UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(MARK ONE)
☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2022
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from to
Commission File Number: 001-40953
Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp. |
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) |
Cayman Islands |
| 98-1596288 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
| (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
190 Elgin Avenue Cayman Islands |
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code) |
+44 (0) 2703 93702 |
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) |
Not Applicable |
(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
| Trading Symbol(s) |
| Name of each exchange on which registered |
Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable warrant |
| ICNC.U |
| The New York Stock Exchange |
Class A ordinary shares included as part of the Units |
| ICNC |
| The New York Stock Exchange |
Redeemable warrants, each warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, each at an exercise price of $11.50 per share |
| ICNC WS |
| The New York Stock Exchange |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
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.
Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |
Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ | |
|
| Emerging growth company | ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☒ No ☐
At June 30, 2022, the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Class A ordinary shares outstanding, other than Class A ordinary shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the Registrant, computed by reference to the closing sales price for the Class A ordinary shares on June 30, 2022, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), was $345,000,000 (based on the NYSE closing sales price of the Class A ordinary shares on June 30, 2022 of $10.00).
As of March 31, 2023, there were 34,500,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, issued and outstanding.
Documents Incorporated by Reference: None
ICONIC SPORTS ACQUISITION CORP.
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTAIN TERMS
Unless otherwise stated in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”) or the context otherwise requires, references to:
● | “amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that the company adopted on October 21, 2021; |
● | “Class A ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share; |
● | “Class B ordinary shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share; |
● | “Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time; |
● | “directors” are to our current directors named in this Annual Report; |
● | “founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares initially issued to our sponsor in a private placement prior to our initial public offering and the Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class A ordinary shares will not be “public shares”); |
● | “initial shareholders” are to all of our shareholders immediately prior to the date of this Annual Report, including all of our officers and directors to the extent they hold such shares; |
● | “management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors; |
● | “ordinary resolution” are to a resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the votes cast by the holders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy at a general meeting of the company and entitled to vote on such matter or a resolution approved in writing by all of the holders of the issued shares entitled to vote on such matter; |
● | “ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares; |
● | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering and upon conversion of working capital loans, if any; |
● | “public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they are purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market) (except as described in the definition of “founder shares” above); |
● | “public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor and management team to the extent our sponsor and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that our sponsor’s and each member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares; |
● | “public warrants” are to the warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market). |
● | “special resolution” are to a resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of at least a two-thirds (2/3) majority (or such higher threshold as specified in the company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) of the votes cast by the holders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy at a general meeting of the company and entitled to vote on such matter or a resolution approved in writing by all of the holders of the issued shares entitled to vote on such matter; |
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● | “sponsor” or “sponsor group” are to Iconic Sports Management LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company, which is owned directly or indirectly by James G. Dinan (a member of our Board of Directors), Alexander Knaster (a member of our Board of Directors), Edward Eisler and Tifosy SponsorCo LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company and an affiliate of Tifosy; |
● | “Tifosy” or “Tifosy Capital & Advisory” are to Tifosy Limited, a London based boutique sports advisory firm and an affiliate of our sponsor; |
● | “warrants” are to our redeemable warrants, which includes the public warrants as well as the private placement warrants to the extent that they are no longer held by the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants or their permitted transferees; and |
● | “we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company. |
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report, including, without limitation, statements under the heading “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “Exchange Act”). In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “continue,” “intends,” “will,” “potential,” “projects” or “predicts” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. However, the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. There can be no assurance that actual results will not materially differ from expectations. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our ability to complete any acquisition or other business combination and any other statements that are not statements of current or historical facts. These statements involve a number of known and unknown risks and are based on management’s current expectations, but actual results may differ materially due to various factors, including, but not limited to, the following risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other factors:
● | we have no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective; |
● | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
● | our ability to complete an initial business combination, including following the exercise of the option to consummate a Business Combination with Eagle Football (as defined herein); |
● | our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses; |
● | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
● | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
● | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
● | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
● | the amount of redemptions by our public shareholders; |
● | our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from general economic and political conditions such as recessions, interest rate fluctuations, international currency fluctuations, health epidemics and pandemics (including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic), inflation, changes in diplomatic and trade relationships and acts of war or terrorism (including the military conflict that started between the Russian Federation, Belarus and Ukraine in February 2022); |
● | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
● | the volatility of the market price and liquidity of our Class A ordinary shares and our other securities; |
● | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
● | the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; |
● | the ability to obtain additional financing to complete a business combination; |
● | our financial performance; or |
● | the other risks and uncertainties discussed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report. |
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any
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forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
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SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in the section titled “Risk Factors,” alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
● | Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination. |
● | We may not be able to complete an initial business combination with certain potential target companies if a proposed transaction with the target company may be subject to review or approval by regulatory authorities pursuant to certain U.S. or foreign laws or regulations. |
● | Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash. |
● | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote. |
● | The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into an initial business combination with a target. |
● | The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable initial business combination or optimize our capital structure. |
● | The requirement that we complete an initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) after the closing of our initial public 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, in particular as we approach our initial business combination deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders. |
● | Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the geopolitical conditions resulting from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and subsequent sanctions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities and the status of debt and equity markets, as well as protectionist legislation in our target markets. |
● | Our search for an initial business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately complete an initial business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. |
● | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase public shares or warrants, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants. |
● | Past performance by our sponsor group, management team or their respective affiliates, including Tifosy Capital & Advisory, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us. |
● | If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed. |
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● | 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. |
● | The New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions. |
● | You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies. |
● | Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for initial business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.25 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. |
● | If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for the 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) following the closing of our initial public offering, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and our ability to complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination. |
● | If we are deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), we would be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities would be severely restricted. As a result, in such circumstances, unless we are able to modify our activities so that we would not be deemed an investment company, we may abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead liquidate the Company. |
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PART I
Item 1. Business.
In this Annual Report, references to the “company” and to “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on April 15, 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any business industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our sponsor group and management team to identify, acquire and accelerate a business in the global sports industry or an adjacent sector including data and analytics, media and technology. In doing so, we intend to focus our search on iconic businesses, including sports franchises, which will complement our differentiated expertise, benefit from our strategic and hands-on operational leadership and where we believe there are opportunities for attractive risk-adjusted returns and to build a platform for future investments.
With decades of combined global experience across the sports, media and financial investment landscapes, and with significant transactional expertise, access to capital and a track record of value creation, both in the United States and in Europe, we believe our combined sponsor group and management team will make us a unique partner to potential target businesses and will enhance our ability to effect an attractive and successful initial business combination.
The registration statements on Form S-1 (File Nos. 333-260096 and 333-260421) for our initial public offering were declared effective on October 21, 2021. On October 26, 2021, we completed our initial public offering of 34,500,000 units (the “Units”), including 4,500,000 Units that were issued pursuant to the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the company, with each public warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share for $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, pursuant to the company's registration statements. The Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds to the company of $345,000,000.
Simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we completed the sale of 17,025,000 private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant in a private placement to our sponsor, Iconic Sports Management LLC, generating proceeds of $17,025,000.
A total of $353,625,000 of the proceeds from the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants were placed in a U.S.-based trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.
Our Units, Class A ordinary shares and public warrants are each traded on the NYSE under the symbols “ICNC.U,” “ICNC” and “ICNC WS,” respectively. Our Units commenced public trading on October 22, 2021, and our Class A ordinary shares and warrants commenced separate public trading on December 13, 2021.
Market Opportunity
We believe that sports and adjacent technology and services markets are among the most attractive segments in the broader media entertainment ecosystem, supported by macro tailwinds, large addressable markets and the ability for organic growth and consolidation. We believe that our sponsor group and management team is uniquely positioned to identify and execute an attractive transaction that will leverage the macro trends outlined below and create significant shareholder value as a result of our investment and operating expertise.
Unparalleled value and growth of global sports ecosystem. The total addressable market of the professional sports and adjacent technology and services sectors is estimated at approximately $172 billion and growing at approximately 8% per year, underpinned by continued high global demand for live viewership and other forms of sports media consumption. The value of this unique, exciting, unscripted and live form of entertainment is best exemplified by the continued inflation in sports media rights. A recent example is the new 11-year National Football League’s rights deal, which is estimated to be worth over $110 billion and which constitutes an increase
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of approximately 75% comparing to the prior deal, based on annual contract value. The deal has attracted significant investment from Amazon.com, Inc., marking further validation of the value of premium must-have sports content for both traditional broadcasters and new entrants, such as over-the-top delivery platforms. Jointly with the continued proliferation of online and mobile connectivity and the growth of social media, this has continued to drive value for major sports franchises and businesses serving the wider sports industry across the globe.
Market dislocation from COVID-19. The impact of the global pandemic on sports franchises and sports- related adjacencies has been profound. As a result, sports franchises and vendors are facing a significant strain on cash flows, leaving many ownership groups without the appetite, nor liquidity to continue franchise funding for an undetermined period. Organizations with inefficient operating models are experiencing significant stress during these times, leading many groups to revaluate their funding strategies. While the length and severity of the impact on live events and other core activities is still uncertain, the market has historically proven resilient to cyclicality—especially for businesses with strong fundamentals and long-term intellectual property value—and is poised to benefit from strong demand in a post-COVID environment.
Decisive shift towards professional ownership and management. Global sports franchises, leagues and businesses active within the wider sports ecosystem are attracting unprecedented interest from institutional and more sophisticated investors. As these businesses reach scale at a global level and need to continue to grow shareholder value in a competitive market, there will be an increased need for professional ownership and management. Access to capital and financial expertise will be fundamental for businesses that require significant funding in coming years for projects, such as infrastructure and stadium developments, squad investments and others.
Continued technological and data-driven value creation. Technology has significantly transformed consumer behavioural and engagement patterns; and digital adoption and innovation is changing the way that businesses around the globe are conducting their operations. The need for innovative and dynamic operating models is increasingly evident, accelerated by the global pandemic. In order to drive shareholder value, the sports industry can benefit significantly from increased adoption of technology informing data- driven team management and capital allocation decisions, player and performance analytics and Enterprise Resource Planning/Customer Relationship Management improvements. Our management team and sponsor group have significant experience and track-record in pursuing value creation opportunities via adopting innovative and data-driven techniques, which will be leveraged to identify and pursue assets with unique potential.
Global sports platform. Significant synergies can be achieved by building a global sports platform, where best-in-class management practices, capital allocation and innovation can be shared and optimised across various assets. As more sports franchises and sports and media related businesses understand the necessity of building global brands in order to compete for revenue and brand recognition across wider consumer audiences, experienced management teams with operational and financial expertise will be required to create value and enhance visibility and profitability.
Sourcing
We intend to leverage both the sponsor group’s and management team’s unique and extensive global networks to access direct and proprietary business combination opportunities. Our competitive advantage is driven by the deep industry experience and extensive deal sourcing capabilities of our sponsor group and management team. We believe our process of screening and selecting potential target companies for our initial business combination will be highly differentiated and that through our combined networks and expertise we can generate a wide range of business combination opportunities with potential target companies.
We plan to utilize the collective and distinctive capabilities of our sponsor group and management team and, in particular, leverage the:
● | deep and broad network of relationships in the sports and entertainment industry to create a significant pipeline of opportunities including opportunities with multiple professional sports franchises and adjacent businesses (both in the United States and Europe); |
● | extensive experience of sourcing, structuring, acquiring, operating, developing, growing, financing and selling businesses; |
● | use of advanced analytics to evaluate opportunities and provide businesses with competitive advantages; |
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● | track record of driving value in existing businesses, including operating leading sport franchises; and |
● | significant M&A experience, including in consummating transactions across a wide range of sectors. |
In addition to our sponsor group’s and management team’s sourcing and evaluation capabilities, our board of directors will be comprised of senior executives with complementary business profiles and experience in a variety of relevant industries. We believe our directors will add depth to our expertise, broaden our network of relationships, and provide exceptional governance to our company. We expect our broad network to provide our management team with a robust flow of business combination opportunities.
We also anticipate that we will have opportunities to leverage our relationships with several investment banks, private equity groups and law firms, which will present us with certain advantages in identifying prospective target companies in the areas that we determine are appropriate and attractive for our initial business combination.
Our Business Strategy
Our strategy is to source, identify, acquire and, upon completion of our initial business combination, accelerate a business to create long-term value for our shareholders. While we will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region, we believe the experience of our sponsor group and management team will be highly complementary to a business in sports or in adjacent data and analytics, media and technology sectors, particularly a business that can benefit from our strategic, operational and financial expertise.
Our global network of investors and connections provides us with wide access to source attractive opportunities and our team will consider a broad set of opportunities but will apply a disciplined investment framework based on core acquisition criteria.
We believe our sponsor group and management team will be able to provide a level of support and assistance on key operational and strategic matters that is highly differentiated relative to other potentially competing SPACs. The recent achievements of members of our sponsor group and management team with the Milwaukee Bucks (National Basketball Association (“NBA”) Championship winners 2021) and the Italian national football team (European Championship winners 2020) only serves to further underline our ability to add significant value. We are therefore focused on opportunities where we will have a unique advantage in driving value creation once an initial business combination is completed. We have an extensive track record as investors and operators, which in our view will differentiate us as potential partners in an initial business combination and will be a valuable factor in distinguishing ourselves to potential target businesses.
Initial Business Combination
So long as our securities are then listed on the NYSE, our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a target business or businesses, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of net assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-business combination company owns or acquires less than 100% of such
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interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such initial business combination if the post-business combination company will own or acquire 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-business combination company will own or acquire 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue an initial business combination 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 pre-combination shareholders could own less than a majority of the shares of the post business-combination company. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-business combination company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor. If our securities are not then listed on NYSE for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net asset test.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Business Combination Option with Eagle Football
On December 19, 2022, Eagle Football Holdings Limited (“Eagle Football”), a London-based group with interests in English Premier League club, Crystal Palace, Brazilian Serie A club, Botafogo, and Belgian First Division B club, RWD Molenbeek, acquired a significant controlling stake in French Ligue 1 club, Olympique Lyonnais. In connection with such acquisition, Iconic Sports Eagle Investment LLC (“Iconic Eagle”), an affiliate of our sponsor, made a strategic $75 million equity investment in Eagle Football. In connection with such investment, Iconic Eagle entered into agreements with various parties, including Eagle Football. Such agreements provide that we may enter into a business combination with Eagle Football for a valuation of approximately $1.2 billion. The Company is not a party to any of these agreements. There is no assurance that an agreement with respect to such transaction will be entered into, and even if entered into, that a transaction contemplated thereby would be consummated. Any such transaction would be subject to, among other things, (i) additional financing on acceptable terms; (ii) the approval of the board of the Company; (iii) the separate approval of the Company’s shareholders; (iv) the ability to satisfy the requirements of the SEC for the offering of securities and the solicitation of votes; (v) any regulatory approvals; and (vi) the satisfaction of continued stock exchange listing requirements.
Preliminary Proxy Statement
On March 27, 2023, we filed a preliminary proxy statement seeking shareholder approval to (i) extend the date by which the Company must complete a business combinaton, as described in more details in such preliminary proxy statement (the “Extension Amendment Proposal”) and (ii) remove the limitation that the Company shall not complete a business combination if it would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 and the limitation that the Company shall not redeem public shares that would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions (the “Redemption Limitation Amendment Proposal”). As of the date of this Annual Report, the date of the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders has not been announced yet.
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Our Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with our business strategy, we have developed the following general, non-exclusive investment criteria and guidelines that we believe are important and plan to use when screening for and evaluating target businesses. We intend to use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating initial business combination opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet any or all of these criteria and guidelines. We will seek to acquire a business that:
● | operates in sports or an adjacent industry and is well-positioned to benefit from the broad network and strategic expertise of our sponsor group and management team; |
● | is a leading business with strong business fundamentals, intrinsic brand value and a seasoned executive leadership; |
● | is operating at scale and is prepared to make the transition to the public markets, but can benefit from guidance and advice in developing a clear message describing the business model and investment opportunity to public investors; |
● | has the potential to develop fundamentally sound financial performance, with visibility into revenue and cash flow growth and relatively predictable future financial performance; |
● | operates in a large addressable market and has a sustainable competitive advantage; |
● | would benefit from an acquisition strategy and more efficient capital allocation and could leverage our access to capital, operational expertise and financial insights; and |
● | would serve as a platform for both organic and acquisitive growth. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into an initial business combination with a target that does not meet the above criteria, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this Annual Report, would be in the form of proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we would file with the SEC.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive due diligence review, which may encompass, as applicable and among other things, meetings with members of the target’s management and other employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities and a review of financial and other information about the target and its industry. We will also benefit from our sponsor group’s and management team’s network of relationships with senior executives, board members and members of executive management teams to provide specialized insights into their areas of expertise and leverage their operational and capital planning experience.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination or any subsequent transaction with a company that is affiliated with Tifosy or Tifosy Capital & Advisory, our sponsor, officers or directors, or completing the initial business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with Tifosy or Tifosy Capital & Advisory, our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with Tifosy Capital & Advisory, our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion, from either an independent investment banking firm or an independent accounting, valuation or appraisal firm, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of the management team, directly or indirectly, own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following the closing of our initial public offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a
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conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officer and director was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present an initial business combination opportunity to such entity. As a result, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then he or she may be required to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such initial business combination opportunity to such entity. If those other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. However, we do not expect these duties to materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we renounce our interest in any initial business combination opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. We will waive any claim or cause of action we may have in respect thereof. While Tifosy Capital & Advisory will not have any duty to present business combination opportunities to us, Tifosy may become aware of a potential transaction that may be an attractive opportunity for us, which it may or may not decide to share with us. Tifosy is a boutique advisory firm focused exclusively on the professional sports sector. As such, Tifosy provides a diversified range of financial advisory services in a broad spectrum of activities including merger and acquisition advisory services. Additionally, we may, but are not required to, engage Tifosy for services as a financial advisor in connection with identifying and investigating potential targets for our initial business combination. Conflicts may arise from Tifosy’s part sponsorship of our company, its provision of services both to us (including as a financial advisor) and to third-party clients. In performing services for other clients and also when acting for its own account, Tifosy may take commercial steps that may have an adverse effect on us.
In addition, our officers and directors, are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. In particular, our sponsor and our 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.
Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive due diligence review which may encompass, as applicable and among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities and a review of financial and other information about the target and its industry. We will also utilize our management team’s operational and capital planning experience. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the Business Combination transaction.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial Business Combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial Business Combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another Business Combination.
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 |
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● | 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.
Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.
Under NYSE’s listing rules, shareholder approval would typically be required for our initial Business Combination if, for example:
● | We issue ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our ordinary shares then-outstanding; |
● | Any of our directors, officers or substantial security holder (as defined by the NYSE rules) has a 5% or greater interest, directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and |
● | the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in issued and outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 1% or more (or 5% or more if the related party involved is classified as such solely because such person is a substantial security holder); or |
● | The issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed Business Combination in those instances in which shareholder approval is not required by law will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
● | the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine shareholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek shareholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company; |
● | the expected cost of holding a shareholder vote; |
● | the risk that the shareholders would fail to approve the proposed Business Combination; |
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● | other time and budget constraints of the company; and |
● | additional legal complexities of a proposed Business Combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to shareholders. |
Permitted Purchases and Other Transactions with Respect to Our Securities
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants or a combination thereof, in privately-negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of public shares or warrants our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and NYSE rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination. It is intended that, if Rule 10b-18 would apply to purchases by our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates, then such purchases will comply with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act, to the extent it applies, which provides a safe harbor for purchases made under certain conditions, including with respect to timing, pricing and volume of purchases.
