,000 founder shares being issued and outstanding. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 23,000,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering and sale of the Novator private placement units. Up to 750,000 of the founder shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 4,000,000 private placement warrants (or 4,400,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) for an aggregate purchase price of $6,000,000 (or $6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $1.50 per warrant. The private placement warrants and Novator private placement warrants will expire worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 24-month anniversary of the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.

We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.

Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our executive officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:

•

default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;

​

•

acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;

​

•

our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt 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 Class A ordinary shares;

​

•

using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;

​

•

limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;

​

 

54

 

•

increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and

​

•

limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

​

We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering, the sale of the Novator private placement units and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.

The net proceeds from this offering, the sale of the Novator private placement units and the sale of the private placement warrants will provide us with $236,000,000 (or $266,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (after deducting payment of offering expenses of approximately $1,950,000 and underwriting commissions of  $4,000,000, or $4,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full but not deducting any of the proceeds not held in trust which may be used to pay working capital expenses) that we may use to complete our initial business combination. To the extent, our offering expenses exceed $1,000,000, our sponsor will make a contribution to us in the amount of such excess, which amount will not be repayable by us. See “Use of Proceeds.”

We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry.

Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:

•

solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or

​

•

dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.

​

This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.

We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.

If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence 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.

 

55

 

We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

In pursuing our business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. By definition, very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

Our initial shareholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.

Upon closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own 30.566% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our initial shareholders purchase any units in this offering or if our initial shareholders purchase any additional Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our executive officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares.

Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.

We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction Company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction Company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction Company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger portion of our Company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.

We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate

 

56

 

purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, executive officers, directors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.

In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.

For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, changed industry focus and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law, meaning the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of our Company, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 65% of the public warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months of the closing of this offering. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.

The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of our Company (or two-thirds of our ordinary shares with respect to amendments to the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other special purpose acquisition companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering, the Novator private placement units and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of at least two-thirds of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of our Company, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of two-thirds of our ordinary shares.

 

57

 

Our initial shareholders, sponsor, and directors and executive officers, who will collectively beneficially own, on an as-converted basis, approximately 30.566% of our Class A ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (including the Novator private placement shares and assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering and the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option), 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. The total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding after this offering, the expiration of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the sale of the private placement units will equal 20% of the sum of the total number of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares outstanding at such time plus the number of Class A ordinary shares to be sold pursuant to the private placement agreements. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares and Novator private placement shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares and Novator private placement shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares and Novator private placement shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.

Our letter agreements with our initial shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares may be amended without shareholder approval or approval of the holders of Novator private placement shares.

Our letter agreements with our initial shareholders contains provisions relating to transfer restrictions of our founder shares, private placement warrants and Novator private placement units, indemnification of the trust account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidating distributions from the trust account. Their letter agreements may be amended without shareholder approval (although releasing the parties from the restriction not to transfer the founder shares and Novator private placement shares, for 180 days following the date of this prospectus will require the prior written consent of the underwriters). While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to the letter agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to the letter agreements. Any such amendments to the letter agreements would not require approval from our shareholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.

We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.

We have not selected any potential business combination target but intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the Novator private placement units and the sale of the private placement warrants. As a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemption by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further,

 

58

 

we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our executive officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.

If our sponsor purchases large amounts of public shares in the open market, it may attempt to leverage its redemption rights in order to affect the outcome of a potential initial business combination.

Our sponsor has redemption rights with respect to any public shares and Novator private placement shares it owns, subject to the limitation that under the our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 Exchange Act), is restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% or more of the public shares, without the prior consent of our Company. If management proposes an initial business combination of which our sponsor is not in favor, it may decide to purchase public shares in the open market and seek to leverage its redemption rights to influence whether such business combination is consummated. This could result in our having to negotiate for more favorable terms for our sponsor, which could jeopardize our ability to successfully consummate an initial business combination. In evaluating a prospective target business for our initial business combination, our management will rely on the availability of all of the funds from the sale of the Novator private placement units to be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the initial business combination.

Because each unit contains one-quarter of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.

Each unit contains one-quarter of one redeemable warrant. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least four units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one whole warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-quarter of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if a unit included a warrant to purchase one whole share.

Our initial shareholders paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per founder share and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class A ordinary shares.

The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the Class A ordinary share and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per Class A ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our initial shareholders acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon 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 95.2% (or $9.52 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering of $0.48 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that

 

59

 

the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A ordinary shares.

We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.

Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between our warrant agent and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder of public warrants if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or shares, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.

A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.

Unlike most blank check companies, if (x) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our initial shareholders or their affiliates, or the holders of our Novator private placement shares, without taking into account any founder shares held by our initial shareholders or such affiliates, or Novator private placement shares held by the holders of our Novator private placement shares, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination, and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading day period starting on the trading day after the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described adjacent to the caption “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.

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

 

60

 

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.

We may redeem your unexpired public warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your public warrants worthless.

We have the ability to redeem outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per public warrant, provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption to the public warrants holders and provided certain other conditions are met. If and when the public warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding public warrants could force you to (i) exercise your public warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your public warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your public warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding public warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your public warrants.

In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per public warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a public warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-Dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met, including that holders will be able to exercise their public warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A ordinary shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares. See “Description of Securities—​Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of Warrants When the Price Per Class A Ordinary Share Equals or Exceeds $10.00.” The value received upon exercise of the public warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their public warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the public warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 shares of our Class A ordinary shares per public warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of

 

61

 

the public warrants. None of the private placement warrants or Novator private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the sponsor, directors, executive officers or their permitted transferees.

Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.

We will be issuing warrants to purchase 9,875,000 of our Class A ordinary shares (or up to 11,025,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and the Novator private placement, simultaneously with the closing of this offering. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.

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 underwriters. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with the representative of the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A ordinary shares and warrants underlying the units, include:

•

the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies;

​

•

prior offerings of those companies;

​

•

our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values;

​

•

a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions;

​

•

our capital structure;

​

•

an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies;

​

•

general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and

​

•

other factors as were deemed relevant.

​

Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering size, price and terms of the units is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.

There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.

There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.

 

62

 

Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.

The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.

We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to “emerging growth companies” or “smaller reporting companies,” this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.

We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 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 nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded

 

63

 

$100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.

Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2021. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our 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 business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.

Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or executive officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or executive officers.

Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.

We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be

 

64

 

final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be (i) in respect of taxes, a fine or penalty, (ii) inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, (iii) impeachable on the grounds of fraud or (iv) obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of our board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.

Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include the ability of our board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference 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.

Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.

We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.

Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries

If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.

If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.

If we pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.

If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating and having assets in an international setting, including any of the following:

•

costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations;

​

•

rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;

​

 

65

 

•

laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;

​

•

exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; tariffs and trade barriers;

​

•

regulations related to customs and import/export matters;

​

•

local or regional economic policies and market conditions;

​

•

unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; longer payment cycles;

​

•

tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;

​

•

currency fluctuations and exchange controls;

​

•

rates of inflation;

​

•

challenges in collecting accounts receivable;

​

•

cultural and language differences;

​

•

employment regulations;

​

•

underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems;

​

•

corruption;

​

•

protection of intellectual property;

​

•

social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances;

​

•

regime changes and political upheaval;

​

•

terrorist attacks and wars;

​

•

pandemics and public health emergencies; and

​

•

deterioration of political relations with the United States.

