As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 4, 2018.
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
New Frontier Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Cayman Islands
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6770
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N/A
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(State or Other Jurisdiction of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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23
rd
Floor, 299 QRC
287-299 Queen’s Road Central
Hong Kong
Tel: 852-3703-3251
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Maples Fiduciary Services (Delaware) Inc.
4001 Kennett Pike, Suite 302
Wilmington, Delaware 19807
(302) 731-1612
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
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Joel L. Rubinstein
Jonathan P. Rochwarger
Winston & Strawn LLP
200 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10166
Tel: (212) 294-6700
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Michael Johns
Michael Lockwood
Maples and Calder
PO Box 309, Ugland House
Grand Cayman
KY1-1104
Cayman Islands
Tel: (345) 949-8066
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Paul D. Tropp
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP
601 Lexington Avenue, 31
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Floor
New York, New York 10022
Tel: (212) 277-4000
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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. ☐
If this form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of ”large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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Large accelerated filer ☐
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Accelerated filer ☐
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Non-accelerated filer ☒ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
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Smaller reporting company ☐
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Emerging growth company ☒
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
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Title of Each Class of Security Being Registered
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Amount Being
Registered
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Proposed
Maximum
Offering Price
per Security
(1)
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Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Offering
Price
(1)
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Amount of
Registration Fee
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Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one half of one warrant
(2)
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23,000,000 Units
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$
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10.00
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$
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230,000,000
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$
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28,635
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Class A ordinary shares included as part of the units
(3)
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23,000,000 Shares
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—
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—
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—
(4)
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Warrants included as part of the units
(3)
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11,500,000 Warrants
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—
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—
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—
(4)
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Total
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$
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230,000,000
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$
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28,635
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(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 3,000,000 units, consisting of 3,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and 1,500,000 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 share splits, share capitalizations 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 is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JUNE 4, 2018
$200,000,000
New Frontier Corporation
20,000,000 Units
New Frontier Corporation is a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to as our initial business combination. We have not selected any potential business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. While we may pursue a business combination target in any business or industry, we intend to focus our search for a target with operations or prospects in the healthcare, technology or education sectors in China, which we refer to as the Chinese new economy sectors.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, as described herein. Only whole warrants are exercisable. The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and 12 months from the closing of this offering, and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. The underwriters have a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional units to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding 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 for cash, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as further described herein.
Our sponsor, New Frontier Public Holding Ltd., has agreed to purchase 6,000,000 warrants (or 6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, in a private placement that will close concurrently with the closing of this offering.
Certain accredited investors, whom we refer to collectively as anchor investors, have entered into forward purchase agreements with us which provide for the purchase by the anchor investors of an aggregate of 18,100,000 Class A ordinary shares, plus an aggregate of 4,525,000 redeemable warrants to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $181,000,000, or $10.00 per Class A ordinary share, in a private placement to close concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The obligations under the forward purchase agreements do not depend on whether any Class A ordinary shares are redeemed by our public shareholders. As an inducement to the anchor investors to enter into these agreements, our sponsor transferred an aggregate of 2,262,500 Class B ordinary shares to the anchor investors for no cash consideration, which represent 23.8% of the Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding immediately after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option). Our sponsor owns 8,012,500 Class B ordinary shares, up to 750,000 of which will be surrendered to us by our sponsor for no consideration after the closing of this offering depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. The total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding after this offering and the expiration of the underwriters’ over-allotment option will equal 20% of the sum of the total number of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares outstanding at such time plus the number of Class A ordinary shares to be sold pursuant to the forward purchase agreements. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described herein. Only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to elect directors in any election held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. On any other matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders, holders of Class B ordinary shares and holders of Class A ordinary shares will vote together as a single class, except as required by law.
Currently, there is no public market for our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants. We have applied to have our units listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, under the symbol “NFC.U” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing. We expect the Class A ordinary shares and redeemable warrants comprising the units to begin separate trading on the NYSE under the symbols “NFC” and “NFC WS,” respectively, on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless the representatives of the underwriters permit earlier separate trading and we have satisfied certain conditions.
We are an “emerging growth company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page
28
for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
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Per Unit
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Total
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Public offering price
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$
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10.00
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$
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200,000,000
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Underwriting discounts and commissions
(1)
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$
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0.55
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$
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11,000,000
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Proceeds, before expenses, to us
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$
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9.45
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$
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189,000,000
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(1)
Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 in the aggregate (or $8,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in London, England as described herein and released to the underwriters only upon the completion of an initial business combination. See also “Underwriting” beginning on page
149
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, $200.0 million, or $230.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a segregated trust account located in London, England at Citibank with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about , 2018.
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.
No offer or invitation to subscribe for units is being made to the public in the Cayman Islands.
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Credit Suisse
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UBS Investment Bank
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, 2018
We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information, and we take no responsibility for any other information others may give to you. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Until , 2018 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our ordinary shares, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
SUMMARY
This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. 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:
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“we,” “us,” “Company” or “our company” are to New Frontier Corporation, a Cayman Islands exempted company;
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“amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to our memorandum and articles of association to be in effect upon completion of this offering;
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“anchor investors” are to the accredited investors with whom we have entered into forward purchase agreements;
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“Antony Leung” are to Mr. Kam Chung Leung;
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“Companies Law” are to the Companies Law (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time;
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“forward purchase agreements” are to agreements providing for the sale of forward purchase shares and forward purchase warrants to the anchor investors in a private placement that will close concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination and the transfer of 2,262,500 founder shares by our sponsor to the anchor investors prior to this offering;
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“forward purchase securities” are to the forward purchase shares and forward purchase warrants;
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“forward purchase shares” are to an aggregate of 18,100,000 Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the anchor investors pursuant to the forward purchase agreements;
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“forward purchase warrants” are to an aggregate of 4,525,000 warrants to purchase Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the anchor investors pursuant to the forward purchase agreements;
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“founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares initially issued to our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering and which currently are held by our sponsor and anchor investors (which shares may be transferred to permitted transferees from time to time) and the Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of such Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class A ordinary shares are not considered “public shares” for the purposes of this prospectus);
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“Greater China” are to China as well as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macau Special Administrative Region and Taiwan.
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“initial shareholders” are to holders of our founder shares prior to this offering;
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“management” or our “management team” are to our executive officers and directors;
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“NFG” are to New Frontier Group Ltd., an affiliate of the Company and our sponsor;
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“ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares;
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“private placement warrants” are to the warrants to be issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering and upon conversion of working capital loans, if any;
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“public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares offered as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);
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“public warrants” are to our warrants offered as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);
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“public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial shareholders and management team to the extent our initial shareholders and/or members of our management team subscribe for public shares, provided that each initial shareholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares; and
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“sponsor” are to New Frontier Public Holding Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company owned by NFG.
Any conversion of the Class B ordinary shares described in this prospectus will take effect as a redemption of Class B ordinary shares and an issuance of Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any forfeiture of ordinary shares described in this prospectus will take effect as a surrender for no consideration of such ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any share dividends described in this prospectus will take effect as a share capitalization as a matter of Cayman Islands law.
Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option and, accordingly, that our sponsor will forfeit 750,000 of its founder shares following the closing of this offering.
General
We are a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any potential business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.
While we may pursue a business combination target in any business or industry, we intend to focus our search for a target with operations or prospects in the healthcare, technology or education sectors in China, which we refer to as the Chinese new economy sectors. We will not conduct our initial business combination with an early stage life sciences or biotechnology company, or with a company that principally owns real estate that is not incidental to its operating business.
We believe that China is entering a new era of economic growth, particularly in the Chinese new economy sectors, which we expect will result in attractive initial business combination opportunities for us. We believe this growth will be driven by private sector expansion, technological innovation, increasing consumption by the middle class, structural economic and policy reforms and demographic changes in China.
Our management team is led by our founders Antony Leung, our Chairman, and Carl Wu, our Chief Executive Officer, the co-founders of NFG, who have decades of experience investing in and building companies with operations in Greater China. NFG, which owns our sponsor and is our affiliate, is a China-focused investment group with experience investing in, building and operating diversified businesses in the Chinese new economy sectors. Our founders’ strategy at NFG is focused on actively participating in growing, building and operating companies by employing dedicated in-house teams of industry operators, ranging from professional hospital managers, insurance specialists, big data analysts, artificial intelligence engineers, senior educators and ex-policy makers to help screen, assess, execute and manage investments. NFG uses this approach to generate additional revenue opportunities through cross-fertilization, consolidating group-wide procurement and headquarters functions, centralizing risk and legal management, forming strategic partnerships and improving management capabilities.
Antony Leung, our Chairman, is the Group Chairman of NFG. Mr. Leung is also Group Chairman of Nan Fung Group, a leading Greater China conglomerate engaging in real estate and investment businesses. Mr. Leung was Senior Managing Director and Chairman for Greater China of The Blackstone Group L.P., or Blackstone, from 2007 to 2014, where he was responsible for growing Blackstone’s business in Asia. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Leung served as the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong from 2001 to 2003. Mr. Leung was also the Chairman of JP Morgan Asia Pacific from 1996 to 2001. Mr. Leung joined Citibank in 1973 and held various roles before becoming the Country Corporate Officer for Hong Kong and China in
1992 and ultimately becoming Head of Citibank Private Bank in Asia. Mr. Leung held this position at Citibank until 1996. Mr. Leung has served as an independent director of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited, and American International Assurance (Hong Kong) Limited, Vice Chairman of the China National Bluestar Group and International Advisory Board Member of China Development Bank. Mr. Leung is currently an independent non-executive director of China Merchants Bank.
Carl Wu, our Chief Executive Officer, is the Chief Executive Officer of NFG. Prior to founding NFG, Mr. Wu worked for Blackstone from 2007 to 2016, ultimately serving as a Managing Director, responsible for executing a variety of Blackstone’s investments in China. Mr. Wu helped establish Blackstone’s business across China together with Mr. Leung. Mr. Wu also led the process to set up the first Renminbi (RMB) investment fund for Blackstone and participated in transacting some of Blackstone’s most important investments in China. Mr. Wu has also founded several Internet and healthcare businesses in Greater China. He is the Executive Chairman and co-founder of Boxful Technology, an on-demand storage service provider, Hello Toby Technology, an online service marketplace, and YD Care, a home healthcare service provider, and the Chairman of each of Care Alliance, a rehabilitation and geriatric hospital and clinic operator, China Guizhou Big Data Fund and Precision Therapeutics. Mr. Wu also serves on the board of directors of NF Unimed Healthcare and the Happiness F&B Group.
As NFG’s affiliate, we intend to draw upon NFG’s infrastructure, personnel, network and relationships. As a result, we believe we will have a key advantage in identifying, sourcing, negotiating and executing an initial business combination in the Chinese new economy sectors, in particular due to our management team and NFG’s respective networks and relationships, which include senior executives in the Chinese new economy sectors, government bodies, investment bankers, investment professionals at private equity firms and other financial sponsors and owners of private businesses. These relationships have been built over multiple decades through making investments, managing leading financial institutions, building and operating businesses and working in senior governmental and policy making roles in Hong Kong. We believe that the reputations of NFG and the members of our management team will make us a preferred partner for potential initial business combination targets due to their respective experiences in investment activity throughout Greater China. Further, we believe that these relationships give us a deep understanding of macro trends, government policies and reforms, investor expectations and market sentiment.
With respect to the foregoing experiences of our management, past performance is not a guarantee (i) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (ii) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management’s performance as indicative of our future performance. None of the members of our management team has any past experience with any blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies.
We believe our ability to complete an initial business combination will be enhanced by our having entered into forward purchase agreements pursuant to which the anchor investors have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 18,100,000 Class A ordinary shares, plus 4,525,000 redeemable warrants, for a purchase price of $10.00 per Class A ordinary share or $181,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to occur concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. We believe this committed capital will provide us with greater certainty to complete a business combination with potential sellers. The proceeds from the sale of forward purchase shares may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-transaction company. These purchases will be made regardless of whether any Class A ordinary shares are redeemed by our public shareholders and are intended to provide us with a minimum funding level for our initial business combination. The anchor investors will not have the ability to approve the initial business combination prior to the signing of a material definitive agreement and, if we seek shareholder approval, have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of the initial business combination. The forward purchase securities will be issued only in connection with the closing of the initial business combination.
Business Strategy
Our business strategy is to identify and complete our initial business combination with a company with operations or prospects in the Chinese new economy sectors that complements the experience of our management team and can benefit from their operational expertise. We will not conduct our initial business combination with an early stage life sciences or biotechnology company, or with a company that principally owns real estate that is not incidental to their operating business. Our selection process will leverage our management team’s and NFG’s broad and deep network of relationships, unique industry expertise and proven deal-sourcing capabilities to provide us with a strong pipeline of potential targets. Our management and NFG have experience:
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investing and building businesses in China with unique market, policy and government insights;
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managing and operating companies, setting and changing strategies, and identifying, mentoring and recruiting top-notch talent;
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developing and growing companies, both organically and inorganically, and expanding the product ranges and geographic footprints of portfolio businesses;
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executing buy and build strategies to accelerate growth and create integrated value chains;
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sourcing, structuring, acquiring and selling businesses in China, as well as other markets;
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partnering with other industry-leading companies to increase sales and improve the competitive position of companies;
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fostering relationships with sellers, capital providers and target management teams; and
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accessing the capital markets, including Chinese capital sources, across various business cycles, including financing businesses and assisting companies with the transition to public ownership.
Following the completion of this offering, we will begin the process of pursuing and reviewing potential opportunities.
Business Combination Criteria
Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will 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.
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Focus on targets with operations or prospects in the Chinese new economy sectors.
Based upon our management team’s experience, we believe we will have increased access to investment opportunities and a competitive advantage in our ability to negotiate a business combination with potential targets in the Chinese new economy sectors. Our management team’s extensive experience and network of contacts provide them with a unique opportunity to source a target, evaluate a potential target, consummate a business combination with the target and help grow the target’s business.
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Established target with a history of and/or capacity for free cash flow generation.
We expect to target one or more businesses that have exhibited profitability historically and/or have the potential for strong cash flow generation in the future. Our management team has a history of accelerating growth of companies with strong historical performance.
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Fundamentally sound companies that have the potential to further improve their performance under our ownership.
We believe our management team’s experience in our target sectors and network of industry contacts will create opportunities to enhance the revenue and operational efficiencies of the target business, and potentially generate higher returns for our investors.
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Market leader.
We intend to seek a target that has a leading presence across an industry or segment or has leading technology or product capabilities.
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Experienced and motivated management team.
We intend to seek a target with an established management team that we intend to complement. To the extent we believe it will enhance shareholder value, we would seek to selectively supplement the existing management team of the business (including senior management) with members of our management team or with proven leaders from our network.
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Potential benefit from capital markets access.
We intend to seek a target that may benefit from being a public company with an increased public profile, enhanced governance and increased access to a more diversified pool of capital, particularly capital from Greater China.
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Buy and Build.
We intend to employ a buy and build strategy which would allow us to build an integrated value chain around the initial business combination target at a much lower acquisition cost while accelerating growth and delivering increased value to 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 may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the SEC.
Initial Business Combination
NYSE rules require that our initial business combination must occur with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions) 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 or assets, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make such independent determination of fair market value, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target operating businesses or assets meet the 80% of assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our 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 shareholders 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 shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the
outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of NYSE’s 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews and inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.
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 directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view and follow such other procedures as set forth in our related party transaction policy (see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transaction Policy”).
Certain of our directors and officers will directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, such 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.
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 subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. 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 sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written letter agreement, not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company 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.
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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or 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.
Corporate Information
Our executive offices are located 23
rd
Floor, 299 QRC, 287-299 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong, and our telephone number is 852-3703-3251. We will maintain a corporate website. The information contained on or accessible through any website that we may maintain is not part of this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated on March 28, 2018. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Law. As an exempted company, we have applied for and expect to receive, after the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Law (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer,” which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30
th
, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
The Offering
In deciding 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.”
20,000,000 units, at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of:
•
one Class A ordinary share; and
•
one-half of one redeemable warrant.
Units: “NFC.U”
Class A Ordinary Shares: “NFC”
Warrants: “NFC WS”
Trading commencement and separation of Class A ordinary shares and warrants
The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52
nd
day following the date of this prospectus unless Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and UBS Securities LLC inform us of their 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 Class A ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
Separate trading of the Class A ordinary shares and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K
In no event will the Class A ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We anticipate filing such Current Report four business days from the closing of this offering. 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
Number outstanding after this
offering
20,000,000
(1)
Ordinary shares:
Number issued and outstanding before this offering
10,275,000
(2)(3)
Number issued and outstanding after this offering
29,525,000
(1)(3)(4)
Warrants:
Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering
6,000,000
(1)
Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the sale of private placement warrants
16,000,000
(1)
Each whole warrant offered in this offering is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share. Only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.
We structured each unit to contain one-half of one warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, as compared to units issued by some other similar blank check companies which contain whole warrants 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 business combination partner for target businesses.
The private placement warrants and forward purchase warrants will be exercisable on the same terms as the warrants offered as part of the units.
$11.50 per whole share, subject to adjustments as described herein.
(1)
Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
(2)
Consists solely of founder shares outstanding as of the date of this prospectus and includes up to 750,000 founder shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
(3)
Founder shares are currently classified as Class B ordinary shares. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.”
(4)
Includes 20,000,000 public shares and 9,525,000 founder shares and assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and 750,000 founder shares are forfeited.
The public 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 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement). If and when the public warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants, forward purchase warrants or private placement warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 30 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants, forward purchase warrants and private placement warrants. We will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares, until such warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants is not effective by the 60
th
day after the closing of the initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption.
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.
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
•
if, and only if, the last sales price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, 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 an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares 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 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 shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the 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” will mean the average reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. Please see “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants” for additional information.
The forward purchase warrants will be redeemable on the same terms as the warrants offered as part of the units. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.
Forward Purchase Agreements
Prior to this offering, we entered into forward purchase agreements pursuant to which the anchor investors agreed to subscribe for an aggregate of 18,100,000 Class A ordinary shares plus 4,525,000 redeemable warrants for a purchase price of $10.00 multiplied by the number of Class A ordinary shares, or $181,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private
placement to close concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. In connection with these agreements, our sponsor transferred to the anchor investors an aggregate of 2,262,500 founder shares as an inducement to enter into the forward purchase agreements for no cash consideration. Subject to certain exceptions to forfeiture and transfer provisions, the founder shares transferred in connection with these agreements are subject to similar contractual conditions and restrictions as the founder shares issued to our sponsor in connection with this offering. The forward purchase warrants will have the same terms as our public warrants. Under the terms of the forward purchase agreements, if an anchor investor fails to close on its obligation to purchase forward purchase securities at the time of the initial business combination, such anchor investor will be contractually required to forfeit any and all founder shares transferred to it.
The forward purchase agreements provide that the anchor investors are entitled to registration rights with respect to the forward purchase securities and Class A ordinary shares underlying the forward purchase warrants and founder shares. Please see “Description of Securities — Registration Rights” for additional information.
The proceeds from the sale of the forward purchase shares may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the initial business combination, expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-business combination company. These purchases will be required to be made regardless of whether any Class A ordinary shares are redeemed by our public shareholders and are intended to provide us with a minimum funding level for our initial business combination. The anchor investors will not have the ability to approve the initial business combination prior to the signing of a material definitive agreement and, if we seek shareholder approval, have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of the initial business combination. The forward purchase securities will be issued only in connection with the closing of the initial business combination.
On April 19, 2018, our sponsor subscribed for 10,750,000 founder shares which were issued to our sponsor on May 29, 2018 in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.002 per share, 5,000,000 of which were issued in connection with the forward purchase agreements. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. In addition, as an inducement to the anchor investors to enter into with the forward purchase agreements, on [ ], 2018, our sponsor transferred to the anchor investors an aggregate of 2,262,500 founder shares for no cash
consideration. On [ ], 2018, our sponsor forfeited 475,000 founder shares to us for no consideration and as of the date of this prospectus holds 8,012,500 founder shares. If we decrease the size of this offering, or if the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option in full, our sponsor will forfeit an amount of Class B ordinary shares to maintain the ownership of our founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of public shares (including any public shares issued in connection with the underwriters’ exercise of the over-allotment option), (ii) the number of founder shares held by our sponsor and anchor investors following such forfeiture and (iii) the number of forward purchase shares required to be purchased by the anchor investors pursuant to the forward purchase agreements. Under the terms of the forward purchase agreements, if an anchor investor fails to close on its obligation to purchase forward purchase securities at the time of the initial business combination, such anchor investor will be contractually required to forfeit any and all founder shares transferred to it. Up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
See “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.”