We expect to require insiders to: (i) refrain from purchasing our securities during certain blackout periods when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (ii) clear all trades of company securities with a compliance officer prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to 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.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or any of their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately-negotiated purchases by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests tendered by shareholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such shareholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination. Such persons would select the shareholders from whom to acquire shares based on the number of shares available, the negotiated price per share and such other factors as any such person may deem relevant at the time of purchase. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
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Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their respective affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their respective 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. Additionally, in the event our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates were to purchase public shares or warrants from public shareholders, such purchases would be structured in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act including, in pertinent part, through adherence to the following:
● | our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would disclose the possibility that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase shares, rights or warrants from public shareholders outside the redemption process, along with the purpose of such purchases; |
● | if our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates were to purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders, they would do so at a price no higher than the price offered through our redemption process; |
● | our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would include a representation that any of our securities purchased by our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates would not be voted in favor of approving the business combination transaction; |
● | our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates would not possess any redemption rights with respect to our securities or, if they do acquire and possess redemption rights, they would waive such rights; and |
● | we would disclose in a Form 8-K, before our security holder meeting to approve the business combination transaction, the following material items: |
● | the amount of our securities purchased outside of the redemption offer by our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates, along with the purchase price; |
● | the purpose of the purchases by our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates; |
● | the impact, if any, of the purchases by our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates on the likelihood that the business combination transaction will be approved; |
● | the identities of our security holders who sold to our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates (if not purchased on the open market) or the nature of our security holders (e.g., 5% security holders) who sold to our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates; and |
● | the number of our securities for which we have received redemption requests pursuant to our redemption offer. |
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, if any, divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.25 per public 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 underwriter. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial Business Combination with respect to our warrants. Further, we will not proceed with redeeming our public shares, even if a public shareholder has properly elected to redeem its shares, if a Business Combination does not close. Our sponsor and each member of our
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management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our initial Business Combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering, or April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable), or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares.
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 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, the proposed Business Combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed Business Combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed Business Combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the Business Combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial Business Combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote unless shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on NYSE, we will be required to comply with the NYSE rules.
If we held a shareholder vote to approve our initial Business Combination, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
● | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and |
● | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial Business Combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial Business Combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company where a quorum is present. In accordance with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, shareholders representing at least one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, present in person or by proxy,
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will constitute a quorum. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial Business Combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares and the sponsor’s 5,000,000 public shares purchased as part of the 5,000,000 units in our initial public offering, we would need 7,937,501, or 23.0% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted) of the 34,500,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law. Assuming that only one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, are voted, we will not need any public shares in addition to our founder shares to be voted in favor of an initial Business Combination in order to have it approved. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or vote at all. In addition, our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering, or April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable), or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
● | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and |
● | file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial Business Combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about 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, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial Business Combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial Business Combination.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering, which we refer to as “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed Business Combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then- current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial Business Combination, particularly in connection with a Business Combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash.
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However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial Business Combination.
Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
Public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” will be required to either tender their certificates (if any) to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, mailed to such holders, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/ Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, in each case up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote to approve the Business Combination. The proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial Business Combination will indicate the applicable delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the Business Combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short period in which to exercise redemption rights, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their Business Combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial Business Combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed Business Combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the Business Combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the Business Combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the Business Combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming shareholder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the Business Combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the Business Combination, unless otherwise agreed to by us. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial Business Combination.
If our initial Business Combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed Business Combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a Business Combination with a different target until 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering, or April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable).
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Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we have only 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering to consummate an initial Business Combination, or April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable). If we have not consummated an initial Business Combination by April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable), we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in 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 have not consummated an initial Business Combination by April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable). Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial Business Combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.
Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we have not consummated an initial Business Combination by April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable) (although they are entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame).
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination by April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive officer, director, or any other person.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts of the approximately $599,286 (as of December 31, 2022) held outside the trust account, plus up to $100,000 of funds from the trust account available to us to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be $10.25. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be less than $10.25. 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 seek to have all vendors, service providers (except our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute
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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 third-party for services rendered or products sold to us (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.25 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.25 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third-party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third-party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.25 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.25 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.25 per public share.
We 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 (except our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We have access to approximately $599,286 of funds held outside of the trust account (as of December 31, 2022) with which we may pay any such potential claims. In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors, however such liability will not be greater than the amount of funds from our trust account received by any such shareholder.
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 or insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.25 per public share to our public shareholders. 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
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bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders.
Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public shareholders are 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 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering, or April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable), (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination by April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial Business Combination. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial Business Combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial Business Combination by April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable), with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial Business Combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the Business Combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote
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 have not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering:
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| Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination |
| Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by us or our Affiliates |
| Redemptions if we fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination |
Calculation of redemption price |
| Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial |
| If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or warrants or a combination thereof, in privately-negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. If any of our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates were to purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders, they would do so at a price no higher than the price offered through our redemption process. If they engage in such |
| If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination by April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable), we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.25 per public share) including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released (which shall be net of taxes payable and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. |
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business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.25 per public share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and (which shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 as described elsewhere in this Annual Report and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connections with the negotiation of terms of a proposed initial business combination. | transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules. | |||||
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Impact to remaining shareholders |
| The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable. |
| If the permitted purchases described above are made there would be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us. In the event our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates were to purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders, such purchases would by structured in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act including, in pertinent part, through disclosing the following in our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction: the possibility that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders outside the redemption process, along with the purpose of such purchases; a representation that any of our securities purchased by our sponsor, directors, executive |
| The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our initial Business Combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial shareholders, who will be our only remaining shareholders after such redemptions. |
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officers, advisors or any of their affiliates would not be voted in favor of approving the business combination transaction; and our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates would not possess any redemption rights with respect to our securities or, if they do acquire and possess redemption rights, they would waive such rights. Additionally, we would disclose in a Form 8-K, before our security holder meeting to approve the business combination transaction, the following material items: the amount of our securities purchased outside of the redemption offer by our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates, along with the purchase price; the purpose of the purchases by our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates; the impact, if any, of the purchases by our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates on the likelihood that the business combination transaction will be approved; the identities of our security holders who sold to our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates (if not purchased on the open market) or the nature of our security holders (e.g., 5% security holders) who sold to our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates; and the number of our securities for which the we have received redemption requests pursuant to our redemption offer. |
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies, operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the
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acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Employees
We currently have four officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Financial Position
With funds available for a Business Combination initially in the amount of $353,625,000, after payment of the expenses of our initial public offering and $10,325,000 of deferred underwriting fees, 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.
Corporate Information
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of: (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter; and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $250 million as of the end of that fiscal year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual
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revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the end of that fiscal year’s second fiscal quarter.
Our executive offices are located at 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town, Grand Cayman, KY1-9008, Cayman Islands. We maintain a corporate website at www.iconicsportsacq.com. The information that may be contained on or accessible through our corporate website or any other website that we may maintain is not incorporated by reference in, or otherwise a part of, this Annual Report.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 30 years from the date of the undertaking being 30 April 2021, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Relating to our Search for, and Completion of or Inability to Complete, an Initial Business Combination
Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination if the business combination would not require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. For instance, if we were seeking to acquire a target business where the consideration we were paying in the transaction was all cash, we would typically not be required to seek shareholder approval to complete such a transaction. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares do not approve of the initial business combination we complete.
We may engage the underwriters of our initial public offering or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. The underwriters are entitled to receive deferred commissions that will be released from the trust only on a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and completion of an initial business combination.
We may engage the underwriters of our initial public offering or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay the underwriters or their respective affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The underwriters’ or their respective affiliates’ financial interests tied to the completion of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing
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any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and completion of an initial business combination.
We may not be able to complete an initial business combination with certain potential target companies if a proposed transaction with the target company may be subject to review or approval by regulatory authorities pursuant to certain U.S. or foreign laws or regulations.
Our sponsor, Iconic Sports Management LLC, is a Cayman Islands limited liability company. The sponsor currently owns 8,535,000 Class B ordinary shares, 5,000,000 units and 17,025,000 private placement warrants. The sponsor is governed by a board of managers consisting of four managers. Each manager has one vote, and the approval of a majority of the managers is required to approve an action on behalf of the sponsor. Three of the managers are citizens of countries other than the United States (specifically, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Austria). Consequently, the Sponsor is “controlled” (as defined in 31 CFR § 800.208) by one or more “foreign persons” (as defined in 31 CFR § 800.224), such that the Sponsor’s involvement in any business combination would likely give rise to a “covered transaction” (as defined in 31 CFR § 800.213). A business combination may therefore become subject to regulatory review, including review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), and that restrictions, limitations or conditions will be imposed by CFIUS. If our initial business combination with a U.S. business is subject to CFIUS review, the scope of which was expanded by the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”), to include certain non-passive, non-controlling investments in sensitive U.S. businesses and certain acquisitions of real estate even with no underlying U.S. business. FIRRMA, and subsequent implementing regulations that are now in force, also subjects certain categories of investments to mandatory filings. If our potential business combination with a U.S. business falls within CFIUS’s jurisdiction, we may determine that we are required to make a mandatory filing or that we will submit a voluntary notice to CFIUS, or to proceed with an initial business combination without notifying CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after closing an initial business combination. CFIUS may decide to block or delay our initial business combination, impose conditions to mitigate national security concerns with respect to such initial business combination or order us to divest all or a portion of a U.S. business of the combined company without first obtaining CFIUS clearance, which may limit the attractiveness of or prevent us from pursuing certain initial business combination opportunities that we believe would otherwise be beneficial to us and our shareholders. As a result, the pool of potential targets with which we could complete an initial business combination may be limited and we may be adversely affected in terms of competing with other special purpose acquisition companies which do not have similar foreign ownership issues. A failure to notify CFIUS of a transaction where such notification was required or otherwise warranted based on the national security considerations presented by an investment target may expose the sponsor and/or the combined company to legal penalties, costs, and/or other adverse reputational and financial effects, thus potentially diminishing the value of the combined company. In addition, CFIUS is actively pursuing transactions that were not notified to it and may ask questions regarding, or impose restrictions or mitigation on, an initial business combination post-closing.
Moreover, the process of government review, whether by the CFIUS or otherwise, could be lengthy and we have limited time to complete our initial business combination. If we cannot complete an initial business combination by April 26, 2023 (or up to July 26, 2023, if extended) because the transaction is still under review or because our initial business combination is ultimately prohibited by CFIUS or another U.S. government entity, we may be required to liquidate. If we liquidate, our public shareholders may only receive $10.25 per public share, and our warrants will expire worthless. This will also cause you to lose the investment opportunity in a target company and the chance of realizing future gains on your investment through any price appreciation in the combined company.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete an initial business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the initial business combination, unless we seek such shareholder approval. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our initial shareholders own, on an as-converted basis, (not including the conversion of any private placement warrants held by the Sponsor) approximately 31.6% of our outstanding ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders and management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company where a quorum is present.In accordance with our amended memorandum and articles of association, shareholders representing at least one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, present in person or by proxy, will constitute a quorum. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares and the sponsor’s 5,000,000 public shares purchased as part of the 5,000,000 units in our initial public offering, we would need 7,937,501, or 23.0% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted) of the 34,500,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law. Assuming that only one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, are voted, we will not need any public shares in addition to our founder shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have it approved. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our sponsor and each member of our management team to vote in favor of our initial Business Combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.
The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into an initial business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into an initial business combination agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the initial business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriter fees and commissions (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriter fees and commissions or such great amount necessary to satisfy a minimum cash 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 an initial business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If a large number of shares are submitted for redemption, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for additional third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions.
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The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with 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 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) after the closing of our initial public 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, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public 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.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in, and other infectious diseases could result in, a widespread health crisis that adversely affects the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we complete a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and complete a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination and our ability to successfully complete 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 new variants of COVID-19 and the continued 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 target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination, may be adversely affected in a material way.
In addition, our ability to complete a transaction may be dependent on our ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including increased market volatility or decreased market liquidity in third party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Finally, a sustained or prolonged COVID-19 resurgence, such as the Omicron variant or Delta variant, may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities.
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Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the geopolitical conditions resulting from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and subsequent sanctions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities and the status of debt and equity markets, as well as protectionist legislation in our target markets.
U.S. and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the escalation of geopolitical
tensions and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022. In response to such invasion, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) deployed additional military forces to eastern Europe, and the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have announced various sanctions and restrictive actions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities, including the removal of certain financial institutions from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system. Certain countries, including the United States, have also provided and may continue to provide military aid or other assistance to Ukraine during the ongoing military conflict, increasing geopolitical tensions with Russia. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the resulting measures that have been taken, and could be taken in the future, by NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have created global security concerns that could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies. Although the length and impact of the
ongoing military conflict in Ukraine is highly unpredictable, the conflict could lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in energy and other commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions. Additionally, Russian military actions and the resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets.
Any of the abovementioned factors, or any other negative impact on the global economy, capital markets or other geopolitical conditions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions, could adversely affect our search for an initial business combination and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate an initial business combination. The extent and duration of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, resulting sanctions and any related market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial, particularly if current or new sanctions continue for an extended period of time or if geopolitical tensions result in expanded military operations on a global scale. Any such disruptions may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described elsewhere in this Annual Report. If these disruptions or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate an initial business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we may ultimately consummate an initial business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the impact of sanctions against Russia and the potential for retaliatory acts from Russia, could result in increased cyber-attacks against U.S. companies.
We may not be able to complete an initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) after the closing of our initial public offering, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete an initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) after the closing of our initial public 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 the other risks described herein. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. Financial markets may also be adversely affected by current or anticipated military conflicts (including the military conflict between Ukraine, the Russian Federation and Belarus that started in February 2022, as described above under “—Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the geopolitical conditions resulting from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and subsequent sanctions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities and the status of debt and equity markets, as well as protectionist legislation in our target markets.”), terrorism, sanctions or other geopolitical events. If we have not completed an initial business combination within such applicable time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully
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available funds therefor), redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, 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. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if a resolution of our shareholders is passed pursuant to the Companies Act to commence voluntary liquidation of the company, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law. In either such case, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.25 per public share, or less than $10.25 per public share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Unlike other blank check companies, we may extend the time to complete an initial business combination by up to three months without a shareholder vote or your ability to redeem your shares.
We will have until 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering to complete an initial business combination. However, unlike other similarly structured blank check companies, if we anticipate that we may not be able to complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable), our sponsor or its affiliates or designees may, but are not obligated to, extend the period of time to complete a business combination once by an additional three months (for a total of 21 months to complete an initial business combination); provided that, pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and that certain investment management trust agreement between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee, dated October 26, 2021 (the “Trust Agreement”), the only way to extend the time available for us to complete our initial business combination is for our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon five days’ advance notice prior to the deadline, to deposit into the trust account $3,450,000, or $0.10 per Class A ordinary share, on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline. Public shareholders will not be offered the opportunity to vote on or redeem their shares in connection with any such extension.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase public shares or warrants, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants or a combination thereof, in privately-negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. See “Item 1—Business—Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination—Permitted Purchases and Other Transactions with Respect to Our Securities” for a description of how our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. The purpose of such purchases could be to (1) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (2) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to
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maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. 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.
It is intended that, if Rule 10b-18 would apply to purchases by our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates, then such purchases will comply with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act, to the extent it applies, which provides a safe harbor for purchases made under certain conditions, including with respect to timing, pricing and volume of purchases.
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. Additionally, in the event our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates were to purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders, such purchases would be structured in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act including, in pertinent part, through adherence to the following:
● | our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would disclose the possibility that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase shares, rights or warrants from public shareholders outside the redemption process, along with the purpose of such purchases; |
● | if our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates were to purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders, they would do so at a price no higher than the price offered through our redemption process; |
● | our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would include a representation that any of our securities purchased by our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates would not be voted in favor of approving the business combination transaction; |
● | our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates would not possess any redemption rights with respect to our securities or, if they do acquire and possess redemption rights, they would waive such rights; and |
● | we would disclose in a Current Report on Form 8-K, before our security holder meeting to approve the business combination transaction, the following material items: |
● | the amount of our securities purchased outside of the redemption offer by our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates, along with the purchase price; |
● | the purpose of the purchases by our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates; |
● | the impact, if any, of the purchases by our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates on the likelihood that the business combination transaction will be approved; |
● | the identities of our security holders who sold to our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates (if not purchased on the open market) or the nature of our security holders (e.g., 5% security holders) who sold to our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates; and |
● | the number of our securities for which we have received redemption requests pursuant to our redemption offer. |
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.
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If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly redeem or tender public shares. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
The securities in which we invest the proceeds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the interest income available for payment of taxes or reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.25 per share.
The net proceeds of our initial public offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants, in the amount $353,625,000 is held in an interest-bearing trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in direct U.S. Treasury obligations having a maturity of 185 days or less, or in certain money market funds which invest only in direct U.S. Treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. Treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event of very low or negative yields, the amount of interest income (which we may withdraw to pay our taxes, if any) would be reduced. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income. If the balance of the trust account is reduced below $353,625,000 as a result of negative interest rates, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.25 per share.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 as of completion of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our Units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our initial public 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.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined in Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering 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
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our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.25 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.25 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for the 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) following the closing of our initial public offering, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and our ability to complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
As of December 31, 2022, we had cash of $599,286 held outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) following the closing of our initial public offering, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. 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.
If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
If we have not completed our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.25 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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Involvement of members of our management and companies with which they are affiliated in civil disputes and litigation, governmental investigations or negative publicity unrelated to our business affairs could materially impact our ability to complete an initial business combination.
Our directors and officers and companies with which they are affiliated have been, and in the future will continue to be, involved in a wide variety of business affairs, including transactions, such as sales and purchases of businesses, and ongoing operations. As a result of such involvement, members of our management and companies with which they are affiliated in have been, and may in the future be, involved in civil disputes, litigation, governmental investigations and negative publicity relating to their business affairs. Any such claims, investigations, lawsuits or negative publicity may be detrimental to our reputation and could negatively affect our ability to identify and complete an initial business combination in a material manner and may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
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 $10.25 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 (except our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements, they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third-party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third-party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third-party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third-party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the ten years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.25 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third-party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) approximately $10.25 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.25 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third-party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third-party, 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 $10.25 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
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Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.25 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.25 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.25 per public share.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy, winding-up or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy, winding-up or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy or insolvency court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or 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. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy, winding-up or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy, winding-up or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy, winding-up or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy, winding-up or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law and may be included in our bankruptcy 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 for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we would be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities would be severely restricted. As a result, in such circumstances, unless we are able to modify our activities so that we would not be deemed an investment company, we may abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead liquidate the Company.