​

We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we are unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.

Following our initial business combination, our management may resign from their positions as executive officers or directors of our Company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.

Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the
international markets to be diminished.

In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.

 

66

 

We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and any determination that we violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, or FCPA, and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by U.S. persons and issuers as defined by the statute for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We may have operations, agreements with third parties and make sales in parts of the world which experience corruption. These activities may create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of our employees, consultants, or sales agents, because these parties are not always subject to our control. It will be our policy to implement safeguards to discourage these practices by our employees. Also, the safeguards we adopt and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective, and our employees, consultants, or sales agents may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, the government may seek to hold our Company liable for successor liability FCPA violations committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquire.

An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences.

An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the units we are issuing in this offering, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the Class A ordinary shares and the one-quarter of a warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share included in each unit could be challenged by the IRS. In addition, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants included in the units we are issuing in this offering is unclear under current law. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our ordinary shares suspend the running of a U.S. Holder’s (as defined in the section titled “Tax Considerations—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations”) holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of Class A ordinary shares is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be considered “qualified dividend income” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. See the section titled “Tax Considerations—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a summary of the U.S. federal income tax considerations of an investment in our securities. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when owning or disposing of our securities.

The majority of our directors and executive officers will live outside the United States and the bulk of our assets may be located outside the United States; therefore, investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.

A majority of our directors and executive officers reside outside of the United States and the bulk of our assets may be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon us or any of our directors or executive officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and executive officers under United States laws, including federal securities laws. See “Description of Securities—Certain Differences in Corporate Law — Enforcement of Civil Liabilities.”

Our search for a business combination, and any partner business with which we ultimately complete a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets.

In December 2019, a novel strain of COVID-19 was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, which has and is continuing to spread throughout the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a

 

67

 

“pandemic”. The COVID-19 pandemic has and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential partner 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 COVID-19 continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the partner business’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and complete a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to complete a business combination, or the operations of a partner business with which we ultimately complete a business combination, may be materially adversely affected. In addition, our ability to complete a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.

We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.

We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the SEC, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.

Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.

 

68

 

 

(1)

Includes amounts payable to public shareholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination.

​

(2)

The amount of the contribution from our sponsor to our Company is an estimate. To the extent, our offering expenses exceed $1,000,000, our sponsor will make a contribution to us in the amount of such excess which amount will not be repayable by us.

​

(3)

The underwriters have agreed to defer underwriting commissions of 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon and concurrently with the completion of our initial business combination, up to $7,000,000, which constitutes the underwriters’ deferred commissions (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriters from the funds held in the trust account. See “Underwriting.” The Novator private placement shares and Novator private placement warrants included in the Novator private placement are not subject to any underwriting fees or commissions whatsoever. The remaining funds, less amounts released to the trustee to pay redeeming shareholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.

​

(4)

These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring our initial business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify 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, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses. The amount in the table above does not include interest available to us from the trust account. To the extent, our offering expenses exceed $1,000,000, our sponsor will make a contribution to us in the amount of such excess, which amount will not be repayable by us. In addition, if we do not have sufficient funds to make the payments due to Caroline Harding for professional services under our executive compensation arrangement with her, we may borrow funds from our sponsor or an affiliate of the initial shareholders or certain of our directors and officers to enable us to make such payments. See “Executive Officer and Director Compensation.”

​

(5)

Includes estimated amounts that may also be used in connection with our initial business combination to fund a “no shop” provision and commitment fees for financing.

​

Nasdaq rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and the Novator private placement units be deposited in a trust account. Of the $241,000,000 in gross proceeds we receive from this offering, the sale of the Novator private placement units and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, or $271,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit), will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, after deducting $4,000,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions payable upon the closing of this offering (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and an aggregate of $1,000,000 will be held outside of the trust account to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $235,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.1% per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. We expect that the interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay income taxes. We will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the trust account, except for the withdrawal of interest to pay our taxes and up to $100,000 to pay liquidation expenses, as applicable, if any, until the earliest of (a) the completion of our initial business combination, (b) the redemption of our public shares and Novator private placement shares if we are unable to complete

 

70

 

our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law, or (c) the redemption of our 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 provide for the redemption of our public shares and Novator private placement shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity.

The net proceeds released to us from the trust account upon the closing of our initial business combination may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may use the balance of the cash released from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction Company, payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to private placement agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, following this offering and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will be prohibited from issuing additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination.

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 sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.

We will pay our sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative
support services provided to members of our management team. Upon completion of our initial business
combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $1,000,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination or for other matters, our sponsor or an affiliate of the initial shareholders or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan our company funds as may be required. If we complete a business combination, we would repay these loans, without interest, out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us, or at the lender’s discretion, up to a maximum of $1,500,000 of such loans (including loans made in connection with a business combination, the payment of offering expenses or otherwise) may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. These warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Otherwise, these loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that a business combination does not close, we may use a portion of proceeds held outside the trust account to repay the these loans, but no proceeds held in the trust account would be used to repay these loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

 

71

 

 

 

 

The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial shareholders and the public shareholders:

(1)

Assumes that 750,000 founder shares are forfeited by our initial shareholders after the closing of this offering in the event the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option.

​

The pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering is calculated as follows:

(1)

Expenses applied against gross proceeds include offering expenses of $1,950,000 and underwriting commissions of $4,000,000 without the over-allotment option exercise and $4,600,000 with the over-allotment option exercise (excluding deferred underwriting fees). See “Use of Proceeds.”

​

(2)

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers or their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. In the event of any such purchases of our shares prior to the completion of our initial business combination, the number of shares of Class A common stock subject to redemption will be reduced by the amount of any such purchases, increasing the pro forma net tangible book value per share. See “Proposed Business — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities.”

​

 

75

 

 

As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, as of December 31, 2020, we had no cash and $557,663 in deferred offering costs. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.

Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events

We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, as of December 31, 2020, we had a working capital deficiency of $552,663. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this uncertainty through this offering are discussed below. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial business combination will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of $1,950,000 and underwriting commissions of  $4,000,000, or $4,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of  $7,000,000, or $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), (ii) the sale of the private placement warrants for a purchase price of  $6,000,000 (or $6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and (iii) the Novator private placement units will be a total of $235,000,000 (or $265,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), which will be held in the trust account and includes the deferred underwriting commissions described above. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. The remaining $1,000,000 will not be held in the trust account. To the extent, our offering expenses exceed $1,000,000, our sponsor will make a contribution to us in the amount of such excess, which amount will not be repayable by us. See “Use of Proceeds.” Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,000,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (less taxes payable and deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay our income taxes, if any. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our income taxes. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used to repay such debt, as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.

Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds to primarily 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

 

77

 

corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, structure, negotiate and complete a business combination, to prepare and make required securities filings, listing application and pay legal and professional fees.

We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial business combination. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination or to fund certain other expenses (including officer expenses to the extent in excess of our estimates and expenses relating to payments due to one of our officers). our sponsor or its affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts (and at the option of the lender, up to $1,500,000 of such loans could be satisfied through the issuance of warrants (substantially the same as the private placement warrants) at $1.50 per warrant.

In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $300,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $100,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $250,000 for consulting, travel and miscellaneous expenses incurred during the search for an initial business combination target; $75,000 for Nasdaq continued listing fees; repayments of loans totaling 25,716; and $35,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves. We will also pay our sponsor $10,000 per month, or up to $240,000 in the aggregate, for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us.