The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, except that:
•
only holders of the founder shares will have the right to elect directors in any election held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination;
•
the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below;
•
our initial shareholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and, with respect to our initial shareholders other than the anchor investors, public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and, with respect to our initial shareholders other than the anchor investors, public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering and (iii) 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 shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the anchor investors) have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 5,237,501, or approximately 26.2%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised and our initial shareholders have not purchased any public shares during or after this offering). Our executive officers and directors have entered into agreements similar to the one entered into by our sponsor with respect to any public shares acquired by them in or after this offering;
•
the founder shares are automatically convertible into our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights;” and
•
the holders of the founder shares are entitled to registration rights.
In addition, our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written letter agreement, not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company 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.
Transfer restrictions on founder
shares
Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of its founder shares until the earliest of (a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination with respect to 50% of its founder shares, (b) two years after the completion of our initial business combination with respect to the remaining 50% of its founder shares, and (c) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our shareholders having the
right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). The anchor investors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until one year after the completion of our initial business combination (except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (2) if we consummate a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination which results in our shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, the founder shares owned by our anchor investors will be released from the lock-up.
Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights
The founder shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares on the first business day following the consummation of our initial business combination at a ratio such that the total number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of public shares, plus (ii) the sum of (a) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued by us in connection with or in relation to the consummation of our initial business combination (including the forward purchase shares, but not the forward purchase warrants), excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any warrants issued in a private placement to our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor upon conversion of working capital loans, minus (b) the number of public shares redeemed by public shareholders in connection with our initial business combination. Any conversion of Class B ordinary shares described herein will take effect as a redemption of Class B ordinary shares and an issuance of Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law.
Election of Directors; Voting Rights
Only holders of our founder shares will have the right to elect directors in any election held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the election of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting in a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
Private placement warrants
Our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 6,000,000 private placement warrants (or 6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate or $6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees (except as described below under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.” In addition, we, our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed to certain transfer restrictions for 180 days after the date of this prospectus, subject to certain exceptions. See “Underwriting.”
Proceeds to be held in trust account
Of the proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $200,000,000, or $230,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a segregated trust account located in London at Citibank with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as
trustee and $6,000,000 will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering (including a portion of the underwriting commissions) and for working capital following this offering. The proceeds to be placed in the trust account include $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions.
Except for the withdrawal of interest to pay our income taxes, if any, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as discussed below and subject to the requirements of law and regulation, provides that none of the funds held in the trust account will be released from the trust account until the earliest of (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption 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, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders.
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 for the withdrawal of interest to pay our income taxes, if any. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations 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. We estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $3,000,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 1.5% per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. 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 $1,000,000 in expenses relating to this offering (other than underwriting commissions); and
•
any loans or additional investments from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor, 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
NYSE rules require that our initial business combination must occur with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value of at least 80% of our assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount). If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, or assets we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make such independent determination of fair market value, it may be unable to do so if the board of directors is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board of directors determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target operating businesses or assets meet the 80% of assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.
We will complete our initial business combination only if the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or is otherwise not required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to 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. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of NYSE’s 80% of net assets test, provided that in the event that the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat
the transactions together as our initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.
Permitted purchases of public shares and public warrants by our
affiliates
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of public shares or public warrants our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and NYSE rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. 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 initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial
business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (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 shareholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and, with respect to our initial shareholders other than the anchor investors, any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Our executive officers and directors have entered into agreements similar to the one entered into by our sponsor with respect to any public shares acquired by them in or after this offering.
Limitations on redemptions
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, a greater net tangible asset or cash requirement may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available
to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Manner of conducting redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval, while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote unless shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other legal reasons.
If we hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination, 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 shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination. In such case, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares (including for the avoidance of doubt, the anchor investors), we would need 5,237,501, or approximately 26.2%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). The other members of our management team have entered into agreements similar to the one entered into by our sponsor with respect to any public shares acquired by them in or after this offering. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem
their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or vote at all. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that at least five days’ notice will be given of any such shareholder meeting. We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder meeting.
If we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
•
conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and
•
file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.
Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding 20% or more of the public shares if we hold shareholder vote
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the public shares, without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above
will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 20% of the public shares could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 20% of the public shares, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those shareholders that hold more than 20% of the public shares) for or against 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, the funds held in the trust account will be used to pay amounts due to any public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our 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. 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 amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such 24-month period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up,
(ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, 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 net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 24-month time period.
Our initial shareholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders or management team acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time 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 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, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described above under “Limitations on redemptions.” For example, our board of directors may propose such an amendment if it determines
that additional time is necessary to complete our initial business combination. In such event, we will conduct a proxy solicitation and distribute proxy materials pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act seeking shareholder approval of such proposal and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon shareholder approval of such amendment.
Limited payments to insiders
There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or 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 $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;
•
Payment of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us by an affiliate of our sponsor;
•
Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating, negotiating and completing an initial business combination; and
•
Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.
We will establish and maintain an audit committee, which will be composed entirely of independent directors as and when required by the rules of the NYSE and Rule 10A of the Exchange Act. Among its responsibilities, the audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates and monitor compliance with the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Committees of the Board of Directors — Audit Committee.”
RISKS
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 entitled “Risk Factors” of this prospectus.
SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA
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.
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|
|
As of
April 19, 2018
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|
Balance Sheet Data:
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Working capital (deficiency)
|
|
|
|
$
|
(101,628
)
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|
|
Total assets
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|
|
|
$
|
120,618
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|
|
Total liabilities
|
|
|
|
$
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101,628
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|
|
Value of Class A ordinary shares that may be redeemed in connection with our initial business combination ($10.00 per share)
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|
|
|
$
|
—
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|
|
Shareholders’ equity
|
|
|
|
$
|
18,990
|
|
|
If no initial business combination is completed within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and net of taxes payable), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our initial shareholders have entered into agreements with us in 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 24 months.
RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our 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 history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a recently formed company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands 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.
Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination.
Under certain specific circumstances pursuant to Cayman Islands law, we may choose not to hold a shareholder vote before we complete our initial business combination if the business combination would not require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we complete. Please see the section entitled “Proposed Business — Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
Under certain specific circumstances defined by Cayman Islands law, at the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our initial shareholders will own, on an as-converted basis, approximately 32.3% of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares immediately following the consummation of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering and the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option). The total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding after this offering and the expiration of the underwriters’ over-allotment option will equal 20% of the sum of the total number of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares outstanding at such time plus the number of Class A ordinary shares to be sold pursuant to the forward purchase agreements. Our initial shareholders and management team also
may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, if we seek shareholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares voted at such meeting, including the founder shares. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 5,237,501, or approximately 26.2%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the anchor investors) and management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.
In evaluating a prospective target business for our initial business combination, our management will rely on the availability of all of the funds from the sale of the forward purchase shares to be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the initial business combination. If the sale of some or all of the forward purchase shares fails to close, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination.
We have entered into forward purchase agreements pursuant to which the anchor investors have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 18,100,000 forward purchase shares plus 4,525,000 redeemable warrants for a purchase price of $10.00 per forward purchase share, or $181,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close concurrently with our initial business combination. The funds from the sale of forward purchase shares may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-transaction company. The obligations under the forward purchase agreements do not depend on whether any public shareholders elect to redeem their shares and provide us with a minimum funding level for the initial business combination. However, if the sale of the forward purchase shares does not close for any reason, including by reason of the failure by some or all of the anchor investors to fund the purchase price for their forward purchase shares, for example, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination. Additionally, the anchor investors’ obligations to purchase the forward purchase shares are subject to termination prior to the closing of the sale of the forward purchase shares by mutual written consent of the company and each anchor investor, or, automatically: (i) if this offering is not consummated on or prior to the one year anniversary of the date of the forward purchase agreements; (ii) if the gross proceeds from this offering do not equal or exceed $150,000,000; (iii) if our initial business combination is not consummated within 24 months from the closing of this offering; or (iv) if our sponsor or the company becomes subject to any voluntary or involuntary petition under the United States federal bankruptcy laws or any state insolvency law, in each case which is not withdrawn within sixty (60) days after being filed, or a receiver, fiscal agent or similar officer is appointed by a court for business or property of our sponsor or the company, in each case which is not removed, withdrawn or terminated within sixty (60) days after such appointment. The anchor investors’ obligations to purchase their forward purchase shares are subject to fulfillment of customary closing conditions, including the following: (i) our initial business combination must be consummated substantially concurrently with, and immediately following, the purchase of forward purchase shares; and (ii) the company must have delivered to the anchor investors a certificate evidencing the company’s good standing as a Cayman Islands exempted company, as of a date within ten (10) business days of the closing of the sale of forward purchase shares. In the event of any such failure to fund by an anchor investor, any obligation is so terminated or any such condition is not satisfied and not waived by an anchor investor, we may not be able to obtain additional funds to account for such shortfall on terms favorable to us or at all. Any such shortfall would also reduce the amount of funds that we have available for working capital of the post-business combination company. While each anchor investor has represented to us that it has sufficient funds to satisfy its obligations under the respective forward purchase agreements, we have not obligated the anchor investors to reserve funds for such obligations.
If the anchor investors purchase large amounts of public shares in the open market, they may attempt to leverage their redemption rights in order to affect the outcome of a potential initial business combination.
The anchor investors have redemption rights with respect to any public shares they own, subject to the limitation that under the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that a
public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of Exchange Act), is restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% or more of the public shares, without the prior consent of the Company. If management proposes an initial business combination that some or all of the anchor investors are not in favor, such anchor investors may decide to purchase public shares in the open market and seek to leverage their redemption rights to influence whether such business combination is consummated. This could result in our having to negotiate for more favorable terms for the anchor investors, which could jeopardize our ability to successfully consummate an initial business combination. See “— In evaluating a prospective target business for our initial business combination, our management will rely on the availability of all of the funds from the sale of the forward purchase shares to be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the initial business combination. If the sale of some or all of the forward purchase shares fails to close, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination.”
The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions, or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business
combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public shareholders may only receive $10.00 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders 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 shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. However, other than as
expressly stated herein, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases of our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly redeem or tender public shares. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See “Proposed Business — Business Strategy — Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights.”
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 our public shares if we are unable to complete an 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 shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
If our securities are approved for listing, the NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We have applied to have our units listed on the NYSE on or promptly after the date of this prospectus and our Class A ordinary shares and warrants on or promptly after their date of separation. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on the NYSE. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the NYSE listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum average global market capitalization and a minimum number of holders of our securities.
Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If the NYSE delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
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a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
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reduced liquidity for our securities;
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a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;
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a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
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a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on the NYSE, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants will qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of 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 the NYSE, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the 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 rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a
longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our 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 shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 20% of the public shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 20% of the public shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the public shares without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold the Excess Shares and, in order to dispose of such Excess Shares, would be required to sell your Excess Shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter 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, including businesses with substantial operations in or related to China which operate in the healthcare technology and education sectors. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of 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, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.
If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering, only $1,000,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that, upon 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 or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.
In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,000,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,000,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. The amount held in the trust account will not be impacted as a result of such increase or decrease. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, its affiliates, our management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we 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 shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our share price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target
business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements, they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may
not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy
estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
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restrictions on the nature of our investments; and
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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:
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registration as an investment company;
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adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and
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reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering; or (iii) absent an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable 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.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 24 months before redemption from our trust account.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and net of taxes payable), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind-up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Law. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 24 months from the closing of this offering before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we consummate our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we are unable to complete our initial business combination.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable to a fine of $18,292.68 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination.
We will not hold our first annual meeting until after our first fiscal year. There is no requirement under the Companies Law for us to hold annual or general meetings to elect directors. Until we hold an annual meeting of shareholders, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to elect directors and to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of shareholders) serving a three-year term.
We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants and causing such warrants to expire worthless.
We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares 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 to use our best efforts to file a registration statement under the Securities Act covering such shares and maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. 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, unless an exemption is 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 the Securities Act or 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 will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units. 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.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and holders of our private placement warrants may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be entered into concurrently with the closing of this offering, the holders of the private placement warrants, the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the working capital loans, and the founder shares will be entitled to registration rights with respect to such warrants and the ordinary shares underlying such warrants and founder shares. The registration rights will be exercisable with respect to the founder shares, the private placement warrants (including any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such private placement warrants) and the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (including any Class A ordinary shares that may be issued upon the exercise of such warrants). Pursuant to the forward purchase agreements, we have agreed that we will use our reasonable best efforts (i) to file within 30 days after the closing of the initial business combination (and, with respect to clause (ii)(B) below, within 30 days following announcement of the results of the shareholder vote relating to our initial business combination or the results of our offer to shareholders to redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with our initial business combination (whichever is later), which we refer to as the “disclosure date”) a registration statement with the SEC for a secondary offering of (A) the forward purchase securities and Class A ordinary shares underlying the forward purchase warrants and founder shares, and (B) any other Class A ordinary shares or warrants acquired by the anchor investors, including any time after we complete our initial business combination, (ii) to cause such registration statement to be declared effective promptly thereafter, but in no event later than 60 days after the closing of the initial business combination or the disclosure date, as the case may be and (iii) to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement until the earliest of (A) the date on which the anchor investor ceases to hold the securities covered thereby and (B) the date all of the securities covered thereby can be sold publicly without restriction or limitation under Rule 144 under the Securities Act, and without the requirement to be in compliance with Rule 144(c)(1) under the Securities Act, subject to certain conditions and limitations set forth in the forward purchase agreements and the strategic partnership agreement. 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 ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the securities owned by our initial shareholders or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We intend to focus our search on businesses with operations or prospects in China which operate in the healthcare, technology and education sectors, but may also pursue business combination targets in other locations or sectors, except that we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of 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 shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
We may seek initial business combination opportunities outside of businesses with operations or prospects in or related to China which operate in the healthcare, technology and education sectors (which industries may or may not be outside of our management’s areas of expertise).
Although we intend to focus on identifying business combination candidates with operations or prospects in China which operate in the healthcare, technology and education sectors, we will consider a business combination outside of these industries if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive initial business combination opportunity for our company or we are unable to identify a suitable candidate with operations or prospects in China which operate in the healthcare, technology and education sectors, after having expended a reasonable amount of time and effort in an attempt to do so. 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 investment outside of businesses with operations or prospects in China which operate in the healthcare, technology and education sectors, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained herein regarding businesses with operations or prospects in China which operate in the healthcare, technology and education sectors would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash.
In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues, cash flows or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our 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.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting or investment banking firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view and we will not be required to obtain an opinion if our board of directors is able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting firm or independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that the price we are paying is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination. If, however, our board of directors is not able to determine independently that the target business has a sufficient fair market value to meet the threshold criterion required by the rules of the NYSE for our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an unaffiliated, independent accounting firm or investment banking firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criterion. Such opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of assets threshold.
We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained therein. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 180,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par
value $0.0001 per share and 1,000,000 preference shares, $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 160,000,000 and 10,475,000 (assuming in each case that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option) authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants and the forward purchase warrants, shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares or shares issued upon the sale of the forward purchase shares. The Class B ordinary shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination. Immediately after this offering, there will be no Class A ordinary shares or preference shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth herein. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:
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may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering;
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may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares;
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could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and
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may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants.
Unlike most other similarly structured blank check companies, our initial shareholders will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares on the first business day following the consummation of our initial business combination at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of public shares (including any such shares issued following the exercise of the over-allotment option), plus (ii) the sum of (a) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by us in connection with or in relation to the consummation of our initial business combination (including the forward purchase shares, but not the forward purchase warrants), excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any warrants issued in a private placement to our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor upon conversion of working capital loans, minus (b) the number of public shares redeemed by public shareholders in connection with our initial business combination. This is different than most other similarly structured blank check companies in which the initial shareholders will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to the initial business combination.
Resources could be wasted in researching initial business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We 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 shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — General”) of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this prospectus captioned ‘‘Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules’’). Depending on the particular circumstances the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year (of which there can be no assurance), we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules. For a more detailed explanation of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval under the Companies Law, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders to pay such taxes. Shareholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore, investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon us or any of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws, including federal securities laws. See “Description of Securities — Certain Differences in Corporate Law — Enforcement of Civil Liabilities.”
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel, and restrictions in the forward purchase agreements on hiring certain employees related to our sponsor, could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of 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 negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions 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.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
The officers and directors of an initial business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an initial business combination candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an initial business combination candidate’s management team will remain associated with the initial business combination candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an initial business combination candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. Our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Management — Officers and Directors.”
Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Management — Officers and Directors,” “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our executive officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. See the section titled “Description of Securities — Certain Differences in Corporate Law — Shareholder Suits” for further information on the ability to bring such claims. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as 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, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no 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 which is a member of FINRA or 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, executive officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Since our sponsor and the anchor investors (including certain of our executive officers) will lose their entire investment in our founder shares and/or private placement warrants if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after this offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
As of the date of this prospectus, our sponsor held an aggregate of 8,012,500 founder shares. Prior to the transfer of 2,262,500 founder shares to the anchor investors and the forfeiture of 475,000 shares in connection with the forward purchase agreements, our sponsor held an aggregate of 10,750,000 founder shares, which were issued in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.002 per share. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The founder shares held by our
sponsor and anchor investors (including certain of our executive officers) will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a separate written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 6,000,000 private placement warrants (or 6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate or $6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. See “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.” The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 24-month anniversary of the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
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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;
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our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;
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our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding;
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our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares;
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using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
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limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
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increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
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limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and forward purchase shares will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business
combination, because we have not yet selected any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and forward purchase shares prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The recent economic environment has made it difficult for companies to obtain acquisition financing. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and forward purchase shares, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and forward purchase shares will provide us with $375,000,000 (or $403,950,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (after deducting payment of offering expenses of approximately $1,000,000 and underwriting commissions of $11,000,000, or $12,650,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full but not deducting any of the proceeds not held in trust which may be used to pay working capital expenses) that we may use to complete our initial business combination.
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:
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solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or
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dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous
closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our initial business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. By definition, very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, changed industry focus and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law, meaning the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 65% of the public warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months of the closing of this offering. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.
The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s shareholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s public shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution, meaning holders of not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own, on an as-converted basis, approximately 32.3% of our Class A ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering and the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. The total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding after this offering and the expiration of the underwriters’ over-allotment option will equal 20% of the sum of the total number of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares outstanding at such time plus the number of Class A ordinary shares to be sold pursuant to the forward purchase agreements. As a result, we may be able to
amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
Our initial shareholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own 32.3% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering and the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our initial shareholders purchase any units in this offering or if our initial shareholders purchase any additional Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. To our knowledge, none of our officers or directors, has any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Our sponsor contributed $25,000, or approximately $0.002 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class A ordinary shares.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the Class A ordinary share and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A ordinary shares after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor and the anchor investors acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 95.3%, or $9.53 per share (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.47 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public shareholders seek redemptions from the trust for their public shares. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A ordinary shares.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants and forward purchase warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the
warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants and forward purchase 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 and forward purchase 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 and forward purchase warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our public shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share 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 proper notice of such redemption provided that on the date we give notice of redemption. 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.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 10,000,000 of our Class A ordinary shares (or up to 11,500,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement an aggregate of 6,000,000 private placement warrants (or 6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. We will also issue 4,525,000 forward purchase warrants concurrently with the closing of the sale of the forward purchase shares. In addition, if our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor makes any working capital loans, it may convert those loans into up to an additional 2,000,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Because each unit contains one-half of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants
will be exercisable in the aggregate for half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with 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 ordinary shares and warrants underlying the units, include:
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the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies;
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prior offerings of those companies;
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our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values;
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a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions;
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our capital structure;
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an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies;
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general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and
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other factors as were deemed relevant.
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financing reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements
may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such 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, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accountant standards used.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate a business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our 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 our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such initial business combination.
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or executive officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.
We have been advised by our Cayman Islands legal counsel that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be (i) in respect of taxes, a fine or penalty, (ii) inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, (iii) impeachable on the grounds of fraud or (iv) obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference 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. In addition, public shareholders are restricted from redeeming their Class A ordinary shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the public shares. See “— If the anchor investors purchase large amounts of public shares in the open market, they may attempt to leverage their redemption rights in order to affect the outcome of a potential initial business combination.”