As described in the SEC’s new SPAC Proposed Rules (as defined below) (see “—The SEC has issued proposed rules to regulate special purpose acquisition companies. Certain of the procedures that we, a Business Combination target, or others may determine to undertake in connection with such proposals may increase our costs and the time needed to complete a Business Combination and may constrain the circumstances under which we could complete a Business Combination. The need for compliance with the SPAC Proposed Rules may cause us to liquidate the funds in the Trust Account or liquidate at an earlier time than we might otherwise choose.”), the SPAC Proposed Rules relate, among other matters, to the circumstances in which special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) such as the Company could potentially be subject to the Investment Company Act and the regulations thereunder. The SPAC Proposed Rules would provide a safe harbor for such companies from the definition of “investment company” under Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act, provided that a SPAC satisfies certain criteria, including a limited time period to announce and complete a de-SPAC transaction. Specifically, to comply with the safe harbor, the SPAC Proposed Rules would require a company to file a report on Form
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8-K announcing that it has entered into an agreement with a target company for a Business Combination no later than 18 months after the effective date of its registration statement for the Initial Public Offering (the “IPO Registration Statement”). The Company would then be required to complete its initial business combination no later than 24 months after the effective date of the IPO Registration Statement.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities would be severely restricted. In addition, we would be subject to burdensome compliance requirements. We do not believe that our principal activities will subject us to regulation as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. However, if we are deemed to be an investment company and subject to compliance with and regulation under the Investment Company Act, we would be subject to additional regulatory burdens and expenses for which we have not allotted funds. As a result, unless we are able to modify our activities so that we would not be deemed an investment company, we may abandon our efforts to complete an initial Business Combination and instead liquidate the company. Were we to liquidate, our warrants would expire worthless, and our securityholders would lose the investment opportunity associated with an investment in the combined company, including any potential price appreciation of our securities. As described below, we may implement measures to mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act (see “—To mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we may instruct the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the Trust Account and instead to hold the funds in the Trust Account in cash in an interest-bearing demand deposit account until the earlier of the consummation of an initial Business Combination or our liquidation. As a result, following the liquidation of investments in the Trust Account, we would likely receive minimal interest on the funds held in the Trust Account, which would reduce the dollar amount our public shareholders would receive in connection with any redemption or liquidation of the company”).
To mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we may instruct the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the Trust Account and instead to hold the funds in the Trust Account in cash in an interest-bearing demand deposit account until the earlier of the consummation of an initial Business Combination or our liquidation. As a result, following the liquidation of investments in the Trust Account, we would likely receive minimal interest on the funds held in the Trust Account, which would reduce the dollar amount our public shareholders would receive in connection with any redemption or liquidation of the company.
The funds in the Trust Account have, since our Initial Public Offering, been held in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. government treasury obligations and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. However, to mitigate the risk of us being deemed to be an unregistered investment company (including under the subjective test of Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act) and thus subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act, we may instruct the trustee with respect to the Trust Account, to liquidate the U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds held in the Trust Account and thereafter to maintain the funds in the Trust Account in cash in an interest-bearing demand deposit account at a bank until the earlier of the consummation of our initial Business Combination and liquidation of the company. Interest on such deposit account is currently 2.75% per annum, but such deposit account carries a variable rate and the company cannot assure you that such rate will not decrease or increase significantly. Following such liquidation, we will likely receive minimal interest on the funds held in the Trust Account.
However, interest previously earned on the funds held in the Trust Account still may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any. As a result, the decision to liquidate the investments held in the Trust Account and thereafter to hold all funds in the Trust Account in cash an interest-bearing demand deposit account is likely to reduce the dollar amount our public shareholders could receive in connection with any redemption or liquidation of the company.
In addition, even prior to the 24-month anniversary of the effective date of the IPO Registration Statement, we may be deemed to be an investment company. For more information, see “—If we are deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we would be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities would be severely restricted. As a result, in such circumstances, unless we are able to modify our activities so that we would not be deemed an investment company, we may abandon our efforts to complete an initial Business Combination and instead liquidate the Company.” The longer that the funds in the Trust Account are held in short-term U.S. government treasury obligations or in money market funds invested exclusively in such securities, even prior to the 24-month anniversary, the greater the risk that we may be considered an unregistered investment company, in which case we may be required to liquidate the company.
Accordingly, we may determine, in our discretion, to liquidate the securities held in the Trust Account at any time and instead hold all funds in the Trust Account in cash in an interest-bearing demand deposit account which would further reduce the dollar amount our
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public shareholders would receive upon any redemption or liquidation of the company. Were we to liquidate, our warrants would expire worthless, and our securityholders would lose the investment opportunity associated with an investment in the combined company, including any potential price appreciation of our securities.
Changes to laws or regulations or in how such laws or regulations are interpreted or applied, or a failure to comply with any laws, regulations, interpretations or applications, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our business combination.
We are subject to the laws and regulations, and interpretations and applications of such laws and regulations, of national, regional, state and local governments and non-U.S. jurisdictions. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal and regulatory requirements, and our consummation of a business combination may be contingent upon our ability to comply with certain laws, regulations, interpretations and applications and any post-business combination company may be subject to additional laws, regulations, interpretations and applications. Compliance with, and monitoring of, the foregoing 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, including our ability to negotiate and complete a business combination. A failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete a business combination. The SEC has, in the past year, adopted certain rules and may, in the future adopt other rules, which may have a material effect on our activities and on our ability to complete a business combination, including the SPAC Proposed Rules (as defined below) described below.
The SEC has recently issued proposed rules relating to certain activities of SPACs. Certain of the procedures that we, a potential Business Combination target, or others may determine to undertake in connection with such proposals may increase our costs and the time needed to complete a Business Combination and may constrain the circumstances under which we could complete a Business Combination. The need for compliance with the SPAC Proposed Rules may cause us to liquidate the funds in the Trust Account or liquidate at an earlier time than we might otherwise choose.
On March 30, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules (the “SPAC Proposed Rules”) relating, among other things, to disclosures in SEC filings in connection with business combination transactions between SPACs such as us and private operating companies; the financial statement requirements applicable to transactions involving shell companies; the use of projections by SPACs in SEC filings in connection with proposed business combination transactions; the potential liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions; and the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act, including a proposed rule that would provide SPACs a safe harbor from treatment as an investment company if they satisfy certain conditions that limit a SPAC’s duration, asset composition, business purpose and activities. The SPAC Proposed Rules have not yet been adopted, and may be adopted in the proposed form or in a different form that could impose additional regulatory requirements on SPACs. Certain of the procedures that we, a potential Business Combination target, or others may determine to undertake in connection with the SPAC Proposed Rules, or pursuant to the SEC’s views expressed in the SPAC Proposed Rules, may increase the costs and time of negotiating and completing a Business Combination, and may constrain the circumstances under which we could complete a Business Combination. The need for compliance with the SPAC Proposed Rules may cause us to liquidate the funds in the Trust Account or liquidate at an earlier time than we might otherwise choose (“—To mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we may instruct the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the Trust Account and instead to hold the funds in the Trust Account in cash in an interest-bearing demand deposit account until the earlier of the consummation of an initial Business Combination or our liquidation. As a result, following the liquidation of investments in the Trust Account, we would likely receive minimal interest on the funds held in the Trust Account, which would reduce the dollar amount our public shareholders would receive in connection with any redemption or liquidation of the company.”). Were we to liquidate, our warrants would expire worthless, and our securityholders would lose the investment opportunity associated with an investment in the combined company, including any potential price appreciation of our securities.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that, immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad
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faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable for a fine of approximately $18,000 and imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the completion of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to appoint directors.
In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NYSE. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In addition, as holders of Class A ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors until after the completion of our initial business combination.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We may pursue business combination opportunities in any sector, except that we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our Units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our 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.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and
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guidelines. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.25 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from a valuation or appraisal firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our 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 Annual Report to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following our initial public offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
● | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares; |
● | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
● | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
● | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
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We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from our initial public offering and the private placement of warrants provided us with $343,300,000 that we may use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $10,325,000 of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account).
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
● | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or |
● | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable (if at all) as we believed at the time of signing an agreement to acquire such private company or that fails to meet the projections upon which our valuation may be based.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.
We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the business combination may not be as successful as we anticipate.
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To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders or warrant holders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriter fees and commissions (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceeds 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, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters, memorandum and articles of association and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, extended the time to complete an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law (or such higher threshold as specified in our amended and restated articles of association), and amending our Warrant Agreement (as defined below) will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the Warrant Agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities sold in our initial public offering, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.
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Other than amendments relating to the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination and amendments relating to the company’s continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of a special resolution which requires the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds (or such higher threshold as specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter (or equivalent) which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to the rights of a company’s shareholders, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s shareholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution, and corresponding provisions of the Trust Agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our ordinary shares; provided that the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination and provisions relating to the company’s continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of the company in such other jurisdiction) may each only be amended by the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voted at a general meeting . Our initial shareholders, who collectively beneficially own, on an as-converted basis, approximately 31.6% of our Class A ordinary shares, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or Trust Agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering , or April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable), or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, 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 agreement with our initial shareholders may be amended without shareholder approval.
Our letter agreement with our initial shareholders contains provisions relating to transfer restrictions of our founder shares and private placement warrants, indemnification of the trust account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidating distributions from the trust account. The letter agreement may be amended without shareholder approval. While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to the letter agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to the letter agreement. Any such amendments to the letter agreement would not require approval from our shareholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
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We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.25 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The current economic environment may make it difficult for companies to obtain acquisition financing. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.25 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
Our sponsor controls a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our sponsor owns approximately 31.6% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Accordingly, it may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our sponsor purchases any Units in our initial public offering or if our sponsor purchases any additional Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase its control. Neither our sponsor nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this Annual Report. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. Assuming that only one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, are voted, we will not need any public shares in addition to our founder shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have it approved. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual general meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our sponsor, because of its ownership position, will control the outcome, as only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination. Accordingly, our sponsor will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, 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
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statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
If we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) before redemption from our trust account.
If we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public 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 unless, prior thereto, we complete our initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon their redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we have not completed our initial business combination and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if a resolution of the company’s shareholders is passed pursuant to the Companies Act to commence the voluntary liquidation of the company, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.
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 this Annual Report. We are neither a large accelerated filer nor an accelerated filer as of December 31, 2022, and are not 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.
Changes in the market for directors’ and officers’ liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
Over the past year, the market for directors’ and officers’ liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. There can be no assurance that these trends will not continue.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept
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less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims, or run-off insurance. The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to complete an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present 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 debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any shareholders or warrant holders who choose to remain shareholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders or warrant holders 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 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 materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
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 have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.25 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.25 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of
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the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
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. In addition, pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement (as defined below), our sponsor, upon and following completion of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the Registration Rights Agreement.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
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 the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example,
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we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
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 business 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. Furthermore, 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 in an international setting, including any of the following:
● | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations; |
● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
● | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
● | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
● | exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
● | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
● | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
● | challenges in managing and staffing international operations; |
● | 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; |
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● | cultural and language differences; |
● | employment regulations; |
● | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
● | corruption; |
● | protection of intellectual property; |
● | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances; |
● | regime changes and political upheaval; |
● | terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars, including the military conflict between Ukraine, the Russian Federation and Belarus that started in February 2022; and |
● | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such initial business combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Relating to our Management Team
Certain of our officers and directors have or will have direct and indirect economic interests in us and/or our sponsor after the consummation of our initial public offering and such interests may potentially conflict with those of our public shareholders as we evaluate and decide whether to recommend a potential Business Combination to our public shareholders.
Certain of our officers and directors may own membership interests in our sponsor and indirect interests in our Class B ordinary shares and private placement warrants which may result in interests that differ from the economic interests of our investors, which includes making a determination of whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial Business Combination. There may be a potential conflict of interest between our officers and directors that hold membership interests in our sponsor and our public shareholders that may not be resolved in favor of our public shareholders. See “Item 10—Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest.”
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers, directors and advisors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers, directors and advisors 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 complete an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s
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investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
Past performance by our sponsor group, management team or their respective affiliates, including Tifosy Capital & Advisory, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our sponsor group, management team or their affiliates, including Tifosy, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience of and performance by, or businesses associated with, our sponsor group, management team or their affiliates, including Tifosy, is not a guarantee either: (1) that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (2) of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may complete. You should not rely on the historical record of our sponsor group, management team, Tifosy or any of their affiliates’ or managed fund’s performance as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. An investment in us is not an investment in Tifosy. Our management team has no experience in operating special purpose acquisition companies.
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 area of expertise if a business combination target 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 target, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our Units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in our initial public offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination target. 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 Annual Report regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our 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.
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess
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of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we complete our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. Any such companies, businesses or ventures 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.
Our sponsor or officers intend to form other special purpose acquisition companies in the future, which may occur prior our completing our initial business combination and could cause conflicts of interest.
Our sponsor or our officers intend to sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies in the future, which may occur while we are still seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may pursue similar targets and compete with us for business combination opportunities. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. Consequently, we may be precluded from procuring such opportunities and such opportunities may be presented to such other companies instead of us. However, we do not currently expect that any such other special purpose acquisition company would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or 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 officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently
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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 and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or a valuation or appraisal firm regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they have acquired or may acquire), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On April 20, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain expenses on our behalf in exchange for the issuance of 11,500,000 Class B ordinary shares. On September 29, 2021, our sponsor surrendered 4,312,500 founder shares to us for no consideration resulting in an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares outstanding. As a result of such surrender, the per share purchase price increased to approximately $0.004 per share. On October 20, 2021, our sponsor transferred 30,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors at a per share purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share. On October 21, 2021, we effected a share capitalization with respect to our Class B ordinary shares of 1,437,500, resulting in our initial shareholders holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 17,025,000 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($17,025,000 in the aggregate). If we do not complete an initial business within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 18-month (or 21- month, as applicable) anniversary of the closing of our initial public offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
Since our officers and directors will share in any appreciation of the founder shares purchased at approximately $0.003 per share, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular target business is appropriate for our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors who will assist us in sourcing potential acquisition targets have an interest in the founder shares as of the date hereof. These officers and directors will not receive any cash compensation from us prior to a Business Combination but will share in any appreciation of the founder shares, provided that we successfully complete a Business Combination. We believe that this structure aligns the incentives of these officers and directors with the interests of our shareholders. However, investors should be aware that, as these officers and directors have paid approximately $0.003 per share or less for the interest in the founder shares, this structure also creates an incentive whereby our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we complete a Business Combination with a target that ultimately declines in value and is not profitable for our public shareholders.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce
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judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, our management may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
Risks Relating to our Securities
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022. If we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.
Our management identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting relating to our accounting of legal fees and concluded that our internal controls were not effective as of December 31, 2022. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis.
Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. We continue to evaluate steps to remediate the material weakness. These remediation measures may be time consuming and costly and there is no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
If we identify any new material weaknesses in the future, any such newly identified material weakness could limit our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of our accounts or disclosures that could result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements. In such case, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and our share price may decline as a result. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures we may take in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses.
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any
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right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
The NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our Units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are currently listed on NYSE. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum market capitalization (generally $50,000,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders).
Additionally, our Units will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination and, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE.
For instance, in order for our shares to be listed upon the completion of our initial business combination, at such time our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our total market capitalization would be required to be at least $200.0 million, the aggregate market value of publicly held shares would be required to be at least $100.0 million and we would be required to have at least 400 round lot shareholders. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those listing requirements at that time.
If the NYSE delists any of our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect such securities could be quoted on an over-the- counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
● | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
● | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
● | a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
● | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
● | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our Units and eventually our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on the NYSE, our Units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants will qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of covered securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on the NYSE, 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.
Holders of our Class A ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on any appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination.
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Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, by way of ordinary resolution. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the completion of an initial business combination.
Since only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, upon the listing of our shares on NYSE, NYSE may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
Only holders of our founder shares have the right to vote to appoint directors. As a result, NYSE may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of NYSE corporate governance standards. Under NYSE corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
● | we have a board that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under the rules of NYSE; |
● | we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and |
● | we have a nominating committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. |
We do not currently intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of NYSE, subject to applicable phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of NYSE’s corporate governance requirements.
An investment in our securities may result in uncertain or adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.
An investment in our securities may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the Units we issued in our initial public offering, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the Class A ordinary share and the one-half of a warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share included in each unit could be challenged by the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, or courts. Furthermore, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants included in the Units we issued in our initial public 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 holding period for purposes of determining whether any dividends we pay would be considered “qualified dividends” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities.
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. holder of our ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Because we are a blank check company with no active business, it is likely we were a PFIC for the taxable year ending on December 31, 2022. We urge U.S. holders to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules to holders of our securities.
We may re-domicile or reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, which may result in taxes imposed on shareholders and warrant holders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination, re-domicile or reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder or warrant holder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do
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not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay such taxes. Shareholders and warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
Registration of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
Under the terms of the Warrant Agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days, after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statements filed in connection with our initial public offering or a new registration statement covering the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the Warrant Agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statements or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, in which case the number of Class A ordinary shares that warrant holders will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula.
In no event will warrants be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration or qualification is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of Units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the warrants included as part of Units sold in our initial public offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to sell the ordinary shares underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying ordinary shares. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
If our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, not permit holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants to do so for cash and, instead, require them to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement or register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws, and in the event we do not so elect, we
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will use commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities (other than upon a cashless exercise as described above) or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that the courts of the Cayman Islands will be the exclusive forum for certain disputes between us and our shareholders, and that the federal district courts in the United States shall be the exclusive forum for claims against us under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for complaints against us or our directors, officers or employees.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts of the Cayman Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or dispute arising out of or in connection with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or otherwise related in any way to each shareholder’s shareholding in us, including but not limited to (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of any fiduciary or other duty owed by any of our current or former director, officer or other employee to us or our shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Companies Act or our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine (as such concept is recognized under the laws of the United States of America) and that each shareholder irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Cayman Islands over all such claims or disputes. This forum selection provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association does not apply to actions or suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are, as a matter of the laws of the United States of America, the sole and exclusive forum for determination of such a claim. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that the federal district courts in the United States shall be the exclusive forum for claims against us under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also provide that, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that we may have, each of our shareholders acknowledges that damages alone would not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum and that accordingly we shall be entitled, without proof of special damages, to the remedies of injunction, specific performance or other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum.
These choice of forum provisions may increase a shareholder’s cost and limit the shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any of our shares or other securities, whether by transfer, sale, operation of law or otherwise, shall be deemed to have notice of and have irrevocably agreed and consented to these provisions. There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provisions. The Securities Act provides that state courts and federal courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction over claims under the Securities Act, and the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ charter documents has been challenged in legal proceedings. It is possible that a court could find this type of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable, and if a court were to find this provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, which could have adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement, dated as of October 26, 2021 (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of such warrants. The registration rights will be exercisable with respect to the founder shares and the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such private placement warrants. We will bear the cost of registering
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these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. Further, the market price of our Class A ordinary shares might also be adversely affected by the fact that the founder shares held by our initial shareholders may become transferable earlier than one year after the completion of our initial business combination if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, which represents a relatively small premium compared to the initial public offering price of our Units of $10.00 per Unit.
In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our securities that is expected when the securities owned by our initial shareholders, holders of our private placement warrants or their permitted transferees are registered for resale.
We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, and 5,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. There are 465,500,000 and 41,375,000 authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance, which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares, if any. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares (which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we have not completed an initial business combination) at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. There are no preference shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares in connection with our redeeming the warrants or upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to shareholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (except those subject to higher voting thresholds on particular matters), may be amended by special resolution of our shareholders. The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:
● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our initial public offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares; |
● | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; |
● | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
● | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; |
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● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants; and |
● | may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. |
Unlike some other similarly structured blank check companies, our initial shareholders will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue shares to complete an initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares (which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we have not completed an initial business combination) at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of our initial public offering, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the completion of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, deemed issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, any of its affiliates or any members of our management team upon conversion of working capital loans. In no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one-to-one. This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies in which 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.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants are issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us, dated as of October 26, 2021 (the “Warrant Agreement”). The Warrant Agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake or defective provision, (ii) making any amendments that are necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents for initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies underwritten by bulge bracket investment banks) to allow for the warrants to continue to be classified as equity in our financial statements; provided that no such amendment shall increase the exercise price of the warrants, shorten the exercise period or will, in the aggregate, materially affect the legal rights of registered holders of the then-outstanding public warrants under the Warrant Agreement, (iii) removing or reducing our ability to redeem the warrants or (iv) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the Warrant Agreement as the parties to the Warrant Agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the rights of the holders of public warrants under the Warrant Agreement. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the Warrant Agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants; provided that the Warrant Agreement may be amended with the vote or written consent of holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding private placement warrants without the consent of any other holder to provide that the private placement warrants (a) will remain private placement warrants, when transferred to any party, including parties that are not permitted transferees, or (b) have the same terms as the public warrants, subject to any applicable contractual restrictions or securities law restrictions. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of
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the warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a Warrant.
