As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 15, 2017.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 6770 | 81-1847117 | ||
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization) |
(Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number) |
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrants principal executive offices)
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
Douglas S. Ellenoff, Esq.
Stuart Neuhauser, Esq. Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP 1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY10105 (212) 370-1300 |
Paul D. Tropp, Esq.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP 601 Lexington Avenue 31 st Floor New York, NY 10022 (212) 277-4000 |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box. o
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of large accelerated filer, accelerated filer and smaller reporting company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer o | Accelerated filer o | |
Non-accelerated filer
x
(Do not check if a smaller reporting company) |
Smaller reporting company o |
Title of Each Class of Security Being Registered |
Amount Being
Registered |
Proposed
Maximum Offering Price per Security (1) |
Proposed
Maximum Aggregate Offering Price (1) |
Amount of
Registration Fee |
||||||||||||
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, and one warrant (2) | 34,500,000 Units | $ | 10.00 | $ | 345,000,000 | $ | 39,986 | |||||||||
Shares of Class A common stock included as part of the units (3) | 34,500,000 Shares | | | | (4) | |||||||||||
Warrants included as part of the units (3) | 34,500,000 Warrants | | | | (4) | |||||||||||
Total | $ | 345,000,000 | $ | 39,986 |
(1) | Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. |
(2) | Includes 4,500,000 units, consisting of 4,500,000 shares of Class A common stock and 4,500,000 warrants, which may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any. |
(3) | Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act, there are also being registered an indeterminable number of additional securities as may be issued to prevent dilution resulting from stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions. |
(4) | No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g) under the Securities Act. |
The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED FEBRUARY 15, 2017
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
$300,000,000
30,000,000 Units
Matlin & Partners Acquisition Corporation is a newly organized blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not identified any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of our Class A common stock and one warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one-half of one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $5.75 per half share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of Class A common stock. The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and 12 months from the closing of this offering and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. We have also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 4,500,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of our Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding shares of Class A common stock that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to collectively as our public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem 100% of 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 outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and as further described herein.
Our sponsor, Matlin & Partners Acquisition Sponsor LLC (which we refer to as our sponsor throughout this prospectus) is an affiliate of David J. Matlin, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (which we refer to as Cantor Fitzgerald throughout this prospectus) have committed to purchase an aggregate of 15,500,000 warrants at a price of $0.50 per warrant (14,500,000 warrants by our sponsor and 1,000,000 warrants by Cantor Fitzgerald for $7,750,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. We refer to these warrants throughout this prospectus as the private placement warrants. Each private placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one-half of one share of our Class A common stock at $5.75 per half share.
Prior to this offering, our sponsor purchased 8,625,500 shares of Class F common stock (up to 1,125,000 of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised). The shares of Class F common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in this prospectus and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which shares of Class F common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class F common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon completion of this offering plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination or pursuant to warrants issued to our sponsor. Holders of the Class F common stock and holders of the Class A common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, except as required by law.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our units, Class A common stock or warrants. We intend to apply to list our units on the NASDAQ Capital Market, or NASDAQ, under the symbol MPACU on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on NASDAQ. The Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52 nd day following the date of this prospectus, subject to certain conditions. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on NASDAQ under the symbols MPAC and MPACW, respectively.
We are an emerging growth company under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves risks. See Risk Factors on page 27 . Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
Price to
Public |
Underwriting
Discounts and Commissions (1) |
Proceeds, before
expenses, to us |
||||||||||
Per Share | $10.00 | $0.50 | $9.50 | |||||||||
Total | $300,000,000 | $15,000,000 | $285,000,000 |
(1) | Includes $0.30 per unit, or $9,000,000 in the aggregate payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. If the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised, 5.0% of the gross proceeds from the over-allotment ($0.50 per unit or up to $2,250,000 in the aggregate) will be deposited in the trust account as deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriters only on completion of an initial business combination. Does not include certain fees and expenses payable to the underwriters in connection with this offering. See also Underwriting for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriters. |
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $300.0 million, or $345.0 million if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit), will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, or CST, acting as trustee.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. Delivery of the units will be made on or about , 2017.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Sole Book Running Manager
The date of this prospectus is , 2017
We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the units offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date.
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This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under Risk Factors and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.
Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus or the context otherwise requires, references to:
| we, us, company or our company are to Matlin & Partners Acquisition Corporation, a Delaware corporation; |
| public shares are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market); |
| warrants are to our warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market) and the private placement warrants; |
| public stockholders are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor, directors and officers to the extent our sponsor, officers or directors purchase public shares, provided that our sponsors status as a public stockholder shall only exist with respect to such public shares; |
| initial stockholders are to holders of our founder shares prior to this offering (or their permitted transferees); |
| management or our management team are to our officers and directors; |
| sponsor are to Matlin & Partners Acquisition Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and an affiliate of David J. Matlin, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; |
| MatlinPatterson are to MatlinPatterson Global Advisers LLC, an affiliate of David J. Matlin, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; |
| founder shares are to shares of our Class F common stock initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering and the shares of our Class A common stock issued upon the automatic conversion thereof at the time of our initial business combination as provided herein; |
| common stock are to our Class A common stock and our Class F common stock; and |
| private placement warrants are to the warrants issued to our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering. |
Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option and gives effect to a 1.2 for 1 stock split in the form of a dividend occurring prior to the date of this prospectus as described herein.
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We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated in March 2016 as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not identified any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target.
Our management team is led by David J. Matlin, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Matlin is also co-founder, Chief Executive and Chief Investment Officer of MatlinPatterson Global Advisers LLC, or MatlinPatterson, which he co-founded in 2002. Mr. Matlin is also the Chief Executive Officer (since January 2015) and a managing principal (since December 2012) of MatlinPatterson Asset Management L.P., whose operating joint venture affiliates manage non-distressed credit strategies. Prior to forming MatlinPatterson, Mr. Matlin was a Managing Director at Credit Suisse and head of its Global Distressed Securities Group since its inception in 1994. Mr. Matlin was also a Managing Director and a founding partner of Merrion Group, L.P. Mr. Matlin currently serves on the board of directors of Flagstar Bank FSB, a federally chartered savings bank, Flagstar Bancorp, Inc., a savings and loan holding company and CalAtlantic Group, Inc., the fourth largest homebuilder in the United States. He also serves on the board of directors of Orthosensor Inc., a medical device manufacturer.
Under Mr. Matlins leadership and management, MatlinPattersons three distressed-for-control private equity funds, with nearly $9 billion in aggregate capital commitments, have invested more than $7.6 billion in 43 portfolio companies controlled by MatlinPatterson. Control means the ability to exercise control or substantial influence through significant board representation, substantial equity ownership, shareholder agreements and similar agreements and structures. At Credit Suisse, from 1994 to 2001, the Global Distressed Securities Group under Mr. Matlins supervision and management pursued both distressed-for-control and non-control distressed and special situation investing, and invested more than $4.4 billion in 261 portfolio companies, of which 37 were in distressed-for-control investments. During this period at Credit Suisse and MatlinPatterson, Mr. Matlin and individuals under his supervision have served on the board of directors of more than 51 companies, eight of which have been public, and all of which were directly related to investments made by Credit Suisse and MatlinPatterson, and have provided advice and assistance in a broad array of initiatives.
Our management team also includes Peter Schoels and Greg Ethridge.
Peter Schoels, one of our director nominees, also serves as Managing Partner of MatlinPatterson. Mr. Schoels is also a managing principal of MatlinPatterson Asset Management L.P. and its operating joint venture affiliates. Prior to joining MatlinPatterson, he was a Vice President of the Credit Suisse Global Distressed Securities Group, investing in North America, Latin America, and Europe. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, Mr. Schoels was a Director of Finance and Strategy of Itim Group Plc. Previously, Mr. Schoels was Manager of Mergers and Acquisitions for Ispat International NV, now ArcelorMittal, which specialized in buying distressed steel assets globally. Mr. Schoels serves on the board of directors of Flagstar Bank FSB, Flagstar Bancorp, Inc., CalAtlantic Group, Inc. and Crescent Communities, LLC.
Greg Ethridge, our President, also serves as Senior Partner of MatlinPatterson. Prior to joining MatlinPatterson, Mr. Ethridge was a principal in the Recapitalization and Restructuring group at Broadpoint Capital, Inc. where he moved his team from Imperial Capital. Mr. Ethridge was a founding member of the corporate finance advisory practice for Imperial Capital LLC in New York. Prior to Imperial Capital, Mr. Ethridge was a principal investor at Parallel Investment Partners LP (formerly part of Saunders, Karp and Megrue) executing recapitalizations, buyouts and growth equity investments for middle market companies. Previously, Mr. Ethridge was an associate in the Recapitalization and Restructuring Group at Jefferies and Company, Inc. where he executed corporate restructurings and leveraged finance transactions, and before that he was a crisis manager at Conway, Del Genio, Gries & Co. in New York. Mr. Ethridge serves as chairman of the board of directors of FXI Holdings Inc., a foam and foam products manufacturer, a director of Crescent Communities, LLC, a director of Advantix Systems Ltd. and Advantix Systems, Inc., HVAC equipment manufacturers and he is an observer on the board of CalAtlantic Group, Inc.
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We believe that we will derive significant benefit from our management team which we believe has distinctive experience in identifying and acquiring businesses that are underperforming or distressed and/or are operating in industries undergoing dislocation. We intend to focus our efforts on seeking and completing an initial business combination with a company that has an enterprise value of between $1 billion and $1.8 billion, although a target entity with a smaller or larger enterprise value may be considered. While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any sector, the global decline in commodity prices since 2014 as well as the quickly changing regulatory environment have led to severe dislocation in the commodity and specialty chemicals, exploration and production, metals and mining, materials, power generation, transportation and infrastructure, refining, financial institutions, specialty lending, healthcare and insurance sectors. Our initial focus will be to pursue underperforming companies in these sectors as potential candidates for a business combination.
Our strategy is to identify and acquire a business that is misvalued or underperforming in an industry impacted by market dislocation or regulatory uncertainty, and whose market value and operating results we believe can be positively affected by our management team. The MatlinPatterson affiliated members of our management team have a combined 68 years of experience setting and implementing strategies to grow revenues and improve profitability, including: engaging in capital markets and other restructuring activities, evaluating, changing or enhancing management when appropriate, pursuing acquisition and divestiture opportunities, and crafting other initiatives, whether through board control or influence or substantial equity ownership of portfolio companies over which MatlinPatterson or Credit Suisses Global Distressed Securities Group (while under Mr. Matlins management) exercised control.