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business Outside the United States
We intend to pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination. Accordingly, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
We intend to pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, and therefore may be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
•
costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations;
•
rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;
•
complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
•
laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
•
exchange listing and/or delisting requirements;
•
tariffs and trade barriers;
•
regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
•
local or regional economic policies and market conditions;
•
unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;
•
longer payment cycles;
•
tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;
•
currency fluctuations and exchange controls;
•
rates of inflation;
•
challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
•
cultural and language differences;
•
employment regulations;
•
underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems;
•
corruption;
•
protection of intellectual property;
•
social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances;
•
regime changes and political upheaval;
•
terrorist attacks and wars; and
•
deterioration of political relations with the United States.
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, our management may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue will be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the
enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and any determination that we violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, or FCPA, and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by U.S. persons and issuers as defined by the statute for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We will have operations, agreements with third parties and make sales in Asia, which may experience corruption. Our proposed activities in Asia create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of the employees, consultants, or sales agents of our Company, because these parties are not always subject to our control. It will be our policy to implement safeguards to discourage these practices by our employees. Also, our existing safeguards and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective, and the employees, consultants, or sales agents of our Company may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, the government may seek to hold our Company liable for successor liability FCPA violations committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquire.
Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in China
The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors and certain other People’s Republic of China regulations establish complex procedures for some acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in China.
The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors (the “M&A Rules”) and some other regulations and rules concerning mergers and acquisitions established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex, including requirements in some instances that the Ministry of Commerce (the “MOFCOM”) be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) domestic enterprise. Moreover, the Anti-Monopoly Law requires that the MOFCOM shall be notified in advance of any concentration of undertaking if certain thresholds are triggered. In addition, the security review rules issued by the MOFCOM that became effective in September 2011 specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise “national defense and security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise “national security” concerns are subject to strict review by the MOFCOM, and the rules prohibit any activities attempting to bypass a security review, including by structuring the transaction through a proxy or contractual control arrangement. In the future, we may grow our business by acquiring complementary businesses. Complying with the requirements of the above-mentioned regulations and other relevant rules to complete such transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the MOFCOM or its local counterparts may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share.
If, after our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets will be located in China and substantially all of our revenue will be derived from our operations there, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal policies, developments and conditions in China.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of China could affect our business. The economies in Asia differ from the economies of most developed countries in many respects. For the most part, such economies have grown at a rate in excess of the United States; however, (1) such economic growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and (2) such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a
downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
If relations between the United States and the PRC deteriorate, potential target businesses or their goods or services could become less attractive.
The relationship between the United States and the PRC is subject to sudden fluctuation and periodic tension. For instance, the United States recently announced its intention to impose new short-term quotas on Chinese imports, which may be extended for several years. Such import quotas may adversely affect political relations between the two countries and result in retaliatory countermeasures by the PRC in industries that may affect our ultimate target business. Relations may also be compromised if the U.S. becomes a more vocal advocate of Taiwan or proceeds to sell certain military weapons and technology to Taiwan. Changes in political conditions in the PRC and changes in the state of Sino-U.S. relations are difficult to predict and could adversely affect our operations or cause potential target businesses or their goods and services to become less attractive.
Contractual arrangements we enter into with potential future subsidiaries and affiliated entities or acquisitions of offshore entities that conduct operations through affiliates in the PRC may be subject to a high level of scrutiny by the relevant tax authorities.
Under the laws of the PRC, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the relevant tax authorities. If any of the transactions we enter into with potential future subsidiaries and affiliated entities are found not to be on an arm’s-length basis, or to result in an unreasonable reduction in tax under local law, the relevant tax authorities may have the authority to disallow any tax savings, adjust the profits and losses of such potential future local entities and assess late payment interest and penalties. A finding by the relevant tax authorities that we are ineligible for any such tax savings, or that any of our possible future affiliated entities are not eligible for tax exemptions, would substantially increase our possible future taxes and thus reduce our net income and the value of a shareholder’s investment. In addition, in the event that in connection with an acquisition of an offshore entity that conducted its operations through affiliates in the PRC, the sellers of such entities failed to pay any taxes required under local law, the relevant tax authorities could require us to withhold and pay the tax, together with late-payment interest and penalties. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a negative impact on our operating results and financial condition.
China’s economic, political and social conditions, as well as changes in any government policies, laws and regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business.
A substantial portion of our operations may be conducted in China, and a significant portion of our net revenues may be derived from customers where the contracting entity is located in China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects and certain transactions we may undertake may be subject, to a significant extent, to economic, political and legal developments in China.
China’s economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. While the PRC economy has experienced significant growth in the past two to three decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. Demand for target services and products depends, in large part, on economic conditions in China. Any slowdown in China’s economic growth may cause our potential customers to delay or cancel their plans to purchase our services and products, which in turn could reduce our net revenues.
Although China’s economy has been transitioning from a planned economy to a more market-oriented economy since the late 1970s, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The PRC government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through allocating resources, controlling the incurrence and payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. Changes in any of these policies, laws and regulations could adversely affect the economy in China and could have a material adverse effect on our business.
The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage foreign investment and sustainable economic growth and to guide the allocation of financial and other resources. However, we cannot assure you that the PRC government will not repeal or alter these measures or introduce new measures that will have a negative effect on us. China’s social and political conditions may change and become unstable. Any sudden changes to China’s political system or the occurrence of widespread social unrest could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
If we effect our initial business combination with a business located in the PRC, the laws applicable to such business will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
If we effect our initial business combination with a business located in the PRC, the laws of the country in which such business operates will govern almost all of the material agreements relating to its operations, including any contractual arrangements through which we acquire control of target business as described above. We cannot assure you that we or the target business will be able to enforce any of its material agreements or that remedies will be available in this jurisdiction. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. In addition, the judiciary in the PRC is relatively inexperienced compared to others in enforcing corporate and commercial law, leading to a higher than usual degree of uncertainty as to the outcome of any litigation. In addition, to the extent that our target business’ material agreements are with governmental agencies in the PRC, we may not be able to enforce or obtain a remedy from such agencies due to sovereign immunity, in which the government is deemed to be immune from civil lawsuit or criminal prosecution. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
After we consummate a business combination, our operating company in China will be subject to restrictions on dividend payments.
After we consummate a business combination, we may rely on dividends and other distributions from our operating company to provide us with cash flow and to meet our other obligations. Current regulations in China would permit our operating company in China to pay dividends to us only out of its accumulated distributable profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. In addition, our operating company in China will be required to set aside at least 10% (up to an aggregate amount equal to half of its registered capital) of its accumulated profits each year. Such cash reserve may not be distributed as cash dividends. In addition, if our operating company in China incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us.
If the government of the PRC finds that the agreements we entered into to acquire control of a target business through contractual arrangements with one or more operating businesses do not comply with local governmental restrictions on foreign investment, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to significant penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.
The PRC currently prohibits and/or restricts foreign ownership in certain “important industries,” including telecommunications, food production and heavy equipment. There are uncertainties under certain regulations whether obtaining a majority interest through contractual arrangements will comply with regulations prohibiting or restricting foreign ownership in certain industries. For example, the PRC may apply restrictions in other industries in the future. In addition, there can be restrictions on the foreign ownership of businesses that are determined from time to time to be in “important industries” that may affect the national economic security or those having “famous brand names” or “well-established brand names.”
If we or any of our potential future target businesses are found to be in violation of any existing or future local laws or regulations (for example, if we are deemed to be holding equity interests in certain of our affiliated entities in which direct foreign ownership is prohibited), the relevant regulatory authorities might have the discretion to:
•
revoke the business and operating licenses of the potential future target business;
•
confiscate relevant income and impose fines and other penalties;
•
discontinue or restrict the operations of the potential future target business;
•
require us or the potential future target business to restructure the relevant ownership structure or operations;
•
restrict or prohibit our use of the proceeds of this offering to finance our businesses and operations in the relevant jurisdiction; or
•
impose conditions or requirements with which we or the potential future target business may not be able to comply.
As a result of merger and acquisition regulations implemented on September 8, 2006 relating to acquisitions of assets and equity interests of Chinese companies by foreign persons, it is expected that acquisitions will take longer and be subject to economic scrutiny by the PRC government authorities such that we may not be able to complete a transaction.
On September 8, 2006, the MOFCOM, together with several other government agencies, promulgated a comprehensive set of regulations governing the approval process by which a Chinese company may participate in an acquisition of its assets or its equity interests and by which a Chinese company may obtain public trading of its securities on a securities exchange outside the PRC. Although there was a complex series of regulations in place prior to September 8, 2006 for approval of Chinese enterprises that were administered by a combination of provincial and centralized agencies, the new regulations have largely centralized and expanded the approval process to the MOFCOM, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC), the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) or its branch offices, the State Asset Supervision and Administration Commission, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). Depending on the structure of the transaction as determined once a definitive agreement is executed, these regulations will require the Chinese parties to make a series of applications and supplemental applications to the aforementioned agencies, some of which must be made within strict time limits and depending on approvals from one or the other of the aforementioned agencies. The application process has been supplemented to require the presentation of economic data concerning a transaction, including appraisals of the business to be acquired and evaluations of the acquirer which will permit the government to assess the economics of a transaction in addition to the compliance with legal requirements. If obtained, approvals will have expiration dates by which a transaction must be completed. Also, completed transactions must be reported to the MOFCOM and some of the other agencies within a short period after closing or be subject to an unwinding of the transaction. It is expected that compliance with the regulations will be more time-consuming than in the past, will be more costly for the Chinese parties and will permit the government much more extensive evaluation and control over the terms of the transaction. Therefore, a business combination we propose may not be able to be completed because the terms of the transaction may not satisfy aspects of the approval process and may not be completed, even if approved, if they are not consummated within the time permitted by the approvals granted.
Because the September 8, 2006, PRC merger and acquisition regulations permit the government agencies to have scrutiny over the economics of an acquisition transaction and require consideration in a transaction to be paid within stated time limits, we may not be able to negotiate a transaction that is acceptable to our shareholders or sufficiently protect their interests in a transaction.
The regulations have introduced aspects of economic and substantive analysis of the target business and the acquirer and the terms of the transaction by the MOFCOM and the other governing agencies through submissions of an appraisal report, an evaluation report and the acquisition agreement, all of which form part of the application for approval, depending on the structure of the transaction. The regulations also prohibit a transaction at an acquisition price obviously lower than the appraised value of the Chinese business or assets. The regulations require that in certain transaction structures, the consideration must be paid within strict time periods, generally not in excess of a year. Because the Chinese authorities intend to limit offshore flips which converted domestic companies into foreign investment enterprises (FIEs) in order to take advantage of certain benefits, including reduced taxation, in the PRC, the new regulations require new foreign sourced capital of not less than 25% of the domestic company’s post–acquisition capital in order to obtain FIE treatment. Accordingly, if a sufficient amount of foreign
capital is not infused into the domestic company, it will not be eligible to obtain FIE treatment. In asset transactions there must be no harm of third parties and the public interest in the allocation of assets and liabilities being assumed or acquired. These aspects of the regulations will limit our ability to negotiate various terms of the acquisition, including aspects of the initial consideration, contingent consideration, holdback provisions, indemnification provisions and provisions relating to the assumption and allocation of assets and liabilities. Transaction structures involving trusts, nominees and similar entities are prohibited. Therefore, we may not be able to negotiate a transaction with terms that will satisfy our investors and protect our shareholders’ interests in an acquisition of a Chinese business or assets.
Ambiguities in the regulations of September 8, 2006 may make it difficult for us to properly comply with all applicable rules and may affect our ability to consummate a business combination.
Although the merger and acquisition regulations provide specific requirements and procedures, there are many ambiguities which give the regulators great latitude in the approval process which may cause uncertainty in our ability to complete a transaction on a timely basis.
The merger and acquisition regulations set forth many requirements that have to be followed, but there are still many ambiguities in the meaning of many provisions. Although further regulations are anticipated in the future, until there has been clarification either by pronouncements, regulation or practice, there is some uncertainty in the scope of the regulations. Moreover, the ambiguities give the regulators wide latitude in the enforcement of the regulations and the transactions to which they may or may not apply. Therefore, we cannot predict the extent to which the regulations will apply to a transaction, and therefore, there may be uncertainty in whether or not a transaction will be completed until the approval process is under way or until the preliminary approvals are obtained. This may negatively impact our ability to consummate a business combination.
If we acquire control of a target business through contractual arrangements with one or more operating businesses in the PRC, such contracts may not be as effective in providing operational control as direct ownership of such business and may be difficult to enforce.
We will only acquire a business or businesses that, upon the consummation of our initial business combination, will be our majority-owned subsidiaries and will be neither investment companies nor companies excluded from the definition of an investment company by Section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act. However, the PRC has restricted or limited foreign ownership of certain kinds of assets and companies operating in certain industries. The industry groups that are restricted are wide-ranging, including, for example, certain aspects of telecommunications, food production, and heavy equipment manufacturers. In addition, there can be restrictions on the foreign ownership of businesses that are determined from time to time to be in “important industries” that may affect the national economic security or having “famous brand names” or “well-established brand names.” Subject to the review and approval requirements of the relevant agencies for acquisitions of assets and companies in the relevant jurisdictions and subject to the various percentage ownership limitations that exist from time to time, acquisitions involving foreign investors and parties in the various restricted categories of assets and industries may nonetheless sometimes be consummated using contractual arrangements with permitted local parties. To the extent that such agreements are employed, they may be for control of specific assets such as intellectual property or control of blocks of the equity ownership interests of a company which may provide exceptions to the merger and acquisition regulations mentioned above since these types of arrangements typically do not involve a change of equity ownership in the operating company. The agreements would be designed to provide our company with the economic benefits of, and control over, the subject assets or equity interests similar to the rights of full ownership, while leaving the technical ownership in the hands of local parties who would be our nominees and, therefore, may exempt the transaction from certain regulations, including the application process required thereunder.
However, since there has been limited implementation guidance provided with respect to such regulations, the relevant government agency might apply them to a business combination effected through contractual arrangements. If such an agency determines that such an application should have been made or that our potential future target businesses are otherwise in violation of local laws or regulations, consequences may include confiscating relevant income and levying fines and other penalties, revoking
business and other licenses, requiring restructure of ownership or operations, requiring discontinuation or restriction of the operations of any portion or all of the acquired business, restricting or prohibiting our use of the proceeds of this offering to finance our businesses and operations and imposing conditions or requirements with which we or potential future target businesses may not be able to comply. These agreements likely also would provide for increased ownership or full ownership and control by us when and if permitted under local laws and regulations. If we choose to effect a business combination that employs the use of these types of control arrangements, we may have difficulty in enforcing our rights. Therefore, these contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing us with the same economic benefits, accounting consolidation or control over a target business as would direct ownership. For example, if the target business or any other entity fails to perform its obligations under these contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend substantial resources to enforce such arrangements, and rely on legal remedies under local law, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages, which we cannot assure will be sufficient to off set the cost of enforcement and may adversely affect the benefits we expect to receive from the business combination.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some of the 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 team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:
•
our ability to complete our initial business combination;
•
our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;
•
our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;
•
the proceeds of the forward purchase shares being available to us;
•
our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;
•
our pool of prospective target businesses;
•
the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential investment opportunities;
•
our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;
•
the lack of a market for our securities;
•
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” beginning on page
28
. 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.
USE OF PROCEEDS
We are offering 20,000,000 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)
|
|
|
|
$
|
200,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
230,000,000
|
|
|
Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement
|
|
|
|
|
6,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
6,600,000
|
|
|
Total gross proceeds
|
|
|
|
$
|
206,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
236,600,000
|
|
|
Offering expenses
(2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Underwriting commissions (2.0% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)
(3)
|
|
|
|
$
|
4,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
4,600,000
|
|
|
Legal fees and expenses
|
|
|
|
|
350,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
350,000
|
|
|
Printing and engraving expenses
|
|
|
|
|
45,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
45,000
|
|
|
Accounting fees and expenses
|
|
|
|
|
50,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
50,000
|
|
|
SEC/FINRA Expenses
|
|
|
|
|
65,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
65,000
|
|
|
Travel and road show
|
|
|
|
|
25,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
25,000
|
|
|
NYSE listing and filing fees
|
|
|
|
|
85,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
85,000
|
|
|
Director & Officer liability insurance premiums
|
|
|
|
|
100,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
100,000
|
|
|
Miscellaneous
|
|
|
|
|
280,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
280,000
|
|
|
Total offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions)
|
|
|
|
$
|
1,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
1,000,000
|
|
|
Proceeds after offering expenses
|
|
|
|
$
|
201,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
231,000,000
|
|
|
Held in trust account
(3)
|
|
|
|
$
|
200,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
230,000,000
|
|
|
% 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 $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)
|
|
|
|
$
|
350,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
35.00
%
|
|
|
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations
|
|
|
|
|
120,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
12.00
%
|
|
|
Payment for office space, administrative and support services
|
|
|
|
|
240,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.00
%
|
|
|
Consulting, travel and miscellaneous expenses incurred during search for initial business combination target
|
|
|
|
|
150,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
15.00
%
|
|
|
NYSE fees
|
|
|
|
|
85,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
8.50
%
|
|
|
Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses
|
|
|
|
|
55,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
5.50
%
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
$
|
1,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
100.0
%
|
|
|
|
(1)
Includes amounts payable to public shareholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination.
(2)
In addition, a portion of the offering expenses have been paid from the proceeds of loans from our sponsor of up to $300,000 as described in this prospectus. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,000,000 of offering proceeds that have 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 of 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon and concurrently with the completion of our initial business combination, $7,000,000, which constitutes the underwriters’ deferred commissions (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriters from the funds held in the trust account. See “Underwriting.” The remaining funds, less amounts released to the trustee to pay redeeming shareholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.
(4)
These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring our initial business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify a business combination target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses. The amount in the table above does not include interest available to us from the trust account.
(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.
Of the $206.0 million in proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, or $236.6 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, $200.0 million ($10.00 per unit), or $230.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit), will be deposited into a trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $6.0 million, or up to $6.6 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations 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. Prior to such time, such proceeds will not be invested and will be held in a non-interest bearing trust account. We estimate the interest earned on the trust account following the investment of such funds will be approximately $3,000,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 1.5% per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. We will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the trust account, except for the withdrawal of interest to pay our income taxes, if any, until the earliest of (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption 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, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. Based on current interest rates, we expect that interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay income taxes.
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. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination.
We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective initial business combination, 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 or an affiliate of our sponsor, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.
Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on the NYSE, we will pay $10,000 per month to an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor may, but is 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 $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
Prior to this offering, we entered into forward purchase agreements pursuant to which the anchor investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of 18,100,000 Class A ordinary shares plus 4,525,000 redeemable warrants for a purchase price of $10.00 multiplied by the number of Class A ordinary shares, or $181,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close concurrently with our initial business combination. In connection with these agreements, our sponsor transferred to the anchor investors an aggregate of 2,262,500 founder shares as an inducement to enter into the forward purchase agreements for no cash consideration. The founder shares transferred to the anchor investors are subject to similar contractual conditions and restrictions as the founder shares issued to our sponsor. The anchor investors will have redemption rights with respect to any public shares they own. The forward purchase warrants will have the same terms as our public warrants.
The forward purchase agreements also provide that the anchor investors are entitled to registration rights with respect to (A) the forward purchase securities and Class A ordinary shares underlying the forward purchase warrants and founder shares, and (B) any other Class A ordinary shares or warrants acquired by the anchor investors, including any time after we complete our initial business combination.
The proceeds from the sale of the forward purchase shares may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the initial business combination, expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-transaction company. These purchases will be required to be made regardless of whether any Class A ordinary shares are redeemed by our public shareholders and are intended to provide us with minimum funding level for our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written letter agreement, not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company 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.
DIVIDEND POLICY
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our 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. If we decrease the size of this offering, or if the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option in full, our sponsor will forfeit an amount of Class B ordinary shares to maintain the ownership of our founder shares (together with any permitted transferees of the founder shares), on an as-converted basis, at 20% of the sum of (i) the number of public shares (including any such shares issued following the exercise of the over-allotment option), (ii) the number of founder shares held by our sponsor and anchor investors (together with any permitted transferees of such founder shares) following such forfeiture and (iii) the number of forward purchase shares required to be purchased by the anchor investors pursuant to the forward purchase agreements. 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.
DILUTION
The difference between the public offering price per Class A ordinary share, 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 ordinary shares 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 shareholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of Class A ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares.