These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the potential business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.

Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account.

Controls and Procedures

We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. Only in the event that we are

 

78

 

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 has our independent registered public accounting firm tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our initial business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:

•

staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties;

​

•

reconciliation of accounts;

​

•

proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate;

​

•

evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions;

​

•

documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and

​

•

documentation of accounting policies and procedures.

​

Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expense in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.

Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent registered public accounting firm to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent registered public accounting firm may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

The net proceeds of this offering, the sale of the Novator private placement units and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.

Related Party Transactions

On December 9, 2020 our sponsor paid $25,000, or $0.004 per share, to cover certain offering and formation costs of the company in exchange for 5,750,000 founder shares. During February 2021, we effectuated a share dividend of 1,006,250 Class B ordinary shares and subsequently cancelled 131,250 Class B ordinary shares resulting in an aggregate of 6,625,000 founder shares being issued and outstanding. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to our Company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. 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

 

79

 

respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders at 20.0% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering and the Novator private placement.

Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

Our initial shareholders, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, executive officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.

Our sponsor, as well as certain of our directors and executive officers, have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 3,500,000 units in a separate private placement to occur concurrently with the closing of this offering. Each such unit shall consist of one Class A ordinary share and one-quarter of one warrant and shall be offered at a price of $10.00 per unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $35,000,000. The gross proceeds of the private placement will be deposited into the trust account.

Additionally, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of December 31, 2020, we had $25,716 in borrowings under the promissory note with our sponsor. In the event we do borrow under the promissory note, these loans would be non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021, or the closing of this offering. These loans would be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,000,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. To the extent, our offering expenses exceed $1,000,000, our sponsor will make a contribution to us in the amount of such excess, which amount will not be repayable by us. See “Use of Proceeds.”

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination or for other matters, our sponsor or an affiliate of the initial shareholders or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan our company funds as may be required. If we complete a business combination, we would repay these loans, without interest, out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us, or at the lender’s discretion, up to a total of $1,500,000 of such loans (including loans made in connection with a business combination, the payment of offering expenses or otherwise) may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. These warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Otherwise, these loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that a business combination does not close, we may use a portion of proceeds held outside the trust account to repay the these loans, but no proceeds held in the trust account would be used to repay these loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results

As of December 31, 2020, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus, as we have conducted no operations to date.

JOBS Act

On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are

 

80

 

electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company”, we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an independent registered public accounting firm’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the report of the independent registered public accounting firm providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis), and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the Chief Executive Officer’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of this offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.

 

81

 

 

Prabhu Narasimhan, 40, has been our chief investment officer since our Company’s inception. Mr. Narasimhan has almost two decades of experience as a lawyer at three leading international law firms, two as partner (Mayer Brown, White & Case and Baker & McKenzie). During his time at White & Case, Mr. Narasimhan held the position of partner and Global Head of Family Offices, advising high net worth family offices on all transactional aspects (mergers and acquisitions, bank finance, tax, structuring and execution) of their investments. Mr. Narasimhan then moved to Baker & McKenzie to found their London headquartered Alternative Capital practice, acting as a senior strategic advisor to multi-billion dollar family offices and private equity funds on multi-billion dollar mergers and acquisitions and equity and debt capital markets transactions worldwide. His re-structuring of ATP Media Operations Ltd.’s, or ATP Media, tennis broadcasting rights and his crafting of fiscal stimulus laws in Europe have been widely recognized and commended, particularly by the FT Innovative Lawyers awards. Mr. Björgólfsson and Mr. Narasimhan have partnered with each other since they met in 2014. Their shared interests and collaborative relationship, with Mr. Narasimhan serving as Mr. Björgólfsson and Novator’s primary legal advisor, led them to explore the creation of a dynamic multi-asset investment firm with a developed markets focus, investing in both public and private financial instruments, in addition to selectively undertaking pre-initial public offering private equity investments, most particularly in media and technology. Mr. Narasimhan, together with a third partner, co-founded in 2020, Novator Capital, an affiliate of our sponsor. Additionally, in 2020, Mr. Narasimhan was appointed to the board of directors as a director of the media company, Prime Focus World N.V.

Caroline Harding, 40, has been our chief financial officer since our Company’s inception and serves on our board of directors. Ms. Harding qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young LLP in 2007. Prior to relocating to the Cayman Islands in 2020, Ms. Harding was the chief financial officer for Weybourne Ltd., Sir James Dyson’s family office, where she was a member of a team that oversaw a multi-billion pound portfolio which included the James Dyson Group. During this time, Ms. Harding served as a director of eleven Weybourne Group-related entities, which included the overall holding company responsible for strategy and investments. Ms. Harding was the senior accounting officer for Weybourne Group and the compliance and anti-money laundering officer for its Financial Conduct Authority regulated subsidiary. For the nine years prior to Weybourne, Ms. Harding served as the chief financial officer and director of Exploration Capital Ltd., or Exploration Capital, a family office, for five of her nine years with the company. Exploration Capital manages a diversified global investment portfolio with a particular focus on agricultural and development land in Latin America. Ms. Harding was simultaneously chief financial officer of one of the portfolio companies, a high performance engineering business, Gilo Industries Group Ltd., or Gilo, and successfully re-structured the accounting and reporting systems of this business.

Shravin Mittal, 30, is the founder of Unbound and managing director of Bharti Global, the family office of the Bharti family. Unbound is a globally focused long term technology investment arm that aims to build and back technology companies. The firm invests globally across both developed and emerging markets and is focused on building and backing the next generation of 100-year companies. Unbound has made 17 investments, including investments in Databricks, Snowflake Inc., Asana Inc., mPharma, Iberia Cars24 Ltd., Forto Group Ltd., Syfe Pte. Ltd., Paack SPV Investments, S.L. Bharti Global has numerous investments in telecommunications, technology, energy and hospitality. Previously, Mr. Mittal was an investor at Softbank (2016-2017). Prior to that, Mr. Mittal was an assistant director at Better Capital (2014-2015), a Private Equity firm in London. Between 2010 to 2012. Mr. Mittal was the managing director at Bharti Airtel Ltd., or Airtel, in Africa and India. Prior to that, he worked with JPMorgan Chase & Co., or JP Morgan, in Investment Banking covering media and technology. Mr. Mittal has a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, Class 2014, and founded Airtel Rising Star Academy (a youth football initiative in Africa and India).

Sangeeta Desai, 44, is an experienced investor and C-level executive, and currently serves on number of listed and private boards globally. She brings a unique combination of strategic, operating and financial experience, having spent her early career in investment banking and private equity before taking on leadership roles in global media businesses. She is currently the chairman of Mopar Media Group AB, or Mopar Media (2020 to present) and is a non-executive director on the boards of Orbit Showtime Network, or OSN (2020 to present) and Ocean Outdoor Ltd., or Ocean Outdoor (2018 to present). During 2021, Ms. Desai was appointed to the board of directors of Boat Rocker Media Inc., or Boat Rocker Media. Her most recent executive experience was as group chief operating officer and chief executive officer of Emerging Markets

 

83

 

at FremantleMedia (2013 to 2018), and prior to that as chief operating officer of Hit Entertainment (2009 to 2012). Prior to joining HIT, Sangeeta was a Principal at Apax Partners (2005 to 2009), where she invested in the media industry globally, and she started her career as an investment banker at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (2004 to 2005) and JP Morgan (1998 to 2001). She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Michael Edelstein, 52, serves on our Company’s board of directors. Mr. Edelstein is a creative business leader, investor and producer who has a track record of developing award-winning content in a variety of high-profile executive roles. Mr. Edelstein has demonstrated a breadth of skill in developing clear business strategies and financial management as well as being equally adept at communicating with writers, directors and producers in order to create global quality content. From 1998 to 2002, he was the director of current programs at CBS Corporation. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Edelstein was the executive producer of the Desperate Housewives. From 2010 to 2017, he was the president of NBCUniversal International where he built the division into one of the most respected content players in the international marketplace. He is highly experienced in international television markets.