While underperformance can result from many factors, we intend to initially focus on targets that are underperforming as a result of market conditions driven by commodity supply/demand imbalances or periods of regulatory uncertainty surrounding future business activities. Specifically, we believe that targets in or with exposure to the commodity and specialty chemicals, exploration and production, metals and mining, materials, power generation, transportation and infrastructure, refining, financial institutions, specialty lending, healthcare and insurance sectors provide a large opportunity set following the global commodity downturn that began in 2014 and the uncertain regulatory environment. Our management believes that increasing leverage, a lack of access to capital markets and regulatory uncertainty have caused many private companies in these sectors to be misvalued and underappreciated. Based on our management teams experience at MatlinPatterson, we believe that these trends create excellent opportunities for an organization with our strategy and our managements core competencies. However, we may pursue a business combination with a company that is misvalued due to other factors such as lack of strategic direction, an overly burdensome or unsustainable capital structure, an inability to fund capital needs, litigation and corporate fraud.
In order to execute our business strategy, we intend to:
| Utilize our management teams extensive sourcing network to identify underperforming companies and assets; |
| Assemble a team of industry and financial experts; |
| Conduct rigorous research and analysis; |
| Acquire the target company at an attractive price relative to our view of intrinsic value; |
| Implement operational and financial structuring opportunities to provide the company with financial and operational flexibility; and |
| Seek strategic acquisitions and divestitures to further grow shareholder value. |
Following our initial business combination, we intend to evaluate opportunities to enhance shareholder value, including developing and implementing corporate strategies and initiatives to provide financial and operational runway such that the company can improve profitability and long-term value. In doing so, the management team anticipates evaluating corporate governance, assessing and possibly replacing management, opportunistically accessing capital markets and other opportunities to enhance liquidity, identifying acquisition and divestiture opportunities, and properly aligning management and board incentives with growing shareholder value.
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We intend to leverage the following sources of competitive strength in seeking to achieve our business strategy:
| Experienced Management Team with Expertise in a Broad Array of Sectors and Geographies Since his days as an investment manager within Credit Suisse beginning in 1994, and continuing thereafter at MatlinPatterson in 2002, David J. Matlin, our Chief Executive Officer, has built a unique track record by investing more than $14 billion in underperforming or distressed businesses across a broad array of sectors including materials, chemicals, metals, mining, energy, financials, healthcare, real estate and insurance, among others. The MatlinPatterson affiliated members of our management team, including David J. Matlin, Peter Schoels, Greg Ethridge and Nathan Brawn, have a combined 68 years of experience in investing and financing, both in the private equity business as well as public market securities. We believe our management teams diverse sector experience represents a significant competitive strength in achieving our acquisition strategy. |
| Access to Investment Opportunities Our management team has extensive long-term relationships with company owners, executives, stakeholders, industry experts, consultants, professionals and financial intermediaries. This network has provided our management team with proprietary deal flow, especially in instances of significant capital structure complexity, business underperformance, or market dislocation. We believe these relationships will provide us with attractive acquisition opportunities. We also intend to rely on our management teams reputation and history of identifying and securing acquisition opportunities in the materials, chemicals, metals, mining, energy, financials, healthcare, real estate and insurance sectors operating in market conditions driven by commodity supply/demand imbalances or periods of regulatory uncertainty. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various other sources, including investment market participants and large enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions. |
Despite the acquisition experience of our management team, none of our officers or directors has had direct experience with special purpose acquisition companies. Any past experience of MatlinPatterson or our management team is not a guarantee either: (i) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (ii) of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of MatlinPattersons or our management teams performance as indicative of our future performance.
We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are consistent with our acquisition philosophy and our managements experience and are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We intend to use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to seek to acquire companies that we believe:
| Are underperforming as a result of market conditions driven by commodity supply/demand imbalances or periods of regulatory uncertainty such as companies with exposure to or operating in the commodity and specialty chemicals, exploration and production, metals and mining, materials, power generation, transportation and infrastructure, refining, financial institutions, specialty lending, healthcare or insurance sectors; |
| Exhibit intrinsic value that is being underappreciated or misvalued as a result of financial, operational or industry conditions that would be considered abnormal or transitory based on our industry specific due diligence and experience; |
| Are in need of additional strategic and managerial guidance to enhance or shift the companys position within its industry, accelerate growth within that industry or refocus management on the core value proposition of the target company; and |
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| Offer attractive risk-adjusted equity returns for our shareholders. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team may deem relevant. In the event that we find an opportunity that is more compelling to us than the opportunities described above, we would pursue such opportunity. However, we have not established any particular parameters as to when we might turn our attention to opportunities that are not underperforming and/or not operating in an industry undergoing a period of dislocation. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC.
As illustrated in the diagram below, in evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. We intend to also utilize our operational and capital planning experience.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. MatlinPatterson and its affiliates have four portfolio companies in or exposed to the chemical, financial institutions and energy sectors, which are among the sectors we intend to initially target. We do not currently intend to pursue (nor have we initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly with) any of such portfolio companies.
Members of our management team will directly or indirectly (through ownership of interests in our sponsor) own our common stock and warrants following this offering, and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with
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respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors is included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration, and our officers and directors have not had any substantive discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with our underwriters or other advisors. Certain of our management team members are employed by MatlinPatterson. MatlinPatterson is from time to time made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue, for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with us. We have not (nor have any of our advisors) been approached by any candidates (or representative of any candidates) with whom we have had substantive discussions with respect to a possible acquisition transaction with us and we will not consider a business combination with any company with whom our management team members have had substantive discussions on our behalf, as an acquisition candidate, prior to completion of this offering. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any substantive measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate.
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 these obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, members of our management team who are affiliated with MatlinPatterson have fiduciary and contractual obligations with respect to MatlinPattersons private equity partnerships and the portfolio companies on whose boards they serve, including presenting business combination opportunities to them. While MatlinPattersons existing private equity partnerships are beyond their investment periods, members of our management team who are affiliated with MatlinPatterson would have business opportunity conflicts with respect to new private equity funds or other investment vehicles that MatlinPatterson or its affiliates may sponsor in the future. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Our directors and officers have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering.
The NASDAQ rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our 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 that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Our stockholders will not be provided with a copy of such opinion nor will they be able to rely on such opinion. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.
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We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, 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 it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If our 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.
Prior to the date of this prospectus, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of: (i) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.0 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30 th ; and (ii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to emerging growth company shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Our executive offices are located at 585 Weed Street, New Canaan, CT 06840 and our telephone number is (203) 594-9468.
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In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section below entitled Risk Factors.
Securities offered |
30,000,000 units, at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of: |
one share of Class A common stock; and |
one warrant to purchase one-half of one share of Class A common stock. |
Proposed NASDAQ symbols |
Units: MPACU |
Class A Common Stock: MPAC |
Warrants: MPACW |
Trading commencement and separation of Class A common stock and warrants |
The units will begin trading promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52 nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Cantor Fitzgerald informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the shares of Class A common stock and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into shares of Class A common stock and warrants. |
Separate trading of the Class A common stock and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K |
In no event will the Class A common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days from the date of this prospectus. If the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option. |
Units: |
Number outstanding before this offering |
0 |
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Number outstanding after this offering |
30,000,000 (1) |
Common stock: |
Number outstanding before this offering |
8,625,000 (2) (4) |
Number outstanding after this offering |
37,500,000 (1) (3) (4) |
Warrants: |
Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering |
15,500,000 (1) |
Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the private placement |
45,500,000 (1) |
Exercisability |
Each warrant offered in this offering is exercisable to purchase one-half of one share of our Class A common stock. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of Class A common stock. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. As a result, warrant holders not purchasing an even number of warrants must sell any odd number of warrants in order to obtain any value from the fractional interest that will not be issued. We structured each warrant to be exercisable for one-half of one share of our Class A common stock, as compared to warrants issued by some other similar blank check companies which are exercisable for one whole share, in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination as compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. |
(1) | Assumes no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option and the forfeiture by our initial stockholders of 1,125,000 founder shares. Our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald have committed to purchase an aggregate of 15,500,000 warrants at a price of $0.50 per warrant (14,500,000 warrants by our sponsor and 1,000,000 warrants by Cantor Fitzgerald, for $7,750,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. |
(2) | This number consists solely of founder shares and includes up to 1,125,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our initial stockholders depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised. Except as otherwise specified, the rest of this prospectus has been drafted to give effect to the full forfeiture of these 1,125,000 shares. |
(3) | Includes 30,000,000 public shares and 7,500,000 founder shares. |
(4) | Founder shares are classified as shares of Class F common stock, which shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described below adjacent to the caption Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution. |
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Exercise price |
$5.75 per half share of Class A common stock ($11.50 per whole share of Class A common stock), subject to adjustments as described herein. |
Exercise period |
The warrants will become exercisable on the later of: |
30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; and |
12 months from the closing of this offering; |
provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement). |
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC and, within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, have an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed; provided, that if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a covered security under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement. |
The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account. |
Redemption of warrants |
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, which we refer to as the 30-day redemption period; and |
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if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $24.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
We will not redeem the warrants unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. 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 we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis. In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the fair market value (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The fair market value shall mean the average reported last sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled Description of Securities Warrants Public Stockholders Warrants for additional information. |
None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald or their permitted transferees. |
Founder shares |
In March 2016, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. In May 2016, we effectuated a 1.2-for-1 stock split in the form of a dividend, resulting in an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares outstanding (up to 1,125,000 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised). The per-share price (post-split) is approximately $0.003 per share. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no |
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assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to us by the number of founder shares issued. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class F common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of founder shares by our initial stockholders at 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 1,125,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our initial stockholders, pro-rata depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised, either when the over-allotment option expires or when the underwriters notify us that they will not exercise the over-allotment option. |
The founder shares are identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: |
the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; |
our sponsor, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed: (i) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; and (ii) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame). If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement, to vote their founder shares and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, we would need only 11,250,001 of the 30,000,000 public shares, or 37.5%, sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and the initial stockholders do not purchase units in this offering or the aftermarket); |
the founder shares are automatically convertible into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and |
the founder shares are subject to registration rights.