At April 19, 2018, our net tangible book deficit was $101,628 or approximately $(0.01) per ordinary share. After giving effect to the sale of 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus (or 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), the sale of the private placement warrants and the forfeiture of 475,000 founder shares in connection with the forward purchase commitments with the anchor investors, deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at April 19, 2018 would have been $5,000,010 or $0.47 per share ($0.44 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of the approximately 18,901,898 Class A ordinary shares that may be redeemed for cash, or 21,796,898 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of $0.48 per share (or $0.45 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) to our initial shareholders as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution to public shareholders from this offering of $10.00 per share. Total dilution to public shareholders from this offering will be $9.53 per share (or $9.56 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public shareholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:
|
|
|
Without Over-allotment
|
|
|
With Over-allotment
|
|
Public offering price
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
10.00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
10.00
|
|
|
Net tangible book deficit before this offering
|
|
|
|
|
(0.01
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(0.01
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase attributable to public shares
|
|
|
|
|
0.48
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.45
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and
the sale of the private placement warrants
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.47
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.44
|
|
|
Dilution to public shareholders
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
9.53
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
9.56
|
|
|
Percentage of dilution to public shareholders
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
95.3
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
95.6
%
|
|
|
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 $189,018,980 because holders of up to approximately 94.5% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or shareholders meeting, including interest and net of taxes payable), divided by the number of Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering.
The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial shareholders and the public shareholders:
|
|
|
Shares Purchased
|
|
|
Total Consideration
|
|
|
Average Price
per Share
|
|
|
|
|
Number
|
|
|
Percentage
|
|
|
Amount
|
|
|
Percentage
|
|
Class B Ordinary Shares
(1)
|
|
|
|
|
9,525,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
32.26
%
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
25,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.01
%
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
0.0026
|
|
|
Public Shareholders
|
|
|
|
|
20,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
67.74
|
|
|
|
|
|
200,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
99.99
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
10.00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
29,525,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
100.0
%
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
200,025,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
100.0
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1)
Includes the transfer by our sponsor of an aggregate of 2,262,500 founder shares to the anchor investors prior to this offering in connection with the forward purchase agreements. Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and forfeiture of 750,000 founder shares held by our sponsor following the completion of this offering. The total number of Class B ordinary shares outstanding after this offering and the expiration of the underwriters’ over-allotment option will equal 20% of the sum of the total number of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares outstanding at such time plus the number of Class A ordinary shares to be sold pursuant to the forward purchase agreements.
The pro forma net tangible book value per share after the offering (assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option) is calculated as follows:
|
|
|
Without Over-allotment
|
|
|
With Over-allotment
|
|
Numerator:
|
|
|
|
Net tangible book deficit before this offering
|
|
|
|
$
|
(101,628
)
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
(101,628
)
|
|
|
Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants
(1)
|
|
|
|
|
201,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
231,000,000
|
|
|
Plus: Offering costs paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value before this offering
|
|
|
|
|
120,618
|
|
|
|
|
|
120,618
|
|
|
Less: Deferred underwriting commissions
|
|
|
|
|
(7,000,000
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
(8,050,000
)
|
|
|
Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption
(2)
|
|
|
|
|
(189,018,980
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
(217,968,980
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
5,000,010
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
5,000,010
|
|
|
Denominator:
|
|
|
|
Class B ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering
|
|
|
|
|
10,750,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
10,750,000
|
|
|
Class B ordinary shares forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised
|
|
|
|
|
(750,000
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
Class B ordinary shares forfeited if forward purchase commitments are
less than $200 million
(3)
|
|
|
|
|
(475,000
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
(475,000
)
|
|
|
Class A ordinary shares included in the units offered
|
|
|
|
|
20,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
23,000,000
|
|
|
Less: Shares subject to redemption
|
|
|
|
|
(18,901,898
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
(21,796,898
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10,623,102
|
|
|
|
|
|
11,478,102
|
|
|
|
(1)
Expenses applied against gross proceeds include offering expenses of $1,000,000 and underwriting commissions of $4,000,000 (excluding deferred underwriting fees). See “Use of Proceeds.”
(2)
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. In the event of any such purchases of our shares prior to the completion of our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption will be reduced by the amount of any such purchases, increasing the pro forma net tangible book value per share. See “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities.”
(3)
This assumed forfeiture is based upon $181,000,000 in forward purchase commitments.
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization at April 19, 2018, and as adjusted to give effect to the filing of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the sale of our units in this offering, the founder shares and the private placement warrants and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:
|
|
|
April 19, 2018
|
|
|
|
|
Actual
|
|
|
As Adjusted
|
|
Note Payable related party
(1)
|
|
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
|
Deferred underwriting commissions
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
7,000,000
|
|
|
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 180,000,000 shares authorized; -0- and 18,901,898 shares are subject to possible redemption, respectively
(2)
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
189,018,980
|
|
|
Preferred shares, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 180,000,000 shares authorized; -0- and 1,098,102 shares issued and outstanding (excluding -0- and 18,901,898 shares subject to possible redemption), actual and as adjusted, respectively
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
110
|
|
|
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 shares authorized, 10,750,000 and 9,525,000 shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively
(3)
|
|
|
|
|
1,075
|
|
|
|
|
|
952
|
|
|
Additional paid-in capital
|
|
|
|
|
23,925
|
|
|
|
|
|
5,004,958
|
|
|
Accumulated deficit
|
|
|
|
|
(6,010
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
(6,010
)
|
|
|
Total shareholders’ equity
|
|
|
|
$
|
18,990
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
5,000,010
|
|
|
Total capitalization
|
|
|
|
$
|
18,990
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
201,018,990
|
|
|
|
(1)
Our sponsor may loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of April 19, 2018, we had borrowed $0 under the promissory note with our sponsor. As of the date of this prospectus, we have borrowed $100,000 under the promissory note.
(2)
Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein whereby redemptions cannot cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed business combination.
(3)
Class B ordinary shares include 10,750,000 founder shares that were subscribed for by our sponsor on April 19, 2018 and issued to our sponsor on May 29, 2018, 2,262,500 of which were subsequently transferred by our sponsor to the anchor investors in connection with the forward purchase agreements and 475,000 of which were forfeited to the Company prior to this offering for no consideration in connection with the forward purchase commitments. Subject to certain exceptions to forfeiture and transfer provisions, the founder shares transferred to the anchor investors are subject to similar contractual conditions and restrictions as the founder shares issued to our sponsor, including restrictions on the ability to redeem such shares. The “As Adjusted” calculation assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and forfeiture of 750,000 founder shares held by our sponsor following the completion of this offering.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on March 28, 2018 as a Cayman Islands exempted company and incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected 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 with respect to an initial business combination with us. 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 shares, debt or a combination of cash, equity and debt.
The issuance of additional shares in a business combination, including the issuance of the forward purchase shares:
•
may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares;
•
may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares;
•
could cause a change in control if a substantial number of our Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors;
•
may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and
•
may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants.
Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt, it could result in:
•
default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
•
acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
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our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;
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our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding;
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our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares;
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using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
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limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
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increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
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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 April 19, 2018, we had nil in cash and deferred offering costs of $120,618. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through receipt of a $25,000 capital contribution from our sponsor in exchange for the initial issuance of 10,750,000 founder shares to our sponsor (up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised and 475,000 of which were forfeited in connection with the forward purchase commitments), and up to $300,000 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 $1,000,000, underwriting commissions of $4,000,000, or $4,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $7,000,000, or $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and (ii) the sale of the private placement warrants for a purchase price of $6,000,000 (or $6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be $206,000,000 (or $236,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). $200,000,000 (or $230,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account, which includes the deferred underwriting commissions described above. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 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. The remaining $1,000,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,000,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,000,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (less taxes payable and deferred underwriting commissions) and the proceeds from the sale of the forward purchase shares to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay our income taxes, if any. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our income taxes. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds to primarily identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial business combination. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliate may, but is 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 $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $350,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $120,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $150,000 for consulting, travel and miscellaneous expenses incurred during the search for an initial business combination target; $85,000 for NYSE continued listing fees; and $55,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves. We will also pay an affiliate of our sponsor $10,000 per month, or up to $240,000 in the aggregate, for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us.
These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the 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.
Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account and the proceeds from the issuance of the forward purchase shares or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account.
Controls and Procedures
We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor has our independent registered public accounting firm tested our systems, of our internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our initial business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
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staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties;
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reconciliation of accounts;
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proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate;
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evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions;
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documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and
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documentation of accounting policies and procedures.
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expenses in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent 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 business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury obligations 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.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results
As of April 19, 2018, 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.
JOBS Act
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 independent registered public accounting firm’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the independent registered public accounting firm’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis) and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our initial public offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
PROPOSED BUSINESS
Introduction
We are a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any potential business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.
While we may pursue a business combination target in any business or industry, we intend to focus our search for a target with operations or prospects in the healthcare, technology or education sectors in China, which we refer to as the Chinese new economy sectors. We will not conduct our initial business combination with an early stage life sciences or biotechnology company, or with a company that principally owns real estate that is not incidental to its operating business.
We believe that China is entering a new era of economic growth, particularly in the Chinese new economy sectors, which we expect will result in attractive initial business combination opportunities for us. We believe this growth will be driven by private sector expansion, technological innovation, increasing consumption by the middle class, structural economic and policy reforms and demographic changes in China.
Our management team is led by our founders Antony Leung, our Chairman, and Carl Wu, our Chief Executive Officer, the co-founders of NFG, who have decades of experience investing in and building companies with operations in Greater China. NFG, which owns our sponsor and is an affiliate of the company, is a China-focused investment group with experience investing in, building and operating diversified businesses in the Chinese new economy sectors. Our founders’ strategy at NFG is focused on actively participating in growing, building and operating companies by employing dedicated in-house teams of industry operators, ranging from professional hospital managers, insurance specialists, big data analysts, artificial intelligence engineers, senior educators and ex-policy makers to help screen, assess, execute and manage investments. NFG uses this approach to generate additional revenue opportunities through cross-fertilization, consolidating group-wide procurement and headquarters functions, centralizing risk and legal management, forming strategic partnerships, and improving management capabilities. For example, in 2016, NFG formed NF Health, a platform dedicated to investing in and consolidating companies in healthcare, now owns a variety of healthcare service companies in China through a series of acquisitions, roll-ups, organic build-ups and brown and green field expansion projects, which serves as a powerful ecosystem that cares for patients and families throughout their life cycles and has realized volume, revenue and cost synergies among its constituents.
Antony Leung, our Chairman, is the Group Chairman of NFG. Mr. Leung is also Group Chairman of Nan Fung Group, a leading Greater China conglomerate engaging in real estate and investment businesses. Mr. Leung was Senior Managing Director and Chairman for Greater China of Blackstone from 2007 to 2014, where he was responsible for growing Blackstone’s business in Asia. Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Leung served as the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong from 2001 to 2003. Mr. Leung was also the Chairman of JP Morgan Asia Pacific from 1996 to 2001. Mr. Leung joined Citibank in 1973 and held various roles before becoming the Country Corporate Officer for Hong Kong and China in 1992. Mr. Leung held this position at Citibank until 1996, until becoming Head of Citibank Private Bank in Asia. Mr. Leung has served as an independent director of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited, and American International Assurance (Hong Kong) Limited, Vice Chairman of the China National Bluestar Group and International Advisory Board Member of China Development Bank. Mr. Leung is currently an independent non-executive director of China Merchants Bank.
Carl Wu, our Chief Executive Officer, is the Chief Executive Officer of NFG. Prior to founding NFG, Mr. Wu worked for Blackstone from 2007 to 2016, ultimately serving as a Managing Director of Blackstone, responsible for executing a variety of Blackstone’s investments in China. Mr. Wu helped
establish Blackstone’s business across China together with Mr. Leung. Mr. Wu also led the process to set up the first Renminbi (RMB) investment fund for Blackstone and participated in transacting some of Blackstone’s most important investments in China. Mr. Wu has also founded several Internet and healthcare businesses in Greater China. He is the Executive Chairman and co-founder of Boxful Technology, an on-demand storage service provider, HelloToby Technology, an online service marketplace, and YD Care, a home healthcare service provider, and the Chairman of each of Care Alliance, a rehabilitation and geriatric hospital and clinic operator, China Guizhou Big Data Fund and Precision Therapeutics. Mr. Wu also serves on the board of directors of NF Unimed Healthcare and the Happiness F&B Group.
As NFG’s affiliate, we intend to draw upon NFG’s infrastructure, personnel, network and relationships. As a result, we believe we will have a key advantage in identifying, sourcing, negotiating and executing an initial business combination in the Chinese new economy sectors, in particular due to our management team and NFG’s respective networks and relationships, which include senior executives in the Chinese new economy sectors, government bodies, investment bankers, investment professionals at private equity firms and other financial sponsors and owners of private businesses. These relationships have been built over multiple decades through making investments, managing leading financial institutions, building and operating businesses and working in senior governmental and policy making roles in Hong Kong. We believe that the reputations of NFG and the members of our management team will make us a preferred partner for potential initial business combination targets due to their respective experiences in investment activity throughout Greater China. Further, we believe that these relationships give us a deep understanding of macro trends, government policies and reforms, investor expectations and market sentiment.
The past performance of our management is not a guarantee (i) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (ii) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management’s performance as indicative of our future performance. None of the members of our management team has any past experience with any blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies.
We believe our ability to complete an initial business combination will be enhanced by our having entered into forward purchase agreements pursuant to which the anchor investors have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 18,100,000 Class A ordinary shares, plus 4,525,000 redeemable warrants, for a purchase price of $10.00 per Class A ordinary share or $181,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to occur concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. We believe this committed capital will provide us with greater certainty to complete a business combination with potential sellers. The proceeds from the sale of forward purchase shares may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-transaction company. These purchases will be made regardless of whether any Class A ordinary shares are redeemed by our public shareholders and are intended to provide us with a minimum funding level for our initial business combination. The anchor investors will have not have the ability to approve the initial business combination prior to the signing of a material definitive agreement and, if we seek shareholder approval, have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of the initial business combination. The forward purchase securities will be issued only in connection with the closing of the initial business combination.
Business Strategy
Our business strategy is to identify and complete our initial business combination with a company with operations or prospects in the Chinese new economy sectors that complements the experience of our management team and can benefit from their operational expertise. We will not conduct our initial business combination with an early stage life sciences or biotechnology company, or with a company that principally owns real estate that is not incidental to their operating business. Our selection process will leverage our management team’s and NFG’s broad and deep network of relationships, unique industry expertise and proven deal-sourcing capabilities to provide us with a strong pipeline of potential targets. Our management and NFG have experience:
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investing and building businesses in China with unique market, policy and government insights;
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managing and operating companies, setting and changing strategies, and identifying, mentoring and recruiting top-notch talent;
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developing and growing companies, both organically and inorganically, and expanding the product ranges and geographic footprints of portfolio businesses;
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executing buy and build strategies to accelerate growth and create integrated value chains;
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sourcing, structuring, acquiring and selling businesses in China, as well as other markets;
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partnering with other industry-leading companies to increase sales and improve the competitive position of companies;
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fostering relationships with sellers, capital providers and target management teams; and
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accessing the capital markets, including Chinese capital sources, across various business cycles, including financing businesses and assisting companies with the transition to public ownership.
Following the completion of this offering, we will begin the process of pursuing and reviewing potential opportunities.
In addition, we believe our ability to complete an initial business combination will be enhanced by our having entered into forward purchase agreements pursuant to which the anchor investors have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 18,100,000 Class A ordinary shares, plus 4,525,000 redeemable warrants, for a purchase price of $10.00 per Class A ordinary share, or $181,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to occur concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. We believe this committed capital will provide our company with greater certainty to complete a business combination with potential sellers. The proceeds from the sale of forward purchase shares may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-transaction company. These purchases will be made regardless of whether any Class A ordinary shares are redeemed by our public shareholders and are intended to provide us with a minimum funding level for our initial business combination.
Our Management Team
We will seek to capitalize on the over 55 years of combined experience of our senior management, Antony Leung and Carl Wu, in the Greater China markets. We believe our management team’s distinctive and complementary backgrounds can have a transformative impact on a target business. We intent to focus on industries that complement our management team’s backgrounds in healthcare, technology and education sectors with substantial operations in or related to China. Our management’s proprietary sourcing capabilities combined with its entrepreneurial, investing and operating experience, deal-making track record, in-depth understanding of government processes and policy, and capital markets expertise can be catalysts to enhance the growth potential and create value for the target business and provide opportunities for an attractive risk-adjusted return to our shareholders.
Our Chairman, Antony Leung, has over 40 years of corporate, investment and government experience in Greater China. He is currently also the Group Chairman of Nan Fung Group, a leading Greater China conglomerate engaging in the real estate and investment business with over $15 billion of assets. From 2007 to 2014, Mr. Leung was Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Private Equity in Asia, Chairman of Greater China of Blackstone. He helped Blackstone in establishing a firm presence in Asia, including arranging the investment by China Investment Corporation in Blackstone’s IPO in 2007. Mr. Leung served as the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government from 2001 to 2003. He was instrumental in promoting a closer economic relationship between the mainland of China and Hong Kong, symbolized by his signing, on behalf of the Hong Kong Government, the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) with the Central Government in June 2003. Before joining the government, Mr. Leung held various senior management roles in financial institutions. He served as the Managing Director and Regional Manager for Greater China then Chairman of Asia for JP Morgan Chase from 1996 to 2001, rapidly expanding the bank’s Asia business and overseeing the mergers with Jardine Flemings, JP Morgan and Chase in Asia. Mr. Leung joined Citibank in 1973 and held various roles before becoming Country Corporate Officer for Hong Kong and China in 1992. Mr. Leung held this position at
Citibank until 1996 until becoming Head of Citibank Private Bank in Asia. Mr. Leung has served as an independent director of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited, and American International Assurance (Hong Kong) Limited, Vice Chairman of China National Bluestar Group and International Advisory Board Member of China Development Bank. Mr. Leung is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of China Merchants Bank. Mr. Leung has engaged in other public roles, including Non-Official Member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong SAR, Chairman of The Education Commission, Chairman of The University Grants Committee, Member of The Exchange Fund Advisory Committee, and Director of Hong Kong Futures Exchange. Mr. Leung previously served as an Independent Director of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited and American International Assurance (Hong Kong) Limited; Vice Chairman of China National Bluestar Group and International Advisory Board Member of China Development Bank; and chairman of the Harvard Business School Association in Hong Kong. Mr. Leung is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of China Merchants Bank. He is also chairman of the charity organizations, Heifer Hong Kong and Food Angel.
Our Chief Executive Officer Carl Wu, is an investor, entrepreneur as well as a business builder. Mr. Wu helped establish Blackstone’s business in Asia with Mr. Leung and was previously one of the youngest Managing Directors at Blackstone globally. He has executed a variety of Blackstone’s investments in China and oversaw the set-up of the first RMB denominated fund by an international private equity firm in China. In addition to his extensive investment experience in China and globally, Mr. Wu has also founded and built several Internet and healthcare businesses in China and Hong Kong. He is the Executive Chairman and co-founder of Boxful Technology, an on-demand storage service provider, HelloToby Technology, an online service marketplace, and YD Care, a home healthcare service provider, and the Chairman of Care Alliance, a rehabilitation and geriatric hospital and clinic operator, China Guizhou Big Data Fund and Precision Therapeutics. Mr. Wu currently serves on the board of directors of NF Unimed Healthcare and the Happiness F&B Group, and previously served on the board of directors of Pactera Technology.
Together at NFG, Mr. Leung and Mr. Wu built up several strategic platforms across the Chinese new economy sectors. For instance, NF Health is a tested model to build an integrated platform with full value chain expansion in healthcare services, one of our strategic focuses. NF Health employed venture building, buy-and-build and organic growth strategies to expand its portfolio of complementary and accretive healthcare businesses ranging from home health, training and staffing, rehabilitation, post-acute care, medical group, out-patient clinics, imaging centers, day surgery centers and multi-specialty hospitals. A full ecosystem that spans across the healthcare service value chain creates significant synergies with a comprehensive customer service journey, NF Health has provided consistent and attractive returns for its investors through value creation.
We believe that our management team’s extensive experience in the Greater China markets coupled with our insights into governmental policies and structural reforms in China’s market and Chinese new economy sectors will uniquely position us to identify and execute attractive business combination opportunities that will benefit from China’s new stage of growth. Our management’s objectives are to generate attractive returns for shareholders and enhance value through top line growth and hands on operational improvement. We will look for investment targets in our core Chinese new economy sector competencies in healthcare services, technology or education sectors with business characteristics including significant China value creation, strong company fundamentals, established capacity for cash flow generation, opportunity for repositioning and operational improvement, and experienced and motivated management teams.