Our Warrant Agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our Warrant Agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the Warrant Agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the Warrant Agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions 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, or 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, or 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 warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met, including that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A ordinary shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares. This $10.00 trading price per share is less than the $11.50 exercise price of the warrants and a redemption at this share price might result in holders having to exercise their warrants at a time when they are “out-of-the-money” or having to receive nominal consideration from us for them. When the warrants are “out-of-the-money,” you would lose any potential embedded value from a subsequent increase in the value of the Class A ordinary shares had your warrants remained outstanding. In fact, the value received upon exercise of the warrants may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.
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 $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we
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are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 17,025,000 Class A ordinary shares as part of the Units offered in our initial public offering and, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 17,025,000 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. Our initial shareholders currently own an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares. The founder shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the completion of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors makes any working capital loans, such lender may convert those loans into up to an additional 1,500,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant.
To the extent we issue Class A ordinary shares for any reason, including to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights 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 combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Because each unit contains one-half of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the Units may be worth less than units of other special purpose acquisition companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one warrant. Pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units, and only whole Units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the Units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one 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 it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
A provision of our Warrant Agreement may make it more difficult for us to complete an initial business combination.
If (i) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price (as defined in the Warrant Agreement) of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share, (ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (iii) the Market Value (as defined in the Warrant Agreement) of our Class A ordinary shares is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest
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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 complete an initial business combination with a target business.
The nominal purchase price paid by our sponsor for the founder shares may significantly dilute the implied value of your public shares in the event we complete an initial business combination. In addition, the value of the sponsor’s founder shares will be significantly greater than the amount our sponsor paid to purchase such shares in the event we complete an initial business combination, even if the business combination causes the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares to materially decline.
Our sponsor invested an aggregate of $17,050,000 in us in connection with our initial public offering, comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the founder shares and the $17,025,000 purchase price for the private placement warrants. We offered our Units to the public at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, implying an initial value of $10.00 per public share. However, because the sponsor paid only a nominal purchase price of approximately $0.003 per share for the founder shares, the value of your public shares may be significantly diluted as a result of the automatic conversion of our sponsor’s founder shares into Class A ordinary shares upon our completion of an initial business combination.
The following table shows the public shareholders’ and our sponsor’s investment per share and how these compare to the implied value of one Class A ordinary share upon the completion of our initial business combination. The following table assumes that (i) our valuation is $353,625,000 (which is the amount we have in the trust account for our initial business combination), (ii) no interest is earned on the funds held in the trust account, (iii) no public shares are redeemed in connection with our initial business combination and (iv) all founder shares are held by our initial shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination, and does not take into account other potential impacts on our valuation at the time of the initial business combination such as (i) the value of our public and private placement warrants, (ii) the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares, (iii) any equity issued or cash paid to the target’s sellers, (iv) any equity issued to other third party investors, or (v) the target’s business itself.
(1) | While the public shareholders’ investment is in both the public shares and the public warrants, for purposes of this table the full investment amount is ascribed to the public shares only. |
(2) | Our initial shareholders’ total investment in the equity of the company, inclusive of the founder shares and the sponsor’s $17,025,000 investment in the private placement warrants, is $17,050,000. For purposes of this table, the full investment amount is ascribed to the founder shares only. |
(3) | All founder shares held by our initial shareholders would automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares upon completion of our initial business combination. |
Based on these assumptions, each Class A ordinary share would have an implied value of $8.20 per share upon completion of our initial business combination, representing a 18.0% decrease from the initial implied value of $10.00 per public share. While the implied value of $8.20 per Class A ordinary share upon completion of our initial business combination would represent a dilution to our public shareholders, this would represent a significant increase in value for our initial shareholders relative to the price they paid for each founder share. At $8.20 per Class A ordinary share, the 8,625,000 Class A ordinary shares that our initial shareholders would own upon completion of our initial business combination (after automatic conversion of the 8,625,000 founder shares) would have an aggregate implied value of $70,725,000. As a result, even if the trading price of our Class A ordinary share significantly declines, the value of the founder shares held by our initial shareholders will be significantly greater than the amount our initial shareholders paid to purchase such shares. In addition, our initial shareholders could potentially recoup their entire investment in our company even if the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares after the initial business combination is as low as $1.98 per share. As a result, our initial shareholders are likely to earn a substantial profit on their investment in us upon disposition of its Class A ordinary shares even if the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares declines after we complete our initial business combination even if the value of the public shares declines significantly. Our initial shareholders may therefore be economically incentivized to complete an initial business combination with a
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riskier, weaker-performing or less-established target business than would be the case if our initial shareholders had paid the same per share price for the founder shares as our public shareholders paid for their public shares.
This dilution would increase to the extent that 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 and would become exacerbated to the extent that public shareholders seek redemptions from the trust for their public shares. 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.
A market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
The price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases). 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.
Our warrants are accounted for as a warrant liability and are recorded at fair value with any changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities or may make it more difficult for us to complete an initial business combination.
We currently have 34,275,000 warrants outstanding. We account for these warrants as a warrant liability, which means that we record them at fair value with any changes in fair value each period reported in earnings as determined by us based upon a valuation report obtained from an independent third party valuation firm. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities, including as a result of increased volatility in our earnings due to fluctuations in the value of the warrants as well as increased costs associated with obtaining such valuations. In addition, potential targets may seek a business combination partner that does not have warrants that are accounted for as a warrant liability, which may make it more difficult for us to complete an initial business combination with a target business.
General Risk Factors
We depend on a variety of U.S. and multi-national financial institutions to provide us with banking services. The default or failure of one or more financial institutions that we rely on may adversely affect our business and financial condition.
We maintain the majority of our cash and cash equivalents in accounts with major U.S. and multi-national financial institutions, and our deposits at certain of these institutions exceed insured limits. Market conditions can impact the viability of these institutions. In the event of a failure of any of the financial institutions where we maintain our cash and cash equivalents, there can be no assurance that we would be able to access uninsured funds in a timely manner or at all. Any inability to access or delay in accessing these funds could adversely affect our liquidity, business and financial condition.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
As of December 31, 2022, we had $599,286 of cash and a working capital deficit of $1,158,709. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. Our plans to raise capital and to complete our initial business combination may not be successful. These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans to address this need for capital are discussed under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Annual Report. The financial statements contained in this Annual Report do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
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 internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in 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 equaled or exceeded $250 million as of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the prior June 30th. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and Cayman Islands law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, which may make the removal of
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management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and Cayman Islands law may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We purchased a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we complete an initial business combination.
Our indemnification obligations may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the valuations of business combination targets and the cost of our initial business combination, and could even result in our inability to find a target or to complete an initial business combination.
The number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to complete an initial business combination. In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, including between the United States and China and between Russia and Ukraine, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and complete an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to complete an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
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,
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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.
Proposals by the Biden administration could lead to changes in tax laws that could negatively impact our effective tax rate and subject our shareholders to negative tax consequences.
The Biden administration has proposed increases, among other things, to the U.S. corporate income tax rate from 21% to 28%, and to the top tax rate on capital gains. If any of these (or similar) proposals are ultimately enacted into law, in whole or in part, they could have a negative impact to our effective tax rate and subject our shareholders to negative tax consequences. We cannot predict the likelihood, timing or substance of U.S. tax reform and will continue to monitor the progress of U.S. tax reform, as well as other global tax reform initiatives.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue may be derived from our operations in any such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and social conditions and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to complete our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following completion 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 completion 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 complete such transaction.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial business combination or otherwise, 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.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
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Item 2. Properties.
We do not own any real estate or other physical properties materially important to our operation. We currently maintain our principal executive offices at 16 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1HT, United Kingdom. Our executive offices are provided to us by our sponsor. We have agreed to pay our sponsor a total of $50,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
To the knowledge of our management, there is no litigation currently pending against us, any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such or against any of our property.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Market Information
Our Units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are each traded on the NYSE under the symbols “ICNC.U,” “ICNC” and “ICNC.WS,” respectively. Our Units commenced public trading on October 22, 2021, and our Class A ordinary shares and warrants commenced separate public trading on December 13, 2021.
Holders
As of the date of this Annual Report, there were two holders of record of our Units, one holder of record of our Class A ordinary shares, four holders of record of our Class B ordinary shares and two holders of record of our warrants.
Dividends
We have not paid or declared any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of the board of directors at such time. Our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities and Use of Proceeds
Initial Public Offering
On October 26, 2021, the Company completed its initial public offering of 34,500,000 Units, including the issuance of 4,500,000 Units as a result of the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company, with each warrant entitling the holder
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thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share for $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $345,000,000.
Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, the Company completed the private sale of an aggregate of 17,025,000 private placement warrants to its sponsor, Iconic Sports Management LLC, at a purchase price of $1.00 per private placement warrants, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $17,025,000. The private placement warrants are identical to the public warrants sold in our initial public offering. Additionally, our sponsor agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private placement warrants (except in limited circumstances, as described herein) until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Our sponsor was granted certain demand and piggyback registration rights in connection with the purchase of the private placement warrants.
A total of $353,625,000 of the proceeds from the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants were placed in a U.S.-based trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.
For a description of the use of the proceeds generated in the initial public offering, see Part II, Item 7 of this Annual Report.
Convertible Promissory Note
On December 28, 2022, the Company issued an unsecured convertible promissory note (the “Convertible Promissory Note”) to the sponsor, pursuant to which the Company may borrow $750,000 (the “Working Capital Loan”) from the sponsor for general corporate purposes. Such loan may, at the sponsor’s discretion, be converted into warrants to purchase Class A ordinary shares of the Company at a conversion price of $1.00 per warrant (the “Working Capital Warrants”), with each Working Capital Warrant entitling the Sponsor to purchase one Class A Share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to the same adjustments applicable to the private placement warrants sold concurrently with the Company’s initial public offering. The Working Capital Loan will not bear any interest and will be repayable by the Company to the sponsor, if not converted or repaid on the effective date of an initial business combination. The maturity date of the Working Capital Loan may be accelerated upon the occurrence of an Event of Default (as defined under the Convertible Promissory Note). Any Working Capital Warrants issuable upon conversion of the Convertible Promissory Note will not be registered under the Securities Act and will be issued in reliance on the exemption from registration requirements thereof provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
Item 6. [Reserved]
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion and analysis of Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp.’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements, including the related notes, contained in this Annual Report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties described in “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors.
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Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on April 15, 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the completion of our initial public offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing or other sources.
The issuance of additional shares in connection with a business combination:
● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our initial public offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares; |
● | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; |
● | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
● | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; |
● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants; and |
● | may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. |
Similarly, if we issue debt or otherwise incur significant debt, it could result in:
● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
● | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares; |
● | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
● | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
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● | 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 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. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
Business Combination Option with Eagle Football
On December 19, 2022, Eagle Football, a London-based group with interests in English Premier League club, Crystal Palace, Brazilian Serie A club, Botafogo, and Belgian First Division B club, RWD Molenbeek, acquired a significant controlling stake in French Ligue 1 club, Olympique Lyonnais. In connection with such acquisition, Iconic Eagle, an affiliate of our sponsor, made a strategic $75 million equity investment in Eagle Football. In connection with such investment, Iconic Eagle entered into agreements with various parties, including Eagle Football. Such agreements provide that we may enter into a business combination with Eagle Football for a valuation of approximately $1.2 billion. The Company is not a party to any of these agreements. There is no assurance that an agreement with respect to such transaction will be entered into, and even if entered into, that a transaction contemplated thereby would be consummated. Any such transaction would be subject to, among other things, (i) additional financing on acceptable terms; (ii) the approval of the board of the Company; (iii) the separate approval of the Company’s shareholders; (iv) the ability to satisfy the requirements of the SEC for the offering of securities and the solicitation of votes; (v) any regulatory approvals; and (vi) the satisfaction of continued stock exchange listing requirements.
Preliminary Proxy Statement
On March 27, 2023, we filed a preliminary proxy statement seeking shareholder approval of the Extension Amendment Proposal and the Redemption Limitation Amendment Proposal.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. We will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents. 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. Our expenses have increased substantially after the closing of our initial public offering as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, we had net income of $18,512,854, which consisted of formation and operating expenses of $1,925,435, offset by a gain of $15,337,600 for the change in fair value of the warrant liability, dividend income of $3,201,980 on marketable securities held in trust, and an unrealized gain of $1,898,709 on marketable securities held in trust. In comparison, for the period from April 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, we had net income of $12,147,412, which consisted of formation and operating expenses of $1,850,480, offset by a gain of $13,992,000 for the change in fair value of the warrant liability and an unrealized gain of $5,892 on marketable securities held in trust.
Liquidity, Capital Resources and Going Concern
As of December 31, 2022, we had $599,286 in operating cash and a working capital deficit of $1,158,709 compared to $923,850 in operating cash and working capital of $624,633 as of December 31, 2021.
Until the completion of the initial public offering, our only source of liquidity was an initial purchase of founder shares by our sponsor, Iconic Sports Management LLC, for $25,000 and up to $300,000 in loans from our sponsor.
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On October 26, 2021, we completed the initial public offering of 34,500,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, which included the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 4,500,000 Units, generating gross proceeds of $345,000,000.
Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, the Company completed the private sale of an aggregate of 17,025,000 private placement warrants to our sponsor at a purchase price of $1.00 per private placement warrants, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $17,025,000.
A total of $353,625,000 of the proceeds from the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants were placed in a U.S.-based trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.
Transaction costs of the initial public offering amounted to $16,966,617, consisting of $5,900,000 of underwriting discount, $10,325,000 of deferred underwriting discount, and $741,617 of actual offering costs. Of these amounts, $16,132,794 was recorded to additional paid-in capital and $833,823 costs related to the warrant liability was expensed immediately using the residual allocation method.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, net cash used in operating activities was $1,074,564. Net income of $18,512,854 was adjusted by $1,898,709 of unrealized gain on marketable securities held in trust, $3,201,980 of dividend income on marketable securities held in trust, and $15,337,600 change in fair value of warrant liability, and $850,871 of changes in operating assets.
As of December 31, 2022, we had marketable securities held in the trust account of $358,731,581 (including $1,898,709 of unrealized gains and $3,201,980 of dividend income) consisting of securities held in a money market fund that invests in U.S. Treasury securities with a maturity of 185 days or less.
As of December 31, 2022, we had cash of $599,286 held outside the trust account. We intend to use the funds held outside the trust account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.
We do not believe we will have sufficient funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial business combination. We expect to incur significant costs related to identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of time within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we have not consummated our initial Business Combination within the required time period, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account.
On December 28, 2022, the Company issued the Convertible Promissory Note to the sponsor, pursuant to which the Company may borrow the Working Capital Loan from the sponsor for general corporate purposes. Such loan may, at the sponsor’s discretion, be converted into Working Capital Warrants, with each Working Capital Warrant entitling the Sponsor to purchase one Class A Share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to the same adjustments applicable to the private placement warrants sold concurrently with the Company’s initial public offering. The Working Capital Loan will not bear any interest and will be repayable by the Company to the sponsor, if not converted or repaid on the effective date of an initial business combination. The maturity date of the Working Capital Loan may be accelerated upon the occurrence of an Event of Default (as defined under the Convertible Promissory Note). The Company granted customary registration rights to the sponsor with respect to any Working Capital Warrants and any Class A ordinary shares that may be issued upon exercise of any Working Capital Warrants. Such securities shall constitute “Registrable Securities” pursuant to that
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certain Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, dated October 26, 2021, by and among the Company, the sponsor and certain shareholders of the Company. Further, each newly issued Working Capital Warrant shall bear the same transfer restrictions that apply to the private placement warrants, as contemplated by the Letter Agreement, dated October 26, 2021, by and among the Company, the sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors.
Off-Balance Sheet Financing Arrangements
We have no obligations, assets or liabilities, which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2022. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt obligations, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations, purchase obligations or other long-term liabilities, other than described below.
We have an agreement to pay our sponsor a monthly fee of $50,000 for office space, utilities and administrative support. We began incurring these fees on October 26, 2021 and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlier of the completion of the business combination and our liquidation.
The underwriter of the initial public offering is entitled to a deferred fee $10,325,000. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriter from the amounts held in the trust account solely in the event that we complete our initial business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. Significant estimates include the fair value of warrant liabilities; the Company utilized the Monte Carlo simulation model to fair value the public warrants and the Black-Scholes model to fair value to private placement warrants at our initial public offering. We have identified the following critical accounting policies:
Warrant Liabilities
We account for the warrants underlying the Units and the private placement warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815 under which the public warrants and the private placement warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment and must be recorded as liabilities. Under ASC 815-40, the public warrants and the private placement warrants are not indexed to our ordinary shares in the manner contemplated by ASC 815-40 because the holder of the instrument is not an input into the pricing of a fixed-for-fixed option on equity shares. Accordingly, we classify the public warrants and the private placement warrants as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the public warrants and the private placement warrants to fair value at each reporting period. These liabilities are subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. Subsequent to our initial public offering, the private placement warrant value is based on the public trading value. The Company utilized the Monte Carlo simulation model to value the private placement warrants as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares are classified as
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Shareholders’ equity. Our Class A ordinary shares features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption is presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the Shareholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Such changes are reflected in additional paid-in capital, or in the absence of additional capital, in accumulated deficit. On October 26, 2021, the Company recorded a fair value adjustment of $33,043,794, $24,138 of which was recorded in additional paid-in capital and $33,019,656 was recorded in accumulated deficit. As of December 31, 2022, the Company recorded a remeasurement of $5,006,581, which was recorded in accumulated deficit.
Net Income Per Ordinary Share
Net income per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Ordinary shares subject to possible redemption at December 31, 2022, which are not currently redeemable and are not redeemable at fair value, have been excluded from the calculation of basic net income per ordinary share since such shares, if redeemed, only participate in their pro rata share of the trust account earnings. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the initial public offering and the private placement to purchase an aggregate of 17,025,000 private placement warrants in the calculation of diluted income per share, since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events and the inclusion of such warrants would be anti-dilutive. As a result, diluted net income per ordinary share is the same as basic net income per ordinary share for the periods presented.
The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of net income per ordinary share subject to possible redemption and allocates the net income into the two classes of shares in calculating net income per ordinary share, basic and diluted. For redeemable Class A ordinary shares, net income per ordinary share is calculated by dividing the net income by the weighted average number of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption outstanding since original issuance. For non-redeemable Class B ordinary shares, net income per share is calculated by dividing the net income by the weighted average number of nonredeemable Class B ordinary shares outstanding for the period. Non-redeemable Class B ordinary shares include the founder shares as these shares do not have any redemption features and do not participate in the income earned on the trust account.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued ASU No. 2020-06, “Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity” (“ASU 2020-06”), which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. ASU 2020-06 removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception and it also simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. ASU 2020-06 is effective on January 1, 2022, with early adoption permitted. We are currently assessing the impact, if any, that ASU 2020-06 would have on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
Our financial statements and notes thereto begin on page F-1.