|
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Transfer restrictions on founder shares |
Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of its founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; or (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property (except as described herein under Principal Stockholders Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants). Any permitted transferees would 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 this prospectus as the lock-up. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last sale price of our common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will be released from the lock-up. |
Founder shares conversion and
anti-dilution rights |
The shares of Class F common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in this prospectus and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which shares of Class F common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class F common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon completion of this offering plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination or pursuant to warrants issued to our sponsor. |
Voting |
Holders of the Class F common stock and holders of the Class A common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, except as required by law. Each share of common stock shall have one vote. |
Private placement warrants |
Our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald have committed to purchase an aggregate of 15,500,000 warrants at a price of $0.50 per warrant (14,500,000 warrants by our sponsor and 1,000,000 warrants by Cantor Fitzgerald for $7,750,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. The purchase price of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds of |
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the sale of the private placement warrants will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald or their respective permitted transferees (except as described below under Principal Stockholders Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants). If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald or their respective permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold as part of this offering. Our sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald or their respective permitted transferees, has the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. In addition, for as long as the private placement warrants are held by Cantor Fitzgerald or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. |
Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants |
The private placement warrants (including the Class A common stock 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. |
Proceeds to be held in trust
account |
The rules of NASDAQ provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the private placement be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $300.0 million ($10.00 per unit), or $345.0 million ($10.00 per unit) if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full, will be deposited into a segregated trust account located in the United States with CST acting as trustee and $1.75 million will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. The proceeds to be placed in the trust account include $9,000,000 (or up to $11,250,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions. |
Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the proceeds from this offering will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable |
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law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public stockholders. |
Anticipated expenses and funding sources |
Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use, except the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes. Based upon current interest rates, we expect the trust account to generate approximately $1,050,000 of interest annually (assuming an interest rate of .35% per year). Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from: |
the net proceeds of this offering not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $1,000,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $750,000 in expenses relating to this offering; and |
any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates or other third parties, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or invest in us, and provided any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. |
Conditions to completing our initial business combination |
There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. The NASDAQ rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case. |
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 that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm. Our stockholders will not be provided with a copy of such opinion nor will they be able to rely on such opinion. We will complete our initial business combination only if the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares 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-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination |
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transaction. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test, provided that in the event that our 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. |
Permitted purchases of public shares by our affiliates |
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. The purpose of such purchases would be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of our initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of our initial business combination that would not otherwise have been possible. Such purchases, if any, would be made in compliance with all applicable securities laws. |
None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Subsequent to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to: (i) refrain from purchasing securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information; and (ii) to clear all trades with our legal counsel 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. |
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 |
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with such rules. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will not make any purchases 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. There is no limit on the number of shares our sponsor, director, officers, advisors or their affiliates could purchase, except that all such purchases would be in compliance with applicable law as described above. Such parties would only need to purchase 11,250,001 of the 30,000,000 public shares, or 37.5%, sold in this offering, in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and the initial stockholders do not purchase units in this offering or the aftermarket). See Proposed Business Permitted purchases of our securities for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction. |
Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination |
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive redemption rights with respect to founder shares and any public shares it or they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. We intend to use substantially all interest earned for taxes and will likely only return $10.00 per share upon redemption or liquidation. |
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in street name, to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Companys DWAC (Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian) System, at the holders option. |
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Manner of conducting redemptions |
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either: (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination; or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would typically require stockholder approval. If we structure a business combination transaction with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed business combination. We intend to conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. |
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation: |
conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and |
file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination 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 shares of our Class A common stock 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 stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we |
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may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (after payment of the underwriters deferred commissions) at the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination. |
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will: |
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. |
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count towards this quorum and have agreed to vote, pursuant to a written agreement, their founder shares and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination; as a result, we would need only 11,250,001 of the 30,000,000 public shares, or 37.5%, sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and the initial stockholders do not purchase units in this offering or the aftermarket). Our directors and officers also have agreed to vote in favor of our initial business combination with respect to any public shares acquired by them (if any) following this offering. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our sponsor, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction, subject to the Excess Shares limitation. |
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (after payment of the underwriters deferred commissions) at the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules). Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our |
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initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. |
Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding more than 20% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold stockholder vote |
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder (including our affiliates), together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering. We believe the restriction described above will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holders shares are not purchased by us or our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders ability to redeem no more than 20% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those stockholders that hold more than 20% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination. |
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Redemption rights in connection with proposed amendments to our certificate of incorporation |
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain charter provisions. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that it may be amended by holders of a majority of our common stock, subject to applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, or applicable stock exchange rules. Our initial stockholders, who will beneficially own 20% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner it may choose. Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive redemption rights with respect to founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. |
Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination |
On the completion of our initial business combination, all amounts held in the trust account will be released to us. We will use these funds to pay amounts due to any public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination, to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. We intend to use substantially all interest earned for taxes and will likely only |
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return $10.00 per share upon redemption or liquidation. Payments due to redeeming stockholders shall be made by the trustee directly from a segregated account maintained by it to such stockholders at the consummation of our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. |
Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination |
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest 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, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such time period. |
Our sponsor, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our sponsor or any of our officers, directors or any of their affiliates acquires public shares after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering and, in such event, such amounts |
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will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares. |
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (after payment of the underwriters deferred commissions) at the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules). |
Limited payments to insiders |
There will be no finders fees, reimbursements or cash payments made to our sponsor, officers or directors or our or any of their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination: |
Repayment of up to an aggregate of $250,000 in loans which may be made to us by our sponsor to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering; |
Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; and |
Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $0.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. |
Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors or our or any of their affiliates. |
Audit Committee |
Prior to the effectiveness of this registration statement, we will have established and will maintain an audit committee (which will be comprised of all independent directors) to, among other things, monitor compliance with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility |
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to immediately take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section of this prospectus entitled Management Committees of the Board of Directors Audit Committee. |
Conflicts of Interest |
MatlinPatterson, one of our affiliates, as well as affiliates of MatlinPatterson, manage several investment vehicles and accounts and may manage other investment vehicles and accounts in the future, including distressed-for-control private equity funds. Entities managed by MatlinPatterson or its affiliates may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from procuring such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within MatlinPatterson or its affiliates may be suitable for both us and for a current or future entity managed by MatlinPatterson or its affiliates may be directed to such entity rather than to us. None of the members of our management team who are also employed by MatlinPatterson or certain affiliates of MatlinPatterson has any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. MatlinPatterson and/or our management, in their capacities as executives of MatlinPatterson or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with MatlinPatterson investment vehicles or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us. |
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 these obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, members of our management team who are affiliated with MatlinPatterson, and those of our directors who are MatlinPatterson employees, have fiduciary and contractual obligations with respect to MatlinPattersons private equity partnerships and the portfolio companies on whose boards they serve, including presenting business combination opportunities to them. While MatlinPattersons existing private equity partnerships are beyond their investment periods, members of our management team who are affiliated with MatlinPatterson would have business opportunity conflicts with respect to new private equity funds or other investment vehicles that MatlinPatterson or its affiliates may sponsor in the future. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any |
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corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue. |
Indemnity |
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below: (i) $10.00 per public share; or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, 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 indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. We believe our sponsors only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. We believe the likelihood of our sponsor having to indemnify the trust account is limited because we will endeavor to have all vendors and prospective target businesses as well as other entities execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. |
We are a newly-formed company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please see Proposed Business Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled Risk Factors.
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The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data is presented.
December 31, 2016 | Actual | As Adjusted | ||||||
Balance Sheet Data:
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||||||||
Working capital (1) | $ | 20,000 | $ | 292,020,000 | ||||
Total assets (2) | $ | 220,000 | $ | 301,020,000 | ||||
Total liabilities (3) | $ | 200,000 | $ | 9,000,000 | ||||
Value of common stock that may be redeemed in connection with our initial business combination ($10.00 per share) (4) | $ | | $ | 287,019,999 | ||||
Stockholders equity (5) | $ | 20,000 | $ | 5,000,001 |
(1) | The as adjusted calculation includes $300,000,000 cash held in trust from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, plus $1,000,000 in cash held outside the trust account, plus $20,000 of actual stockholders equity at December 31, 2016, less $9,000,000 of deferred underwriting commissions. |
(2) | The as adjusted calculation equals $300,000,000 cash held in trust from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, plus $1,000,000 in cash held outside the trust account, plus $20,000 of actual stockholders equity at December 31, 2016. |
(3) | The as adjusted calculation includes $9,000,000 of deferred underwriting commissions. |
(4) | The as adjusted calculation equals the as adjusted total assets, less the as adjusted total liabilities, less the as adjusted stockholders equity, which is set to approximate the minimum net tangible assets threshold of at least $5,000,001 (after payment of the underwriters deferred commissions). |
(5) | Excludes 28,701,999 shares of common stock purchased in the public market which are subject to redemption in connection with our initial business combination. The as adjusted calculation equals the as adjusted total assets, less the as adjusted total liabilities, less the value of common shares that may be redeemed in connection with our initial business combination (approximately $10.00 per share). |
The as adjusted information gives effect to the sale of the units in this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants, repayment of an aggregate of up to $250,000 in loans which may be made to us by our sponsor and the payment of the estimated expenses of this offering. The as adjusted total assets amount includes the $300.0 million held in the trust account ($345.0 million if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) for the benefit of our public stockholders, which amount, less deferred underwriting commissions, will be available to us only upon the completion of our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. The as adjusted working capital and as adjusted total assets include up to $9,000,000 being held in the trust account (up to approximately $11,250,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) representing deferred underwriting commissions. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.
If our initial business combination is not completed within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our initial stockholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such time period.
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An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. 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.
We are a recently formed company with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, MatlinPatterson and our management team is presented for informational purposes only. Any past acquisition experience of MatlinPatterson or our management team is not a guarantee either: (i) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (ii) of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of MatlinPattersons or our management teams performance as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. None of our officers or directors has had experience with special purpose acquisition corporations in the past.
We may not hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons. For instance, the NASDAQ rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a stockholder meeting but would still require us to obtain stockholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares, we would seek stockholder approval of such business combination. However, except for as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock do not approve of the business combination we consummate. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled Proposed Business Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination for additional information.
Unlike many other blank check companies in which the initial stockholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public stockholders in connection with an initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement, to vote
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their founder shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after this offering, in favor of our initial business combination; as a result, we would need only 11,250,001 of the 30,000,000 public shares, or 37.5%, sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and the initial stockholders do not purchase units in this offering or the aftermarket). Our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with respect to public shares acquired by them (if any) following this offering. Our initial stockholders will own 20% of our outstanding shares of common stock immediately following the completion of this offering. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if our initial stockholders agreed to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public stockholders.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding our initial business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (after payment of the underwriters deferred commissions) at the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (after payment of the underwriters deferred commissions) at the consummation of our initial business combination or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights and, therefore, will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising
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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 a business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
If our business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your stock in the open market.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 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 (which interest 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, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
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If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such public stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling public stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of such purchases would be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of our initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See Proposed Business Permitted purchases of our securities for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public float of our common stock and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See Proposed Business Business Strategy Tendering stock certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein.