Our management team will also have access to some of NFG's leadership, who will also serve as our non-executive officers and will assist us in our efforts to consummate our initial business combination, including:
Meng Gao, our Senior Vice President, is also a Partner in NFG. Mr. Gao is also Managing Director of the Group CEO’s Office at Nan Fung Group, a major founding investor of NFG. Mr. Gao is a representative of Nan Fung on the Board of NFG. Prior to joining Nan Fung, Mr. Gao was a Managing Director at Blackstone’s Private Equity Group in Hong Kong. At Blackstone, he was involved in a number
of transactions across multiple industries. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Gao was a Senior Vice President at Oaktree Capital Management, where he was involved in sourcing, structuring and executing private equity investments in China. Prior to that, Mr. Gao was an investment banker with Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan in New York.
Alison Chan, our Senior Vice President, is a Managing Director of NFG. Prior to joining NFG, Ms. Chan worked at Gerson Lehrman Group as the Chief Representative in China in 2009 and headed the New Markets development in Asia. Prior to that, Ms. Chan founded a think-tank financial advisory practice focused on enhancing SME value via strategic planning and restructuring. Ms. Chan also worked at JP Morgan Chase in the Corporate Finance division in New York focusing on high yield origination. She also worked in the finance and treasury departments at GE Capital. She has over 15 years of consulting, corporate finance and operational experience working in the U.S., Japan, Europe and China. Ms. Chan is the President of the Harvard Business School Association in Hong Kong and Chairperson of Bring Me A Book Hong Kong.
Harry Chang, our Vice President of Corporate Development and Secretary, is a Managing Director of New Frontier Capital. Mr. Chang has extensive experience across private equity, credit and special situation investments in the U.S., Europe and China. Prior to joining NFG, Mr. Chang managed multiple private equity funds including, the CEL Catalyst China Israel Fund and CEL Global Investment Fund for China Everbright Limited and the Cross-Border CITIC-Kazyna Investment Fund for CITIC Capital. Prior to his work in China, Mr. Chang had over a decade of investment experience in Europe. Based in London, he was a founding member of the Lehman Brothers European Special Situations Group covering investments across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Prior to his experience in Europe, Mr. Chang was a member of Merrill Lynch’s Leveraged Finance and High Yield Group in New York.
Brian Siu, our Vice President, is a Vice President of NFG. Mr. Siu was integral to setting up the China Guizhou Big Data Fund. Prior to joining NFG, Mr. Siu was a Venture Manager at Nova Founders Capital, managing over ten financial technology portfolio companies across Asia, Europe and Latin America as Head of Performance and Growth Marketing. Prior to joining Nova Founders Capital, Mr. Siu was a Senior Associate at McKinsey & Co. in its Greater China office. During his tenure at McKinsey, Mr. Siu was involved in multiple strategic, transformative and turnaround engagements for some of the largest financial institutions, internet, logistics, airline and mining companies, as well as Chinese government projects.
With respect to the foregoing examples, past performance is not a guarantee (i) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (ii) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management’s performance as indicative of our future performance. None of the members of our management team has any past experience with any blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies.
Initial Business Combination
NYSE rules require that our initial business combination must occur with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount). If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses or assets, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make such independent determination of fair market value, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not
anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our 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 shareholders 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 shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-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 the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will 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.
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Focus on targets with operations or prospects in the Chinese new economy sectors.
Based upon our management team’s experience, we believe we will have increased access to investment opportunities and a competitive advantage in our ability to negotiate a business combination with potential targets in the Chinese new economy sectors. Our management team’s extensive experience and network of contacts provide them with a unique opportunity to source a target, evaluate a potential target, consummate a business combination with the target and help grow the target’s business.
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Established target with a history of and/or capacity for free cash flow generation.
We expect to target one or more businesses that have exhibited profitability historically and/or have the potential for strong cash flow generation in the future. Our management team has a history of accelerating growth of companies with strong historical performance.
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Fundamentally sound companies that have the potential to further improve their performance under our ownership.
We believe our management team’s experience in our target sectors and network of industry contacts will create opportunities to enhance the revenue and operational efficiencies of the target business, and potentially generate higher returns for our investors.
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Market leader.
We intend to seek a target that has a leading presence across an industry or segment or has leading technology or product capabilities.
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Experienced and motivated management team.
We intend to seek a target with an established management team that we intend to complement. To the extent we believe it will enhance shareholder value, we would seek to selectively supplement the existing management team of the business (including senior management) with members of our management team or with proven leaders from our network
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Potential benefit from capital markets access.
We intend to seek a target that may benefit from being a public company with an increased public profile, enhanced governance and increased access to a more diversified pool of capital, particularly capital from Greater China.
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Buy and Build.
We intend to employ a buy and build strategy which would allow us to build an integrated value chain around the initial business combination target at a much lower acquisition cost while accelerating growth and delivering increased value to 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 may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the SEC.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews and inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.
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 directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view and follow such other procedures as set forth in our related party transaction policy (see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transaction Policy”).
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 subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. 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.
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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or 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.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock in the target business for our Class A ordinary shares (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A ordinary shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a
significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, 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, an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek shareholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer,” which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Financial Position
With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $375,000,000 (which includes amounts to be received pursuant to the forward purchase agreements), after payment of offering expenses of $1,000,000 and underwriting commissions of $11,000,000 (or $403,950,000 after payment of offering expenses of $1,000,000 and underwriting commissions of $12,650,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering, the private placements of the private placement warrants and the forward purchase shares, our equity, 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.
There are many companies that may be financially unstable, including (i) mature businesses that have been in operation for long periods of time, but have either experienced recent difficulties, are not properly managed or have invested in new lines of business that have drained resources from the primary business or (ii) entities without established records of sales or earnings that are valued based on their balance sheet components (i.e. intellectual property), management and personnel experience, competitive position or other intangible assets that may be valued. To the extent that the Company seeks to pursue a business
combination with a financially unstable business, it will only do so if such business has a fair value of at least 80% of the assets in the trust account at such time and after a thorough due diligence review consistent with that described below under “— Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring 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 or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. Additionally, we have not engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any suitable initial business combination candidate, to conduct any research or take any measures, directly or indirectly, to locate or contact a target business, other than our officers and directors. Accordingly, there is no current basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination. Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely affect a target business.
We may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account and the proceeds from the issuance of the forward purchase shares or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There are no prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial business combination. Other than the forward purchase agreements, we are not currently a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the incurrence of debt or otherwise.
Sources of Target Businesses
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and private investment funds. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, and our anchor investors may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the track record and business relationships of our officers and directors. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of a finder’s fee is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee,
consulting fee or other compensation by us prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). None of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated acquisition of such target by us.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, or from making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Additionally, if our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. The company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
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subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and
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cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with
the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons.
Under the NYSE’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
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we issue (other than in a public offering for cash) shares of common stock that will either (a) be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of common stock then outstanding or (b) have voting power equal to or in excess of 20% of the voting power then outstanding;
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any of our directors, officers or substantial security holders (as defined by the NYSE rules) has a 5% or greater interest, directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired and if the number of shares of common stock to be issued, or if the number of shares of common stock into which the securities may be convertible or exercisable, exceeds either (a) 1% of the number of shares of common stock or 1% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any of our directors and officers or (b) 5% of the number of shares of common stock or 5% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any substantial securityholders; or
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the issuance or potential issuance will result in our undergoing a change of control.
Permitted Purchases of Our Securities
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or (ii) to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of Class A ordinary shares) following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such shareholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the shareholder meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, executive officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders 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.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (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. Our initial shareholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and, with respect to our initial shareholders other than the anchor investors, public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. The other members of our management team have entered into agreements similar to the one entered into by our sponsor with respect to any public shares acquired by them in or after this offering.
Limitations on Redemptions
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other
conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote unless shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other legal reasons.
If we held a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
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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
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file proxy materials with the SEC.
In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination. In such case, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 5,237,501, or approximately 26.2%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. In addition, our initial shareholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and, with respect to our initial shareholders other than the anchor investors, public shares in connection with the completion of a business combination. The other members of our management team have entered into agreements similar to the one entered into by our sponsor with respect to any public shares acquired by them in or after this offering.
If we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
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conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and
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file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase Class A ordinary shares in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 20% of the public shares could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 20% of the public shares without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash.
However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
Public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” will be required to either tender their certificates (if any) to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate the applicable delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short period in which to exercise redemption rights, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares must also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the shareholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming shareholder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the shareholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates (if any) delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 24 months from the closing of this offering.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provided that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such 24-month period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, 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 net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands
law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 24-month time period.
Our initial shareholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders or management team acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time period. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, in the event we commence a liquidation and all public shares have been redeemed, all founder shares not held by the sponsor shall be surrendered to the company for no consideration, such that only the founder shares held by the sponsor share in any assets in liquidation.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time and all public shares submitted for redemption would be returned to the holders thereof. In such an event, if sufficient time remains in the period in which we must complete our initial business combination pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to permit a new or revised proposal to be considered by our shareholders, we may determine to seek shareholder approval of a new or revised amendment. If sufficient time does not remain, we will cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, redeem the public shares and undertake the process of liquidation and dissolution, each as described herein.
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. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to provide us with additional working capital we will need to identify one or more target businesses and to complete our initial business combination, as well as to pay any tax obligations that we may owe. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, 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 shareholders upon our dissolution would be $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be
prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $1,000,000 from the proceeds of this offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,000,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held
outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,000,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.
Comparison of Redemption or Purchase Prices in Connection with Our Initial Business Combination and If We Fail to Complete Our Initial Business Combination.
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.
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Redemptions in
Connection with
our Initial Business
Combination
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Other Permitted
Purchases of
Public Shares by our
Affiliates
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Redemptions if We Fail to
Complete an Initial Business
Combination
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Calculation of redemption price
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Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per share), including interest (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination.
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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit to the prices that our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may pay in these transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
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If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per share), including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.
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Redemptions in
Connection with
our Initial Business
Combination
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Other Permitted
Purchases of
Public Shares by our
Affiliates
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Redemptions if We Fail to
Complete an Initial Business
Combination
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Impact to remaining shareholders
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The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable.
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If the permitted purchases described above are made, there would be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us.
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The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial shareholders, who will be our only remaining shareholders after such redemptions.
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Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419
The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.
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Terms of Our Offering
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Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
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Escrow of offering proceeds
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$200,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be deposited into a trust account located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.
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Approximately $170,100,000 of the offering proceeds, representing the gross proceeds of this offering, would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account.
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Investment of net proceeds
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$200,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations 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.
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Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States.
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Receipt of interest on escrowed funds
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Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to shareholders is reduced by (i) any taxes paid or payable and (ii) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation.
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Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination.
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Terms of Our Offering
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Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
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Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business
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The NYSE rules require that an initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount).
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The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds.
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Trading of securities issued
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The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52
nd
day following the date of this prospectus unless Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and UBS Securities LLC inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We anticipate filing such Current Report on Form 8-K four business days from the closing of this offering. If the 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 over-allotment option.
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No trading of the units or the underlying Class A ordinary shares and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account.
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Exercise of the warrants
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The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination or 12 months from the closing of this offering.
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The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account.
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Terms of Our Offering
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Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
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Election to remain an investor
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We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a shareholder vote. If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a shareholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, we hold a shareholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
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A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if he, she or it elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require the return of his, her or its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45
th
business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account are automatically returned to the shareholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued.
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Business combination deadline
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If we are unable to complete an 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,
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If an initial business combination has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors.
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Terms of Our Offering
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Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
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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 net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
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Release of funds
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Except for the withdrawal of interest to pay our income taxes, if any, none of the funds held in trust will be released from the trust account until the earliest of (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption 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, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.
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The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time.
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Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Facilities
We currently maintain our executive offices at 23
rd
Floor, 299 QRC, 287-299 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee we will pay to an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have three executive officers and four other officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of this offering.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We will register our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to shareholders. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business selected by us as a potential initial business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential initial business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target business
may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such initial business combination.
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 a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Law. As an exempted company, we have applied for and expect to receive, after the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Law (2011 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer,” which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30
th
, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.
MANAGEMENT
Officers and Directors
Our executive officers, officers, directors and director nominees are as follows:
Name
|
|
|
Age
|
|
|
Position
|
|
Antony Leung
|
|
|
66
|
|
|
Chairman
|
|
Carl Wu
|
|
|
34
|
|
|
Chief Executive Officer, Director
|
|
Edward Leong Che-hung
|
|
|
79
|
|
|
Director Nominee
|
|
Frederick Ma Si-hang
|
|
|
66
|
|
|
Director Nominee
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Director Nominee
|
|
Harry Chang
|
|
|
44
|
|
|
Vice President of Corporate Development, Secretary
|
|
Shuo Wang
|
|
|
30
|
|
|
Chief Financial Officer
|
|
Antony Leung
, 66, has been our Chairman since our inception. Mr. Leung is the Group Chairman of NFG, which he co-founded with Carl Wu in 2016. Mr. Leung is also the Group Chairman of Nan Fung Group, a leading Greater China conglomerate based in Hong Kong engaging in real estate and investment businesses. Before joining Nan Fung Group in 2014, Mr. Leung worked for Blackstone, where he held various positions including Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Private Equity in Asia, Chairman of Greater China and member of the Executive Committee, being responsible for growing Blackstone’s business in Asia. He successfully arranged the investment by China Investment Corporation in Blackstone’s IPO in 2007.
Mr. Leung was the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government from 2001 to 2003. He played an instrumental role in promoting a closer economic relationship between the mainland of China and Hong Kong, symbolized by his signing, on behalf of the Hong Kong Government, of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) with the Central Government in 2003. Other public services that Mr. Leung had engaged in included Non-Official Member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong SAR, Chairman of The Education Commission, Chairman of The University Grants Committee, Member of The Exchange Fund Advisory Committee, Director of Hong Kong Airport Authority and Hong Kong Futures Exchange, and Member of the Preparatory Committee and Election Committee for Hong Kong SAR.
In addition to his experience in investment and government, Mr. Leung had extensive senior management experience in financial institutions. He was the Chairman of Asia and Head of Greater China for JP Morgan Chase from 1996 to 2001, contributed to the rapid expansion of the Asian business of the bank and oversaw the mergers with Jardine Flemings, JP Morgan and Chase in the region. He also took series of leadership roles in Citibank including Head of China and Hong Kong, Head of Investment Banking for North and Southwest Asia and Head of Private Bank in Asia.
Mr. Leung previously served as Independent Director of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited, and American International Assurance (Hong Kong) Limited; Vice Chairman of China National Bluestar Group, International Advisory Board Member of China Development Bank and Chairman of Harvard Business School Association of Hong Kong. Mr. Leung is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of China Merchants Bank. He is also chairman of the charity organizations, Heifer Hong Kong and Food Angel.
Mr. Leung’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include: his over 40 years of corporate, investment and government experience; his experience as a board member and executive officer of public and private companies in a wide variety of industries; and his proprietary network and unique insights into government policies and reforms.
Carl Wu
, 34, has been our Chief Executive Officer since our inception. Mr. Wu is an investor, entrepreneur and business builder. Prior to co-founding NFG with Mr. Leung in 2016, Mr. Wu worked at Blackstone from 2007 to 2016, where he was one of the youngest Managing Directors globally from December 2014 to 2016. Mr. Wu helped establish Blackstone’s businesses in Asia and China with
Mr. Leung and as such executed a variety of Blackstone’s investments in China. Mr. Wu also led the process to set up the first RMB denominated investment fund by an international private equity firm in Asia for Blackstone. Apart from his extensive investment experience in China and globally, Mr. Wu has also founded several Internet and healthcare businesses. He is the Executive Chairman and co-founder of Boxful Technology, HelloToby Technology, and YD Care, and the Chairman of Care Alliance, China Guizhou Big Data Fund and Precision Therapeutics. Under his leadership, Boxful Technology has become one of the largest on-demand self-storage service providers in Asia, YD Care has grown to become one of the leading and fastest-growing home health operators in China and HelloToby Technology is one of the leading local service marketplace Internet platforms in Hong Kong.
Mr. Wu currently also serves on the board of directors of Precision Therapeutics, Unimed Healthcare and Happiness F&B Group. He previously served on the board of Pactera Technology (the largest private enterprise solutions company in China with over 24,000 employees).
Mr. Wu’s qualifications to serve our board of directors include: his extensive experience in private equity investing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and company building; his track record at Blackstone and in founding and managing various ventures; and his deep industry knowledge across multiple Chinese new economy sectors.
Edward Leong Che-hung
, 79, is a director nominee. Dr. Leong is one of the most respected medical professionals and public health administrators in Asia, having actively engaged in public services and has engaged in various influential public roles during his career. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, representing the medical constituency from 1988 to 2000. In 2002, Dr. Leong was appointed as the chairman of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority where he was involved in drawing up the blueprint for Hospital Authority, taking special responsibility for Medical Service Development. Subsequently, Dr. Leong served as a non-official member of the Executive Council HKSAR from 2005 to 2012. He was chairman of the Hong Kong University Council until 2015 and spearheaded the commissioning of The University of Hong Kong – Shenzhen Hospital in Shenzhen during his term. Dr. Leong also served as the chairman of the Standard Working Hours Committee. His other former public positions include the Chairman of the Elderly Commission HKSAR, Chairman of Hong Kong AIDS Foundation and the Elder Academy Development Foundation. Dr. Leong was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star in 2001 and the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2010.
Dr. Leong is a medical doctor in private practice specializing in urology. After graduating from the University of Hong Kong in 1962, Dr. Leong worked in the Department of Surgery in Hong Kong University for 16 years. In addition to training medical students, Dr. Leong also conducted cutting-edge research in his specialist field of urology. His major research contributions include experiments and the human use of the stomach for bladder replacement and urinary diversion. Dr. Leong was appointed Hunterian Professor by the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1975. He was the first Hong Kong-born Chinese doctor to have received this accolade.
Dr. Leong’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his extensive network and deep knowledge in the healthcare and education industries and his significant management experience in both the public and private sectors.
Frederick Ma Si-hang
, 66, is a director nominee. Professor Ma is the non-executive chairman of the MTR Corporation. He is currently an independent non-executive director of FWD Group and a director of Husky Energy Inc. Professor Ma was previously an independent non-executive director of Agricultural Bank of China Limited, Aluminum Corporation of China Limited, Hutchison Port Holdings Management Pte. Limited and China Resources Land Limited, and also a non-executive director of China Mobile Communications Corporation and COFCO Corporation. He was a member of Managing Board at Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation and a director of Airport Authority Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited.
Professor Ma has extensive experience in the banking and financial sectors. He started his career at Chase Manhattan Bank in 1973 and returned to Chase Manhattan as Asia-Pacific Managing Director and Area Director of Global Private Bank in 1998. Following the merger of Chase Manhattan and JP Morgan in 2001, Professor Ma was appointed by JP Morgan Private Bank as Asia-Pacific Chief Executive. In 2001, he joined Pacific Century Cyberworks (PCCW) Limited as an Executive Director and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in 2002.
Professor Ma was previously the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government from 2002 to 2007. Professor Ma held the position of the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the HKSAR Government from 2007 to 2008. He is currently a non-official member of the HKSAR Government Chief Executive’s Council of Advisers on Innovation and Strategic Development, a member of the International Advisory Council of China Investment Corporation and the Global Advisory Council of Bank of America. Professor Ma was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star medal in 2009 and was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 2010.
Besides his corporate and government positions, Professor Ma has also taken various roles in multiple universities in Asia. In 2008, Professor Ma took up an honorary professorship at the School of Economics and Finance at the University of Hong Kong. In August 2013, he was also appointed an Honorary Professor of Business Administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is currently the Council Chairman of The Education University of Hong Kong.
Professor Ma’s qualifications to serve our board of directors include his over 40 years of public and private sector experience, his deep and extensive financial sector experience his experience as a board member and executive officer of some of the biggest Asian public companies in a variety of industries.
Harry Chang
, 44, is our Vice President of Corporate Development and Secretary, Mr. Chang is a Managing Director of New Frontier Capital. Mr. Chang has extensive experience across private equity, credit and special situation investments in the U.S., Europe and China. Prior to joining NFG, Mr. Chang managed multiple private equity funds including the CEL Catalyst China Israel Fund and CEL Global Investment Fund for China Everbright Limited and the Cross-Border CITIC-Kazyna Investment Fund for CITIC Capital. Prior to his work in China, Mr. Chang had over a decade of investment experience in Europe. Based in London, he was a founding member of the Lehman Brothers European Special Situations Group covering investments across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Prior to his experience in Europe, Mr. Chang was a member of Merrill Lynch’s Leveraged Finance and High Yield Group in New York.