Business Strategy

We intend to source initial business combination opportunities by utilizing our management team’s, board of directors’ and sponsor’s many years of experience and extensive networks and relationships with top venture firms looking to efficiently scale their winning portfolio companies and partner with private equity firms looking to build further business value in the EMEA Technology and Media sector. We expect that a universe of potential targets will be identified through a series of criteria to filter the most attractive and actionable opportunities in our available time horizon. This universe is supplemented by the network that we collectively and uniquely possess from years of experience developing relationships with the C-suite of our generation, other EMEA Technology and Media investors and family offices. This is coupled with our team’s substantial deal experience, where they have worked cooperatively with targets and companies to develop and execute financings on a primary and secondary basis, using different parts of the capital structure and financial structuring to support dividend recapitalizations and other corporate financing strategies to drive the returns of stakeholders.

While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any stage of its corporate evolution or in any industry or sector, we intend to focus our search on Europe, the Middle East and Africa technology and media, or EMEA Technology and Media, companies.

There has been a significant and increasing volume of transaction activity in the EMEA Technology and Media sector in recent years, and we believe that by raising capital now, we can best position ourselves to opportunistically take advantage of this trend and as potential acquisition opportunities arise.

According to Dealogic, between 2010 and December 2020, there has been approximately $975 billion of transaction volume, involving approximately 559 deals of over $500 million in enterprise value in the EMEA Technology and Media industry. According to Dealogic, transaction activity by volume and value has been growing, with $362 billion in 226 transactions taking place between 2011 and 2015. Subsequently, transaction value grew 56% to $564 billion and transaction volume grew 34% to 302 transactions from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2020.

In addition, over the past years, there has been significant increase in value of private investments, including private equity and venture capital, into European companies, which we believe will continue to drive significant transaction activity in the coming years. According to Invest Europe, the total equity amount invested in European companies increased 10% year-on-year to €94 billion in 2019—the highest level of investment ever recorded, with 27% of this investment directed into the ICT (information and communications technology) sector. According to Invest Europe, European venture capital investment reached €10.6 billion in 2019, reflecting 19% year-on-year growth and marking uninterrupted growth in that segment since 2013.

We believe that the EMEA Technology and Media industry, as part of the Global TMT industry, is in the midst of change, with deal activity fueled by a drive towards scale and consolidation, corporate portfolio

 

84

 

realignment and optimization, technological disruption and convergence. We believe Aurora Acquisition Corp. provides an ideal platform to take advantage of this potential deal flow.

Our management team and board of directors have significant experience in the EMEA Technology and Media industry and specifically in sourcing, acquiring, growing and monetizing these types of companies. We believe this experience makes us exceptionally well suited to identify, negotiate and successfully execute an initial business combination with the ultimate goal of generating attractive returns for our shareholders.

Business Combination Criteria

Consistent with our business strategy, we have developed the following criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in selecting the most attractive business combination target. We intend to use these guidelines, combined with our management team’s experience and expertise, to methodically identify, filter and select our potential target companies. While we intend to utilize these criteria in evaluating business combination opportunities, we expect that no individual criterion will entirely determine a decision to pursue a particular investment opportunity. Further, we remain flexible to pursue any unique media and technology opportunity that may not meet one or more of these criteria.

Our detailed process and our strong deal-sourcing expertise and experience will allow us to assess potential EMEA Technology and Media target companies, from core network and traditional media assets to advanced technologies with momentum and showing potential for rapid acceleration. We will capitalize on the experience and internal resources of our management team and board, who are active in the EMEA Technology and Media sectors to identify potential target companies based on size and progress towards a tailwind product or service. We will delineate between capital-intensive and capital-light, i.e., software prospects that are accessible through primary relationships or approachable through our vast network of professional contacts.

Together, our management team and board and sponsor are in a strong position to attract a large pool of potential target companies from which they can select the best investment opportunities. Characteristics and attributes of the companies we will see to target include:

•

attractive market and competitive dynamics;

​

•

compelling long-term growth prospects;

​

•

leadership in technology driven transformation;

​

•

high barriers to entry for new entrants;

​

•

low or manageable risks of technological obsolescence;

​

•

defensible position in intellectual property;

​

•

strong recurring revenues;

​

•

attractive steady-state margins;

​

•

high incremental margins;

​

•

favorable environmental, social and corporate governance characteristics;

​

•

opportunities for operational improvement; and

​

•

opportunities for further consolidation.

​

These criteria and characteristics 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. In the event that we find an opportunity that has characteristics more compelling to us than the characteristics described above, we would pursue such opportunity.

Our Team

Our team’s combined experience, networks, and long-standing relationships will provide valuable access to the highest quality technology companies and will produce unique insights and opportunities for

 

85

 

growth and value creation. Our management team is also well-positioned to identify and execute a business combination as a preferred partner to a high-quality technology or media company.

Our team has a unique breadth of experience in a variety of sub-sectors within the TMT industry, with a wealth of experience in working together, collaboratively and with success both with each other and other external partners. Each member brings a different perspective, skill set and track record of involvement in high value, successful investments.

Our management team will be led by the Chairman of our board of directors, Thor Björgólfsson. Mr. Björgólfsson’s strong telecommunications pedigree and history of investment success across EMEA Media and Technology, through his decade of experience in founding and leading of Novator to becoming the pre-eminent investor in TMT in Europe and Latin America, is complemented by Mr. Massenet, who has a strong track record of founding, operating and investing in technology companies.

Mr. Massenet is our chief executive officer. He co-founded online fashion e-commerce platform, Net-a-Porter (1999 – 2015), over two decades ago, largely self-financing the business together with Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., or Richemont Group. He was an active board member for more than 10 years, involved in important strategic decisions including creation of the Outnet.com, Mr. Porter, Porter Magazine, finally culminating in a 2-step sale in 2010 and 2015 to the Richemont Group. In addition, Mr. Massenet is the chairman and Founder of Grip, an artificial intelligence company specializing in organizing virtual conferences for corporates and match making for exhibitors. He is also the chief executive officer and director of De Pury Ltd., an online platform for contemporary culture and auctions of contemporary art.

Mr. Narasimhan will contribute as our chief investment officer, leveraging his experience facilitating complex mergers and acquisitions transactions and as a deal sourcer and investment advisor for his clients. As chief executive officer of Novator Capital, a $750 million alternative investment firm backed by Mr. Björgólfsson focused on investing in listed and soon-to-be listed media and technology companies, Mr. Narasimhan continues to source, structure, diligence, negotiate and execute mergers and acquisitions transactions globally and is a key member of the Investment Committee of Novator Capital.

Mr. Narasimhan’s track record advising alternative investment firms, family offices and private equity funds on global multi-billion mergers and acquisitions transactions, in addition to his recent experience as chief executive officer of Novator Capital, will provide key support to the management team.