In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
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We intend to apply to have our units listed on NASDAQ on or promptly after the date of this prospectus and our Class A common stock and warrants listed on or promptly after their date of separation. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the NASDAQ listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on NASDAQ in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on NASDAQ prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. In general, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholders equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 round-lot holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with NASDAQs initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than NASDAQs continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on NASDAQ. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4 per share and our stockholders equity would generally be required to be at least $5 million. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If NASDAQ delists any of our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list such 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 common stock is a penny stock which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as covered securities. Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on NASDAQ, our units, Class A common stock and warrants will qualify as covered securities under such statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on NASDAQ, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under such statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
Since the net proceeds of this 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 identified, we may be deemed to be a blank check company under the U.S. securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those
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rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of our initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see Proposed Business Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the Excess Shares. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 20% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
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 will be numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this 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, if we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of Class A common stock redeemed and, in the event we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we may make purchases of our Class A common stock, potentially reducing the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating and completing a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or possibly less than $10.00 per share, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share and other risk factors below.
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The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months following the closing of this offering, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account, will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a no-shop provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from shopping around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or possibly less than $10.00 per share, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $1,000,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. None of our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or possibly less than $10.00 per share, on our redemption of our public shares and our warrants will expire worthless.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues that may be present 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
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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. The fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in 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 partys 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below: (i) $10.00 per public share; or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, 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 indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. We believe our sponsors only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations.
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In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of: (i) $10.00 per public share; or (ii) other than due to the failure to obtain such waiver such lesser amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in certain instances. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a preferential transfer or a fraudulent conveyance. As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. 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 by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per share amount that would otherwise be received by our public stockholders in connection with our liquidation would be reduced.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| restrictions on the issuance of securities; |
each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| registration as an investment company with the SEC; |
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| adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and compliance with other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading investment securities constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor. We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. The proceeds held in the trust account may be invested by the trustee only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Because the investment of the proceeds will be restricted to these instruments, we believe we will meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to consummate our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or possibly less than $10.00 per share, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholders pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the 24 th month from the closing of this offering in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures.
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Because we do not intend to comply with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, consultants, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholders pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial business combination (unless required by NASDAQ) and thus may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting of stockholders be held for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with a companys bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to our consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, to use our best efforts to file, and within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination have effective, a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of such shares and maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a covered security under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a
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registration statement, but we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of Class A common stock included in the units. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying shares of Class A common stock for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their founder shares after those shares convert to shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the private placement warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register the resale of such warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to complete. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the common stock and private placement warrants owned by our sponsor or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered for resale.
While we will initially target a business with exposure to or operating in the commodity and specialty chemicals, exploration and production, metals and mining, materials, power generation, transportation and infrastructure, refining, financial institutions, specialty lending, healthcare and insurance sectors, we may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company in any industry or sector, but we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet identified 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 businesss 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 stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a
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reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders 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 tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Business combinations with companies that have exposure to or operate in the commodity and specialty chemicals, exploration and production, metals and mining, materials, power generation, transportation and infrastructure, refining, financial institutions, specialty lending, healthcare or insurance sectors entail special considerations and risks. For example, businesses with operations in these sectors are exposed to volatility in commodity prices, high capital investment, increased borrowing costs, general economic conditions and the impact of terrorist events and natural disasters. No assurance can be given that if we effect a business combination with a company that has exposure to or operates in these sectors such company will successfully be able to address the challenges to which businesses in these sectors are subject.
While we will initially target a business with exposure to or operating in the commodity and specialty chemicals, exploration and production, metals and mining, materials, power generation, transportation and infrastructure, refining, financial institutions, specialty lending, healthcare or insurance sectors, we will consider a business combination outside of our managements areas of expertise if such business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in this offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our managements expertise, our managements expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding the areas of our managements 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 stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following such business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value 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 tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
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 stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing
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condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or possibly less than $10.00 per share, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a distressed or underperforming business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include volatile revenues or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. By their nature, distressed businesses are subject to a heightened risk profile and our acquisition may be at greater risk of failure. For example, distressed companies may experience reduced access to capital and substantial interest expenses, which may result in lower working capital and reduced profitability, if any, as well as an enhanced likelihood of insufficient liquidity to fund continuing operations. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
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 that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
In addition, if our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, in connection with the NASDAQ rules that require that our initial business combination be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Our stockholders will not be provided with a copy of such opinion nor will they be able to rely on such opinion.
Other than the two circumstances described above, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders 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 tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of up to 90,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of Class F common stock, par value $0.0001 per share and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 37,250,000 and 2,500,000 (assuming in each case, that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option) authorized but unissued shares of Class A and Class F common stock available, respectively, for issuance, which amount takes into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not upon the conversion of the Class F common stock. Shares of Class F common stock are automatically convertible into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein. Immediately after this offering, there will be no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock, and may issue shares of preferred stock, in order to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon conversion of the Class F common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions described herein. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
| may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering; |
| may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
| could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
| may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, common stock and/or warrants. |
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or possibly less than $10.00 per share, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
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Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. Moreover, certain of our officers and directors have time and attention requirements for private investment funds and accounts managed by MatlinPatterson and certain of its affiliates. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
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 the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
In addition, the officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target's key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate's key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate's management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our 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 personnels 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. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination and we cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions
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with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target businesss management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the targets management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the targets management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
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 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. In particular, certain of our officers are employed by MatlinPatterson (and in certain cases its affiliates) which manage various private investment funds and accounts which make investments in securities or other interests of or relating to industries we may target for our initial business combination. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our officers and directors other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our executive officers and directors other business affairs, please see Management Directors and Executive Officers.
Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and officers and directors are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business. Moreover, certain of our officers and directors have time and attention requirements for entities of which MatlinPatterson and its affiliates are the investment manager.
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 these obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is
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expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
For a complete discussion of our officers and directors business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see Management Directors, Director Nominees and Executive Officers, Management Conflicts of Interest and Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.
Certain of our management team members are employed by MatlinPatterson. MatlinPatterson is from time to time made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue, for a business combination; however, MatlinPattersons existing private equity partnerships are beyond their investment periods. While in our opinion our management team has extensive networks through which we expect to source business combination opportunities, our access to such opportunities may be less than if our management team were managing private equity funds currently in their investment periods, such that they were actively sourcing, analyzing and making new portfolio companies investments for such funds.
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 officers. 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.
In particular, MatlinPatterson and certain of its affiliates have invested in a broad array of sectors. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for such other affiliates.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, directors and officers with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors and officers. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under Management Conflicts of Interest. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, directors and officers are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in Proposed Business Effecting our initial business combination Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest. MatlinPatterson and its affiliates have four portfolio companies in or exposed to the chemical financial institutions and energy sectors, which are among the sectors we intend to initially target. We do not currently intend to pursue (nor have we initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly with) any of such portfolio companies.
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In March 2016, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 8,625,000 (split-adjusted) founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 14,500,000 private placement warrants, each exercisable for one-half of one share of our Class A common stock at $5.75 per half share, for a purchase price of $7,250,000, or $0.50 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination.
The founder shares are identical to the shares of common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions; (ii) our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (a) to waive their redemption rights with respect to its founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (b) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering (although our initial stockholders will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares it holds if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame); (iii) the founder shares are automatically convertible into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described herein; and (iv) the founder shares are subject to registration rights.
The financial interests of our sponsor may influence its motivation in completing our initial business combination, and the association of our officers with our sponsor may also 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. The risk may become more acute as the 24 month anniversary of the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for us to complete our initial business combination.
At the closing of our initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf. These financial interests of our sponsor, officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination and completing an initial business combination.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete a business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
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| 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 security is outstanding; |
| our inability to pay dividends on our common stock; |
| using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, 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. |
The net proceeds from this offering and the private placement of warrants will provide us with $301,000,000 (or $346,000,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) that we may use to complete our initial business combination (which includes $9,000,000 or up to $11,250,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full, 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 risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
| dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
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While we do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries, if we do determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Little public information is generally available about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the 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 stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the companys stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (after payment of the underwriters deferred commissions) at the
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consummation of our initial business combination (such that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all shares of common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
The exercise price of the public warrants is higher than is typical in many similar blank check companies in the past. Historically, the exercise price of a warrant was generally a fraction of the purchase price of the units in the initial public offering. The exercise price for our public warrants is $5.75 per half share, or $11.50 per whole share. As a result, the warrants are less likely to ever be in the money and more likely to expire worthless.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time period in which they were obligated to consummate an initial business combination. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a companys pre-business combination activity, without approval by a certain percentage of the companys stockholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions sometimes requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the companys public stockholders. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that it may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. Our initial stockholders, who will beneficially own 20% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering
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(assuming they do not purchase any units in the offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which will govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete our initial business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor, officers and directors. Our stockholders 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 stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of this 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 identified any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or possibly less than $10.00 per share, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Upon the closing of this offering, our initial stockholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock (assuming they do not purchase units in this offering).
Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence.
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Our initial stockholders haves no current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus, and our directors and officers have no current intention of purchasing any of our securities. Factors that would be considered in making such purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. Our sponsor may also purchase public shares for the purpose of voting such shares in favor of our initial business combination, thereby increasing the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of our initial business combination, or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target business 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. See Proposed Business Permitted purchases of our securities. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our sponsor, is and will be divided into two classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of two years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our staggered board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our business combination. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of our initial business combination.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the common stock and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public stockholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 94.1% (or $9.41 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.59 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class F common stock result in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class F common stock at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public stockholders seek redemptions from the trust. 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 common stock.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between CST, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
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We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $24.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to: (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 15,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock (or up to 17,250,000 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement an aggregate of 15,500,000 private placement warrants to purchase 7,750,000 shares of our Class A common stock. In addition, if our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $0.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A common stock issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald or their permitted transferees: (i) they will not be redeemable by us; (ii) they (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor or Cantor Fitzgerald until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis. In addition, for as long as the private placement warrants are held by Cantor Fitzgerald or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Each warrant is exercisable for one-half of one share of Class A common stock. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of Class A common stock. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. As a result, warrant holders not purchasing an even number of warrants must sell any odd number of warrants in order to obtain any value from the fractional interest that will not be issued. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of Class A common stock 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
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upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A common stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
| the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
| prior offerings of those companies; |
| our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values; |
| a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions; |
| our capital structure; |
| an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying suitable acquisition opportunities; |
| general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and |
| other factors as were deemed relevant. |
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
There is currently no market for our securities. Stockholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financing reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical
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financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected 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 accountant standards used.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2018. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete a business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors, the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against directors, officers and employees for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing such suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholders counsel. This provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign market, 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:
| Higher 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; |
| tariffs and trade barriers; |
| regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| 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; |
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| challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| cultural and language differences; |
| employment regulations; |
| crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; and |
| deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such combination or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
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Some statements contained in this prospectus may constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management teams expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words anticipate, believe, continue, could, estimate, expect, intends, may, might, plan, possible, potential, predict, project, should, would and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:
| our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| our ability to select an appropriate target business; |
| our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business; |
| 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; |
| our sponsors, officers and directors 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, including the location and industry of such target businesses; |
| the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities; |
| changes in global supply and demand and prices for commodities; |
| our public securities potential liquidity and trading; |
| the lack of a market for our securities; |
| the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
| the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
| our financial performance following this offering. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading Risk Factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
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We are offering 30,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants will be used as set forth in the following table.