Shuo Wang
, 30, is our Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Wang presently serves as the Group Finance Controller of NFG, working with venture teams across NFG’s platform to support the rapid and sustainable growth of each business. Mr. Wang has extensive finance supervisory experience. Prior to joining NFG, Mr. Wang oversaw the Internal Control, Risk and Compliance functions of Amcor China and served on the Finance and Audit Committee of Amcor APAC. Mr. Wang had a key role in assessing acquisition opportunities and conducting post-investment integration for Amcor China. Prior to Amcor, Mr. Wang led a consulting team at Deloitte servicing multinational financial sector and pharmaceutical industry clients. While at Deloitte, Mr. Wang provided audit services on IPO engagements in both the United States and Hong Kong.
Mr. Wang earned his bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Fudan University and an International MBA from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of five members and is divided into three classes, with only one class of directors being elected in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of shareholders) serving a three-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Carl Wu, will expire at our first annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Edward Leong Che-hung, Frederick Ma Si-hang and [ ], will expire at our second annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Antony Leung, will expire at our third annual meeting of shareholders.
In accordance with NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of one or more chairmen of the board, chief executive officers, a president, chief financial officer, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Director Independence
NYSE listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. Our board of directors has determined that Edward Leong Che-hung, Frederick Ma Si-hang and [ ] are “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Executive Officer and Director Compensation
None of our executive officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on the NYSE through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor $10,000 per month, or up to $240,000 in the aggregate, for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us. In addition, our sponsor, executive 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. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by us to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our board of directors will have three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. In addition, we will establish the operating and advisory committee, which will be an advisory committee of the Board of Directors formed for the purpose of assisting management with sourcing and evaluating business opportunities and devising plans and strategies to optimize any business that we acquire. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of
NYSE and Rule 10A of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of NYSE require that the compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.
Audit Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will have an audit committee of the board of directors. Frederick Ma Si-hang and [ ] will serve as members of our audit committee. Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Professor Ma and [ ] are independent.
Professor Ma will serve as the chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Professor Ma qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
The audit committee is responsible for:
•
meeting with our independent registered public accounting firm regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our accounting and control systems;
•
monitoring the independence of the independent auditor;
•
verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law;
•
inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
•
pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent auditor, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed;
•
appointing or replacing the independent auditor;
•
determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent auditor (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work;
•
establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies;
•
monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of this offering and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of this offering; and
•
reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing shareholders, executive officers or directors and their respective affiliates. Any payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our board of directors, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval.
The charter will also provide that the audit committee has the authority to engage independent counsel and other advisers as it determines necessary to carry out its duties. The written charter will be available on our website. The information contained on or accessible through our corporate website or any other website that we may maintain is not part of this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
Compensation Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will have a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of our compensation committee will be Edward Leong Che-hung, Frederick Ma Si-hang and [ ], with [ ] serving as chairman of the compensation committee. We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
•
reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our chief executive officer’s compensation, evaluating our chief executive officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our chief executive officer based on such evaluation;
•
reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other Section 16 executive officers;
•
reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans;
•
implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;
•
assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;
•
approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our executive officers and employees;
•
producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and
•
reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.
The charter will also provide that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by the NYSE and the SEC. The written charter will be available on our website. The information contained on or accessible through our corporate website or any other website that we may maintain is not part of this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will have a nominating and corporate governance committee. The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee will be Edward Leong Che-hung, Frederick Ma Si-hang and [ ], each of whom is an independent director under the NYSE’s listing standards. [ ] will serve as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
The primary purposes of our nominating and corporate governance committee will be to assist the board in:
•
identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for election at the annual meeting of shareholders or to fill vacancies on the board of directors;
•
developing, recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines;
•
coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and
•
reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary.
The nominating and corporate governance committee will be governed by a charter that complies with the rules of the NYSE, and will be available on our website. The information contained on or accessible through our corporate website or any other website that we may maintain is not part of this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
Director Nominations
Our nominating and corporate governance committee will recommend to the board of directors candidates for nomination for election at the first annual meeting of the shareholders. Prior to our initial business combination, the board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by holders of our founder shares during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at an annual meeting of shareholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of shareholders). Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of Ethics
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our Code of Ethics and our audit committee and compensation committee charters as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You will be able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at
www.sec.gov
. Upon completion of this offering, the Code of Ethics will be available on our website. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Conflicts of Interest
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
•
duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole;
•
duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose;
•
directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion;
•
duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders;
•
duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and
•
duty to exercise independent judgment.
In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge skill and experience of that director.
As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by
the shareholders provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
Each of our executive officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such executive officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Accordingly, if any of our executive officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our executive officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written letter agreement, not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company 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.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
Individual
|
|
|
Entity
|
|
|
Entity’s Business
|
|
|
Affiliation
|
|
Antony Leung
|
|
|
New Frontier Group
(1)
|
|
|
Investment Holding
|
|
|
Chairman
|
|
|
|
|
Nan Fung Group Holdings Ltd.
(2)
|
|
|
Property and Investment
|
|
|
Chairman
|
|
|
|
|
China Merchant’s Bank Co., Ltd.
|
|
|
Banking
|
|
|
Independent Non-Executive
Director
|
|
Carl Wu
|
|
|
New Frontier Group
(1)
|
|
|
Investment Holding
|
|
|
Chief Executive Officer
|
|
|
|
|
Boxful Technology
|
|
|
Storage
|
|
|
Executive Chairman
|
|
|
|
|
Care Alliance
|
|
|
Healthcare
|
|
|
Chairman
|
|
|
|
|
China Guizhou Big Data Fund
|
|
|
Investment Manager
|
|
|
Chairman
|
|
|
|
|
Happiness F&B Group
|
|
|
Food & Beverage
|
|
|
Director
|
|
Shuo Wang
|
|
|
Shanghai Care Alliance Medical Technology Co. Limited
|
|
|
Healthcare
|
|
|
Director
|
|
|
|
|
Chengdu Sanxing
Healthcare Management Co. Limited
|
|
|
Healthcare
|
|
|
Director
|
|
Frederick Ma Si-hang
|
|
|
MTR Corporation
|
|
|
Transportation and Property
|
|
|
Non-Executive Chairman
|
|
|
|
|
FWD Corporation
|
|
|
Insurance
|
|
|
Independent Non-
Executive Director
|
|
|
|
|
Husky Energy Inc.
|
|
|
Energy
|
|
|
Director
|
|
(1)
Includes all portfolio companies and certain other affiliates of New Frontier Group.
(2)
Includes all portfolio companies and certain other affiliates of Nan Fung Group Holdings Ltd.
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
•
Our executive officers and directors are not required to 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. Certain of our executive officers are engaged in several other business endeavors for which such officers may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs.
•
As of the date of this prospectus, our sponsor held an aggregate of 8,012,500 founder shares.
•
Our sponsor and the anchor investors purchased or were issued founder shares prior to the date of this prospectus, and our sponsor will purchase private placement warrants in a transaction that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Our initial shareholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and, with respect to our initial shareholders other than the anchor investors, public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. The other members of our management team have entered into agreements similar to the one entered into by our sponsor with respect to any public shares acquired by them in or after this offering. Additionally, our initial shareholders 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 the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of its founder shares until the earliest of (a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination with respect to 50% of its founder shares, (b) two years after the completion of our initial business combination with respect to the remaining 50% of its founder shares, and (c) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Our anchor investors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our ordinary shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (2) if we consummate a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination which results in our shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, the founder shares owned by our anchor investors will be released from the lock-up. The private placement warrants will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, we, our initial shareholders and our officers and directors have agreed to certain transfer restrictions for 180 days after the date of this prospectus, subject to certain exceptions. See “Underwriting.”
•
Certain of our directors and officers will directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.
•
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 are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an
opinion from an independent investment banking which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm, that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, be paid by us any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination. Further, commencing on the date our securities are first listed on the NYSE, we will also pay an affiliate of our sponsor $10,000 per month, or up to $240,000 in the aggregate, for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us.
We cannot assure you that any of the above-mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their founder shares, and they and the other members of our management team have agreed to vote any shares purchased during or after the offering, in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We expect to purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
We will enter into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of incorporation. Pursuant to these agreements, our officers and directors will agree to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.
Our indemnification obligations may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our Class A ordinary shares included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:
•
each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares;
•
each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns ordinary shares; and
•
all our executive officers and directors as a group.
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of our ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.
As of the date of this prospectus, our sponsor held an aggregate of 8,012,500 founder shares and the anchor investors held 2,262,500 founder shares. Prior to the transfer of 2,262,500 founder shares to the anchor investors and the forfeiture of 475,000 shares, our sponsor held an aggregate of 10,750,000 founder shares, which were issued in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.002 per share. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The post-offering percentages in the following table assume that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that our sponsor forfeits 750,000 founder shares following this offering and that there are 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and 9,525,000 founder shares issued and outstanding after this offering.
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner
(1)
|
|
|
Number of Shares
Beneficially Owned
(2)
|
|
|
Approximate Percentage of
Outstanding Ordinary Shares
|
|
|
Before Offering
|
|
|
After Offering
|
|
New Frontier Public Holding Ltd. (our sponsor)
(3)
|
|
|
|
|
8,012,500
(4)
|
|
|
|
|
|
78.0
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.6
%
|
|
|
Antony Leung
(3)
|
|
|
|
|
8,187,500
(4)
|
|
|
|
|
|
79.7
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
25.2
%
|
|
|
Carl Wu
(3)
|
|
|
|
|
8,100,000
(4)
|
|
|
|
|
|
78.8
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.9
%
|
|
|
Shuo Wang
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
Edward Leong Che-hung
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
Frederick Ma Si-hang
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
All executive officers and directors as a group
(3 individuals)
|
|
|
|
|
8,275,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
80.5
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
25.5
%
|
|
|
*
Less than one percent.
(1)
Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of our shareholders is 23rd Floor, 299 QRC, 287-299 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong.
(2)
Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities.”
(3)
Antony Leung and Carl Wu share voting and dispositive power over the securities held by New Frontier Public Holding Ltd. Each of Mr. Leung and Mr. Wu disclaims beneficial ownership over any securities owned by our sponsor other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest he may have therein, directly or indirectly. Excludes forward purchase shares that will only be issued, if at all, at the time of our initial business combination.
(4)
Includes up to 750,000 founder shares that will be surrendered to us for no consideration by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
Immediately after this offering, only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to elect directors prior to our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to elect any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions including our initial business combination.
Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a separate written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 6,000,000 private placement warrants (or 6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate or $6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants are subject to the transfer restrictions described below. The private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. Our sponsor or its permitted transferees have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. 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.
Prior to this offering, we entered into forward purchase agreements pursuant to which the anchor investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of 18,100,000 Class A ordinary shares, plus 4,525,000 redeemable warrants, for a purchase price of $10.00 per Class A ordinary share, as applicable, or $181,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. In connection with these forward purchase agreements, our sponsor transferred to the anchor investors an aggregate of 2,262,500 founder shares as an inducement to enter into the forward purchase agreements for no cash consideration. The founder shares transferred to the anchor investors are subject to similar contractual conditions and restrictions as the founder shares issued to our sponsor. The anchor investors will have redemption rights with respect to any public shares they own. The forward purchase warrants will have the same terms as our public warrants.
The forward purchase agreements also provide that the anchor investors are entitled to registration rights with respect to (A) the forward purchase securities and Class A ordinary shares underlying the forward purchase warrants and founder shares, and (B) any other Class A ordinary shares or warrants acquired by the anchor investors, including any time after we complete our initial business combination.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written letter agreement, not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company 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.
Our sponsor, the anchor investors, Mr. Leung and Mr. Wu are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares, private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the agreements entered into by our initial shareholders and management team.
Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earlier of (a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination with respect to 50% of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof, (b) two years after the completion of our initial business combination with respect to the remaining 50% of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof, and (c) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar
transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Our anchor investors have agreed to not transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, if (x) the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share 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, or (y) we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. The private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants are not transferable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, we, our initial shareholders and our officers and directors have agreed to certain transfer restrictions for 180 days after the date of this prospectus, subject to certain exceptions. See “Underwriting.”
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the lock-up provisions set forth in this prospectus do not apply to transfers, assignments or sales (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliate or family member of any of our officers or directors, any affiliate of our sponsor or to any member of the sponsor or any of their affiliates or shareholders, (b) in the case of an individual, as a gift to such person’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of such person’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of such person; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with any forward purchase agreement or similar arrangement or in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the shares or warrants were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of the laws of the Cayman Islands upon dissolution of our Sponsor, (g) in the event of our liquidation prior to our consummation of our initial business combination; or (h) in the event that, subsequent to our consummation of an initial business combination, we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreements.
Registration Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be entered into concurrently with the closing of this offering, the holders of the private placement warrants, the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the working capital loans, the forward purchase securities and the founder shares, will be entitled to registration rights with respect to such warrants and the ordinary shares underlying such warrants and founder shares. These holders will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights 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 termination of the applicable lockup period, which is described above under “— Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.”
Pursuant to the forward purchase agreements, we have agreed that we will use our reasonable best efforts (i) to file within 30 days after the closing of the initial business combination (and, with respect to clause (ii)(B) below, within 30 days following announcement of the results of the shareholder vote relating to our initial business combination or the results of our offer to shareholders to redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with our initial business combination (whichever is later), which we refer to as the “disclosure date”) a registration statement with the SEC for a secondary offering of (A) the forward purchase securities and Class A ordinary shares underlying the forward purchase warrants and the anchor investors’ founder shares, and (B) any other Class A ordinary shares or warrants acquired by the anchor investors any time after we complete our initial business combination, (ii) to cause such registration statement to be declared effective promptly thereafter, but in no event later than 60 days after the closing of the initial business combination or the disclosure date, as the case may be and (iii) to maintain the
effectiveness of such registration statement until the earliest of (A) the date on which the anchor investor ceases to hold the securities covered thereby and (B) the date all of the securities covered thereby can be sold publicly without restriction or limitation under Rule 144 under the Securities Act and without the requirement to be in compliance with Rule 144(c)(1) under the Securities Act, subject to certain conditions and limitations set forth in the forward purchase agreements. We will bear the cost of registering these securities.
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
On April 19, 2018, our sponsor subscribed for 10,750,000 founder shares which were issued to our sponsor on May 29, 2018 in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.002 per share. On [ ], 2018, our sponsor transferred to the anchor investors an aggregate of 2,262,500 founder shares as an inducement to enter into the forward purchase agreements for no cash consideration and on [ ], 2018 our sponsor forfeited 475,000 founder shares for no consideration. Our sponsor holds 8,012,500 founder shares as of the date of this prospectus. If we decrease the size of this offering, or if the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option in full, our sponsor will forfeit an amount of Class B ordinary shares to maintain the ownership of our founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of the sum of (i) the number of public shares (including any such shares issued following the exercise of the over-allotment option), (ii) the number of founder shares held by our sponsor and anchor investors (together with any permitted transferees of such founder shares) following such forfeiture and (iii) the number of forward purchase shares required to be purchased by the anchor investors pursuant to the forward purchase agreements.
Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to separate written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 6,000,000 private placement warrants (or 6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate or $6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
Prior to this offering, we entered into forward purchase agreements pursuant to which the anchor investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of 18,100,000 Class A ordinary shares, plus 4,525,000 redeemable warrants, for a purchase price of $10.00 per Class A ordinary share, as applicable, or $181,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. In connection with these forward purchase agreements, our sponsor transferred to the anchor investors an aggregate of 2,262,500 founder shares as an inducement to enter into the forward purchase agreements for no cash consideration. We entered into forward purchase agreements with entities controlled by Antony Leung, our Chairman, and Carl Wu, our Chief Executive Officer, providing for the sale of 1,400,000 and 700,000 forward purchase shares, and 350,000 and 175,000 forward purchase warrants, respectively, for an aggregate purchase price of $10.00 per Class A ordinary share, or $14,000,000 and $7,000,000, respectively. In connection with these forward purchase agreements, our sponsor transferred to these anchor investors 175,000 and 87,500 founder shares, respectively. The founder shares transferred to the anchor investors are subject to similar contractual conditions and restrictions as the founder shares issued to our sponsor. The anchor investors will have redemption rights with respect to any public shares they own. The forward purchase warrants will have the same terms as our public warrants.
The forward purchase agreements also provide that the anchor investors are entitled to registration rights with respect to their (A) forward purchase securities and Class A ordinary shares underlying the forward purchase warrants and founder shares, and (B) any other Class A ordinary shares or warrants acquired by the anchor investors, including any time after we complete our initial business combination.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written letter agreement, not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company 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.
We currently maintain our executive offices at 23rd Floor, 299 QRC, 287-299 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $10,000 per month, or up to $240,000 in the aggregate, fee we will pay to our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services, commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on the NYSE. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Other than these monthly fees, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by us to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has loaned us funds to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of December 31, 2018 or the closing of this offering. The loan would be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the estimated $1,000,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliate may, but is not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required on a non-interest basis. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a shareholder meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares and private placement warrants, which is described under the heading “Principal Shareholders — Registration Rights.”
Related Party Transaction Policy
We have not yet adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions. Accordingly, the transactions discussed above were not reviewed, approved or ratified in accordance with any such policy.
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt a written policy relating to the approval of related person transactions. A “related person transaction” is a transaction or arrangement or series of transactions or arrangements in which we participate (whether or not we are a party) and a related person has a direct or indirect material interest in such transaction. Our audit committee will review and approve or ratify all relationships and related person transactions between us and (i) our directors, director nominees or executive officers, (ii) any 5% record or beneficial owner of our ordinary shares or (iii) any immediate family member of any person specified in (i) and (ii). The audit committee will review all related person transactions and, where the audit committee determines that such transactions are in our best interests, approve such transactions in advance of such transaction being given effect.
As set forth in the related person transaction policy, in the course of its review and approval or ratification of a related party transaction, the audit committee will, in its judgment, consider in light of the relevant facts and circumstances whether the transaction is, or is not inconsistent with, our best interests, including consideration of various factors enumerated in the policy.
Any member of the audit committee who is a related person with respect to a transaction under review will not be permitted to participate in the discussions or approval or ratification of the transaction. Our policy also includes certain exceptions for transactions that need not be reported and provides the audit committee with the discretion to pre-approve certain transactions.
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company (company number 334925) and our affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law and the common law of the Cayman Islands. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which will be adopted upon the consummation of this offering, we will be authorized to issue 180,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, and 1,000,000 preference shares, $0.0001 par value each. The following description summarizes certain terms of our shares as set out more particularly in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of the company’s Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder.
The Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units are expected to begin separate trading on the 52
nd
day following the date of this prospectus unless Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and UBS Securities LLC inform us of their 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 Class A ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
In no event will the Class A ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering. We anticipate filing such Current Report on Form 8-K four business days from the closing of the offering. 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.
Ordinary Shares
Prior to the date of this prospectus, there were 10,275,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding, all of which were held of record by our initial shareholders. Upon the closing of this offering, 29,525,000 of our ordinary shares will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) including:
•
20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the units issued as part of this offering; and
•
9,525,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders.
If we decrease the size of this offering, or if the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option in full, our sponsor will forfeit an amount of Class B ordinary shares to maintain the ownership of our sponsor (together with any permitted transferees of our founder shares), on an as-converted basis, at 20% of the sum of (i) the number of public shares (including any such shares issued following the exercise of the over-allotment option), (ii) the number of founder shares held by our sponsor and anchor investors (together with any permitted transferees of such founder shares) following such forfeiture and (iii) the number of forward purchase shares required to be purchased by the anchor investors pursuant to the forward purchase agreements. Up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
Holders of Class A ordinary shares and holders of Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders and will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders except as provided below and required by law. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by applicable provisions of the Companies Law or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of the Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders. Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of our Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares that are voted, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. Our board of directors will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. However, only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to elect directors in any election held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, meaning that holders of Class A ordinary shares will not have the right to elect any directors until after the completion of our initial business combination. Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Because our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 180,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of Class A ordinary shares which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of shareholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. There is no requirement under the Companies Law for us to hold annual or general meetings or elect directors. We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (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 shareholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and, with respect to our initial shareholders other than the anchor investors, any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. The other members of our management team have entered into agreements similar to the one entered into by our sponsor with respect to any public shares acquired by them in or after this offering. Unlike many blank check companies that hold shareholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial business combinations and provide for related redemptions of public shares for cash upon completion of such initial business combinations even when a vote is not required by law, if a shareholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated
memorandum and articles of association require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, a shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. However, the participation of our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could result in the approval of our initial business combination even if a majority of our public shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding ordinary shares, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that at least five days’ notice will be given of any general meeting. We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder meeting.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the public shares without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our shareholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such shareholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such shareholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And, as a result, such shareholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 20% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our initial shareholders (including, for the avoidance of doubt, our anchor investors) have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 5,237,501, or approximately 26.2%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). The other members of our management team have entered into agreements similar to the one entered into by our sponsor with respect to any public shares acquired by them in or after this offering. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, 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 no 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 net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our initial shareholders have entered into agreements 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 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders or management team acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be
entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, in the event we commence a liquidation and all public shares have been redeemed, all founder shares not held by the sponsor shall be surrendered to the company for no consideration, such that only the founder shares held by the sponsor share in any assets in liquidation.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our shareholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the ordinary shares. Our shareholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
Founder Shares
The founder shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares and, except as described below, are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, (ii) our initial shareholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and, with respect to our initial shareholders other than the anchor investors, public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (B) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and, with respect to our initial shareholders other than the anchor investors, public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering and (C) 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 such time period, (iii) the founder shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination as described herein, and (iv) prior to the completion of our initial business combination, only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to elect directors in any election. If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. The other members of our management team have entered into agreements similar to the one entered into by our sponsor with respect to any public shares acquired by them in or after this offering.