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Item 9. Changes and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive, financial and accounting officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive, accounting and financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive, accounting and financial officer has concluded that during the period covered by this Annual Report, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective due solely to the material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting primarily for the Company’s remeasurement of temporary equity subject to possible redemption, as well as the reconciliation controls that are part of the monthly financial statement close process. Specifically, the operation of the reconciliation process allowed for timing differences for the interest earned on funds held in the Trust Account. The Company determined the control was not operating in a way that would prevent potential future misstatement.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Except as described below, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the year ended December 31, 2022 covered by this Annual Report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
We currently are implementing several actions, as described below, to remediate the material weakness. Management is committed to ensuring that our internal controls over financial reporting are designed and operating effectively. Our principal executive, accounting and financial officer has performed additional review procedures including reviewing historical filings and consulting with subject matter experts related to the accounting for complex agreements. The Company’s management has also retained an additional consultant to provide additional review and subject matter expertise.
The Company’s management has expended, and will continue to expend, a substantial amount of effort and resources for the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. While we have processes to properly identify and evaluate the appropriate accounting technical pronouncements and other literature for all significant or unusual transactions, we have improved, and will continue to improve, these processes to ensure that the nuances of such transactions are effectively evaluated in the context of the increasingly complex accounting standards.
The elements of our remediation plan can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management of the Company is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that: (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and
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(iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Any system of internal control, no matter how well designed, has inherent limitations, including the possibility that a control can be circumvented or overridden and misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected in a timely manner. Also, because of changes in conditions, internal control effectiveness may vary over time. Accordingly, even an effective system of internal control will provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation.
Management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth in 2013 by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in “Internal Control-Integrated Framework.” Based on management’s assessment using the COSO criteria, management has concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2022.
This Annual Report does not include an attestation report of the Company’s registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by the Company’s registered public accounting firm pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission that permit the Company to provide only management’s report in this Annual Report.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not applicable.
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PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Officers and Directors
Name |
| Age |
| Position |
|
James G. Dinan | 63 | Director | |||
Alexander Knaster | 64 | Director | |||
Fausto Zanetton | 46 | Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer | |||
Marco Re | 46 | Executive Vice President | |||
Tim Williams | 52 | Executive Vice President | |||
Tommy Aylmer | 37 | Executive Vice President | |||
Renée E. LaBran | 63 | Director | |||
Alex Liu | 64 | Director | |||
Fahd Beg | 44 | Director |
James G. Dinan has served as a Director since September 2021. Mr. Dinan founded York Capital Management in September 1991 and currently serves as its Non-Executive Chairman. From 1985 to 1991, he worked at Kellner, DiLeo & Co., where he became a General Partner and was responsible for investing in risk arbitrage and special situation investments. From 1981 to 1983, Mr. Dinan was a member of the investment banking group at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc.
In 2014, Mr. Dinan purchased a stake in the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, partnering with Marc Lasry and Wes Edens. Over the course of the following five years, from the 2013/14 season to the 2018/19 season, as owners of the Milwaukee Bucks, Messrs. Dinan, Lasry and Edens have completely reimagined, rebuilt and re- energized the team’s business operations, resulting in substantial increases in attendance (+68%), ticket revenue (+186%), digital and social media audience (+283%), concessions and retail revenue (+600%), partnership sales (+200%) and cable revenue (+65%). They have assembled a top-flight management team and instilled a new corporate culture marked by accountability, collaboration and results and are credited with the turnaround that saw the Milwaukee Bucks win the 2021 NBA Championship and lift the Larry O’Brien trophy on July 20, 2021, for the first time since 1971.
Mr. Dinan has also been instrumental in driving the vision, financing, planning, design and construction of the Deer District, a 30-acre mixed-use development project that has transformed downtown Milwaukee, featuring a new 714,000 square feet multi-purpose arena, financed by a $524 million public and private investment, and a new state-of-the-art 55,000 square feet training facility for the Milwaukee Bucks, financed by a $30 million private investment. He has worked to ensure that this historic project will be catalytic to the economic development of both the city of Milwaukee and the State of Wisconsin. Throughout his time in Milwaukee, Mr. Dinan has devoted significant energy and effort to working within the Milwaukee community to accomplish important social and economic goals, which include spearheading the development and launch of the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation.
Mr. Dinan is a member of the NBA’s Board of Governors, responsible for the strategy and global direction of the NBA across media, digital, operations, partnerships and many other facets of the league.
Mr. Dinan is currently the Vice-Chair and Chairman Emeritus of the Museum of the City of New York. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Hospital for Special Surgery, and the USA Wrestling Foundation. Additionally, he was a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation Trustee and he served as Team Leader for Men’s Freestyle Wrestling for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Mr. Dinan sits on the Harvard Business School’s Board of Dean’s Advisors, the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, the Wharton Board of Advisors at the University of Pennsylvania and the Board of Trustees for The Rockefeller University.
Mr. Dinan’s business experience and leadership make him well-qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Alexander Knaster has served as a Director since September 2021. Mr. Knaster has served as the Chairman of Pamplona Capital Management, a global investment management firm, since he founded the firm in 2005. As of 2020, Pamplona Capital Management has managed over $13 billion in private equity, hedge funds and fund of funds assets.
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Prior to founding Pamplona Capital Management, Mr. Knaster served as the Chief Executive Officer at Alfa Bank from 1998 to 2004. From 1985 to 1998, he has held senior positions at Credit Suisse First Boston, Bankers Trust Company, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Grenfell and Simmons and Company in New York, London, Moscow and Houston.
Mr. Knaster has a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University, M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and Ph.D. in Economics from Russian Academy of Science. Mr. Knaster is currently concluding a Master of Science program in Molecular Biology at New York University. He is an active philanthropist, focusing extensively on funding cancer research and educational activities, and is already an investor in European football, having acquired a majority stake in A.C. Pisa 1909 in January 2021.
Mr. Knaster’s business experience in executive positions make him well-qualified to serve on our board of directors.
Fausto Zanetton has served as our Chief Executive Officer since January 2023 and Chief Financial Officer since April 2021. Mr. Zanetton previously served as our Co-Chief Executive Officer from September 2021 to January 2023. Mr. Zanetton is a much sought-after and trusted advisor in the sports industry and has over 20 years of experience advising global media, sports and technology companies.
Mr. Zanetton has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Tifosy since 2015, which he co-founded with Gianluca Vialli after seeing an unprecedented need for high-quality advisory services and financing solutions in professional sports. Mr. Zanetton directs Tifosy’s strategy and is responsible for managing the firm day-to-day, as well as in the sports sector advising clients on large-scale mergers and acquisitions and financing transactions. Mr. Zanetton has worked with professional sports franchises across Europe and the United States and has recently advised on transactions involving Football Club Internazionale Milano (“Inter Milan”), Inter Miami CF, Parma Calcio 1913, Sampdoria, Glasgow Rangers Football Club, Queens Park Rangers Football Club, A.C. Pisa 1909, Norwich City Football Club and others. He has also been a speaker at various industry conferences, including Leaders in Sport, Soccerex Global Convention and Web Summit.
Mr. Zanetton previously held various positions as an experienced sports, media and entertainment banker at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, with additional sector experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Brussels and Boston. Mr. Zanetton has a successful track record in leading high-profile transactions.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Zanetton has developed a vast network within the global sports, finance and private equity industries and brings to the management team significant experience as a leader on large-scale mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and private financing transactions.
Marco Re has served as our Executive Vice President since September 2021. Mr. Re has served as a Managing Director and as the Head of Italy at Tifosy since 2020. At Tifosy, Mr. Re is primarily responsible for the Italian market and office, but also leads the firm’s strategic client coverage as an adviser to top-tier clubs and clients across Europe. Mr. Re has an in-depth knowledge of the sports industry and is valued by clients for his holistic view on the sports financing market.
Prior to joining Tifosy, Mr. Re served at Juventus from 2000 to 2020 in various roles, including as Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of the Board, where he held responsibility for all financial and non- sporting operations. During his 20 year career at Juventus, Mr. Re led capital market transactions including the Juventus initial public offering, a €300 million rights issue, stadium construction financing, Juventus Village financing (real estate fund structure) and a €175 million senior unsecured bond issuance. As an experienced Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Re has a detailed understanding of not only industry-specific financing arrangements, such as factoring of broadcasting and player receivables, but also related developments, having assumed senior leadership roles in the J|Medical and J|Hotel projects.
Mr. Re holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Turin and has been enrolled in the Italian Register of Chartered Accountants and in the Register of Auditors since 2003.
Tim Williams has served as our Executive Vice President since September 2021. Mr. Williams is the Chief Executive Officer of Oxford United and a former Managing Director at Tifosy with more than 25 years of experience, including 15 years in sport, media, advertising and entertainment.
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Mr. Williams is also a former Chief Financial Officer and member of the San Siro stadium management company board at Inter Milan, where he held responsibility for financial, strategic and management reporting and the club’s financing and capital structure between 2015 and 2020. While at Inter Milan, Mr. Williams led the issue of structured bond and revolving credit facilities totaling €425 million, as well as securing short-term financing arrangements on numerous occasions. Mr. Williams also has extensive experience in the UEFA Financial Fair Play (“FFP”) regulations after leading Inter Milan to the successful release from a four-year FFP Settlement Agreement.
Before joining Inter Milan, he trained with KPMG and held senior finance roles for advertising agency McCann Erickson and Manchester United. Mr. Williams holds a Bachelor’s Degree in finance from Manchester Metropolitan University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.
Tommy Aylmer has served as our Executive Vice President since September 2021. Mr. Aylmer is a Managing Director and the Chief Legal Officer at Tifosy, a position he has held since 2017. At Tifosy, he advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions, strategy and sports regulation and has recently advised on transactions involving Inter Milan, Inter Miami CF, A.C. Pisa 1909 and Norwich City Football Club, among others. Mr. Aylmer also oversees the wider team at the firm and the firm’s regulated investment platform activities.
Prior to joining Tifosy, Mr. Aylmer was a corporate lawyer at leading European law firm Arthur Cox from 2010 to 2017, specialising in M&A and corporate finance. While at Arthur Cox, he gained significant experience in complex mergers and acquisitions and financing arrangements, representing and advising a wide variety of investment banking and corporate clients. Mr. Aylmer’s select former experience includes advising: Greencore Group plc on the $747.5 million acquisition of Peacock Foods; Goldman Sachs as part of Activision Blizzard’s $5.9 billion takeover of King Digital; CRH plc on the €6.5 billion multi- jurisdictional acquisition of businesses and assets from Lafarge S.A. and Holcim Ltd; the Eir Group on the acquisition of international sports broadcaster Setanta Sports Ireland; and Emirates National Oil Company on the £4.0 billion takeover and delisting of Dragon Oil plc.
Mr. Aylmer holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Law from University College Dublin and is a dual- qualified lawyer with professional solicitor qualifications from the Law Societies of Ireland and England & Wales.
Renée E. LaBran has served as a member of our board of directors since October 21, 2021. Ms. LaBran currently serves on the boards of B. Riley Financial (NASDAQ: RILY), a diversified financial services provider, serving on the audit and governance committees, and Idealab. In addition to leading strategy initiatives and M&A projects as a consultant to large corporate clients, she is an active investor and advisor to early-stage companies. She is also an Adjunct Professor at UCLA Anderson Business School’s entrepreneurship program, and serves on the Advisory Board of Principia Growth, a late-stage growth fund.
In 2015, Ms. LaBran was appointed by Governor Brown to the California State Bar Board of Trustees (responsible for regulation of California attorneys) and was confirmed to two terms by the State Senate as a non-attorney public member. Ms. LaBran played a key role in the restructuring of both the board and the organization and completed her tenure in December 2020.
Ms. LaBran has been involved in the venture capital industry since 2000, initially as a founding partner of Rustic Canyon Partners (“RCP”), a technology focused venture capital fund. RCP also served as the launching pad for RC/Fontis, a growth stage fund targeting underserved markets. Ms. LaBran served as a Board Director for multiple portfolio companies (including audit chair experience) as well as provided oversight of both firms’ finance functions and operations.
Prior to venture capital, Ms. LaBran held a variety of executive management positions at the Los Angeles Times, overseeing $300 million in revenue and launching their digital initiatives, including co- founding two media industry joint ventures, serving as Chief Executive Officer of one joint venture. Prior to the Los Angeles Times, Ms. LaBran was a management consultant with Monitor, working on corporate strategy projects for Fortune 500 companies.
Ms. LaBran is a graduate of Harvard Business School and received her B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Ms. LaBran is the mother of two sons. She is active in her community, including past Board Chair for Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services, and co-founder of Women Founders Network, supporting female entrepreneurs. She is also Vice-Chair of the Board
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for the Alliance for SoCal Innovation. Ms. LaBran’s extensive experience on corporate boards and investment experience make her well qualified to serve on our board.
Alex Liu has served as a member of our board of directors since October 21, 2021. Mr. Liu is the managing partner and chairman of the board of directors at Kearney, a global management consulting firm. A trusted advisor to chief executive officers and boards, he elected as the firm’s ninth managing partner in 2018 and re-elected for a second term in 2021. He was named on the 2020 Global Diversity CEO List and has appeared on platforms such as the World Economic Forum (“WEF”), The Economist and CNBC to discuss equity and inclusion matters for business and society.
Mr. Liu has worked extensively in the communications, media, and technology sectors in more than 50 countries and was named a Top 25 consultant by Consulting magazine.
Mr. Liu has served as both speaker and co-chair at WEF events, including the Annual Summit in Davos and the WEF on Africa Summit, sharing his perspectives on global trends around the fourth industrial revolution and future-workforce topics. He is also a member of the WEF International Business Council, an advisory body made up of 120 chief executives and chairs representing cross-industry global organizations, and a participant in G20 Economist events.
Mr. Liu publishes frequently in business periodicals and newspapers such as Harvard Business Review and the Financial Times and speaks often on culture and joy at work, hosting a popular podcast, Joy@Work.
Prior to joining Kearney, Mr. Liu was Chief Executive Officer of a technology start-up and a partner with Boston Consulting Group, helping establish the firm’s Asian operations outside of Japan in the 1990s. He also served as a board adviser to Etisalat, one of the largest-cap public companies in the Middle East. He began his career in brand management at a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble.
Mr. Liu has an M.B.A. from Harvard and a Bachelor’s degree from Yale and remains an avid rugby player. Mr. Liu’s industry experience and leadership experience make him well qualified to serve on our board.
Fahd Beg has served as a member of our board of directors since October 21, 2021. Mr. Beg is the Chief Operating Officer of Prosus Food and Edtech and a member of the Prosus Investment Committee. Prosus N.V. (“Prosus”) is a global consumer internet group listed on the Euronext Amsterdam and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Mr. Beg joined Naspers, the controlling shareholder of Prosus, in 2016 and went on to become the Group Chief Investment Officer of Naspers in 2018 and of Prosus in 2019 following its incorporation, where he presided over a period of significant acceleration in the deployment of capital.
In 2021 Mr. Beg became Chief Operating Officer of two of the Prosus’s key segments, where he is responsible for strategy and investments as well as a number of growth and operational functions that provide support to scale portfolio companies.
Before joining Prosus, Mr. Beg held the position of Managing Director and Head of EMEA Internet Investment Banking at Citi.
Mr. Beg has an M.B.A. from Insead and a Bachelor’s degree from McGill University. Mr. Beg’s extensive investment experience and experience in executive leadership positions make him well qualified to serve on our board.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors is divided into three classes, with only one class of directors being appointed in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NYSE. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Fahd Beg, will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Renée E. LaBran and Alex Liu, will expire at our second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of James G. Dinan and Alexander Knaster, will expire at our third annual general meeting.
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Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. Such provision of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended if approved by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting.
Pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of securities in our public offering, our sponsor, upon and following completion of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of one or more chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Director Independence
NYSE listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. Our board of directors has determined that each of Renée E. LaBran, Alex Liu and Fahd Beg is an “independent director” as defined in the NYSE listing standards. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Officer and Director Compensation
In October 2021, our sponsor transferred 30,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors at a per share purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share. None of our officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on NYSE through the earlier of completion of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will reimburse our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us in the amount of $50,000 per month. In addition, our sponsor, officers, directors, or their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers, directors, or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and completing an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the completion of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the completion of our initial business
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combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a nominating committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of NYSE and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of NYSE require that the compensation committee and the nominating committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.
Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Renée E. LaBran, Alex Liu and Fahd Beg serve on our audit committee. Our board of directors has determined that each of Renée E LaBran, Alex Liu and Fahd Beg is independent under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Renée E. LaBran serves as the chairperson of the audit committee.
Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on the audit committee must be independent. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Renée E. LaBran qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
The audit committee is responsible for:
● | meeting with our independent registered public accounting firm regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our accounting and control systems; |
● | monitoring the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm; |
● | verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law; |
● | inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
● | pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed; |
● | appointing or replacing the independent registered public accounting firm; |
● | determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent registered public accounting firm regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work; |
● | establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies; |
● | monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of our initial public offering and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of our initial public offering; and |
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● | reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing shareholders, officers or directors and their respective affiliates. Any payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our board of directors, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval. |
Nominating Committee
We have established a nominating committee of our board of directors. The members of our nominating committee are Renée E. LaBran and Alex Liu, and Renée E. LaBran serves as chairperson of the nominating committee. Under the NYSE listing standards, we are required to have a nominating committee composed entirely of independent directors. Our board of directors has determined that each of Renée E. LaBran and Alex Liu is independent under the NYSE listing standards.
The nominating committee is responsible for overseeing the selection of persons to be nominated to serve on our board of directors. The nominating committee considers persons identified by its members, management, shareholders, investment bankers and others.
Guidelines for Selecting Director Nominees
The guidelines for selecting nominees, which are specified in a charter that we adopted, generally provide that persons to be nominated:
● | should have demonstrated notable or significant achievements in business, education or public service; |
● | should possess the requisite intelligence, education and experience to make a significant contribution to the board of directors and bring a range of skills, diverse perspectives and backgrounds to its deliberations; and |
● | should have the highest ethical standards, a strong sense of professionalism and intense dedication to serving the interests of the shareholders. |
The nominating committee will consider a number of qualifications relating to management and leadership experience, background and integrity and professionalism in evaluating a person’s candidacy for membership on the board of directors. The nominating committee may require certain skills or attributes, such as financial or accounting experience, to meet specific board needs that arise from time to time and will also consider the overall experience and makeup of its members to obtain a broad and diverse mix of board members. The nominating committee does not distinguish among nominees recommended by shareholders and other persons.
Compensation Committee
We have established a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of our compensation committee are Renée E. LaBran, Alex Liu and Fahd Beg, and Renée E. LaBran serves as chairperson of the compensation committee.
Under the NYSE listing standards, we are required to have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors. Our board of directors has determined that each of Renée E. LaBran, Alex Liu and Fahd Beg is independent under the NYSE listing standards.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s and Chief Financial Officer’s, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s and |
● | Chief Financial Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer based on such evaluation; |
● | reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other Section 16 officers; |
● | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
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● | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
● | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
● | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
● | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
● | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by NYSE and the SEC.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.
Availability of Documents
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. A copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon written request to our principal executive offices. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Conflicts of Interest
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
● | duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole; |
● | duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose; |
● | directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion; |
● | duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders; |
● | duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and |
● | duty to exercise independent judgment. |
In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge skill and experience of that director.