Without
Over-Allotment Option |
Over-Allotment
Option Exercised |
|||||||
Gross proceeds
|
||||||||
Gross proceeds from units offered to public (1) | $ | 300,000,000 | $ | 345,000,000 | ||||
Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement | 7,750,000 | 7,750,000 | ||||||
Total gross proceeds | $ | 307,750,000 | $ | 352,750,000 | ||||
Offering expenses
(2)
|
||||||||
Underwriting commissions (excluding deferred portion) (3) | $ | 6,000,000 | $ | 6,000,000 | ||||
Legal fees and expenses | 250,000 | 250,000 | ||||||
Printing and engraving expenses | 40,000 | 40,000 | ||||||
Accounting fees and expenses | 54,000 | 54,000 | ||||||
SEC/FINRA Expenses | 92,236 | 92,236 | ||||||
Travel and road show | 90,000 | 90,000 | ||||||
Directors and officers insurance | 95,000 | 95,000 | ||||||
NASDAQ listing and filing fees | 75,000 | 75,000 | ||||||
Miscellaneous expenses | 53,764 | 53,764 | ||||||
Total offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) | 750,000 | 750,000 | ||||||
Proceeds after offering expenses | $ | 301,000,000 | $ | 346,000,000 | ||||
Held in trust account (3) | $ | 300,000,000 | $ | 345,000,000 | ||||
% of public offering size | 100 | % | 100 | % | ||||
Not held in trust account | $ | 1,000,000 | $ | 1,000,000 |
The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,000,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account. (4)
Amount |
% of
Total |
|||||||
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combination (5) | $ | 500,000 | 50.0 | % | ||||
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations | 150,000 | 15.0 | % | |||||
Reserve for liquidation expenses | 100,000 | 10.0 | % | |||||
NASDAQ continued listing fees | 75,000 | 7.5 | % | |||||
Other miscellaneous expenses (including franchise taxes net of anticipated interest income) | 175,000 | 17.5 | % | |||||
Total | $ | 1,000,000 | 100.0 | % |
(1) | Includes amounts payable to public stockholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination. |
(2) | Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor may loan us up to $250,000 (of which $200,000 has been loaned as of the date of this prospectus) to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $750,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses other than underwriting commissions. In the event that offering expenses are less than set forth in this table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses. |
(3) | The underwriters have agreed to defer underwriting commissions equal to 3.0% of the gross proceeds of this offering. If the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised, 5.0% of the gross proceeds from the |
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over-allotment ($0.50 per unit or up to $2,250,000 in the aggregate) will be deposited in the trust account as deferred underwriting commissions. Upon completion of our initial business combination, $9,000,000, which constitutes the underwriters deferred commissions (or up to $11,250,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriters from the funds held in the trust account and the remaining funds will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. |
(4) | These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring a business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify an acquisition target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses. The amount in the table above does not include interest available to us from the trust account. Based on current interest rates, we would expect approximately $1,050,000 to be available to us from interest earned on the funds held in the trust account over 24 months following the closing of this offering; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. This estimate assumes an interest rate of .35% per annum based upon current yields of securities in which the trust account may be invested. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor, 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 out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our 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 to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $0.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Other than as set forth above, the terms of such loans by our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors, if any, 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. |
(5) | Includes estimated amounts that may also be used in connection with our initial business combination to fund a no shop provision and commitment fees for financing. |
The rules of NASDAQ provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $300,000,000 (or $345,000,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), including $9,000,000 (or up to $11,250,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions, will be placed in a trust account with CST acting as trustee and will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 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. Based on current interest rates, we estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $1,050,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of .35% per year. We will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the trust account, except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any. The proceeds from this offering and the private placement of warrants will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our
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amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance and timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law.
The net proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may apply the balance of the cash released from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective acquisition, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor may loan us up to $250,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering (of which $200,000 has been loaned as of the date of this prospectus). These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of June 30, 2017 or the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $750,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor, 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 out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our 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 to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $0.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Other than as set forth above, the terms of such loans by our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors, if any, 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 seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. 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
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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. There is no limit on the number of shares our sponsor, director, officers, advisors or their affiliates could purchase, except that all such purchases would be in compliance with applicable law as described above. Such parties would only need to purchase 11,250,001 of the 30,000,000 public shares, or 37.5%, sold in this offering, in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and the initial stockholders do not purchase units in this offering or the aftermarket). Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See Proposed Business Permitted purchases of our securities for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
We may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (after payment of the underwriters deferred commissions) at the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) and the agreement for our business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with the redemption of our public shares or the business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.
A public stockholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
Our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive redemption rights with respect to founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if any of our initial stockholders, officers, directors or affiliates acquires public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
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We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In May 2016, we effectuated a 1.2-for-1 stock split in the form of a dividend. Other than this, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of this offering, in which case we will effect a stock dividend or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in an amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial stockholders prior to this offering at 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock upon the consummation of this offering. 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.
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The difference between the public offering price per share of Class A common stock, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public stockholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of Class A common stock which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock.
At December 31, 2016, our net tangible book value was $20,000, or approximately $0.002 per share of Class F common stock. After giving effect to the sale of 30,000,000 shares of Class A common stock included in the units we are offering by this prospectus, the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at December 31, 2016 would have been $5,154,381 or $0.59 per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of the approximately 28,701,999 shares of Class A common stock that may be redeemed for cash in connection with our initial business combination and assuming no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option) of $9.41 per share to our sponsor as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution of $10.00 per share or 100% to our public stockholders not exercising their redemption rights. Total dilution to public stockholders from this offering will be $9.41 per share. The dilution to new investors if the underwriters exercise the underwriters over-allotment option in full would be an immediate dilution of $9.49 per share or 94.9%.
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public stockholders on a per share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:
Public offering price | $ | 10.00 | ||||||
Net tangible book value before this offering | $ | 0.002 | ||||||
Increase attributable to public stockholders | 9.408 | |||||||
Decrease attributable to public shares subject to redemption | (10.00 | ) | ||||||
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants | $ | 0.59 | ||||||
Dilution to public stockholders | $ | 9.41 |
For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option) by $287,019,999 because holders of up to approximately 96% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or stockholders meeting, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of shares of Class A common stock sold in this offering).
The following table sets forth information with respect to our sponsor and the public stockholders:
Shares Purchased | Total Consideration |
Average
Price per Share |
||||||||||||||||||
Number | Percentage | Amount | Percentage | |||||||||||||||||
Sponsor (1) (2) | 7,500,000 | 20.00 | % | $ | 25,000 | 0.01 | % | $ | 0.003 | |||||||||||
Public Stockholders | 30,000,000 | 80.00 | 300,000,000 | 99.99 | % | $ | 10.00 | |||||||||||||
37,500,000 | 100.0 | % | $ | 300,025,000 | 100.0 | % |
(1) | Assumes the full forfeiture of 1,125,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our initial stockholders depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised. |
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(2) | Assumes conversion of Class F common stock into Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis. The dilution to public stockholders would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class F common stock result in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon such conversion. |
The number of shares of Class A common stock subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 is calculated as follows:
Net tangible book value before this offering | $ | 20,000 | ||
Proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants, net of expenses | 301,000,000 | |||
Less: deferred underwriters commissions payable | (9,000,000 | ) | ||
Net tangible book value after giving effect to this offering and sale of the private placement warrants | $ | 292,020,000 | ||
Less: required minimum net tangible assets | (5,000,001 | ) | ||
Amount available for redemption of Class A common stock | $ | 287,019,999 | ||
Number of whole shares of Class A common stock that can be redeemed at $10 per share | 28,701,999 |
The pro forma net tangible book value per share as of December 31, 2016 giving effect to the offering is calculated as follows:
Numerator:
|
||||
Net tangible book value before this offering | $ | 20,000 | ||
Proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants, net of expenses | 301,000,000 | |||
Plus: offering costs incurred in advance | 154,380 | |||
Less: deferred underwriters commissions payable | (9,000,000 | ) | ||
Less: amount of Class A common stock subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets of $5,000,001 | (287,019,999 | ) | ||
$ | 5,154,381 | |||
Denominator:
|
||||
Shares of Class F common stock outstanding prior to this offering | 8,625,000 | |||
Shares forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised | (1,125,000 | ) | ||
Shares of Class A common stock included in the units offered | 30,000,000 | |||
Less: shares subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets of $5,000,001 | (28,701,999 | ) | ||
8,798,001 |
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The following table sets forth our capitalization at December 31, 2016 and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our 30,000,000 units in this offering for $300,000,000 (or $10.00 per unit) and the sale of 15,500,000 private placement warrants for $7,750,000 (or $0.50 per warrant) and the application of the estimated net proceeds (excluding net working capital of $1,000,000 not held in the trust account) of $306,750,000 derived from the sale of such securities:
December 31, 2016 | ||||||||
Actual | As Adjusted (1) | |||||||
Deferred underwriting commissions | $ | | $ | 9,000,000 | ||||
Loan payable to related party | 200,000 | | ||||||
Class A common stock, subject to redemption (2) | 287,019,999 | |||||||
Stockholders equity: | | | ||||||
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued or outstanding (actual); 1,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued or outstanding (as adjusted)
|
||||||||
Common Stock
|
||||||||
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 90,000,000 shares authorized (actual); no shares issued or outstanding (actual); 90,000,000 shares authorized (as adjusted); 1,298,001 (3) shares issued and outstanding (excluding 28,701,999 shares subject to redemption) (as adjusted) | | 130 | ||||||
Class F common stock, $0.0001 par value, 10,000,000 shares authorized (actual); 8,625,000 (3) shares issued and outstanding (actual); 10,000,000 shares authorized (as adjusted); 7,500,000 (3) shares issued and outstanding (as adjusted) | 863 | 750 | ||||||
Additional paid-in capital (4) | 24,137 | 5,004,121 | ||||||
Accumulated deficit | (5,000 | ) | (5,000 | ) | ||||
Total stockholders equity | 20,000 | 5,000,001 | ||||||
Total capitalization | $ | 220,000 | $ | 301,020,000 |
(1) | Assumes the full forfeiture of 1,125,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our initial stockholders depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised. The proceeds of the sale of such shares will not be deposited into the trust account, the shares will not be eligible for redemption from the trust account nor will they be eligible to vote upon the initial business combination. |
(2) | Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), subject to the limitations described herein whereby our net tangible assets will be maintained at a minimum of $5,000,001 (after payment of the underwriters deferred commissions) at the consummation of our initial business combination and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed business combination. The as adjusted amount of common stock, subject to redemption equals the as adjusted total assets of $301,020,000, less the as adjusted total liabilities of $9,000,000 less as adjusted total stockholders equity. The value of Class A common stock that may be redeemed is equal to $10.00 per share (which is the assumed redemption price) multiplied by 28,701,999 shares of Class A common stock, which is the maximum number of shares of common stock that may be redeemed for a $10.00 purchase price per share and still maintain at least $5,000,001 (after payment of the underwriters deferred commissions) of net tangible assets at the consummation of our initial business combination. |
(3) | Actual share amount is prior to any forfeiture of founder shares by our initial stockholders and as adjusted share amount assumes no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option. |
(4) | The as adjusted additional paid-in capital calculation is equal to the as adjusted total stockholders equity of $5,000,001, minus common stock (par value) of $880, minus the accumulated deficit of $(5,000). |
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We are a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not identified any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with respect to identifying any business combination target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.