In turn, Ms. Harding joins the management team as our chief financial officer, drawing on her wealth of experience as chief financial officer of Weybourne, Sir James Dyson’s single family office, which was responsible for a multi-billion pound portfolio which included the James Dyson Group Ltd. Ms. Harding was a director of eleven Weybourne related companies, including the overall holding company responsible for Group strategy and investments.

On the deal sourcing and execution side of our management team, Mr. Narasimhan and Ms. Harding offer key experience identifying, negotiating and executing business combinations with the goal of generating attractive returns for investors.

Each member of our management team has experience relevant to our business strategy. Our management team has deep operational experience, as well as experience in identifying underlying technology trends, recognizing how and when a business is positioned for growth, and understanding the organizational and product optimizations needed to execute successfully.

They are supported and complemented by a director team steeped in operational and investment experience and excellence, which includes Mr. Edelstein, Ms. Desai and Mr. Mittal, each of whom brings a different perspective of the media industry.

Mr. Edelstein is a former president of NBCUniversal International Studios, where he helped build the international studio into a respected content player in the international market producing premium television shows for global audiences including Downton Abbey. During his tenure, the division created more than 1,100 hours of original content and garnered numerous awards including 18 Emmys, three Golden Globes and six BAFTAS.

 

86

 

Ms. Desai brings strategic, operating and financial experience in the global media industry as principal in Apax Partners, as group chief operating officer and chief executive officer of emerging markets at FremantleMedia and as chief operating officer of Hit Entertainment. Ms. Desai is an experienced executive, and currently serves on a number of listed and private company boards globally. She is currently the chairman of Mopar Media and is a non-executive director on the boards of OSN and Ocean Outdoor.

Mr. Mittal joins the investment side of our director team, bringing a strong track record of investing in technology and telecommunications companies worldwide. Mr. Mittal has a wealth of experience in the telecommunications and technology sectors through his position as Founder of Unbound, and a director of Bharti Global, the Bharti family office. Through these positions, Mr. Mittal has extensive investing experience across the telecommunications, technology, energy and hospitality sectors.

We have a strong sponsor, Novator Capital Sponsor Ltd., which forms part of Novator Partners LLP, or Novator, of which Mr. Björgólfsson, the chairman of our board of directors, is founder. Our sponsor will provide us with valuable strategic, operational, product management, analytical, financial, transactional, communications, legal, and other expertise and networks that we will leverage as we seek to identify and execute a business combination and drive future value for the combined business.

Novator is an alternative investment firm founded by Mr. Björgólfsson in 2004, specializing in investing in companies that have the potential to disrupt markets across the global telecommunications, media and technology industries, or Global TMT Industry. As of November 2019, Novator had approximately €3 billion of assets under management. Through its private capital, deep sector experience and strong track record, Novator has generated growth and returns from recognizing unique market opportunities.

Novator focuses on developing strong management teams in each of its portfolio companies and while granting them the autonomy to create value, maintains a supervisory role, principally through representation on the boards of its portfolio companies. Accordingly, Novator has an investment model and track record which we believe is well-suited to a “special purpose acquisition” company. Novator differentiates itself from many other private equity companies or investment firms in concentrating on complex situations, either by virtue of their structure or their cross-border nature. To create value, Novator undertakes the restructuring or “de-risking” of investment opportunities through re-financing, combining acquired assets with existing businesses, through sale to strategic or financial buyers, or through public listing.

Geographically, Novator has a history of identifying opportunities in underserved markets that other firms typically shy away from. Novator’s longstanding approach is to back local management teams in building dynamic challenger brands, or to build new companies with its own teams, hand-picked for their operational excellence. Novator is an active, engaged and knowledgeable investor with a flexible approach to driving value for all stakeholders.

Novator’s current portfolio includes investments in telecommunications operators WOM S.A., or WOM (Chile, Colombia), Nova (Iceland) hf., media and technology companies such as Food Tech company Deliveroo, Artificial Intelligence company Play Fusion Ltd., global multiplayer video game company Zwift Inc., or Zwift, technology company Stripe Inc., among others. Novator’s successful track record of exits includes telecommunications operators TurkNet Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. in Turkey, Netia S.A., or Netia, in Poland, Elisa Corp. in Finland, Forthnet S.A. in Romania, Bulgarian Telecommunications EAD d/b/a Vivacom, PLAY Communications S.A., or PLAY, in Poland, Be.Live Studios Ltd., video game company CCP hf., or CCP, and cloud software company Greenqloud ehf.

Novator has its operative headquarters in London, with additional offices in Luxembourg, Switzerland, Iceland and Cyprus.

During 2020, Mr. Björgólfsson launched a new division of Novator, Novator Capital Advisors LLP, or Novator Capital, of which our Chief Investment Officer and Head of Legal, Mr. Prabhu Narasimhan, is chief executive officer.

Mr. Björgólfsson (through Novator Capital), Mr. Massenet and Mr. Narasimhan are each expected to provide co-investment in our equity and provide “at-risk capital”. In total, our sponsor, directors and executive officers will be providing $35 million in the aggregate in respect of the Novator private placement units and $6 million in respect of the private placement warrants.

 

87

 

Novator Capital expects to meaningfully grow its asset portfolio over the next year. Novator Capital was formed by three partners, two of which are Mr. Björgólfsson (as chairman and founder) and Mr. Narasimhan (as chief executive officer). Novator Capital forms a new division of Novator and operates independently of it, while having the same back office support (in-house tax, treasury, finance and legal teams) across the Novator office network available to it.

Our Operating Experience

Our management team has a breadth of operating experience and this is perhaps best illustrated by two key case studies which our key members of the management team, were at the forefront of.

One such case study is Novator’s acquisition and exit process of PLAY, a leading telecommunications company in Poland. In 2005, Novator, acquired PLAY by approaching a minority local partner, Netia, to form a company called P4 Ltd., or P4, owned 70 percent by Novator and 30 percent by Netia, which was successful in an auction for a polish 3G license. In 2007, Novator launched PLAY as a brand and network, to become the fourth mobile operator in Poland, competing against the multinational telecommunications companies, T-Mobile and Orange, as well as Plus Communications Ltd., then owned by Vodafone Group Plc and TeleDanmark Communications A/S, and subsequently sold to a local entrepreneur, Mr. Zygmunt Solorz-Żak.

Over the next four years and led by Novator, through innovation and effective execution of key strategies, PLAY quickly scaled up to gain a significant market share. Key strategic steps taken included the introduction, by Novator, of Greek entrepreneur Mr. Panos Germanos, through his investment group, Olympia Group Ltd., or Olympia, as a third investor in P4, by buying his mobile phone retailer in Poland, thus adding 400 retail shops to PLAY’s footprint. Novator subsequently bought out local partner Netia later in 2007, leaving PLAY majority owned by Novator. In January 2009, PLAY essentially became a joint venture between Novator and Olympia, as PLAY was moving from being a start-up to being an established Polish operator.

In 2017, through further investment from Novator and debt funding (organized by Novator), PLAY became a leading operator in Poland, creating conditions for a successful initial public offering. Accordingly, in July of 2017 PLAY launched an initial public offering on the Warsaw Stock Exchange with market capitalization of €2.2 billion and enterprise value of €3.9 billion, and distributed in excess of €330 million in dividends to its shareholder over the following three years.