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As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
Each of our 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 officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
Affiliates of our sponsor, including our officers, are not prohibited from sponsoring other special purpose acquisition companies and such affiliates expect to sponsor other special purpose acquisition companies in the future, which may occur while we are still seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may pursue similar targets and compete with us for business combination opportunities. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. 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. However, we do not currently expect that any such other special purpose acquisition company would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Additionally, we do not believe that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
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Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
Individual | Entity | Entity’s Business | Affiliation | ||||
James G. Dinan | York Capital Management | Investment | Non-Executive Chairman | ||||
Museum of the City of New York | Non-Profit | Vice-Chair and Chairman Emeritus | |||||
The Rockefeller University | Education | Board of Trustees | |||||
USA Wrestling Foundation | Non-Profit | Board of Directors | |||||
Hospital for Special Surgery | Non-Profit | Board of Directors | |||||
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts | Non-Profit | Board of Directors | |||||
Harvard Business School’s Board of Dean’s Advisors | Education | Member | |||||
University of Pennsylvania | Education | Board of Trustees | |||||
Wharton Board of Advisors at the University of Pennsylvania | Education | Member | |||||
Alexander Knaster | Pamplona Capital Management | Investment | Chairman | ||||
A.C. Pisa 1909 | Professional Sports | Majority Owner | |||||
Eagle Football Holdings Limited | Investment | Director | |||||
The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research | Non-Profit | Founder and Advisor | |||||
The London Business School | Education | Executive Fellow | |||||
New York University | Education | Member of Board of Trustees | |||||
Columbia Preparatory School | Education | Member of Board of Trustees | |||||
Fausto Zanetton | Tifosy Capital & Advisory | Investment | Founder and Chief Executive Officer | ||||
Marco Re | Tifosy Capital & Advisory | Investment | Managing Director and Head of Italy | ||||
Tim Williams | Tifosy Capital & Advisory | Investment | Managing Director and Head of UK | ||||
Tommy Aylmer | Tifosy Capital & Advisory | Investment | Managing Director and Chief Legal Officer | ||||
Renée E. LaBran | Idealab | Technology | Director | ||||
B. Riley Financial | Financial Services | Director | |||||
Alex Liu | Kearney | Consulting | Managing Partner and Chairman of the Board | ||||
Episcopal High School | Education | Board Trustee | |||||
Fahd Beg | Prosus | Technology | Chief Investment Officer | ||||
Naspers Limited | Technology | Chief Investment Officer |
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
● | Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. |
● | We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. |
● | Our sponsor subscribed for founder shares and purchases private placement warrants in a transaction that closes simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering. In October 2021, our sponsor transferred 30,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors at a per share purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share. |
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● | Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. |
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Tifosy Capital & Advisory or our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Tifosy Capital & Advisory, our sponsor or any of our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or their respective affiliates, be paid by us any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination. Further, commencing on the date our securities are first listed on NYSE, we will also reimburse our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us in the amount of $50,000 per month.
We cannot assure you that any of the above-mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination.
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
Officer and Director Compensation
In October 2021, our sponsor transferred 30,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors at a per share purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share. None of our officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on NYSE through the earlier of completion of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will reimburse our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us in the amount of $50,000 per month. In addition, our sponsor, officers, directors, or their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers, directors, or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and completing an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director
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compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the completion of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters.
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of December 31, 2022 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of ordinary shares, by:
● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares; |
● | each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns ordinary shares; and |
● | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 34,500,000 Class A ordinary shares (which includes Class A ordinary shares that are underlying the Units) and 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares outstanding as of December 31, 2022. The Class B ordinary shares will be convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis (subject to adjustment) concurrently with or immediately following the completion of our initial business combination. The table below does not include the Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants held by our sponsor because these securities are not exercisable within 60 days of this Annual Report. Unless
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otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them.
* Less than one percent.
(1) | The business address of each of our shareholders is 16 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1HT, United Kingdom. |
(2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the completion of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. |
(3) | Iconic Sports Management LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of 8,535,000 Class B ordinary shares and 5,000,000 Units. Our sponsor is governed by a board of managers consisting of four managers. Each manager has one vote, and the approval of a majority of the managers is required to approve an action on behalf of our sponsor. |
(4) | Based on a Schedule 13G filed on June 16, 2022, by Saba Capital Management, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership; Boaz R. Weinstein, a citizen of the United States; and Saba Capital Management GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (collectively, the “Saba Reporting Persons”). The principal business address for each of the Saba Reporting Persons is 405 Lexington Avenue, 58th Floor, New York, New York 10174. |
(5) | Does not include any securities indirectly owned by this individual as a result of his ownership interest in our sponsor. |
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Changes in Control
None.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions
Founder Shares
On April 20, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to purchase 11,500,000 founder shares, or approximately $0.002 per share. On September 29, 2021, our sponsor surrendered 4,312,500 founder shares to us for no consideration resulting in an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder
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shares outstanding. As a result of such surrender, the per share purchase price increased to approximately $0.004 per share. On October 20, 2021, our sponsor transferred 30,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors at a per share purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share. On October 21, 2021, we effected a share capitalization with respect to our Class B ordinary shares of 1,437,500, resulting in our initial shareholders holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of our initial public offering would be a maximum of 34,500,000 Units and therefore such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after our initial public offering.
Private Placement Warrants
Our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 17,025,000 warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant, or $17,025,000, in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of the public offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
Administrative Support Agreement
We pay our sponsor $50,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative 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.
No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates.
Related Party Notes and Advances
Our sponsor entered into an agreement with us to loan us funds up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of the public offering. These loans were non-interest bearing, unsecured and were paid in full at the closing of the public offering.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required on a non-interest basis. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as set forth above, 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.
Any of the foregoing payments to our sponsor, repayments of loans from our sponsor or repayments of working capital loans prior to our initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a general meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
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Registration Rights
We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants, warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the working capital loans and upon conversion of the founder shares).
Convertible Promissory Note
On December 28, 2022, the Company issued the Convertible Promissory Note to the sponsor, pursuant to which the Company may borrow the Working Capital Loan from the sponsor for general corporate purposes. Such loan may, at the sponsor’s discretion, be converted into Working Capital Warrants, with each Working Capital Warrant entitling the Sponsor to purchase one Class A Share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to the same adjustments applicable to the private placement warrants sold concurrently with the Company’s initial public offering. The Working Capital Loan will not bear any interest and will be repayable by the Company to the sponsor, if not converted or repaid on the effective date of an initial business combination. The maturity date of the Working Capital Loan may be accelerated upon the occurrence of an Event of Default (as defined under the Convertible Promissory Note). The Company granted customary registration rights to the sponsor with respect to any Working Capital Warrants and any Class A ordinary shares that may be issued upon exercise of any Working Capital Warrants. Such securities shall constitute “Registrable Securities” pursuant to that certain Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, dated October 26, 2021, by and among the Company, the sponsor and certain shareholders of the Company. Further, each newly issued Working Capital Warrant shall bear the same transfer restrictions that apply to the private placement warrants, as contemplated by the Letter Agreement, dated October 26, 2021, by and among the Company, the sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors.
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors adopted a charter, providing for the review, approval and/or ratification of “related party transactions,” which are those transactions required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K as promulgated by the SEC, by the audit committee. At its meetings, the audit committee shall be provided with the details of each new, existing, or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, any contractual restrictions that the company has already committed to, the business purpose of the transaction, and the benefits of the transaction to the company and to the relevant related party. Any member of the committee who has an interest in the related party transaction under review by the committee shall abstain from voting on the approval of the related party transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the committee, participate in some or all of the committee’s discussions of the related party transaction. Upon completion of its review of the related party transaction, the committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the related party transaction.
Director Independence
NYSE listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. Our board of directors has determined that each of Renée E. LaBran, Alex Liu and Fahd Beg is an “independent director” as defined in the NYSE listing standards. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to Marcum LLP, or Marcum, for services rendered.
Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by Marcum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed by Marcum for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of the financial information included in our periodic reports for the respective periods and other required filings with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from April 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 totaled $143,170 and $84,975, respectively. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.
Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related services consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest
90
services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. We did not pay Marcum for consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards for the year ended December 31, 2022 or for the period from April 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021.
Tax Fees. We did not pay Marcum for tax planning and tax advice for the year ended December 31, 2022 or for the period from April 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021.
All Other Fees. We did not pay Marcum for other services for the year ended December 31, 2022 or for the period from April 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the completion of our initial public offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
Our independent registered public accounting firm is:
Marcum LLP
730 Third Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, New York 10017
PCAOB ID #688
91
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules
The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:
(1) | Financial Statements: See “Item 8. Index to Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” herein. |
Page | |
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID 688) | F-1 |
F-2 | |
F-3 | |
F-4 | |
F-5 | |
F-6 |
(2) | Financial Statement Schedules |
All financial statements are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial and not required, or the required information is presented in the financial statements and notes thereto in this Item 15 of Part IV below.
(3) | Exhibits |
We hereby file as part of this Annual Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Copies of such material can be obtained on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary
Not applicable.
92
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors
Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the related statements of income, changes in shareholders’ deficit and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from April 15, 2021 (inceptions) through December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from April 15, 2021 (inceptions) through December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explanatory Paragraph – Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company’s business plan is dependent on the completion of a business combination and the Company has a significant working capital deficiency, has incurred significant losses and needs to raise additional funds to meet its obligations and sustain its operations. In addition, the mandatory liquidation date is April 26, 2023. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum LLP
Marcum LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021
New York, NY
March 31, 2023
F-1
ICONIC SPORTS ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEETS
DECEMBER 31, 2021
| December 31,2022 | December 31,2021 | ||||
ASSETS |
| |||||
Current assets | ||||||
Cash | $ | 599,286 | $ | 923,850 | ||
Prepaid expenses – current | 142,093 | 463,672 | ||||
Total Current Assets | 741,379 | 1,387,522 | ||||
Non-current assets | ||||||
Cash and marketable securities held in Trust Account | 358,731,581 | 353,630,892 | ||||
Prepaid expenses – non-current | — | 142,093 | ||||
Total Non-current Assets | 358,731,581 | 353,772,985 | ||||
Total Assets | $ | 359,472,960 | $ | 355,160,507 | ||
|
|
|
| |||
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT AND CLASS A REDEEMABLE SHARES |
|
|
|
| ||
Current liabilities | ||||||
Accounts payable | $ | 39,911 | $ | 169,655 | ||
Accrued expenses | 1,043,308 | 508,938 | ||||
Accrued offering costs | 66,869 | 84,296 | ||||
Promissory note - related party | 750,000 | — | ||||
Total Current Liabilities | 1,900,088 | 762,889 | ||||
Non-Current liabilities | ||||||
Warrant Liability | 4,606,400 | 19,944,000 | ||||
Deferred underwriter fee payable |
| 10,325,000 |
| 10,325,000 | ||
Total Non-current Liabilities | 14,931,400 | 30,269,000 | ||||
Total Liabilities |
| 16,831,488 |
| 31,031,889 | ||
|
|
|
| |||
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 8) |
|
|
|
| ||
|
|
|
| |||
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption; $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 34,500,000 shares issued and outstanding at redemption value of $10.40 and $10.25 per share as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively |
| 358,631,581 |
| 353,625,000 | ||
Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit) | ||||||
Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding |
|
| ||||
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 500,000,000 shares authorized; 0 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 34,500,000 shares subject to possible redemption) |
| — |
| — | ||
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized; 8,625,000 shares issued and outstanding |
| 863 |
| 863 | ||
Additional paid-in capital |
| — |
| — | ||
Accumulated deficit |
| (15,990,972) |
| (29,497,245) | ||
Total Shareholders’ Deficit |
| (15,990,109) |
| (29,496,382) | ||
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT AND CLASS A REDEEMABLE SHARES | $ | 359,472,960 | $ | 355,160,507 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-2
ICONIC SPORTS ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
For the | ||||||
Period From | ||||||
April 15, 2021 | ||||||
For the Year | (Inception) | |||||
Ended | Through | |||||
December 31, | December 31, | |||||
| 2022 |
| 2021 | |||
Formation and operating costs | $ | 1,925,435 | $ | 1,850,480 | ||
Loss from operations | (1,925,435) | (1,850,480) | ||||
|
|
| ||||
Other income: |
|
| ||||
Change in fair value of warrant liability | 15,337,600 | 13,992,000 | ||||
Unrealized gain on marketable securities held in Trust Account | 1,898,709 | 5,892 | ||||
Dividend income on marketable securities held in Trust Account | 3,201,980 | — | ||||
Other income | 20,438,289 | 13,997,892 | ||||
Net income | $ | 18,512,854 | $ | 12,147,412 | ||
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class A ordinary shares | 34,500,000 | 9,064,706 | ||||
| ||||||
Basic and diluted net income per share, Class A ordinary shares | $ | 0.43 | 0.63 | |||
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class B ordinary shares |
| 8,625,000 |
| 10,327,451 | ||
Basic and diluted net income per share, Class B ordinary shares | $ | 0.43 | 0.63 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-3
ICONIC SPORTS ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
For the Year Ended December 31, 2022
Class A Ordinary Shares | Additional | Total | ||||||||||||||||||
Subject to Possible Redemption | Class B Ordinary Shares | Paid-in | Accumulated | Shareholders’ | ||||||||||||||||
| Shares |
| Amount |
|
| Shares |
| Amount |
| Capital |
| Deficit |
| Deficit | ||||||
Balance — December 31, 2021 | 34,500,000 | $ | 353,625,000 | 8,625,000 | $ | 863 | $ | — | $ | (29,497,245) | $ | (29,496,382) | ||||||||
Remeasurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | — | 5,006,581 | — | — | — | (5,006,581) | (5,006,581) | |||||||||||||
Net income |
| — |
| — | — | — |
| — |
| 18,512,854 |
| 18,512,854 | ||||||||
Balance — December 31, 2022 | 34,500,000 | $ | 358,631,581 | 8,625,000 | $ | 863 | $ | — | $ | (15,990,972) | $ | (15,990,109) |
For the period from April 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-4
ICONIC SPORTS ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For the Period | ||||||
For the Year | From April 15,2021 | |||||
Ended | (Inception)Through | |||||
December 31, | December 31, | |||||
2022 | 2021 | |||||
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: |
|
| ||||
Net income | $ | 18,512,854 | $ | 12,147,412 | ||
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities: |
|
|
|
| ||
Dividend income on marketable securities held in Trust Account | (3,201,980) | — | ||||
Unrealized gain on marketable securities held in Trust Account | (1,898,709) | (5,892) | ||||
Allocation of deferred offering cost fort warrant liability | — | 833,823 | ||||
Change in fair value of warrant liability | (15,337,600) | (13,992,000) | ||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
|
|
|
| ||
Prepaid expenses | 463,672 | (605,765) | ||||
Accounts payable | (129,744) | 169,655 | ||||
Accrued expenses |
| 534,370 |
| 508,938 | ||
Accrued offering costs | (17,427) | 84,296 | ||||
Net cash used in operating activities |
| (1,074,564) |
| (859,533) | ||
Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||||
Investment of cash in Trust Account | — | (353,625,000) | ||||
Net cash used in investing activities | — | (353,625,000) | ||||
|
|
|
| |||
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: |
|
|
|
| ||
Proceeds from issuance of Class B ordinary shares to the Sponsor |
| — |
| 25,000 | ||
Proceeds from sale of Units | — | 345,000,000 | ||||
Payment of underwriting fee | — | (5,900,000) | ||||
Proceeds from sale of Private Warrants | — | 17,025,000 | ||||
Proceeds from promissory note — related party | 750,000 | — | ||||
Deferred offering costs from initial public offering | — | (741,617) | ||||
Net cash provided by financing activities |
| 750,000 |
| 355,408,383 | ||
Net Change in Cash |
| (324,564) |
| 923,850 | ||
Cash — Beginning |
| 923,850 |
| — | ||
Cash — Ending | $ | 599,286 | $ | 923,850 | ||
|
|
|
|
| ||
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash financing activities: | ||||||
Remeasurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | $ | 5,006,581 | $ | 41,644,657 | ||
Initial measurement of public warrants and private placement warrants | $ | — | $ | 19,944,000 | ||
Deferred underwriting fee payable | $ | — | $ | 10,325,000 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statement.
F-5
ICONIC SPORTS ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2021
NOTE 1. ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS BACKGROUND
Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on April 15, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses that the Company has not yet identified (the “Business Combination”).
The Company is not limited to a particular industry or geographic location for purposes of completing a Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from April 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022 relates to the Company’s formation and its initial public offering (the “IPO”), which is described below, and identifying a target for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the IPO.
The registration statements for the Company’s IPO were declared effective on October 21, 2021 (the “Effective Date”). On October 26, 2021, the Company completed the IPO of 34,500,000 Units, including 4,500,000 Units that were issued pursuant to the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $345,000,000, which is discussed in Note 4. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company completed the sale of 17,025,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to Iconic Sports Management LLC (the “Sponsor”), generating proceeds of $17,025,000, which is described in Note 5.
Transaction costs related to the consummation of the IPO amounted to $16,966,617, consisting of $5,900,000 of underwriting discount, $10,325,000 of deferred underwriting fees, and $741,617 of other offering costs. In addition, on October 26, 2021, cash of approximately $2,290,959 was held outside of the Trust Account (as defined below) and was available for the payment of offering costs and for working capital purposes.
Following the closing of the IPO on October 26, 2021, $353,625,000 ($10.25 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”), located in the United States which will be invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting the conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the redemption of any Public Shares (as defined below) properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, and (iii) the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares if the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from October 26, 2021 (or any extended period of time that the Company may have to complete an initial Business Combination as a result of an amendment to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association) (the “Combination Period”), the closing of the IPO.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds from the IPO, although substantially all of the net proceeds from the IPO are intended to be generally applied toward consummating a Business Combination with (or acquisition of) a Target Business. As used herein, “Target Business” means one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value equal to at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with a Business Combination.
Furthermore, there is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination. The Company will provide its public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination, either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve such Business Combination or (ii) by means of a
F-6
tender offer. The public shareholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount held in the Trust Account, calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of a Business Combination, including any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations. The per-share amount to be distributed to the public shareholders who redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 8). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. As a result, shares are recorded at their redemption amount and classified as temporary equity, in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”).
The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares in a tender offer will be made by the Company, in its sole discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require the Company to seek shareholder approval unless a vote is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements. If the Company seeks shareholder approval, it will complete its Business Combination only if a majority of the ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of a Business Combination. However, in no event will the Company redeem its Public Shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of a Business Combination. In such case, the Company would not proceed with the redemption of its Public Shares and the related Business Combination, and instead may search for an alternate Business Combination.
The Company has until of April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable), to complete its initial Business Combination. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination by such date (or such longer period as provided in an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (an “Extension Period”)), it shall (i) cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and its board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s 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 the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination by April 26, 2023 or during any Extension Period. The initial shareholders have entered into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their Founder Shares (as defined below) if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination by April 26, 2023 or during any Extension Period. However, if the initial shareholders acquire Public Shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination by April 26, 2023 or during any Extension Period.
The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than the Company’s independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (1) $10.25 per Public Share or (2) such lesser amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account and except as to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to have all third parties, including, but not limited to, all vendors, service providers (other than its independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which the Company does business execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claims of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account.