The issuance of additional shares of our stock in a business combination:
| may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class F common stock resulted in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class F common stock; |
| may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
| could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock 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 stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and |
| may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A common stock and/or warrants. |
Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant indebtedness, 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 security is outstanding; |
| our inability to pay dividends on our common stock; |
| using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, 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. |
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, as of December 31, 2016, we had $65,620 in cash and deferred offering costs of $154,380. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit
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of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the founder shares to our sponsor and up to $250,000 in loans from our sponsor. We estimate that the net proceeds from: (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $750,000 and underwriting commissions of $6,000,000 (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $9,000,000 (or up to $11,250,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full); and (ii) the sale of the private placement warrants to our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald for an aggregate purchase price of $7,750,000, will be $301,000,000 (or $346,000,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $300,000,000 (or $345,000,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account, which includes $9,000,000 (or up to $11,250,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions. The remaining $1,000,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and excluding deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes, if any. Delaware franchise tax is based on our authorized shares or on our assumed par and non-par capital, whichever yields a lower result. Under the authorized shares method, each share is taxed at a graduated rate based on the number of authorized shares with a maximum aggregate tax of $180,000 per year. Under the assumed par value capital method, Delaware taxes each $1,000,000 of assumed par value capital at the rate of $350; where assumed par value would be (i) our total gross assets following this offering, divided by (ii) our total issued shares of common stock following this offering, multiplied by (iii) the number of our authorized shares following this offering. Based on the number of shares of our common stock authorized and outstanding and our estimated total gross proceeds after the completion of this offering, our annual franchise tax obligation is expected to be capped at the maximum amount of annual franchise taxes payable by us as a Delaware corporation of $180,000. We intend to pay such amounts, to the extent not paid from interest earned on our trust account, using our working capital held outside the trust account, as well as, potentially, loans from our sponsor described elsewhere in this prospectus. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We do not expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our taxes. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices or
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similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, structure, negotiate and complete a business combination, and to pay taxes to the extent the interest earned on the trust account is not sufficient to pay our taxes.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor, 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 $0.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Other than as set forth above, the terms of such loans by our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors, if any, as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $500,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $150,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $75,000 for NASDAQ and other regulatory fees; $100,000 as a reserve for liquidation expenses; and approximately $175,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves net of estimated interest income.
These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a no-shop provision (a provision designed to keep target businesses from shopping around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a no-shop provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination.
We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging
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growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our auditors tested, our systems of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for a business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
| staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties; |
| reconciliation of accounts; |
| proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate; |
| evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions; |
| documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and |
| documentation of accounting policies and procedures. |
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expenses in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our managements report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent registered public accounting firm to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404. The independent registered public accounting firm may identify additional issues concerning a target businesss internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
In March 2016, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. In May 2016, we effectuated a 1.2-for-1 stock split in the form of a dividend, resulting in an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares outstanding (up to 1,125,000 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor, pro-rata depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised, either when the over-allotment option expires or when the underwriters notify us that they will not exercise the over-allotment option). The per-share price (post-split) is approximately $0.003 per share. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable with respect to our Class F common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of founder shares by our initial stockholders at 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering. Our initial stockholders do not intend to purchase any units in this offering.
Our sponsor, directors and officers or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target
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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 any of their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor may loan us up to $250,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of June 30, 2017 or the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $750,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor, 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 $0.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Other than as set forth above, the terms of such loans by our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors, if any, as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
Our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald have committed to purchase an aggregate of 15,500,000 warrants at a price of $0.50 per warrant (14,500,000 warrants by our sponsor and 1,000,000 warrants by Cantor Fitzgerald for $7,750,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Our sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald will be permitted to transfer the private placement warrants held by them to certain permitted transferees, including our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with or related to them, but the transferees receiving such securities will be subject to the same agreements with respect to such securities as our sponsor. Otherwise, these warrants will not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. The private placement warrants will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by our sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald or their respective permitted transferees (except as described below under Principal Stockholders Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants). The private placement warrants may also be exercised by our sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald or their respective permitted transferees for cash or on a cashless basis. In addition, for as long as the private placement warrants are held by Cantor Fitzgerald or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement we will enter into with our sponsor on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. Our sponsor, and holders of warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the securities covered thereby are released from their lock-up restrictions, as described herein. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. See Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.
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As of December 31, 2016, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus as we have not conducted any operations to date.
On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an emerging growth company and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an emerging growth company, we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things: (i) provide an auditors attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404; (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditors report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis); and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEOs compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our initial public offering or until we are no longer an emerging growth company, whichever is earlier.
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We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated in March 2016 as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not identified any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target.
Our management team is led by David J. Matlin, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Matlin is also co-founder, Chief Executive and Chief Investment Officer of MatlinPatterson Global Advisers LLC, or MatlinPatterson, which he co-founded in 2002. Mr. Matlin is also the Chief Executive Officer (since January 2015) and a managing principal (since December 2012) of MatlinPatterson Asset Management L.P., whose operating joint venture affiliates manage non-distressed credit strategies. Prior to forming MatlinPatterson, Mr. Matlin was a Managing Director at Credit Suisse and head of its Global Distressed Securities Group since its inception in 1994. Mr. Matlin was also a Managing Director and a founding partner of Merrion Group, L.P. Mr. Matlin currently serves on the board of directors of Flagstar Bank FSB, a federally chartered savings bank, Flagstar Bancorp, Inc., a savings and loan holding company and CalAtlantic Group, Inc., the fourth largest homebuilder in the United States. He also serves on the board of directors of Orthosensor Inc., a medical device manufacturer.
Under Mr. Matlins leadership and management, MatlinPattersons three distressed-for-control private equity funds, with nearly $9 billion in aggregate capital commitments, have invested more than $7.6 billion in 43 portfolio companies controlled by MatlinPatterson. Control means the ability to exercise control or substantial influence through significant board representation, substantial equity ownership, shareholder agreements and similar agreements and structures. At Credit Suisse, from 1994 to 2001, the Global Distressed Securities Group under Mr. Matlins supervision and management pursued both distressed-for-control and non-control distressed and special situation investing, and invested more than $4.4 billion in 261 portfolio companies, of which 37 were in distressed-for-control investments. During this period at Credit Suisse and MatlinPatterson, Mr. Matlin and individuals under his supervision have served on the board of directors of more than 51 companies, eight of which have been public, and all of which were directly related to investments made by Credit Suisse and MatlinPatterson, and have provided advice and assistance in a broad array of initiatives.
Our management team also includes Peter Schoels and Greg Ethridge.
Peter Schoels, one of our director nominees, also serves as Managing Partner of MatlinPatterson. Mr. Schoels is also a managing principal of MatlinPatterson Asset Management L.P. and its operating joint venture affiliates. Prior to joining MatlinPatterson, he was a Vice President of the Credit Suisse Global Distressed Securities Group, investing in North America, Latin America, and Europe. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, Mr. Schoels was a Director of Finance and Strategy of Itim Group Plc. Previously, Mr. Schoels was Manager of Mergers and Acquisitions for Ispat International NV, now ArcelorMittal, which specialized in buying distressed steel assets globally. Mr. Schoels serves on the board of directors of Flagstar Bank FSB, Flagstar Bancorp, Inc., CalAtlantic Group, Inc. and Crescent Communities, LLC, a multi-asset class real estate developer.
Greg Ethridge, our President, also serves as Senior Partner of MatlinPatterson. Prior to joining MatlinPatterson, Mr. Ethridge was a principal in the Recapitalization and Restructuring group at Broadpoint Capital, Inc. where he moved his team from Imperial Capital. Mr. Ethridge was a founding member of the corporate finance advisory practice for Imperial Capital LLC in New York. Prior to Imperial Capital, Mr. Ethridge was a principal investor at Parallel Investment Partners LP (formerly part of Saunders, Karp and Megrue) executing recapitalizations, buyouts and growth equity investments for middle market companies. Previously, Mr. Ethridge was an associate in the Recapitalization and Restructuring Group at Jefferies and Company, Inc. where he executed corporate restructurings and leveraged finance transactions, and before that he was a crisis manager at Conway, Del Genio, Gries & Co. in New York. Mr. Ethridge serves as chairman of
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the board of directors of FXI Holdings Inc., a foam and foam products manufacturer, a director of Crescent Communities, LLC, a director of Advantix Systems Ltd. and Advantix Systems, Inc. and he is an observer on the board of CalAtlantic Group, Inc.