During 2020, Novator fully exited PLAY, selling its remaining stake to Iliad S.A., who had launched a tender offer for 100% of PLAY in September 2020, valuing the company at €2.2 billion equity value and enterprise value of €3.5 billion.

Our second key case study is in relation to Net-a-Porter, which was co-founded by Mr. Massenet. In 1999, largely financed by himself and the Richemont Group. By co-founding Net-a-Porter, Mr. Massenet sought to change industry behavior through key innovative practices which included:

•

convincing fashion brands to change their distribution channels and move these online;

​

•

establishing a market place by changing global consumer behavior such that consumers could buy items online without touching or trying such products;

​

•

achieving major luxury group endorsement—Mr. Massenet achieved this through ensuring investment from the Richemont Group from launch; and

​

•

achieving “white label” status—many luxury brands awarded online exclusivity to Net-a-Porter against their website’s design.

​

Through these practices, Net-a-Porter was able to establish a successful business model whereby:

•

it was the first pure online retailer with full control of inventory;

​

•

it built global logistics, warehouses in Hong Kong, New-York, UK, China; and

​

•

it provided full customer check-out options including import/export taxes globally since 2000.

​

 

88

 

Through these key practices, Net-a-Porter became a revolutionary operator within its sector, such that it created award winning ventures and led to an eventual two step sale to the Richemont Group. The first step taking place in 2010, orchestrated by Mr. Massenet, with him also negotiating the remaining package for the Massenet Family until 2015, at which point the second stage sale took place.

Investor returns from the Net-a-Porter investment were impressive, with each exit delivering significant returns, amounting to many multiples of the original investment, to investors. Following Mr. Massenet’s exit, the Richemont Group listed and then subsequently de-listed Net-a-Porter from listing on the Milan Stock Exchange before agreeing to a joint venture in Asia with AliBaba Group Holding Ltd. The valuation of Net-a-Porter was approximately $5 billion at its de-listing in 2018—a testament to the innovation and operative skills of Mr. Massenet.

Additionally, through our affiliation with Novator both through our sponsor and founder, we can draw on a great deal of investment experience in the TMT space. Founded in 2004 by our Chairman, Mr. Björgólfsson, Novator specializes in investing in companies that have the potential to disrupt markets across the TMT Industry. Through its private capital, deep sector experience and strong track record, Novator has generated growth and returns from recognizing uncommon market opportunities.

Geographically, Novator has a history of identifying opportunities in underserved markets that other firms typically shy away from. Novator’s longstanding approach is to back local management teams in building dynamic challenger brands, or to build new companies with its own teams, hand-picked for their operational excellence. Novator is an active, engaged and knowledgeable investor with a flexible approach to driving value for all of our stakeholders.

Some key examples of successful investments by Novator include:

•

WOM: WOM Chile: the acquisition of Nextel Chile in 2015, which was rebranded to WOM, and subsequent development to a 6 million subscriber business. In 2019, revenues generated were calculated at approximately 505 billion Chilean Pesos (approximately $689 million) with a workforce of approximately 1,500. WOM is expected to expand its operations further in Latin America with the launch of WOM Colombia following Novator’s acquisition of Avflowantel SA in Colombia;

​

•

Zwift: an initial investment by Novator in Zwift (a multiplayer online cycling and running physical training platform) in November 2016, followed by further participation in a Series B funding round of approximately $120 million. Since launching in 2015, Zwift has seen over 2.5 million accounts registered across 190 countries. The current valuation of Zwift exceeds $1 billion as of September 2020;

​

•

Klang Ltd., or Klang: a Berlin based game studio which built a popular multiplayer online game called Seed. It was founded in Berlin in 2013 before an investment therein was made by Novator in 2017. Novator led future funding rounds raising a total of $22.3 million from investors including Lego Ventures. A member of the Novator team was appointed as Chairman of the board and with support from Novator, Klang raised $37 million by 2019. Klang is currently valued at approximately $120 million as of August 2019 based on the midpoint of the estimated valuation range; and

​

•

CCP: an interactive entertainment company which built two successful virtual reality games EVE: Valkyrie and Gunjack. CCP was founded in Iceland in 1997 with Novator’s initial investment made in 2015. Novator participated in further funding rounds to bolster the production of virtual reality content. In 2018, CCP was sold to a South Korean games studio, Pearl Abyss Corp., for $425 million. The board of CCP was led by a member of the Novator team since 2005.

​

Our Investing, Advising, and Board Experience

Members of our management team have extensive experience as investors in and board members of companies at various stages of their journeys. They have worked with chief executive officers, founders, and boards as long-term partners to help them build out and execute their visions, invest for long-term growth, and drive shareholder value.

Examples of investment experience include an investment by Novator in Zwift, a multiplayer online cycling and running physical training platform which enables users to interact, train and compete in a

 

89

 

virtual world founded in California in 2014. In November 2016, Novator led a funding round, whereby it invested $27 million in Zwift. Total funding at this stage was $44 million, reflecting Novator’s early investment. In 2018, Novator participated in a Series B funding round of approximately $120 million. The purposes of such funding was to invest in a new running discipline and expanding into the burgeoning e-sports market. At this time, 2016, a partner within Novator Partners, joined the board of Zwift (and is a current board member) to assist in guiding the company.

In September 2020, Zwift announced a $450 million minority investment to be used to accelerate the development of Zwift’s core software platform and bring Zwift-designed hardware to market, making Zwift a more immersive and seamless experience for users. Since launching in 2015, Zwift has seen over 2.5 million accounts registered across 190 countries, positioning Zwift as a global leader in the at-home connected fitness market. Zwift’s prominence has increased significantly in 2020 as many turned to the platform to provide not just a fitness solution but also a means to help them maintain their social connections by joining Zwift’s vibrant community who work out together online. Zwift has also led the way in a new category of physically-powered e-sports, hosting a number of professional events including the first Virtual Tour de France in July, an event broadcast to over 130 countries worldwide that saw the world’s best male and female professional cyclists compete. Later this year, Zwift will be the host platform for the inaugural UCI Cycling E-sports World Championships.

The valuation of Zwift as of September 2020 exceeded $1 billion, demonstrating Novator’s ability, led by Mr. Björgólfsson, the Chairman of our board of directors, to identify a target, assist with its growth, provide key management experience and assist lead it to unparalleled growth.

Noting that all blank check companies require management and a board of directors to be able to identify, negotiate and successfully execute an initial business combination with the ultimate goal of generating attractive returns for their shareholder, our team has a strong track record in advising and managing a variety of companies in a variety of sectors.

Mr. Narasimhan, in his role as a lawyer with over 15 years of experience at three global law firms (and as partner in two of them) advising alternative investment firms, family offices and private equity funds on global multi-billion mergers and acquisitions transactions, will provide key and sound advice, both from a commercial and legal perspective, drawing on his many years of advising multi-billion family offices and private equity house on all transactional aspects (mergers and acquisitions, bank finance, tax, structuring and execution) of their investments.

Supporting Mr. Narasimhan and the wider team, Ms. Harding and Ms. Desai will draw upon their respective experiences as chief financial officer and directors of a variety of boards for companies in a variety of sectors.