Going Concern
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had $599,286 cash and a working capital deficit of $1,158,709. The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. The Company will need to raise additional capital through loans or additional investments from its Sponsor, shareholders, officers, directors, or third parties. The Company’s
F-7
officers, directors and Sponsor may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion, to meet the Company’s working capital needs. Accordingly, the Company may not be able to obtain additional financing. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital, it may be required to take additional measures to conserve liquidity, which could include, but not necessarily be limited to, curtailing operations, suspending the pursuit of a potential transaction, and reducing overhead expenses. The Company cannot provide any assurance that new financing will be available to it on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Company has until April 26, 2023 (or July 26, 2023, as applicable) to complete its initial Business Combination. The Company will mandatorily liquidate in the event it is unable to complete its initial Business Combination.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations, and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of the financial statement. The financial statement does not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statement with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of the financial statement in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statement and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statement, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. One of the more significant
F-8
accounting estimates included in these financial statements is the determination of the fair value of the warrant liabilities. Such estimates may be subject to change as more current information becomes available. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company had $599,286 and $923,850 of operating cash as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account
Following the closing of the IPO on October 26, 2021, an amount of $353,625,000 from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in the Trust Account and may be invested only in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. The Trust Account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of the initial Business Combination; (ii) the redemption of any Public Shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, the return of the funds held in the Trust Account to the public shareholders as part of redemption of the Public Shares. As of December 31, 2022, substantially all of the assets held in the money market funds were invested primarily in U.S. Treasury securities. Through December 31, 2022, the Company has not withdrawn any monies from the Trust Account.
Offering Costs
The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC 340-10-S99-1 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) Topic 5A— “Expenses of Offering”. Offering costs consist principally of professional and registration fees incurred through the balance sheet date that are related to the IPO. Offering costs are charged to shareholder’s equity or the statement of operations based on the relative value of the Public Warrants (as defined below) and the Private Placement Warrants to the proceeds received from the Units sold upon the completion of the IPO. Accordingly, on October 26, 2021, offering costs totaling $16,966,617 (consisting of $5,900,000 of underwriting fees, $10,325,000 of deferred underwriting fees, and $741,617 of actual offering costs, with $833,823 included in accumulated deficit as an allocation for the Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants, and $16,132,794 included in additional paid-in capital.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480. Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that features redemption rights that is either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A ordinary shares features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at December 31, 2022 and 2021, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.
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As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Class A ordinary shares, classified as temporary equity in the balance sheet, are reconciled in the following table:
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”). Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
FASB ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.
The Company is considered an exempted Cayman Islands Company and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. As such, the Company’s tax provision was zero for the period presented.
Net Income Per Ordinary Share
Net income per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Ordinary shares subject to possible redemption at December 31, 2022, which are not currently redeemable and are not redeemable at fair value, have been excluded from the calculation of basic net income per ordinary share since such shares, if redeemed, only participate in their pro rata share of the Trust Account earnings. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and the private placement to purchase an aggregate of 17,025,000 Private Placement Warrants in the calculation of diluted income per share, since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events and the inclusion of such warrants would be anti-dilutive. As a result, diluted net income per ordinary share is the same as basic net income per ordinary share for the periods presented.
The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of net income per ordinary share subject to possible redemption and allocates the net income into the two classes of stock in calculating net earnings per ordinary share, basic and diluted. For redeemable Class A ordinary shares, net income per ordinary share is calculated by dividing the net income by the weighted average number of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption outstanding since original issuance. For non-redeemable Class B ordinary shares, net income per share is calculated by dividing the net income by the weighted average number of non-redeemable Class B ordinary shares outstanding for the period. Non-redeemable Class B ordinary shares include the founder shares as these shares do not have any redemption features and do not participate in the income earned on the Trust Account. As of December 31, 2022, the Company did not have any dilutive securities or other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in
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the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted net income per ordinary share is the same as basic net income per ordinary share for the periods presented.
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net income per ordinary share (in dollars, except per share amounts):
Related Parties
Parties, which can be a corporation or individual, are considered to be related if the Company has the ability, directly or indirectly, to control the other party or exercise significant influence over the other party in making financial and operational decisions. Companies are also considered to be related if they are subject to common control or common significant influence.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement” (“ASC 820”), approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Fair Value Measurements
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs
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used in measuring fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:
● | Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets; |
● | Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and |
● | Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable. |
In some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value might be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
Warrant Liabilities
The Company accounts for the 34,275,000 warrants issued in connection with the IPO and the Private Placement Warrants (collectively, the “Warrants”) as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the Warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480 and ASC 815, “Derivative and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the company’s own ordinary shares, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.
Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. The accounting treatment of derivative financial instruments requires that the Company record a derivative liability upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Accordingly, the Company will classify each warrant as a liability at its fair value and the warrants will be allocated a portion of the proceeds from the issuance of the Units equal to its fair value. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such re-measurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s statement of operations. The Company will reassess the classification at each balance sheet date. If the classification changes as a result of events during the period, the warrants will be reclassified as of the date of the event that causes the reclassification.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, “Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity” (“ASU 2020-06”), which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. ASU 2020-06 removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception and it also simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. ASU 2020-06 is effective on January 1, 2022, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact, if any, that ASU 2020-06 would have on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
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NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
In connection with the Company’s IPO, on October 26, 2021, the Company sold 34,500,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share (“Public Shares”) and
of one warrant (“Public Warrants”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7).An aggregate of $10.25 per Unit sold in the IPO was held in the Trust Account and invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund meeting the conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company. As of October 26, 2021, $353,625,000 of the IPO proceeds and proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was held in the Trust Account, representing an overfunding of the trust account of 102.5% of the public offering size. In addition, $2,290,959 of cash is not held in the Trust Account and was available for working capital purposes on the date of the IPO.
Transaction costs as of the IPO date amounted to $16,966,617, consisting of $5,900,000 of underwriting discount, $10,325,000 of deferred underwriting discount, and $741,617 of actual offering costs.
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 17,025,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant($17,025,000 in the aggregate). Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7). A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants were added to the proceeds from the IPO to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law), and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
In April 2021, the Sponsor purchased 11,500,000 shares of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”) for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. On September 29, 2021, our sponsor surrendered 4,312,500 founder shares to us for no consideration resulting in an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares outstanding. As a result of such surrender, the per share purchase price increased to approximately $0.004 per share. On October 20, 2021, our sponsor transferred 30,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors at a per share purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share. On October 21, 2021, we effected a share capitalization with respect to our Class B ordinary shares of 1,437,500, resulting in our initial shareholders holding an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares. The Founder Shares included an aggregate of up to 1,125,000 shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ overallotment option was not exercised in full or in part, so that the number of Founder Shares collectively represents 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the IPO. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the underwriters exercised the over-allotment option in full. Accordingly, 1,125,000 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture.
The Sponsor has agreed, subject to certain limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination or (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
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Promissory Note — Related Party
In April 2021, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the completion of the IPO. The Company had borrowed $209,855 under the Promissory Note and repaid the outstanding amount in full on October 26, 2021. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under the Promissory Note.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor, certain of the Company’s officers, directors or any of their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon completion of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants.
On December 28, 2022, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor (the “WC Promissory Note”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $750,000. The WC Promissory Note is non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of the initial Business Combination. At the election of the Sponsor and at any time prior to payment in full of the principal balance, the WC Promissory Note can be converted into warrants to purchase Class A ordinary shares. The warrants are identical to those issued in the private placement (“Private Placement Warrants”). The number of convertible warrants is calculated as the outstanding principal balance divided by $1.00. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the WC Promissory Note balance was $750,000 and $0, respectively.
Administrative Services Agreement
The Company has entered into an agreement with the Sponsor, pursuant to which the Company will pay Iconic Sports Management LLC a total of $50,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to the Company. Upon completion of the initial Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company has incurred and paid $750,000 and $150,000 of expenses, respectively, related to the agreement.
NOTE 6. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preference Shares - The Company is authorized to issue 5,000,000 preference shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. At December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.
Class A Ordinary Shares - The Company is authorized to issue 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were 34,500,000 Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding , subject to redemption.
Class B Ordinary Shares - The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. At December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding.
Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders and holders of Class A ordinary shares and holders of Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the shareholders except as required by law ; provided that only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors prior to or in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination.
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The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in the IPO and related to the closing of a Business Combination, the ratio at which Class B ordinary shares shall convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon the completion of the IPO plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued by the Company in connection with or in relation to the completion of the initial Business Combination, any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and any private placement warrants issued to the Sponsor upon conversion of Working Capital Loans. In no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one to one.
NOTE 7. WARRANTS
The Company accounts for the 34,275,000 warrants that were issued in the IPO (representing 17,250,000 Public Warrants and 17,025,000 Private Placement Warrants) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. The warrants do not meet the criteria to be considered indexed to the Company’s shares due to settlement provisions that result in holders of warrants receiving variable settlement amounts determined by the reference table. Additionally, an event that is not within the entity’s control could require net cash settlement, Thus precluding equity classification. Accordingly, the Company will classify each warrant as a liability at its fair value. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such re-measurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s statement of operations.
Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of Class A ordinary shares. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless holders purchase at least two Units, they will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The Public Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a Public Warrant and will have no obligation to settle such Public Warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No Public Warrant will be exercisable, and the Company will not be obligated to issue any Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of a Public Warrant unless the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon such Public Warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the Public Warrants.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement filed in connection with its initial public offering or a new registration statement covering registration under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants, and the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the Public Warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement; provided that if the Class A ordinary shares is at the time of any exercise of a Public Warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but it will use its commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary share issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is not effective by the 60th day after the closing of a Business Combination, Public Warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise Public Warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, but the Company will use its commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
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Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00
Once the Public Warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants:
● | if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary share 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 trading days before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and |
● | If the closing price of the Class A Ordinary Shares for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), the Private Placement Warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding Public Warrants, as described above. |
If and when the Public Warrants become redeemable by the Company, it may exercise its redemption right even if the Company is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00
Once the Public Warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants:
● | in whole and not in part; |
● | at a price of $0.10 per warrant; |
● | upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares based on the redemption date and the fair market value of the Class A ordinary shares; and |
● | if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted per share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, reclassifications, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending trading days before the Company send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of a Business Combination on the date of the completion of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company completes a Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to
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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 above under “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.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the IPO, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants are not transferable, assignable or saleable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants are exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, at the holder’s option, and are non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
NOTE 8. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Registration Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants, warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement that was signed on the effective date of the IPO, requiring the Company to register such securities for resale. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the IPO to purchase up to 4,500,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments at the IPO price less the underwriting discount. On October 25, 2021 the underwriters exercised the over-allotment option in full, generating an additional $45,000,000 in gross proceeds. As a result of the over-allotment being exercised in full, the Sponsor did not forfeit any Founder Shares back to the Company. The underwriters were paid a cash underwriting discount of $5,900,000 in the aggregate at the closing of the IPO. In addition, $0.35 per Unit, or $10,325,000 in the aggregate is payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee is payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
NOTE 9. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
At December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company’s warrant liability was valued at $4,606,400 and $19,944,000, respectively. Under the guidance in ASC 815-40, the Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment. As such, the Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants must be recorded on the balance sheet at fair value. This valuation is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each re-measurement, the valuations will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s statement of operations.
The following table presents fair value information as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques the Company utilized to determine such fair value. The Company’s warrant liability is based on a valuation model utilizing management judgment and pricing inputs from observable and unobservable markets with less volume and transaction frequency than active markets. Significant deviations from these estimates and inputs could result in a material change in fair value. The fair value of the Private Placement Warrant liability is classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. The Company’s transferred the fair value of Public Warrants from a Level 3 measurement to a Level 1 measurement during the period from April 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021:
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The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:
Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.
Level 2: Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.
Level 3: Unobservable inputs based on our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.
The following table sets forth by level within the fair value hierarchy the Company’s assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2022 and 2021:
December 31, 2022
(Level 1) | (Level 2) | (Level 3) | |||||||
Assets |
|
|
|
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Cash and marketable securities held in trust account | $ | 358,731,581 | $ | — | $ | — | |||
Liabilities |
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Public Warrants | $ | 2,318,400 | $ | — | $ | — | |||
Private Placement Warrants | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 2,288,000 |
December 31, 2021
(Level 1) | (Level 2) | (Level 3) | |||||||
Assets | |||||||||
Cash and marketable securities held in trust account | $ | 353,630,892 | $ | — | $ | — | |||
Liabilities | |||||||||
Public Warrants | $ | 10,005,000 | $ | — | $ | — | |||
Private Placement Warrants | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 9,939,000 |
Measurement
The Company established the initial fair value for the warrants on October 26, 2021, the date of the completion of the Company’s IPO. The Company used a Monte Carlo simulation model to value the warrants. The Company allocated the proceeds received from (i) the sale of Units (which is inclusive of one Class A Ordinary Share and one-half of one Public Warrant), (ii) the sale of Private Placement Warrants, and (iii) the issuance of Class B Ordinary Shares, first to the warrants based on their fair values as determined at initial measurement, with the remaining proceeds allocated to Class A Ordinary Shares subject to possible redemption (temporary equity),
F-18
Class A Ordinary Shares (permanent equity) and Class B Ordinary Shares (permanent equity) based on their relative fair values at the initial measurement date.
Based on the applied volatility assumption and the expected term to a business combination noted below, the Company determined that the risk-neutral probability of exceeding the $18.00 redemption value by the start of the exercise period for the Warrants resulted in a nominal difference in value between the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants across the valuation dates utilized in the Monte Carlo simulation model. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants was determined to be $0.13 and $0.58, respectively, per warrant for an aggregate value of $2,288,000 and $9,939,000, respectively. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Public Warrants had a stated market value of $0.13 and $0.58 , respectively, per warrant for an aggregate value of $2,318,400 and $10,005,000, respectively.
The following table presents the changes in the fair value of derivative warrant liabilities from April 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022:
The key inputs into the Black-Scholes simulation model formula were as follows at October 26, 2021, December 31, 2022 and 2021:
The risk-free interest rate assumption was based on the linearly interpolated Treasury Constant Maturity Rate Curve between
and seven year rates, which was commensurate with the contractual term of the Warrants, which expire on the earlier of (i) six years after the completion of the initial business combination and (ii) upon redemption or liquidation. An increase in the risk-free interest rate, in isolation, would result in an increase in the fair value measurement of the warrant liabilities and vice versa.NOTE 10. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
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EXHIBIT INDEX
3.1 | Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association(1) |
4.1 | |
4.2 | |
4.3 | |
4.4 | |
4.5 | |
10.1 | Investment Management Trust Agreement between Continental and the Company(1) |
10.2 | |
10.3 | Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement by and between the Company and the Sponsor(1) |
10.4 | Administrative Services Agreement by and between the Company and the Sponsor(1) |
10.5 | |
10.6 | |
10.7 | Securities Subscription Agreement between the Company and the Sponsor(3) |
10.8 | Convertible Promissory Note between the Company and the Sponsor(4) |
31.1 | |
32.1 | |
101.INS | Inline XBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document* |
101.SCH | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document* |
101.CAL | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document* |
101.DEF | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document* |
101.LAB | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document* |
101.PRE | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document* |
104 | Cover page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XRBL and contained in Exhibit 101)* |
* Filed herewith.
** Furnished.
(1) | Previously filed as an exhibit to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 27, 2021 and incorporated by reference herein. |
(2) | Previously filed as an exhibit to our Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed on October 12, 2021 and incorporated by reference herein. |
(3) | Previously filed as an exhibit to our Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed on October 6, 2021 and incorporated by reference herein. |
(4) | Previously filed as an exhibit to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on December 30, 2022 and incorporated by reference herein. |
74
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this Annual Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| ICONIC SPORTS ACQUISITION CORP. | ||||
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Date: March 31, 2023 | By: | /s/ Fausto Zanetton | |||
| Name: | Fausto Zanetton | |||
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer | |||
Name |
| Position |
| Date |
/s/ James G. Dinan | Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
James G. Dinan | ||||
/s/ Alexander Knaster | Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
Alexander Knaster | ||||
/s/ Fausto Zanetton | Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer | March 31, 2023 | ||
Fausto Zanetton | (Principal Executive, Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
/s/ Renée E. LaBran | Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
Renée E. LaBran | ||||
/s/ Alex Liu | Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
Alex Liu | ||||
/s/ Fahd Beg | Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
Fahd Beg |
Exhibit 4.5
ICONIC SPORTS ACQUISITION CORP.
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
The following summary of the material terms of the securities of Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is not intended to be a complete summary of the rights and preferences of such securities and is subject to and qualified by reference to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the “Report”), and applicable Cayman Islands law. We urge you to read our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association in their entirety for a complete description of the rights and preferences of our securities.
Unless otherwise stated in this Exhibit 4.5, or the context otherwise requires, references to:
· | “amended and restated memorandum and article of association” are to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of the Company, adopted on October 21, 2021; |
· | “Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (2020 Revision) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time; |
· | “founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares initially issued to our sponsor in a private placement prior to our initial public offering and the Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class A ordinary shares will not be “public shares”); |
· | “initial public offering” are to our initial public offering consummated on October 26, 2021; |
· | “management” or our “management team” are to our executive officers and directors; |
· | “ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares; |
· | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants initially issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering consummated on October 26, 2021 and upon conversion of working capital loans, if any; |
· | “public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in our initial public or thereafter in the open market); |
· | “public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor and management team to the extent our sponsor and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that our sponsor’s and each member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares; |
· | “sponsor” are to Iconic Sports Management LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company; and |
· | “we,” “us,” “our,” “company” or “our company” are to Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company. |
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company and our affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act and the common law of the Cayman Islands. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which were adopted prior to the consummation of our initial public offering, we are authorized to issue 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, as well as 5,000,000 preference shares, $0.0001 par value each. The following description summarizes the
Exh 4.5 - 1
material terms of our shares as set out more particularly in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of the company’s Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder.
The Class A ordinary shares and warrants began separate trading on December 13, 2021. Holders have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.
Ordinary Shares
As of the date of this Annual Report, there were 43,125,000 ordinary shares issued and outstanding, including:
· | 34,500,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the units issued as part of our initial public offering; and |
· | 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders. |
Other than in respect of the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination and the continuation of the company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of the company in such other jurisdiction), ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Except as described below, holders of Class A ordinary shares and holders of Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders except as required by law. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by applicable provisions of the Companies Act or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our ordinary shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders. Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. Our board of directors is divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the appointment of directors can appoint all of the directors. Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor. Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, by way of ordinary resolution. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting.
Because our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of Class A ordinary shares which we will
Exh 4.5 - 2
be authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NYSE. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.25 per public share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial owner must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. Unlike many blank check companies that hold shareholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial business combinations and provide for related redemptions of public shares for cash upon completion of such initial business combinations even when a vote is not required by law, if a shareholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, if a shareholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, a shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of the company representing one-third of the voting power of all issued and outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. However, the participation of our sponsor, officers, directors, or their affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions (as described in the Report), if any, could result in the approval of our initial business combination even if a majority of our public shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that at least five days’ notice will be given of any general meeting.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and
Exh 4.5 - 3
articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering (the “Excess Shares”), without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our shareholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such shareholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such shareholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And, as a result, such shareholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In accordance with our amended memorandum and articles of association, shareholders representing at least one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, present in person or by proxy, will constitute a quorum. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares and the sponsor’s 5,000,000 public shares purchased as part of the 5,000,000 units in our initial public offering, we would need 7,937,501, or 23.0% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted) of the 34,500,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law. Assuming that only one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, are voted, we will not need any public shares in addition to our founder shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have it approved. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or vote at all.
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we have not completed our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame). Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if a resolution of the company’s shareholders is passed pursuant to the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands to commence the voluntary liquidation of the company, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our shareholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the ordinary shares. Our shareholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary
Exh 4.5 - 4
shares, except that we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
Founder Shares
The founder shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares and, except as described below, are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units sold in our initial public offering, and holders of founder shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that: (a) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; (b) our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares; and (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we have not completed our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame); (c) the founder shares will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described herein; (d) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights; and (e) in a vote to continue the company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of the company in such other jurisdiction), which requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the votes of all ordinary shares, holders of our Class B ordinary shares will have ten votes for every founder share and holders of our Class A ordinary shares will have one vote for every Class A ordinary share. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination.