We believe that we will derive significant benefit from our management team which we believe has distinctive experience in identifying and acquiring businesses that are underperforming or distressed and/or are operating in industries undergoing dislocation. We intend to focus our efforts on seeking and completing an initial business combination with a company that has an enterprise value of between $1 billion and $1.8 billion, although a target entity with a smaller or larger enterprise value may be considered. While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any sector, the global decline in commodity prices since 2014 as well as the quickly changing regulatory environment have led to severe dislocation in the commodity and specialty chemicals, exploration and production, metals and mining, materials, power generation, transportation and infrastructure, refining, financial institutions, specialty lending, healthcare and insurance sectors. Our initial focus will be to pursue underperforming companies in these sectors as potential candidates for a business combination.
Our strategy is to identify and acquire a business that is misvalued or underperforming in an industry impacted by market dislocation or regulatory uncertainty and whose market value and operating results we believe can be positively affected by our management team. The MatlinPatterson affiliated members of our management team have a combined 68 years of experience setting and implementing strategies to grow revenues and improve profitability, including: engaging in capital markets and other restructuring activities, evaluating, changing or enhancing management when appropriate, pursuing acquisition and divestiture opportunities, and crafting other initiatives, whether through board control or influence or substantial equity ownership of portfolio companies over which MatlinPatterson or Credit Suisses Global Distressed Securities Group (while under Mr. Matlins management) exercised control.
While underperformance can result from many factors we expect to initially focus on targets that underperforming as a result of market conditions driven by commodity supply/demand imbalances or periods of regulatory uncertainty surrounding future business activities. Specifically, we believe that targets in or with exposure to the commodity and specialty chemicals, exploration and production, metals and mining, materials, power generation, transportation and infrastructure, refining, financial institutions, specialty lending, healthcare and insurance sectors provide a large opportunity set following the global commodity downturn that began in 2014 and the uncertain regulatory environment. Our management believes that increasing leverage, a lack of access to capital markets and regulatory uncertainty have caused many private companies in these sectors to be misvalued and underappreciated. Based on our management teams experience at MatlinPatterson, we believe that these trends create excellent opportunities for an organization with our strategy and our managements core competencies. However, we may pursue a business combination with a company that is misvalued due to other factors such as lack of strategic direction, an overly burdensome or unsustainable capital structure, an inability to fund capital needs, litigation and corporate fraud.
In order to execute our business strategy, we intend to:
| Utilize the management teams extensive sourcing network to identify underperforming companies and assets: Our management team has an extensive sourcing network to identify a promising target business that is underperforming, likely due to dislocated market conditions, which have been overlooked or rejected by other investors. |
| Assemble a team of industry and financial experts: For each potential transaction, we intend to assemble a team of industry and financial experts to supplement our managements efforts to identify and resolve key issues facing a company. We intend to a construct an operating and financial reorganization plan which optimizes the potential to grow shareholder value. With extensive experience investing in troubled businesses, we expect that our management will be able to demonstrate to the target business and its stakeholders that we have the resources and expertise to lead the combined company through complex and often turbulent market conditions and provide the strategic and operational direction necessary to stabilize and grow the business in order to maximize cash flows and improve the overall strategic prospects for the business. |
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| Conduct rigorous research and analysis: Performing disciplined, bottom-up fundamental research and analysis is core to our strategy, and we intend to conduct extensive due diligence to evaluate the impact that a transaction may have on a target business. |
| Acquire the target company at an attractive price relative to our view of intrinsic value: Combining rigorous bottom-up analysis as well as input from industry and financial experts, the management team intends to develop its view of the intrinsic value of a potential business combination. In doing so, the management team will evaluate future cash flow potential, relative industry valuation metrics and precedent transactions to inform its view of intrinsic value, with the intention of creating a business combination at an attractive price relative to its view of intrinsic value. |
| Implement operational and financial structuring opportunities: Our management team has the ability to structure and execute a business combination that will provide the combined business with a capital structure that will support the growth in shareholder value and give it the flexibility to grow organically and/or through strategic acquisitions or divestitures. We intend to also develop and implement strategies and initiatives to improve the businesss operational and financial performance and create a platform for growth. |
| Seek strategic acquisitions and divestitures to further grow shareholder value: The management team intends to analyze the strategic direction of the company and evaluate non-core asset sales to create financial and/or operational flexibility for the company to engage in organic or inorganic growth. Specifically, the management team intends to evaluate opportunities for industry consolidation in the companys core lines of business as well as opportunities to vertically or horizontally integrate with other industry participants. |
Following our initial business combination, we intend to evaluate opportunities to enhance shareholder value, including developing and implementing corporate strategies and initiatives to provide financial and operational runway such that the company can improve profitability and long-term value. In doing so, the management team anticipates evaluating corporate governance, assessing and possibly replacing management, opportunistically accessing capital markets and other opportunities to enhance liquidity, identifying acquisition and divestiture opportunities, and properly aligning management and board incentives with growing shareholder value.
We intend to leverage the following sources of competitive strength in seeking to achieve our business strategy:
| Experienced Management Team with Expertise in a Broad Array of Sectors and Geographies Since his days as an investment manager within Credit Suisse beginning in 1994, and continuing thereafter at MatlinPatterson in 2002, David J. Matlin, our Chief Executive Officer, has built a unique track record by investing more than $14 billion in underperforming or distressed businesses across a broad array of sectors including materials, chemicals, metals, mining, energy, financials, healthcare, real estate and insurance, among others. The MatlinPatterson affiliated members of our management team, including David J. Matlin, Peter Schoels, Greg Ethridge and Nathan Brawn, have a combined 68 years of experience in investing and financing, both in the private equity business as well as public market securities. We believe our management teams diverse sector experience represents a significant competitive strength in achieving our acquisition strategy. |
| Access to Investment Opportunities Our management team has extensive long-term relationships with company owners, executives, stakeholders, industry experts, consultants, professionals and financial intermediaries. This network has provided our management team with proprietary deal flow, especially in instances of significant capital structure complexity, business underperformance, or market dislocation. We believe these relationships will provide us with attractive acquisition opportunities. We also intend to rely on our management teams reputation and history of identifying and securing acquisition opportunities in the materials, chemicals, metals, |
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energy, financials, healthcare, real estate and insurance sectors operating in market conditions driven by commodity supply/demand imbalances or periods of regulatory uncertainty. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various other sources, including investment market participants and large enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions. |
Despite the acquisition experience of our management team, none of our officers or directors has had direct experience with special purpose acquisition companies. Any past experience of MatlinPatterson or our management team is not a guarantee either: (i) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (ii) of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of MatlinPattersons or our management teams performance as indicative of our future performance.
We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are consistent with our acquisition philosophy and our managements experience and are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We intend to use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to seek to acquire companies that we believe:
| Are underperforming as a result of market conditions driven by commodity supply/demand imbalances or periods of regulatory uncertainty surrounding future business activities. Specifically, we believe that targets in or with exposure to the commodity and specialty chemicals, exploration and production, metals and mining, materials, power generation, transportation and infrastructure, refining, financial institutions, specialty lending, healthcare and insurance sectors provide a large opportunity set following the global commodity downturn that began in 2014 and the uncertain regulatory environment. Our management believes that increasing leverage, a lack of access to capital markets and regulatory uncertainty have caused many private companies in these sectors to be misvalued and underappreciated. |
| Exhibit intrinsic value that is being underappreciated or misvalued as a result of financial, operational or industry conditions that would be considered abnormal or transitory based on our industry specific due diligence and experience. For a potential target business, this process will include, among other things, a detailed review and analysis of the companys capital structure, quality of earnings, potential for operational and balance sheet improvements, corporate governance, customers, material contracts, and industry background and trends. |
| Are in need of additional strategic and managerial guidance to enhance or shift the companys position within its industry, accelerate growth within that industry or refocus management on the core value proposition of the target company. We believe that we are well-positioned to evaluate and improve a companys growth prospects and help it realize the opportunities to create shareholder value following the consummation of a business combination. |
| Will offer attractive risk-adjusted equity returns for our shareholders. We intend to seek to acquire a target on terms and in a manner that leverages our experience in distressed investing. Financial returns will be evaluated based on free cash flow generation, an ability to achieve cost savings, an ability to stabilize operations, creating a platform for organic and/or inorganic growth, and an ability to achieve earnings growth. Each of these factors will be weighed against any identifiable downside risks that are often inherent in underperforming or distressed companies. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team may deem relevant. In the event that we find an opportunity that is more compelling to us than the opportunities described above, we would pursue such opportunity. However, we have not established any particular parameters as to when we might turn our attention to opportunities that are not underperforming or distressed and/or not operating in an industry undergoing a period of dislocation. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination
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with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC.
Our acquisition strategy will be to identify, acquire and, after our initial business combination, to build a company in an industry that is experiencing distress due to a temporarily dislocated market that is adversely affecting its financial or operating results, its ability to access the capital markets efficiently or at all or in other ways. Our management team will continually analyze the global financial markets for signs of financial distress in industry sectors, geographic regions and individual companies, and they have an extensive network of professional contacts in the distressed sector that provides them with information and significant proprietary deal flow. These contacts are familiar with our management teams investment criteria and reorganization capabilities, and include bankruptcy lawyers, restructuring accountants, reorganization investment bankers and management turn-around consultants. Also, because our management team has historically employed two primary approaches to gaining control of companies; that is, (i) accumulating deeply discounted securities and other obligations of distressed companies as an initial step towards acquiring a controlling or influential ownership interest, generally through the conversion of debt to equity, and (ii) directly acquiring significant ownership stakes in businesses or injecting capital into businesses as a means of acquiring control, they also have relationships with many securities broker-dealers on a worldwide basis. We believe these extensive and long-standing relationships will provide us with broad access to potential businesses with which we may wish to combine.
Drawing on their experience at MatlinPatterson, our management team anticipates tapping four major sources of deal flow: (i) directly identifying potentially attractive undervalued situations through primary research into industries and companies; (ii) receiving information from our management teams global contacts about a potentially attractive situation; (iii) contact from securities broker-dealers research, sales, trading or investment banking department offering or identifying businesses experiencing dislocation; or (iv) inbound opportunities from a company or existing stakeholders seeking a combination. We may pay referral fees or other compensation to the sources mentioned in (ii) and (iii) above, but no agreements, written or otherwise, are in place regarding this with any third parties.