Ms. Harding has notable experience as chief financial officer for Weybourne, Sir James Dyson’s family office, where she was a member of a team that oversaw a multi-billion pound portfolio which included the James Dyson Group. During this time, Ms. Harding served as a director of eleven Weybourne Group related entities, which included the overall holding company responsible for group strategy and investments. Ms. Harding was the senior accounting officer for Weybourne Group and the compliance and anti-money laundering officer for the Financial Conduct Authority regulated subsidiary. For the 9 years prior to acting for Weybourne, Ms. Harding was its chief financial officer and director of Exploration Capital for five of her nine years with the company. Exploration Capital is a single family office, which manages a diversified global investment portfolio with a particular focus on agricultural and development land in Latin America. Ms. Harding was simultaneously chief financial officer of one of the portfolio companies, a high performance engineering business, Gilo, and successfully re-structured the accounting and reporting systems.

Ms. Desai is an experienced executive, and currently serves on number of listed and private boards globally. She is currently the chairman of Mopar Media and is a non-executive director on the boards of OSN and Ocean Outdoor. Her most recent executive experience was as group chief operating officer and chief executive officer of emerging markets at FremantleMedia, and prior to that as chief operating officer of Hit Entertainment.

Not all of the companies in which our team has invested have achieved the same level of value creation. Past performance by any member or members of our management team, any of their respective affiliates, or

 

90

 

Novator Capital is not a guarantee either (1) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (2) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of any member or members of our management team, any of their respective affiliates, or Novator Capital, or any related investment’s performance, as indicative of the future performance of an investment in our Company or the returns our company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.

Industry Opportunity

Media and content consumption have been on the rise over the past years, changing the way individuals and businesses behave and consume products and services. The primary drivers of this change are related to a number of self-reinforcing trends taking place in the technology and telecommunications sector, making access to internet easier, more mobile, and more ubiquitous. Specifically, the sharp rise in the use of smartphones and other smart and connected devices, such as connected TVs, set-top-boxes and gaming consoles, has led to more content being created for these devices, more usage and consequentially more network traffic. Each year, new devices with increased capabilities are introduced and adopted in the market. In turn, telecommunications operators and internet service providers have and are taking advantage of technologies such as 4G, 5G and fiber-to-the-home access, in order to offer end-users increasingly higher broadband speeds.

We expect these mega-trends to continue and that the traditional distinctions among telecommunications, technology and media will continue to blur, driven by consumers’ increasing need for connectivity. We believe there are deep synergies driving this convergence as telecommunications infrastructure, technological platforms and applications, and media content and entertainment become ever-more inter-dependent. For example, as consumers upgrade to newer and more advanced mobile devices with higher bandwidth speeds and improved security capabilities, they dramatically expand their use of new digital technologies such as telemedicine and video conferencing. Consumers are also utilizing a greater variety of media formats, such as social media, marketplaces and e-commerce, video streaming, non-linear video, interactive content and cloud/social gaming. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the shift to online and mobile shopping and content consumption, including in previously underpenetrated segments of the population. Finally, the expansion and increased sophistication of the digital ecosystem are introducing new challenges and opportunities for hardware and software technology companies to optimize and deliver converged solutions to both B2B and B2C users.

Our management team’s objective is to generate attractive returns and create value for our shareholders by identifying attractive investment opportunities that could benefit from the addition of capital, management expertise, industry know-how and strategic insight. We expect to leverage the operational expertise and extensive sector knowledge of our management team and board of directors to identify and complete our initial business combination with a quality company that fits our criteria for value creation through our involvement. Based on our core competencies to target companies that leverage catalysts in the marketplace for superior growth, we believe that we can generate attractive returns for our shareholders.

Our acquisition strategy will focus broadly on the EMEA Technology and Media sectors with an emphasis on companies that have the potential to disrupt markets across these industries.

We intend to focus on both the media and the technology sectors, both of which are broad in scope. While we do not have a specific and committed sub-sector for a future investment, we find that the following select sub-segments of the EMEA Technology and Media industry are examples of areas benefitting from strong underlying trends, have a good fit within the broader convergence theme of telecommunications, media and technology and where we are able to leverage our leadership team’s experience, including the following:

•

E-Commerce: online market place, advertising technology;

​

•

Social Media: matchmaking/AI, social platforms;

​

•

Gaming: video, mobile and online gaming;

​

•

Streaming: companies in the music and/or sport industry ecosystem;

​

•

Content: visual graphics;

​

 

91

 

•

Hardware: extended reality—AR/VR, communications infrastructure;

​

•

B2B Software: big data applications, Operating Support Systems, security/cybersecurity; and

​

•

Consumer Software: visualisation technology, mobility and auto technology.

​

We intend to source initial business combination opportunities by utilizing our management team’s, board of directors’ and sponsor’s extensive networks and relationships with top venture firms looking to efficiently scale their winning portfolio companies and partner with private equity firms looking to build further business value in the EMEA Technology and Media sectors. We expect that a universe of potential targets will be identified through a series of criteria to filter the most attractive and actionable opportunities in our available time horizon. This universe is supplemented by the network that we collectively and uniquely possess from years of experience developing relationships with the C-suite of our generation, other EMEA Technology and Media investors and family offices. This is coupled with our team’s substantial deal experience, where they have worked cooperatively with targets and companies to develop and execute financings on a primary and secondary basis, using different parts of the capital structure and financial structuring to support dividend recapitalizations and other corporate financing strategies to drive the returns of stakeholders.

Competitive Strengths

We anticipate offering the following benefits to our business combination partner:

•

Partnership with our management team members who have extensive and proven track records of founding, scaling, operating, advising and investing in market-leading TMT companies;

​

•

Access to our network of leading industry executives, entrepreneurs, and investors;

​

•

Increased company profile and visibility with customers and preferred vendor relationships;

​

•

Infusion of cash and ongoing access to public capital markets;

​

•

Listed public currency for future acquisitions and growth;

​

•

Ability for management to retain control and focus on growing the business; and

​

•

Opportunity to motivate and retain employees using share-based compensation.

​

In offering these benefits to our business combination partner, we intend to leverage the following sources of competitive strengths in seeking to achieve our business strategy:

•

Management team’s industry knowledge and contacts;

​

•

Deal flow sourcing and business development resources available from our sponsor and its affiliates;

​

•

Management team’s experience and reputation in sourcing opportunities;

​

•

Extensive relationships within the private equity community (a potential source of deal flow);

​

•

Management team’s demonstrated ability to create value for their shareholders; and

​

•

Strong track record of operational excellence.

​

Our key differentiators, therefore, when compared to other special purpose acquisition companies for any business combination partner and investor, include:

•

the key support we will have from our sponsor as a member of the Novator group of companies, backed by our Chairman, Mr. Björgólfsson;

​

•

a management team with a breadth of experience in their own key sub-sectors but with clear alignment as to how the success of our Company is to be achieved; and

​

•

clarity of focus on targeted sectors with a renowned and experienced founders, alongside a management team formed of market-leading entrepreneurs in the TMT sectors combined with leaders in professional services with a longstanding track record of diligencing, negotiating and executing global multi-billion dollar mergers and acquisitions transactions.

​

 

92

 

Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets

We believe our management team’s significant operating and transaction experience and relationships will provide us with a substantial number of potential initial business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, the reputation of our management team for integrity and fair dealing with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions.

This network has provided our management team with a flow of referrals that has resulted in numerous transactions which were proprietary or where a limited group of investors were invited to participate in the sale process. We believe that the network of contacts and relationships of our management team will provide us important sources of investment opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business combination candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, executive officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of our independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our Company from a financial point of view.