The founder shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares and will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares (which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we do not consummate an initial business combination) at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of our initial public offering, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, deemed issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, its affiliates or any member of our management team upon conversion of working capital loans. In no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one-to-one.
Except as described herein, our sponsor and our directors and officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until earliest of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange,
Exh 4.5 - 5
reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout the Report as the lock-up. Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our sponsor and our directors and officers with respect to any founder shares.
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, by way of ordinary resolution. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, a vote to continue the company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of the company in such other jurisdiction), which requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the votes of all ordinary shares, holders of our Class B ordinary shares will have ten votes for every founder share and holders of our Class A ordinary shares will have one vote for every Class A ordinary share. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voted at a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
Preference Shares
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize 5,000,000 preference shares and provide that preference shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors is authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors is able to, without shareholder approval, issue preference shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preference shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preference shares issued and outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preference shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preference shares were issued or registered in our initial public offering.
Warrants
Public Shareholders’ Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as described herein. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants have been issued or will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue a Class A ordinary share upon exercise of a warrant unless the Class A ordinary share issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless.
Exh 4.5 - 6
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such unit.
We are registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants because the warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of its initial business combination, which may be within one year of our initial public offering. However, because the warrants will be exercisable until their expiration date of up to five years after the completion of our initial business combination, in order to comply with the requirements of Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act following the consummation of our initial business combination, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than twenty business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement relating to our initial public offering or a new registration statement covering the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement; provided that if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th day after the closing of the initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, but we will use our commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (as defined below) less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361. The “fair market value” as used in this paragraph shall mean the volume weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares for the ten trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
· | in whole and not in part; |
· | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
· | upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and |
· | if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “—Warrant—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-Dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three trading days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. If and
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when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-Dilution Adjustments”) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
· | in whole and not in part; |
· | at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined below) except as otherwise described below; |
· | if, and only if, the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per public share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-Dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and |
· | if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-Dilution Adjustments”), the private placement warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above. |
Beginning on the date the notice of redemption is given until the warrants are redeemed or exercised, holders may elect to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. The numbers in the table below represent the number of Class A ordinary shares that a warrant holder will receive upon such cashless exercise in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, based on the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their warrants and such warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per warrant), determined for these purposes based on volume weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the ten trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, and the number of months that the corresponding redemption date precedes the expiration date of the warrants, each as set forth in the table below. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends.
Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to Class A ordinary shares shall include a security other than Class A ordinary shares into which the Class A ordinary shares have been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination.
The numbers in the table below will not be adjusted when determining the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued upon exercise of the warrants if we are not the surviving entity following our initial business combination.
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The share prices set forth in the column headings of the table below will be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant or the exercise price of a warrant is adjusted as set forth under the heading “—Anti-Dilution Adjustments” below. If the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant is adjusted, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the share prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant as so adjusted. The number of shares in the table below shall be adjusted in the same manner and at the same time as the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant. If the exercise price of a warrant is adjusted, (a) in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the fifth paragraph under the heading “—Anti-Dilution Adjustments” below, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share price multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price as set forth under the heading “—Anti-Dilution Adjustments” and the denominator of which is $10.00 and (b) in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the second paragraph under the heading “—Anti-Dilution Adjustments” below, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share price less the decrease in the exercise price of a warrant pursuant to such exercise price adjustment.
The exact fair market value and redemption date may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the fair market value is between two values in the table or the redemption date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued for each warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365 or 366-day year, as applicable. For example, if the volume weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the ten trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $11.00 per share, and at such time there are 57 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.277 Class A ordinary shares for each whole warrant. For an example where the exact fair market value and redemption date are not as set forth in the table above, if the volume weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the ten trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $13.50 per share, and at such time there are 38 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.298 Class A ordinary shares for each whole warrant. In no event will the warrants be exercisable on a cashless basis in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment). Finally, as reflected in the table above, if the warrants are out of the money and about to expire, they
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cannot be exercised on a cashless basis in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, since they will not be exercisable for any Class A ordinary shares.
This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in many other blank check offerings, which typically only provide for a redemption of warrants for cash (other than the private placement warrants) when the trading price for the Class A ordinary shares exceeds $18.00 per share for a specified period of time. This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding warrants to be redeemed when the Class A ordinary shares are trading at or above $10.00 per public share, which may be at a time when the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares is below the exercise price of the warrants. We have established this redemption feature to provide us with the flexibility to redeem the warrants without the warrants having to reach the $18.00 per share threshold set forth above under “—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00.” Holders choosing to exercise their warrants in connection with a redemption pursuant to this feature will, in effect, receive a number of shares for their warrants based on an option pricing model with a fixed volatility input as of October 26, 2022. This redemption right provides us with an additional mechanism by which to redeem all of the outstanding warrants, and therefore have certainty as to our capital structure as the warrants would no longer be outstanding and would have been exercised or redeemed. We will be required to pay the applicable redemption price to warrant holders if we choose to exercise this redemption right and it will allow us to quickly proceed with a redemption of the warrants if we determine it is in our best interest to do so. As such, we would redeem the warrants in this manner when we believe it is in our best interest to update our capital structure to remove the warrants and pay the redemption price to the warrant holders.
As stated above, we can redeem the warrants when the Class A ordinary shares are trading at a price starting at $10.00, which is below the exercise price of $11.50, because it will provide certainty with respect to our capital structure and cash position while providing warrant holders with the opportunity to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis for the applicable number of shares. If we choose to redeem the warrants when the Class A ordinary shares are trading at a price below the exercise price of the warrants, this could result in the warrant holders receiving fewer Class A ordinary shares than they would have received if they had chosen to wait to exercise their warrants for Class A ordinary shares if and when such Class A ordinary shares were trading at a price higher than the exercise price of $11.50.
No fractional Class A ordinary shares will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the holder. If, at the time of redemption, the warrants are exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the warrant agreement (for instance, if we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination), the warrants may be exercised for such security. At such time as the warrants become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, the Company (or surviving company) will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register under the Securities Act the security issuable upon the exercise of the warrants.
Redemption Procedures. A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
Anti-Dilution Adjustments. If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is increased by a capitalization or share dividend paid in Class A ordinary shares to all or substantially all holders of Class A ordinary shares, or by a sub-division of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such capitalization or share dividend, sub-division or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding Class A ordinary shares. A rights offering made to all or substantially all holders of ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase Class A ordinary shares at a price less than the “historical fair market value” (as defined below) will be deemed a share dividend of a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the product of (i) the number of Class A ordinary shares actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares) and (ii) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per Class A ordinary share paid in such rights offering and (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes, (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares, in determining the price payable for Class A
Exh 4.5 - 10
ordinary shares, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) “historical fair market value” means the volume weighted average price of Class A ordinary shares as reported during the ten trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the Class A ordinary shares trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to all or substantially all of the holders of the Class A ordinary shares on account of such Class A ordinary shares (or other securities into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) any cash dividends or cash distributions which, when combined on a per share basis with all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the Class A ordinary shares during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution does not exceed $0.50 (as adjusted to appropriately reflect any other adjustments and excluding cash dividends or cash distributions that resulted in an adjustment to the exercise price or to the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant) but only with respect to the amount of the aggregate cash dividends or cash distributions equal to or less than $0.50 per share, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, (e) as a result of the repurchase of Class A ordinary shares by us if a proposed initial business combination is presented to our shareholders for approval, or (f) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each Class A ordinary share in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, or reclassification of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reclassification or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding Class A ordinary shares.
Whenever the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held thereby prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above under “—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” and “—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described above under “—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.
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In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such Class A ordinary shares), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the Class A ordinary shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of Class A ordinary shares or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. However, if such holders were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such consolidation or merger, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets for which each warrant will become exercisable will be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by such holders in such consolidation or merger that affirmatively make such election, and if a tender, exchange or redemption offer has been made to and accepted by such holders (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by the company in connection with redemption rights held by shareholders of the company as provided for in the company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or as a result of the redemption of Class A ordinary shares by the company if a proposed initial business combination is presented to the shareholders of the company for approval) under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) more than 50% of the issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares, the holder of a warrant will be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a shareholder if such warrant holder had exercised the warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the Class A ordinary shares held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer, subject to adjustment (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in the warrant agreement. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A ordinary shares in such a transaction is payable in the form of Class A ordinary shares in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants.
The warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in the prospectus relating to our initial public offering, or defective provision, (ii) making any amendments that are necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents for initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies underwritten by bulge bracket investment banks) to allow for the warrants to continue to be classified as equity in our financial statements; provided that no such amendment shall increase the exercise price of the warrants, shorten the exercise period or will, in the aggregate, materially affect the legal rights of registered holders of the then-outstanding public warrants under the warrant agreement, (iii) removing or reducing our ability to redeem the warrants or (iv) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants, provided that in the case of this clause (iv) the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the rights of the holders of the public warrants under the warrant agreement. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a
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manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants; provided that the warrant agreement may be amended with the vote or written consent of holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding private placement warrants without the consent of any other holder to provide that the private placement warrants (a) will remain private placement warrants, when transferred to any party, including parties that are not permitted transferees, or (b) have the same terms as the public warrants, subject to any applicable contractual restrictions or securities law restrictions. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which is filed as an exhibit to the Report, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants.
The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of ordinary shares and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive Class A ordinary shares. After the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.
No fractional warrants have been issued or will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder.
We have agreed that, subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. See the section of the Report entitled “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Securities—Our Warrant Agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.” This provision applies to claims under the Securities Act but does not apply to claims under the Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.
Private Placement Warrants
Except as described below, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in our initial public offering. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants,” to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants) and they will not be redeemable by us (except as described under “—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”) so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees (except as otherwise set forth herein). Our sponsor, or its permitted transferees, has the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in our initial public offering. Any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants.
Except as described above under “—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00,” if holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “Sponsor fair market value” over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the Sponsor fair market value. For these purposes, the “Sponsor fair market value” shall mean the
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average reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the ten trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor and its permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following a business combination. If they remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We have policies in place that restrict insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public shareholders who could exercise their warrants and sell the Class A ordinary shares received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
Our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors have the right, but not the obligation, to loan us funds interest free and on substantially the same terms as our existing promissory note. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans, which we have agreed to incur and which are due upon the earlier of our liquidation or the consummation of our initial business combination, may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with a business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our ordinary shares and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its shareholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any claims and losses due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modeled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements. In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).
Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution of the shareholders of each company; or (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that holds issued shares that together represent at least 90% of the votes at a general meeting of the subsidiary company) and its subsidiary
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company, if a copy of the plan of merger is given to every member of each subsidiary company to be merged unless that members agrees otherwise. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.
Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that where the surviving or consolidated company is the Cayman Islands exempted company the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is required to be satisfied in respect of any constituent overseas company that: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; and (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted.
Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (ii) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (iii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (iv) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Act provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value their shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation in certain circumstances if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, where such rights apply, that procedure is as follows: (a) the shareholder must give their written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for their shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of their intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of their shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase their shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; and (e) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree a price within such 30 day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30 day period expires, the company (and any dissenting shareholder) must file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration
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for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.
Moreover, Cayman Islands law has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedures for which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at an annual general meeting, or extraordinary general meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:
· | the company is not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of its corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to dual majority vote have been complied with; |
· | the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question; |
· | the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and |
· | the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.” |
If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights (providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares), which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of United States corporations.
Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer relates within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through means other than these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, or through contractual arrangements of an operating business.
Shareholders’ Suits. Walkers, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability for such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and be applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:
· | a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority; |
· | the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; or |
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· | those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.” |
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities. The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.
We have been advised by Walkers, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
Special Considerations for Exempted Companies. We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:
· | annual reporting requirements are minimal and consist mainly of a statement that the company has conducted its operations mainly outside of the Cayman Islands and has complied with the provisions of the Companies Act; |
· | an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection and can be kept outside of the Cayman Islands; |
· | an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting; |
· | an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 30 years in the first instance); and |
· | an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands. |
“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions designed to provide certain rights and protections relating to our initial public offering that apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (other than amendments relating to the appointment of directors prior
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to our initial business combination and amendments relating to our continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of the company in such other jurisdiction), which require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting) cannot be amended without a special resolution under Cayman Islands law. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been approved by either (i) the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s shareholders entitled to vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy, and so voting at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given; or (ii) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Other than as described above, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by at least two-thirds of our shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of our shareholders (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.
Our initial shareholders, who collectively beneficially owned 20% of our ordinary shares as of the date of this Report, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:
· | If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes that were paid by us or are payable by us, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law; |
· | Prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, we may not issue additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on our initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to shareholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering or (y) amend the foregoing provisions; |
· | Although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view; |
· | If a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about |
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our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act;
· | So long as our securities are then listed on NYSE, our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in trust and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination; |
· | If our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or 21 months, as applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein; |
· | We will not effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations; and |
· | Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts of the Cayman Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or dispute arising out of or in connection with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or otherwise related in any way to each shareholder’s shareholding in us, including but not limited to (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of any fiduciary or other duty owed by any of our current or former director, officer or other employee to us or our shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Companies Act or our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine (as such concept is recognized under the laws of the United States of America) and that each shareholder irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Cayman Islands over all such claims or disputes. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also provide that, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that we may have, each of our shareholders acknowledges that damages alone would not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum and that accordingly we shall be entitled, without proof of special damages, to the remedies of injunction, specific performance or other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum. The forum selection provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association does not apply to actions or suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are, as a matter of the laws of the United States of America, the sole and exclusive forum for determination of such a claim. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that the federal district courts in the United States shall be the exclusive forum for claims against us under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. See the section of the Report entitled “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Securities—Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that the courts of the Cayman Islands will be the exclusive forum for certain disputes between us and our shareholders, and that the federal district courts in the United States shall be the exclusive forum for claims against us under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for complaints against us or our directors, officers or employees.” |
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In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriter fees and commissions.
The Companies Act permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of a special resolution under Cayman Islands law. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required but, provided the approval of the required majority is obtained, any Cayman Islands exempted company may amend its memorandum and articles of association regardless of whether its memorandum and articles of association provide otherwise. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our officers or directors, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Anti-Money Laundering-Cayman Islands
If any person resident in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects, or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting, that another person is engaged in criminal conduct, is involved with terrorism or terrorist property or proliferation financing or is the business combination partner of a financial sanction and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Law (as amended) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct, money laundering or proliferation financing or is the business combination partner of a financial sanction; or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report will not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise. We reserve the right to refuse to make any payment to a shareholder if our directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, prevention of proliferation financing and financial sanctions or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure our compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.
Data Protection-Cayman Islands
We have certain duties under the Data Protection Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands (the “Data Protection Act”) based on internationally accepted principles of data privacy.
Privacy Notice
Introduction
This privacy notice puts our shareholders on notice that through your investment in the Company you will provide us with certain personal information which constitutes personal data within the meaning of the Data Protection Act (“personal data”). In the following discussion, the “company” refers to us and our affiliates and/or delegates, except where the context requires otherwise.
Investor Data
We will collect, use, disclose, retain and secure personal data to the extent reasonably required only and within the parameters that could be reasonably expected during the normal course of business. We will only process, disclose, transfer or retain personal data to the extent legitimately required to conduct our activities of on an ongoing basis or to comply with legal and regulatory obligations to which we are subject. We will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational
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information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.
In our use of this personal data, we will be characterized as a “data controller” for the purposes of the Data Protection Act, while our affiliates and service providers who may receive this personal data from us in the conduct of our activities may either act as our “data processors” for the purposes of the Data Protection Act or may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us.
We may also obtain personal data from other public sources. Personal data includes, without limitation, the following information relating to a shareholder and/or any individuals connected with a shareholder as an investor: name, residential address, email address, contact details, corporate contact information, signature, nationality, place of birth, date of birth, tax identification, credit history, correspondence records, passport number, bank account details, source of funds details and details relating to the shareholder’s investment activity.
Who this Affects
If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation your investment in the company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should transmit the content of this Privacy Notice to such individuals or otherwise advise them of its content.
How the Company May Use a Shareholder’s Personal Data
The company, as the data controller, may collect, store and use personal data for lawful purposes, including, in particular:
1. | where this is necessary for the performance of our rights and obligations under any purchase agreements; |
2. | where this is necessary for compliance with a legal and regulatory obligation to which we are subject (such as compliance with anti-money laundering and FATCA/CRS requirements); and/or |
3. | where this is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests and such interests are not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms. |
Should we wish to use personal data for other specific purposes (including, if applicable, any purpose that requires your consent), we will contact you.
Why We May Transfer Your Personal Data
In certain circumstances we may be legally obliged to share personal data and other information with respect to your shareholding with the relevant regulatory authorities such as the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority or the Tax Information Authority. They, in turn, may exchange this information with foreign authorities, including tax authorities.
We anticipate disclosing personal data to persons who provide services to us and their respective affiliates (which may include certain entities located outside the United States, the Cayman Islands or the European Economic Area), who will process your personal data on our behalf.
Certain Anti-takeover Provisions of our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our board of directors be classified into three classes of directors. Prior to our initial business combination, only the holders of our Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment of our directors.
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Our authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and preference shares will be available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved Class A ordinary shares and preference shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Securities Eligible for Future Sale
We have 43,125,000 ordinary shares issued and outstanding on an as-converted basis. Of these shares, the 34,500,000 Class A ordinary shares sold in our initial public offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any Class A ordinary shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act (which includes the 5,000,000 units purchased by our sponsor in connection with our initial public offering). All of the outstanding founder shares and all of the outstanding private placement warrants are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering.
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the twelve months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
· | 1% of the total number of ordinary shares then-outstanding, which equals 431,250 shares after our initial public offering; or |
· | the average weekly reported trading volume of the Class A ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale. |
Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:
· | the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company; |
· | the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; |
· | the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding twelve months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Form 8-K reports; and |
· | at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company. |
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As a result, our sponsor will be able to sell its founder shares and private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.
Registration and Shareholder Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement signed on the effective date of our initial public offering. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination. However, the registration and shareholder rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lockup period, which occurs (i) in the case of the founder shares, as described in the following paragraph, and (ii) in the case of the private placement warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Except as described herein, our sponsor and our directors and officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell their founder shares until the earliest of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our sponsor with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout the Report as the lock-up.
In addition, pursuant to the registration and shareholder rights agreement, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
Listing of Securities
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on NYSE under the symbols “ICNC.U,” “ICNC” and “ICNC WS,” respectively. Our units commenced public trading on October 22, 2021. Our Class A ordinary shares and warrants began separate trading on December 13, 2021. The units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded following the completion of our initial business combination.
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EXHIBIT 31.1
CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-14 AND 15d-14
UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED
I, Fausto Zanetton, certify that:
1.I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 of Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp.;
2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4.The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
a. | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; |
b. | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; |
c. | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
d. | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
5.The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
a. | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
b. | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
Date: March 31, 2023 | By: | /s/ Fausto Zanetton |
|
| Fausto Zanetton |
|
| Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive, Financial and Accounting Officer) |
EXHIBIT 32.1
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. 1350 AS ADDED BY
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Annual Report of Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Fausto Zanetton, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as added by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to the best of my knowledge:
(1) | the Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and |
(2) | the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company as of and for the period covered by the Report. |
Date: March 31, 2023 | By: | /s/ Fausto Zanetton |
|
| Fausto Zanetton |
|
| Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive, Financial and Accounting Officer) |