We intend to analyze the characteristics of each particular potential combination to better understand (i) the source of the companys underperformance; (ii) the stakeholders that would welcome a business combination and (iii) the factors that will affect the companys ability to successfully turnaround its financial and operating performance.
| Source of Underperformance. We intend to identify the source of a companys financial distress, whether it be abnormal moves and/or volatility in commodity prices, substantial financial leverage, loss of a large customer, unforeseen litigation, ineffective management, disruptive technological innovation or new regulatory requirements, among others, to guide the company through the process by which the underperformance can be remedied. As an example, a company that is misvalued due to substantial leverage may have a healthy underlying business, but needs to de-lever through the infusion of new equity capital to retire outstanding debt. By comparison, a company that loses a significant customer will have substantially reduced cash flow which may create issues for its underlying business that need to be addressed through management changes and improved operations. These comparisons are often blurred for these types companies as they often display elements of each. Determining the magnitude of these specific issues provides information that can be used to evaluate the most likely course of action the company will take, thereby allowing us to take advantage of the investment opportunity. |
| Stakeholders. We also intend to identify stakeholder constituencies, as well as their legal, financial and strategic positions and objectives, to anticipate potential issues that may impact a potential |
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business combination. Stakeholders may range from priority creditors, secured creditors, senior creditors, junior creditors, subordinated creditors, trade creditors, preferred shareholders, shareholders, intercompany creditors, customers, suppliers, litigants, management, employees, unions and regulatory authorities. Recognizing the relationships between these constituencies will be critical to determining the process, timeline, and effectiveness of a business combination. Different stakeholders can play an important role, and predicting the behavior of individual stakeholders can provide important insights into any process. This also provides the management team an opportunity to partner with certain stakeholders to effect change on the organization to improve the prospects of the company. |
| External Factors. We intend to take into account external factors that may affect the prospects of an underperforming or distressed company, including the jurisdiction in which the company is domiciled, the current and expected regulatory environment, political influences and the state of the financial markets. Materials companies, for example, may lack access to traditional capital markets due to abrupt swings in a particular commodity that industry participants either produce or use as an input to its manufacturing process. The lack of traditional means for raising capital provides an opportunity for value-oriented investors, such as us to be the provider of capital on beneficial terms. |
After the initial business combination, our management team intends to apply a rigorous approach to enhancing shareholder value, including evaluating the experience and expertise of incumbent management and making changes when appropriate, examining opportunities for revenue enhancement, cost savings, operating efficiencies and strategic acquisitions and divestitures, and accessing the financial markets to optimize the companys capital structure. Our management team intends to pursue post-merger initiatives through participation on the board of directors, through direct involvement with company operations and/or calling upon a stable of former managers and advisors when necessary.
| Corporate Governance and Oversight. Actively participating as board members can include many activities ranging from monthly or quarterly board meetings, chairing standing (compensation, audit or investment committees) or special committees, to replacing or supplementing company management teams when necessary, adding outside directors with industry expertise, providing guidance on strategic and operational issues including revenue enhancement opportunities, cost savings, operating efficiencies as well as reviewing and testing annual budgets, reviewing acquisitions and divestitures, and assisting in the accessing of capital markets to further optimize financing costs and fund expansion. As active members on the board of directors of the company, our management team members intend to evaluate the suitability of the incumbent organization leaders. While not a pre-requisite, in their MatlinPatterson capacities, our management team members have replaced a significant percentage of its portfolio companies incumbent management teams in its private equity funds. Moreover, the management team has, on occasion, inserted themselves into interim or full-time management roles when necessary. |
| Direct Operational Involvement. The management team members, though ongoing board service, intend to actively engage with company management to effect change in an organization. These activities may include: (i) establishing an agenda for management and instilling a sense of accountability and urgency; (ii) aligning the interest of management with growing shareholder value; (iii) providing strategic planning and management consulting assistance; (iv) establishing measurable key performance metrics and accretive internal processes; and (v) right-sizing costs. These skill sets, will be integral to shareholder value creation. |
| Access to Portfolio Company Managers and Advisors. Over their combined 68 year history of investing in and controlling businesses, our management team members have developed strong professional relationships with former portfolio company managers and advisors through its private equity vehicles. When appropriate, we intend to bring in outside directors, managers or consultants to assist in corporate governance and operational turnaround activities. The use of supplemental advisors should provide additional resources to management to address time intensive issues that may be delaying an organization from realizing its full potential shareholder returns. |
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As illustrated in the diagram below, in evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. We intend to also utilize our operational and capital planning experience.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. MatlinPatterson and its affiliates have four portfolio companies in or exposed to the chemical, financial institutions and energy sectors, which are among the sectors we intend to initially target. We do not currently intend to pursue (nor have we initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly with) any of such portfolio companies.
If members of our management team acquire public shares or warrants after this offering, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration, and our officers and directors have not had any substantive discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with our underwriters or other advisors. Certain of the members of our management team are employed by MatlinPatterson. MatlinPatterson is from time to time made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue, for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with us. We have not (nor have any of our advisors) been approached by any candidates (or representative of any candidates) with whom we have had substantive discussions with respect to a possible acquisition transaction with us and we will not consider a business combination with any company with whom our management team members have had substantive discussions on our behalf, as an acquisition candidate, prior to completion of this offering. Additionally, we have not, nor
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has anyone on our behalf, taken any substantive measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate.
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 these obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, members of our management team who are affiliated with MatlinPatterson have fiduciary and contractual obligations with respect to MatlinPattersons private equity partnerships and the portfolio companies on whose boards they serve, including presenting business combination opportunities to them. While MatlinPattersons existing private equity partnerships are beyond their investment periods, members of our management team who are affiliated with MatlinPatterson would have business opportunity conflicts with respect to new private equity funds or other investment vehicles that MatlinPatterson or its affiliates may sponsor in the future. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Our directors and officers have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering.
The NASDAQ rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our 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 that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Our stockholders will not be provided with a copy of such opinion nor will they be able to rely on such opinion. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, 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 it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the
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issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If our 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.
Prior to the date of this prospectus, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
As more fully discussed in Management Conflicts of Interest, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations to various entities that may present a conflict of interest. As a result of these duties and obligations, situations may arise in which business opportunities may be given to one or more of these other entities prior to being presented to us.
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for shares of our stock or for a combination of shares of our stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders interests. It can offer further benefits by augmenting a companys profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of: (i) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.0 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30 th ; and (ii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
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With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $291,000,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of $9,000,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $333,750,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of up to $11,250,000 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) in each case before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our 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.
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of purchases of our Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration, and our officers and directors have not had any substantive discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with our underwriters or other advisors. Certain of the members of our management team are employed by MatlinPatterson. MatlinPatterson is from time to time made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue, for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with us. We have not (nor have any of our advisors) been approached by any candidates (or representative of any candidates) with whom we have had substantive discussions with respect to a possible acquisition transaction with us and we will not consider a business combination with any company with whom our management team members have had substantive discussions on our behalf, as an acquisition candidate, prior to completion of this offering. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any substantive measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account.
In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
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The NASDAQ rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation or value of comparable businesses. If our board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Our stockholders will not be provided with a copy of such opinion nor will they be able to rely on such opinion. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination in which we own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquire a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.
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.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us.
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.
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business.
Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
| subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and |
| cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
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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 businesss 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. 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 highly 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 our initial 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.
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
Type of Transaction | Whether Stockholder Approval is Required | |||
Purchase of assets | No | |||
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company | No | |||
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company | No | |||
Merger of the company with a target | Yes |
Under NASDAQs listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| we issue common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding (other than in a public offering); |
| any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by NASDAQ rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common stock or voting power of 5% or more; or |
| the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
In the event we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust
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account will be used to purchase public shares in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. Subsequent to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to: (i) refrain from purchasing securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information; and (ii) to clear all trades with our legal counsel 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. There is no limit on the number of shares our sponsor, director, officers, advisors or their affiliates could purchase, except that all such purchases would be in compliance with applicable law as described above. Such parties would only need to purchase 11,250,001 of the 30,000,000 public shares, or 37.5%, sold in this offering, in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and the initial stockholders do not purchase units in this offering or the aftermarket).
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
The purpose of such purchases would be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of our initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public float of our common stock may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and/or any of their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the stockholder meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase shares from based on the negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor or its 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
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safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors and/or any of their affiliates will not make purchases of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. We intend to use substantially all interest earned for taxes and will likely only return $10.00 per share upon redemption or liquidation. Our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive redemption rights with respect to founder shares and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination either: (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination; or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would typically require stockholder approval. If we structure a business combination transaction with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed business combination. We intend to conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
| conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and |
| file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified
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number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (after payment of the underwriters deferred commissions) at the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
| conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and |
| file proxy materials with the SEC. |
In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination. Though not required to do so, in the event that we are approved for listing on NASDAQ and are subsequently unable to maintain our listing on NASDAQ and our registration under the Exchange Act, we nevertheless intend to follow the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any shareholder vote on a proposed business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count towards this quorum and have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement, to vote their founder shares and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination; as a result, we would need only 11,250,001 of the 30,000,000 public shares, or 37.5%, sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and our initial stockholders do not purchase units in this offering or the aftermarket). Our directors and officers also have agreed to vote in favor of our initial business combination with respect to any public shares acquired by them (if any) following this offering. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction, subject to the Excess Shares limitation. In addition, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive redemption rights with respect to founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of a business combination.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (after payment of the underwriters deferred commissions) at the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules). Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate
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amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder (including our affiliates), together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holders shares are not purchased by our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders ability to redeem no more than 20% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in street name, to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Companys DWAC (Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian) System, at the holders option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an option window after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the companys stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually
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delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become option rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holders election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 24 months from the closing of this offering.
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (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 outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such time period.
Our sponsor, directors and officers has entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our sponsor or any of our officers and directors acquires public shares after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time period.
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (after payment of the underwriters deferred commissions) at the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules).
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We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. See Risk Factors If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share and other risk factors described above. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third partys engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below: (i) $10.00 per public share; or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. We believe our sponsors 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 other officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
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In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below: (i) $10.00 per public share; or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy 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 certain instances. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per share redemption price will not be substantially less than $10.00 per share. See Risk Factors If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share and other risk factors described above.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $1,000,000 from the proceeds of this offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholders pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, 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 (net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders rights as
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stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following our 24 th month and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent ten years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account.
As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below: (i) $10.00 per public share; or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a preferential transfer or a fraudulent conveyance. As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. See Risk Factors If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover or clawback 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.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholders voting in connection with our initial business combination alone will not result in a stockholders redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above.
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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the consummation of our initial business combination. If we seek to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation relating to stockholders rights or pre-business combination activity, we will provide dissenting public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such vote. Our initial stockholders have agreed to waive any redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Our directors and officers have agreed to waive any redemption rights with respect to public shares acquired by them (if any) following this offering. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that:
| prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we shall either: (i) seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which stockholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, inclu |