Members of our management team and our independent directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares, units and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our executive 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 executive officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

While they are not required to commit their full time to our affairs, both our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Massenet, and our Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Narasimhan, expect to commit a significant amount of their working time to our Company. Our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as executive officers and board members for other entities. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. In addition to their time, Mr. Björgólfsson (through Novator Capital), Mr. Massenet and Mr. Narasimhan are each expected to provide co-investment in our equity and provide “at-risk capital”. In total, our sponsor and certain of our directors and executive officers will be providing $35 million in respect of the Novator private placement units and $6 million in respect of the private placement warrants.

Each of our executive officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such executive officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our executive officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our directors and executive officers are also not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable

 

93

 

law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an executive 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 executive officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our executive officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Our sponsor and our executive officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Structuring of our Business Combination

Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the target’s assets or prospects.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way 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, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction Company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction Company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction Company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction Company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction Company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% of net assets test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.

Our principal executive offices are located at Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands. Additionally, our sponsor has granted us office space at 20 North Audley Street, London, W1K 6LX.

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

 

94

 

certain provisions of the Companies Law. As an exempted company, we have applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Law (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or 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.

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 with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock, shares or other equity interests in the target business for our Class A ordinary shares (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A ordinary shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses, market and other uncertainties in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.

Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.

While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek shareholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30.

Financial Position

With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $229,000,000 (assuming no redemptions and no over-allotment), after payment of $7,000,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or

 

95

 

$257,950,000 (assuming no redemptions) after payment of $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.

Effecting Our Initial Business Combination

General

We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering, the Novator private placement units, the private placement warrants and possibly through debt or a combination of cash, equity and debt. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction Company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

We have not selected any potential business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. While we may pursue a business combination target in any business or industry, we intend to focus our search for a target with operations or prospects in the EMEA Technology and Media industry, including data analytics, enterprise software, security software, e-commerce and online marketplaces, and/or financial services technology. Accordingly, there is no current basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination. Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely affect a target business.

We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering, the Novator private placement units and private placement warrants, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to private placement agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional

 

96

 

funds through the sale of securities or otherwise. None of our sponsor, executive officers, directors or shareholders are required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.

Sources of Target Businesses

We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers, private investment funds and other members of the technology community. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our executive officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the track record and business relationships of our executive officers and directors.

While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of a finder’s fee is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing executive officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation by the Company prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).

In addition, commencing on the date of this prospectus, we will pay our sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services provided to members of our management team. Any such payments prior to our initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination or for other matters, our sponsor or an affiliate of the initial shareholders or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan our company funds as may be required. If we complete a business combination, we would repay these loans, without interest, out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us, or at the lender’s discretion, up to a total of $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible (including loans made in connection with a business combination, the payment of offering expenses or otherwise) into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. These warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Otherwise, these loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that a business combination does not close, we may use a portion of proceeds held outside the trust account to repay the these loans, but no proceeds held in the trust account would be used to repay these loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.

Other than the foregoing, there will be no finder’s fees, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation paid by us to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or executive officers prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, executive officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of our independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an

 

97

 

independent investment banking firm or an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our Company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.

Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as applicable, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.

The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. Our Company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.

Lack of Business Diversification

For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:

•

subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and

​

•

cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.

​

Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team

Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.

We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.

 

98

 

Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination

We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.

Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:

•

We issue ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our ordinary shares then outstanding (other than in a public offering);

​

•

Any of our directors, officers or substantial 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 issued and outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 5% or more; or

​

•

The issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control.

​

The Companies Law and Cayman Islands law do not currently require, and we are not aware of any other applicable law that will require, shareholder approval of our initial business combination.

Permitted Purchases and Other Transactions with Respect to our Securities

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, executive officers or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, executive officers or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will 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 sponsor, directors, executive officers or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or (ii) to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

 

99

 

Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our initial shareholders, executive officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of Class A ordinary shares) following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, executive officers, directors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such shareholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the general meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, executive officers, directors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase shares from based on a negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws. Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.

Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders Upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share and per Novator private placement share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our initial shareholders, sponsor, directors and executive officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, Novator private placement shares, private placement warrants and any public shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

Limitations on Redemptions

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.

Manner of Conducting Redemptions

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of

 

100

 

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. Under Nasdaq rules, asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our Company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. If we structure an initial business combination 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 initial business combination. We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless shareholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with such rules.

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 of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and

​

•

file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.

​

Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, we will not redeem any public shares unless our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.

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 of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and

​

•

file proxy materials with the SEC.

​

In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.

If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of the outstanding shares of our Company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of our Company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares will count toward this quorum and pursuant to the letter agreement, our initial shareholders, sponsor, directors and executive officers have agreed to vote their founder shares, Novator private placement shares and any public

 

101

 

shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding ordinary shares voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares and the Novator private placement shares, we would need only need 5,312,501 or approximately 26.6%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and our initial shareholders do not purchase any public shares and the underwriters’ overallotment option is not exercised) in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised). We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we may not redeem our public shares unless our net tangible assets are at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.

Limitation on Redemption Upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination if We Seek Shareholder Approval

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. However, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.

Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights

Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act. We intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial

 

102

 

business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming public shareholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed initial business combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates or shares delivered by public shareholders who elected to redeem their shares. Given the relatively short period in which to exercise redemption rights, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.

There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80 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.

In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming shareholder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.

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 general meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.

If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates (if any) delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.

If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 24 months from the closing of this offering.

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if No Initial Business Combination

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such 24-month period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares and the Novator private placement shares, at a per-share price,

 

103

 

payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation expenses and net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares and Novator private placement shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ and holders of Novator private placement shares’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in 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 initial business combination within the 24-month time period.

Our initial shareholders, sponsor, directors and executive officers have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders, sponsor, directors or executive officers acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time period. Further, our sponsor, directors and executive officers have not waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their Novator private placement shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.

Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares and Novator private placement shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, 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 (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time and all public shares submitted for redemption would be returned to the holders thereof. In such an event, if sufficient time remains in the period in which we must complete our initial business combination pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to permit a new or revised proposal to be considered by our shareholders, we may determine to seek shareholder approval of a new or revised amendment. If sufficient time does not remain, we will cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, redeem the public shares and undertake the process of liquidation, each as described herein.

We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of liquidation, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to provide us with additional working capital we will need to identify one or more target businesses and to complete our initial business combination, as well as to pay any tax obligations that we may owe. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of liquidation, 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, the sale of the Novator private placement units and the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our liquidation would be $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares. We cannot assure you that the

 

104

 

actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.

Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders and holders of Novator private placement shares, 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. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of  (i) $10.00 per public share and $10.00 per Novator private placement share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve funds for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our executive officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of  (i) $10.00 per public share and per Novator private placement share and (ii) the actual amount per public share and per Novator private placement share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per public share and per Novator private placement 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 underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $1,000,000 from the proceeds of this offering, the sale of

 

105

 

the Novator private placement units and the sale of the private placement warrants with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,000,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,000,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

If we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy 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 $10.00 per share to our shareholders in respect of the public shares and Novator private placement shares. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our Company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, which the private placement shares are eligible to participate in, (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 redeem 100% of our public shares and Novator private placement shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial 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 initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.

Comparison of Redemption or Purchase Prices in Connection with Our Initial Business Combination and If We Fail to Complete Our Initial Business Combination.

The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.

 

106

 

 

107

 

 

108