The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares on the first business day following the consummation of our initial business combination at a ratio such that the total number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of public shares (including any such shares issued following the exercise of the over-allotment option), plus (ii) the sum of (a) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by us in connection with or in relation to the consummation of our initial business combination (including the forward purchase shares, but not the forward purchase warrants), excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any warrants issued in a private placement to our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor upon conversion of working capital loans, minus (b) the number of public shares redeemed by public shareholders in connection with our initial business combination.
In connection with the forward purchase agreements, our sponsor transferred to the anchor investors 2,262,500 founder shares. The founder shares transferred to the anchor investors are subject to similar contractual conditions and restrictions as the founder shares issued to our sponsor. The anchor investors will have redemption rights with respect to any public shares they own.
Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earliest of (a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination with respect to 50% of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof, (b) two years after the completion of our initial business combination with respect to the remaining 50% of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof, and (c) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Our anchor investors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof 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, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our ordinary shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same applicable restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share 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 held by our anchor investors will be released from the lock-up. See “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.”
Register of Members
Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there will be entered therein:
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the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member;
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the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and
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the date on which any person ceased to be a member.
Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e. the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members will be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of this public offering, the register of members will be immediately updated to reflect the issue of shares by us. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.
Preference Shares
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize 1,000,000 preference shares and provide that preference shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative,
participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without shareholder approval, issue preference shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preference shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preference shares outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any shares of preference shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preference shares are being issued or registered in this offering.
Warrants
Public Shareholders’ and Forward Purchase Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of 12 months from the closing of this offering or 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement) and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue a Class A ordinary share upon exercise of a warrant unless the Class A ordinary share issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such unit.
We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than thirty (30) business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants. We will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the sixtieth (60
th
) day after the closing of the initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption.
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may call the warrants for redemption:
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in whole and not in part;
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at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
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upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption (the “30-day redemption period”) to each warrant holder; and
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if, and only if, the reported last sales price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share 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.
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.
We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the public shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his, her or its warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the 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” will mean the average reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of Class A ordinary shares to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial business combination. If we call our warrants for redemption and our management does not take advantage of this option, the holders of the private placement warrants and their permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had all warrant holders been required to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.
A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.8% (as specified by the holder) of the Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is increased by a share capitalization, a share dividend payable in Class A ordinary shares, a split-up of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such share capitalization, dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding ordinary shares. A rights offering to holders of ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase Class A ordinary shares at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a share dividend of a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the product of (i) the number of Class A ordinary shares actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering
that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares) and (ii) the quotient of (x) the price per Class A ordinary share paid in such rights offering and (y) the fair market value. For these purposes, (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares, in determining the price payable for Class A ordinary shares, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of Class A ordinary shares as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the Class A ordinary shares trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Class A ordinary shares on account of such Class A ordinary shares (or other securities into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of associations to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering, (e) as a result of the repurchase of Class A ordinary shares by us if a proposed initial business combination is presented to our shareholders for approval, or (f) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each Class A ordinary share in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share split or reclassification of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share split, reclassification or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant, as applicable, will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding Class A ordinary shares, as applicable.
Whenever the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, as applicable, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares so purchasable immediately thereafter, as applicable.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such Class A ordinary shares), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the Class A ordinary shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of Class A ordinary shares or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A ordinary shares in such a transaction is payable in the form of ordinary shares in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the
warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants and forward purchase warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants.
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of ordinary shares and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive Class A ordinary shares. After the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.
No fractional 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 Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder.
Private Placement Warrants
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except, among other limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants,” to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor or its permitted transferees) and they will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. Our sponsor or its permitted transferees have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. Except as described below, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the 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” will mean the average reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the anchor investors and their permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following a business combination. If they remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public shareholders who could exercise their warrants and sell the Class A ordinary shares received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliate may, but is not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.
Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of any of these warrants) until the date that is 30 days after the date we complete our initial business combination, except that, among other limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants,” transfers can be made to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. If we decrease the size of this offering, or if the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option in full, our sponsor will forfeit an amount of Class B ordinary shares to maintain the ownership of our founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of the sum of (i) the number of public shares (including any such shares issued following the exercise of the over-allotment option), (ii) the number of founder shares held by our sponsor and anchor investors (together with any permitted transferees of such founder shares) following such forfeiture and (iii) the number of forward purchase shares required to be purchased by the anchor investors pursuant to the forward purchase agreements. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our ordinary shares and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its shareholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any claims and losses due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity.
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company has agreed that it has no right of set-off or any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to, or to any monies in, the trust account, and has irrevocably waived any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to, or to any monies in, the trust account that it may have now or in the future. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied, or a claim will only be able to be pursued, solely against us and our assets outside the trust account and not against the any monies in the trust account or interest earned thereon.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Law. The Companies Law is modeled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Law applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements.
In certain circumstances, the Companies Law allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).
Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution
(usually a majority of 66
2
∕
3
% in value of the voting shares voted at a general meeting) of the shareholders of each company; or (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns at least 90% of the issued shares of each class in a subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Law (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.
Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; and (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted.
Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (ii) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (iii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (iv) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Law provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of his shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows: (a) the shareholder must give his written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for his shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase his shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; and (e) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree a price within such 30 day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30 day period expires, the company (and any dissenting shareholder) must file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of
their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.
Moreover, Cayman Islands law has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedures for which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:
•
we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with;
•
the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question;
•
the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and
•
the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Law or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.”
If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights (providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares), which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of United States corporations.
Squeeze-out Provisions.
When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer relates is made within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through means other than these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, or through contractual arrangements of an operating business.
Shareholders’ Suits.
Our Cayman Islands counsel is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability for such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and be applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:
•
a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority;
•
the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; or
•
those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.”
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities.
The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.
We have been advised by our Cayman Islands legal counsel that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be (i) in respect of taxes, a fine or penalty, (ii) inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, (iii) impeachable on the grounds of fraud or (iv) obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere. See “Risk Factors — After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore, investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.”
Special Considerations for Exempted Companies.
We are an exempted company with limited liability (meaning our public shareholders have no liability, as members of the company, for liabilities of the company over and above the amount paid for their shares) under the Companies Law. The Companies Law distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:
•
annual reporting requirements are minimal and consist mainly of a statement that the company has conducted its operations mainly outside of the Cayman Islands and has complied with the provisions of the Companies Law;
•
an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection;
•
an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting;
•
an exempted company may issue negotiable or bearer shares or shares with no par value;
•
an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance);
•
an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands;
•
an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and
•
an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company.
Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
The Business Combination Article of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contains provisions designed to provide certain rights and protections relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been approved by either (i) at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s shareholders at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given; or (ii) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by at least two-thirds of our shareholders (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.
Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own approximately 32.3% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering and the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:
•
If we 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 no 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 net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law;
•
Prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on our initial business combination;
•
Although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our executive officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view;
•
If a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act;
•
Our initial business combination must occur with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination;
•
If our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein; and
•
We will not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001.
The Companies Law permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of a special resolution. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required but, provided the approval of the required majority is obtained, any Cayman Islands exempted company may amend its memorandum and articles of association regardless of whether its memorandum and articles of association provides otherwise. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our proposed offering, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our officers or directors, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Anti-Money Laundering — Cayman Islands
In order to comply with legislation or regulations aimed at the prevention of money laundering, we are required to adopt and maintain anti-money laundering procedures, and may require subscribers to provide evidence to verify their identity and source of funds. Where permitted, and subject to certain conditions, we may also delegate the maintenance of our anti-money laundering procedures (including the acquisition of due diligence information) to a suitable person.
We reserve the right to request such information as is necessary to verify the identity of a subscriber. In some cases, the directors may be satisfied that no further information is required since an exemption applies under the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, as amended and revised from time to time (the “Regulations”). Depending on the circumstances of each application, a detailed verification of identity might not be required where:
(a)
the subscriber makes the payment for their investment from an account held in the subscriber’s name at a recognized financial institution;
(b)
the subscriber is regulated by a recognized regulatory authority and is based or incorporated in, or formed under the law of, a recognized jurisdiction; or
(c)
the application is made through an intermediary which is regulated by a recognized regulatory authority and is based in or incorporated in, or formed under the law of a recognized jurisdiction and an assurance is provided in relation to the procedures undertaken on the underlying investors.
For the purposes of these exceptions, recognition of a financial institution, regulatory authority or jurisdiction will be determined in accordance with the Regulations by reference to those jurisdictions recognized by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority as having equivalent anti-money laundering regulations.
In the event of delay or failure on the part of the subscriber in producing any information required for verification purposes, we may refuse to accept the application, in which case any funds received will be returned without interest to the account from which they were originally debited.
We also reserve the right to refuse to make any payment to a shareholder if our directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure our compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.
If any person in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money laundering or is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority (“FRA”) of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Law (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the FRA, pursuant to the Terrorism Law (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual meetings.
Our authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and preference shares are available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved Class A ordinary shares and preference shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Securities Eligible for Future Sale
Immediately after this offering, we will have 29,525,000 (or 33,275,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) ordinary shares issued and outstanding. Of these shares, the Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering (20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 23,000,000 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any Class A ordinary shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the outstanding founder shares (9,525,000 founder shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 10,275,000 founder shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and all of the outstanding private placement warrants (6,000,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 6,600,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering.
Upon the closing of the sale of the forward purchase securities, all of the 18,100,000 forward purchase shares, 4,525,000 forward purchase warrants and Class A ordinary shares underlying the forward purchase warrants will be restricted securities under Rule 144.
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
•
1% of the total number of ordinary shares then outstanding, which will equal 295,250 shares immediately after this offering (or 332,750 if the underwriters exercise in full their over-allotment option); or
•
the average weekly reported trading volume of the Class A ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale.
Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies
Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:
•
the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company;
•
the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act;
•
the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Form 8-K reports; and
•
at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.
As a result, our initial shareholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination subject to availability of current public information about us.
Registration Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be entered into concurrently with the closing of this offering, the holders of the private placement warrants, the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the working capital loans, and the founder shares will be entitled to registration rights with respect to such warrants and the ordinary shares underlying such warrants and founder shares. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lockup period, which occurs (i) in the case of the founder shares, as described in the following paragraph, and (ii) in the case of the private placement warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earliest of (a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination with respect to 50% of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof, (b) two years after the completion of our initial business combination with respect to the remaining 50% of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof, and (c) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our shareholders having the right to
exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Our anchor investors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of (i) one year after the closing of our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our ordinary shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same applicable restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share 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, all founder shares held by our anchor investors will be released from the lock-up.
Pursuant to the forward purchase agreements, we have agreed that we will use our reasonable best efforts (i) to file within 30 days after the closing of the initial business combination (and, with respect to clause (ii)(B) below, within 30 days following announcement of the results of the shareholder vote relating to our initial business combination or the results of our offer to shareholders to redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with our initial business combination (whichever is later), which we refer to as the “disclosure date”) a registration statement with the SEC for a secondary offering of (A) the anchor investors’ forward purchase securities and Class A ordinary shares underlying their forward purchase warrants and the anchor investors’ founder shares, and (B) any other Class A ordinary shares or warrants acquired by the anchor investors, including any time after we complete our initial business combination, (ii) to cause such registration statement to be declared effective promptly thereafter, but in no event later than 60 days after the closing of the initial business combination or the disclosure date, as the case may be and (iii) to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement until the earliest of (A) the date on which the anchor investor ceases to hold the securities covered thereby and (B) the date all of the securities covered thereby can be sold publicly without restriction or limitation under Rule 144 under the Securities Act, and without the requirement to be in compliance with Rule 144(c)(1) under the Securities Act, subject to certain conditions and limitations set forth in the forward purchase agreements. We will bear the cost of registering these securities.
Listing of Securities
We have applied to have our units listed on the NYSE under the symbol “NFC.U” commencing on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on the NYSE. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on the NYSE under the symbols “NFC” and “NFC WS,” respectively. We will not have units traded following consummation of our initial business combination.
TAXATION
The following summary of certain Cayman Islands and United States federal income tax consequences generally applicable to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant, is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This summary does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our Class A ordinary shares and warrants, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws.
Prospective investors should consult their advisors on the possible tax consequences of investing in our securities under the laws of their country of citizenship, residence or domicile.
Cayman Islands Tax Considerations
The following is a discussion on certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in the securities of the Company. The discussion is a general summary of present law, which is subject to prospective and retroactive change. It is not intended as tax advice, does not consider any investor’s particular circumstances, and does not consider tax consequences other than those arising under Cayman Islands law.
Under Existing Cayman Islands Laws:
Payments of dividends and capital in respect of our securities will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the securities nor will gains derived from the disposal of the securities be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporation tax. The Cayman Islands currently have no income, corporation or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of the warrants. An instrument of transfer in respect of a warrant is stampable if executed in or brought into the Cayman Islands.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of our Class A ordinary shares or on an instrument of transfer in respect of such shares.
The Company has been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and, as such, has applied for and expects to obtain after the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part an undertaking from the Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands in the following form:
The Tax Concessions Law
(2018 Revision)
Undertaking as to Tax Concessions
In accordance with the provision of Section 6 of The Tax Concessions Law (2018 Revision), the Financial Secretary undertakes with New Frontier Corporation (“the Company”):
1.
That no law which is hereafter enacted in the Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to the Company or its operations; and
2.
In addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable:
2.1
On or in respect of the shares, debentures or other obligations of the Company; or
2.2
by way of the withholding in whole or part, of any relevant payment as defined in Section 6(3) of the Tax Concessions Law (2018 Revision).
These concessions shall be for a period of twenty years from the date hereof.
United States Federal Income Tax Considerations
General
The following discussion summarizes certain United States federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our units (each consisting of one Class A
ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant) that are purchased in this offering by U.S. Holders (as defined below) and Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below). Because the components of a unit are generally separable at the option of the holder, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for United States federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying Class A ordinary share and warrant components of the unit. As a result, the discussion below with respect to holders of Class A ordinary shares and warrants should also apply to holders of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying Class A ordinary shares and warrants that constitute the units).
This discussion is limited to certain United States federal income tax considerations to beneficial owners of our securities who are initial purchasers of a unit pursuant to this offering and hold the unit and each component of the unit as a capital asset under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). This discussion assumes that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will trade separately and that any distributions made (or deemed made) by us on our Class A ordinary shares and any consideration received (or deemed received) by a holder in consideration for the sale or other disposition of our securities will be in U.S. dollars. This discussion is a summary only and does not consider all aspects of United States federal income taxation that may be relevant to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of a unit by a prospective investor in light of its particular circumstances, including:
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anchor investors;
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financial institutions or financial services entities;
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broker-dealers;
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taxpayers that are subject to the mark-to-market accounting rules;
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tax-exempt entities;
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governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof;
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insurance companies;
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regulated investment companies;
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real estate investment trusts;
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expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States;
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persons that actually or constructively own five percent or more of our voting shares or ten percent or more of the total value of our shares;
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persons that acquired our securities pursuant to an exercise of employee share options, in connection with employee share incentive plans or otherwise as compensation;
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persons that hold our securities as part of a straddle, constructive sale, hedging, conversion or other integrated or similar transaction; or
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U.S. Holders whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar.
Moreover, the discussion below is based upon the provisions of the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all as of the date hereof, and such provisions may be repealed, revoked, modified or subject to differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis, so as to result in United States federal income tax consequences different from those discussed below. Furthermore, this discussion does not address any aspect of United States federal non-income tax laws, such as gift, estate or Medicare contribution tax laws, or state, local or non-U.S. tax laws.
We have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the IRS as to any United States federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may disagree with the discussion herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not change the accuracy of the statements in this discussion.
As used herein, the term “U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants who or that is for United States federal income tax purposes: (i) an individual citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes) that is created or organized (or treated as created or organized) in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source or (iv) a trust if (A) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (B) it has in effect a valid election to be treated as a U.S. person.
This discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships or other pass-through entities or persons who hold our securities through such entities. If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement classified as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes) is the beneficial owner of our securities, the United States federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships holding our securities and partners in such partnerships are urged to consult their own tax advisors.
THIS DISCUSSION IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF CERTAIN UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES. EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR IN OUR SECURITIES IS URGED TO CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR WITH RESPECT TO THE PARTICULAR TAX CONSEQUENCES TO SUCH INVESTOR OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES, INCLUDING THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF ANY STATE, LOCAL, AND NON-U.S. TAX LAWS.
Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit
No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or instruments similar to a unit for United States federal income tax purposes, and therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. The acquisition of a unit should be treated for United States federal income tax purposes as the acquisition of one share of our Class A ordinary shares and one-half of one warrant, a whole one of which is exercisable to acquire one share of our Class A ordinary shares. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner and, by purchasing a unit, you must adopt such treatment for tax purposes. For United States federal income tax purposes, each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the one Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. The price allocated to each Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant should be the shareholder’s tax basis in such share or warrant. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for United States federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the Class A ordinary share and warrant based on their respective relative fair market values. The separation of the Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant constituting a unit should not be a taxable event for United States federal income tax purposes.
The foregoing treatment of the Class A ordinary shares and warrants and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each prospective investor is urged to consult its tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for United States federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holders
Taxation of Distributions
Subject to the passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will be required to include in gross income as dividends the amount of any cash distribution paid on our Class A ordinary shares to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated
earnings and profits (as determined under United States federal income tax principles). Such dividends paid by us will be taxable to a corporate U.S. Holder at regular rates and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received from other domestic corporations. Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, distributions in excess of such earnings and profits generally will be applied against and reduce the U.S. Holder’s basis in its Class A ordinary shares (but not below zero) and, to the extent in excess of such basis, will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such Class A ordinary shares.
With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, under tax laws currently in effect, dividends generally will be taxed at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rate (see “Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below) only if our Class A ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States and certain other requirements are met. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of such lower rate for any dividends paid with respect to our Class A ordinary shares.
Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss on the sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants (including on our dissolution and liquidation if we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period). Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for such Class A ordinary shares or warrants exceeds one year. It is unclear, however, whether certain redemption rights described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose.
The amount of gain or loss recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition generally will be equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the Class A ordinary shares or warrants are held as part of units at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the Class A ordinary shares or warrants based upon the then fair market values of the Class A ordinary shares and the warrants included in the units) and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A ordinary shares or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A ordinary shares generally will equal the U.S. Holder’s acquisition cost (that is, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to a share of Class A ordinary shares or one-half of one warrant, as described above under “— Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) reduced by any prior distributions treated as a return of capital. Long-term capital gain realized by a non-corporate U.S. Holder is currently eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. See “— Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant” below for a discussion regarding a U.S. Holder’s basis in a Class A ordinary share acquired pursuant to the exercise of a warrant. The deduction of capital losses is subject to certain limitations.
Redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, in the event that a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares are redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under “Description of Securities — Ordinary Shares” or if we purchase a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares in an open market transaction, the treatment of the transaction for United States federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as a sale of the Class A ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption or purchase by us qualifies as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as described under “Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” above. If the redemption or purchase by us does not qualify as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution with the tax consequences described above under “Taxation of Distributions.” Whether a redemption or purchase by us qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our shares treated as held by the U.S. Holder (including any shares constructively owned by the U.S. Holder as a result of owning warrants) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after such redemption or purchase. The redemption or purchase by us of Class A ordinary shares generally will be treated as a sale of the Class A
ordinary shares (rather than as a corporate distribution) if such redemption or purchase (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. Holder, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. Holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. Holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. Holder takes into account not only our shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder, but also our shares that are constructively owned by such holder. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition to shares owned directly, shares owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. Holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. Holder, as well as any shares the U.S. Holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include Class A ordinary shares which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the warrants. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of Class A ordinary shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80 percent of the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately before the redemption. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (i) all of our shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed or (ii) all of our shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed and the U.S. Holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of shares owned by certain family members and the U.S. Holder does not constructively own any other shares of ours. The redemption of the Class A ordinary shares will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if a U.S. Holder’s conversion results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority shareholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” A U.S. Holder should consult with its own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption.
If none of the foregoing tests are satisfied, then the redemption will be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “Taxation of Distributions” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. Holder in the redeemed Class A ordinary shares will be added to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its remaining shares, or, if it has none, to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its warrants or possibly in other shares constructively owned by such holder.
Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below and except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. Holder generally will not recognize gain or loss upon the acquisition of a Class A ordinary share on the exercise of a warrant for cash. A U.S. Holder’s tax basis in a Class A ordinary share received upon exercise of the warrant generally will equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrant (that is, the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “— Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary share will commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrant. If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant.
The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current law. A cashless exercise may not be taxable, either because the exercise is not a realization event or because the exercise is treated as a recapitalization for United States federal income tax purposes. In either situation, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares received generally would equal the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants. If the cashless exercise was not a realization event, it is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary share will commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the Class A ordinary shares would include the holding period of the warrants.
It is also possible that a cashless exercise may be treated as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a U.S. Holder may be deemed to have surrendered warrants with an aggregate fair market value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. The U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in such warrants. In this case, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares received would equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrants exercised (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “— Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price of such warrants. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary share would commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant.
Due to the absence of authority on the United States federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences and holding periods described above would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.
Possible Constructive Distributions
The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of Class A ordinary shares for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Shareholders’ and Forward Purchase Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The U.S. Holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of Class A ordinary shares that would be obtained upon exercise) as a result of a distribution of cash to the holders of our Class A ordinary shares which is taxable to the U.S. Holders of such Class A ordinary shares as described under “— Taxation of Distributions” above. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as described under that section in the same manner as if the U.S. Holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of the increase in the interest. For certain information reporting purposes, we are required to determine the date and amount of any such constructive distributions. Proposed Treasury regulations, which we may rely on prior to the issuance of final regulations, specify how the date and amount of constructive distributions are determined.
Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
A non-U.S. corporation will be classified as a PFIC for United States federal income tax purposes if either (i) at least 75% of its gross income in a taxable year, including its pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, is passive income or (ii) at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year (ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year), including its pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, are held for the production of, or produce, passive income. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of passive assets.
Because we are a blank check company, with no current active business, we believe that it is likely that we will meet the PFIC asset or income test for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2018. However, pursuant to a startup exception, a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year the corporation has gross income (the “startup year”), if (1) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC; (2) the corporation satisfies the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the first two taxable years following the startup year; and (3) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. Although subject to uncertainty, we may qualify for the startup exception for 2018, and, accordingly, we would not be treated as a PFIC for 2018. The applicability of the startup exception to us will not be known until after the close of our current taxable year ending December 31, 2018 and, perhaps, until after the close of the first two taxable years following our startup year (within the meaning of the startup exception). Although
subject to uncertainty, it is possible that we could be treated as a PFIC for a taxable year prior to our startup year (within the meaning of the startup exception). Further, after the acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination, we may still meet one of the PFIC tests depending on the timing of the acquisition and the amount of our passive income and assets as well as the passive income and assets of the acquired business. If the company that we acquire in a business combination is a PFIC, then we will likely not qualify for the startup exception and will be a PFIC for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2018. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Accordingly, there can be no assurance with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2018 or any future taxable year.
Although our PFIC status is determined annually, an initial determination that our company is a PFIC will generally apply for subsequent years to a U.S. Holder who held Class A ordinary shares or warrants while we were a PFIC, whether or not we meet the test for PFIC status in those subsequent years. If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants and, in the case of our Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder did not make either a timely qualified electing fund (“QEF”) election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) Class A ordinary shares, as described below, such U.S. Holder generally will be subject to special rules with respect to (i) any gain recognized by the U.S. Holder on the sale or other disposition of its Class A ordinary shares or warrants and (ii) any “excess distribution” made to the U.S. Holder (generally, any distributions to such U.S. Holder during a taxable year of the U.S. Holder that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. Holder in respect of the Class A ordinary shares during the three preceding taxable years of such U.S. Holder or, if shorter, such U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares).
Under these rules:
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the U.S. Holder’s gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares or warrants;
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the amount allocated to the U.S. Holder’s taxable year in which the U.S. Holder recognized the gain or received the excess distribution, or to the period in the U.S. Holder’s holding period before the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, will be taxed as ordinary income;
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the amount allocated to other taxable years (or portions thereof) of the U.S. Holder and included in its holding period will be taxed at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and applicable to the U.S. Holder; and
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an additional tax equal to the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed on the U.S. Holder with respect to the tax attributable to each such other taxable year of the U.S. Holder.
In general, if we are determined to be a PFIC, a U.S. Holder will avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above in respect to our Class A ordinary shares (but not our warrants) by making a timely and valid QEF election (if eligible to do so) to include in income its pro rata share of our net capital gains (as long-term capital gain) and other earnings and profits (as ordinary income), on a current basis, in each case whether or not distributed, in the taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which or with which our taxable year ends. A U.S. Holder generally may make a separate election to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject to an interest charge.
A U.S. Holder may not make a QEF election with respect to its warrants to acquire our Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if a U.S. Holder sells or otherwise disposes of such warrants (other than upon exercise of such warrants) and we were a PFIC at any time during the U.S. Holder’s holding period of such warrants, any gain recognized generally will be treated as an excess distribution, taxed as described above. If a U.S. Holder that exercises such warrants properly makes a QEF election with respect to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (or has previously made a QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares), the QEF election will apply to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the adverse tax consequences relating to PFIC shares, adjusted to take into account the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, will continue to apply with respect
to such newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (which generally will be deemed to have a holding period for purposes of the PFIC rules that includes the period the U.S. Holder held the warrants), unless the U.S. Holder makes a purging election under the PFIC rules. Under the purging election, the U.S. Holder will be deemed to have sold such shares at their fair market value and any gain recognized on such deemed sale will be treated as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of the purging election, the U.S. Holder will have a new basis and holding period in the Class A ordinary shares acquired upon the exercise of the warrants for purposes of the PFIC rules.
The QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, can be revoked only with the consent of the IRS. A U.S. Holder generally makes a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621 (Information Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund), including the information provided in a PFIC annual information statement, to a timely filed United States federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. Retroactive QEF elections generally may be made only by filing a protective statement with such return and if certain other conditions are met or with the consent of the IRS. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election under their particular circumstances.
In order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, a U.S. Holder must receive a PFIC annual information statement from us. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year (of which there can be no assurance), we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the IRS may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a QEF election, but there is no assurance that we will timely provide such required information. There is also no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the required information to be provided.
If a U.S. Holder has made a QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares, and the excess distribution rules discussed above do not apply to such shares (because of a timely QEF election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) such shares or a purge of the PFIC taint pursuant to a purging election, as described above), any gain recognized on the sale of our Class A ordinary shares generally will be taxable as capital gain and no additional tax charge will be imposed under the PFIC rules. As discussed above, if we are a PFIC for any taxable year, a U.S. Holder of our Class A ordinary shares that has made a QEF election will be currently taxed on its pro rata share of our earnings and profits, whether or not distributed for such year. A subsequent distribution of such earnings and profits that were previously included in income generally should not be taxable when distributed to such U.S. Holder. The tax basis of a U.S. Holder’s shares in a QEF will be increased by amounts that are included in income, and decreased by amounts distributed but not taxed as dividends, under the above rules. In addition, if we are not a PFIC for any taxable year, such U.S. Holder will not be subject to the QEF inclusion regime with respect to our Class A ordinary shares for such a taxable year.
If we are a PFIC and our Class A ordinary shares constitute “marketable stock,” a U.S. Holder may avoid the adverse PFIC tax consequences discussed above if such U.S. Holder, at the close of the first taxable year in which it holds (or is deemed to hold) our Class A ordinary shares, makes a mark-to-market election with respect to such shares for such taxable year. Such U.S. Holder generally will include for each of its taxable years as ordinary income the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its Class A ordinary shares at the end of such year over its adjusted basis in its Class A ordinary shares. The U.S. Holder also will recognize an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of its adjusted basis of its Class A ordinary shares over the fair market value of its Class A ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election). The U.S. Holder’s basis in its Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts, and any further gain recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition of its Class A ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary income. Currently, a mark-to-market election may not be made with respect to warrants.
The mark-to-market election is available only for “marketable stock,” generally, stock that is regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the NYSE (on which we intend to list the Class A ordinary shares), or on a foreign exchange or
market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election in respect to our Class A ordinary shares under their particular circumstances.
If we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a foreign subsidiary that is classified as a PFIC, U.S. Holders generally would be deemed to own a portion of the shares of such lower-tier PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the lower-tier PFIC or the U.S. Holders otherwise were deemed to have disposed of an interest in the lower-tier PFIC. We will endeavor to cause any lower-tier PFIC to provide to a U.S. Holder the information that may be required to make or maintain a QEF election with respect to the lower-tier PFIC. There can be no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such lower-tier PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in any such lower-tier PFIC and thus there can be no assurance we will be able to cause the lower-tier PFIC to provide such required information. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by lower-tier PFICs.
A U.S. Holder that owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year of the U.S. Holder, may have to file an IRS Form 8621 (whether or not a QEF or mark-to-market election is made) and such other information as may be required by the U.S. Treasury Department. Failure to do so, if required, will extend the statute of limitations until such required information is furnished to the IRS.
The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF and mark-to-market elections are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, U.S. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants should consult their own tax advisors concerning the application of the PFIC rules to our securities under their particular circumstances.
Tax Reporting
Certain U.S. Holders may be required to file an IRS Form 926 (Return by a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation) to report a transfer of property (including cash) to us. Substantial penalties may be imposed on a U.S. Holder that fails to comply with this reporting requirement. Furthermore, certain U.S. Holders who are individuals and certain entities will be required to report information with respect to such U.S. Holder’s investment in “specified foreign financial assets” on IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), subject to certain exceptions. An interest in the Company constitutes a specified foreign financial asset for these purposes. Persons who are required to report specified foreign financial assets and fail to do so may be subject to substantial penalties. Potential investors are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding the foreign financial asset and other reporting obligations and their application to an investment in our Class A ordinary shares and warrants.
Non-U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a “Non-U.S. Holder.” As used herein, the term “Non-U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
•
a non-resident alien individual (other than certain former citizens and residents of the United States subject to U.S. tax as expatriates);
•
a foreign corporation; or
•
an estate or trust that is not a U.S. Holder;
but generally does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition. If you are such an individual, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the sale or other disposition of our securities.
Dividends (including constructive distributions) paid or deemed paid to a Non-U.S. Holder in respect of our Class A ordinary shares generally will not be subject to United States federal income tax, unless the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the
United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States). In addition, a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to United States federal income tax on any gain attributable to a sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants unless such gain is effectively connected with its conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States).
Dividends (including constructive distributions) and gains that are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base in the United States) generally will be subject to United States federal income tax at the same regular United States federal income tax rates applicable to a comparable U.S. Holder and, in the case of a Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes, also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate.
The United States federal income tax treatment of a Non-U.S. Holder’s exercise of a warrant, or the lapse of a warrant held by a Non-U.S. Holder, generally will correspond to the United States federal income tax treatment of the exercise or lapse of a warrant by a U.S. Holder, as described under “U.S. Holders — Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant,” above, although to the extent a cashless exercise results in a taxable exchange, the consequences would be similar to those described in the preceding paragraphs above for a Non-U.S. Holder’s gain on the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Dividend payments with respect to our Class A ordinary shares and proceeds from the sale, exchange or redemption of our Class A ordinary shares may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and possible United States backup withholding. Backup withholding will not apply, however, to a U.S. Holder who furnishes a correct taxpayer identification number and makes other required certifications, or who is otherwise exempt from backup withholding and establishes such exempt status. A Non-U.S. Holder generally will eliminate the requirement for information reporting and backup withholding by providing certification of its foreign status, under penalties of perjury, on a duly executed applicable IRS Form W-8 or by otherwise establishing an exemption.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against a holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, and a holder generally may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by timely filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS and furnishing any required information. Holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the application of backup withholding and the availability of and procedure for obtaining an exemption from backup withholding in their particular circumstances.
UNDERWRITING
Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an underwriting agreement dated , 2018 we have agreed to sell to the underwriters named below, for whom Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and UBS Securities LLC are acting as representatives, the following respective numbers of units:
Underwriter
|
|
|
Number of
Units
|
|
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UBS Securities LLC
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
|
20,000,000
|
|
|
|
The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters are obligated to purchase all the units in the offering if any are purchased, other than those units covered by the over-allotment option described below.
We have granted to the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase on a pro rata basis up to 3,000,000 additional units at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The option may be exercised only to cover any over-allotments of units.
The underwriters propose to offer the units initially at the public offering price on the cover page of this prospectus and to selling group members at that price less a selling concession of $ per unit. The underwriters and the selling group members may allow a discount of $ per unit on sales to other broker/dealers. After the initial public offering the underwriters may change the public offering price and concession and discount to broker/dealers.
The following table summarizes the compensation and estimated expenses we will pay.
|
|
|
Per Unit
(1)
|
|
|
Total
(1)
|
|
|
|
|
Without
Over-allotment
|
|
|
With
Over-allotment
|
|
|
Without
Over-allotment
|
|
|
With
Over-allotment
|
|
Underwriting Discounts and Commissions Paid
by Us
|
|
|
|
$
|
0.55
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
0.55
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
11,000,000
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
12,650,000
|
|
|
(1)
Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) 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. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriters only upon completion of an initial business combination.
We estimate that our out-of-pocket expenses for this offering will be approximately $1,000,000. We have agreed to pay for the FINRA-related fees and expenses of the underwriters’ legal counsel, not to exceed $25,000.
The representatives have informed us that the underwriters do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.
We, our initial shareholders and our officers and directors have agreed that we will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, without the prior written consent of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and UBS Securities LLC for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, any units, warrants, ordinary shares or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, ordinary shares; provided, however, that we may (1) issue and sell the private placement warrants, (2) issue and sell the additional units to cover our underwriters’ over-allotment option (if any), (3) register with the SEC pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be entered into concurrently with the closing of this offering, the resale of the private placement warrants and the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and the founder shares, and (4) issue securities in connection with our initial business combination. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and UBS Securities LLC in their sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.
Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earliest of (a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination with respect to 50% of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof, (b) two years after the completion of our initial business combination with respect to the remaining 50% of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof, and (c) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Our anchor investors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of (A) one year after the closing of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, if (x) the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share 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, or (y) we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in that respect.
We expect our units to be listed on the NYSE, under the symbol “NFC.U” and, once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants begin separate trading, to have our Class A ordinary shares and warrants listed on the NYSE under the symbols “NFC” and “NFC WS,” respectively.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities.
The determination of our per unit offering price was more arbitrary than would typically be the case if we were an operating company. Among the factors considered in determining initial public offering price were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure, and currently prevailing general conditions in equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company. We cannot assure you, however, that the price at which the units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants will develop and continue after this offering.
If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the trustee and the underwriters have agreed that: (i) they will forfeit any rights or claims to their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account; and (ii) the deferred underwriters’ discounts and commissions will be distributed on a pro rata basis, together with any accrued interest thereon (which interest shall be net of taxes payable by us) to the public shareholders.
In connection with this offering, the underwriters may engage in stabilizing transactions, over-allotment transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
•
Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum.
•
Over-allotment involves sales by the underwriters of units in excess of the number of units the underwriters are obligated to purchase, which creates a syndicate short position. The short position may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of units over-allotted by the underwriters is not greater than the number of units that they may purchase in the over-allotment option. In a naked short position, the number of units involved is greater than the number of units in the over-allotment option. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their over-allotment option and/or purchasing units in the open market.
•
Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the units in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In determining the source of units to close out the short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the over-allotment option. If the underwriters sell more units than could be covered by the over-allotment option, a naked short position, the position can only be closed out by buying units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there could be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering.
•
Penalty bids permit the representatives to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the units originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions.
These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. As a result, the price of our units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. These transactions may be effected on the NYSE or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
We are not under any contractual obligation to engage any of the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so. However, any of the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future. If any of the underwriters provide services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters and no fees for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters prior to the date that is 90 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering and we may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination. None of the underwriters or their affiliates are under any obligation to provide us services in the future, including with respect to our initial business combination. The underwriters and/or their affiliates engage in advisory, underwriting, lending and financing, principal investing, sales and trading, research and investment management activities with a variety of clients and counterparties, corporate, governmental, institutional and individual. Consequently, at the time of our initial business combination the underwriters may advise or provide financing or other services to the target business, the sellers of the target business or other entities competing with us to acquire the target business.
Some of the underwriters and their affiliates have engaged in, and may in the future engage in, investment banking and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates, including in connection with acting in an advisory capacity or as a potential financing source in conjunction with our potential acquisition of a business. They have received, or may in the future receive, customary fees and commissions for these transactions.
In addition, in the ordinary course of their business activities, the underwriters and their affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or
instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by one or more of the underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering and one or more of the underwriters participating in this offering may distribute prospectuses electronically. The representatives may agree to allocate a number of units to underwriters and selling group members for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriters and selling group members that will make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.
The units are offered for sale in those jurisdictions in the United States, Europe, Asia and elsewhere where it is lawful to make such offers.
Each of the underwriters has represented and agreed that it has not offered, sold or delivered and will not offer, sell or deliver any of the units directly or indirectly, or distribute this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, in or from any jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations thereof and that will not impose any obligations on us except as set forth in the underwriting agreement.
Notice to Investors in the European Economic Area
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “Relevant Member State”), each underwriter represents and agrees that with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that Relevant Member State (the “Relevant Implementation Date”) it has not made and will not make an offer of units to the public in that Relevant Member State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that it may, with effect from and including the Relevant Implementation Date, make an offer of units to the public in that Relevant Member State at any time:
(a)
to legal entities which are authorized or regulated to operate in the financial markets or, if not so authorized or regulated, whose corporate purpose is solely to invest in securities;
(b)
to any legal entity which has two or more of (1) an average of at least 250 employees during the last financial year; (2) a total balance sheet of more than €43,000,000; and (3) an annual net turnover of more than €50,000,000, as shown in its last annual or consolidated accounts;
(c)
to fewer than 100 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the manager for any such offer; or
(d)
in any other circumstances which do not require the publication by the issuer of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer of units to the public” in relation to any units in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the units, as the same may be varied in that Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State and the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State.
Notice to Investors in the United Kingdom
Each of the underwriters severally represents, warrants and agrees as follows:
(a)
it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the
meaning of section 21 of FSMA) to persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling with Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 or in circumstances in which section 21 of FSMA does not apply to the company; and
(b)
it has complied with, and will comply with all applicable provisions of FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the units in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.
Notice to Residents of Japan
The underwriters will not offer or sell any of our units directly or indirectly in Japan or to, or for the benefit of any Japanese person or to others, for re-offering or re-sale directly or indirectly in Japan or to any Japanese person, except in each case pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Securities and Exchange Law of Japan and any other applicable laws and regulations of Japan. For purposes of this paragraph, “Japanese person” means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.
Notice to Residents of Hong Kong
The underwriters and each of their affiliates have not (1) offered or sold, and will not offer or sell, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, our units other than (A) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance or (B) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32 of Hong Kong) or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance or (2) issued or had in its possession for the purposes of issue, and will not issue or have in its possession for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere any advertisement, invitation or document relating to our units which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to our securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance. The contents of this document have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in Hong Kong. You are advised to exercise caution in relation to the offer. If you are in any doubt about any of the contents of this document, you should obtain independent professional advice.
Notice to Residents of Singapore
This prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units has not been and will not be registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the units will be offered in Singapore pursuant to exemptions under Section 274 and Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “Securities and Futures Act”). Accordingly, our units may not be offered or sold, or be the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units be circulated or distributed, whether directly or indirectly, to the public or any member of the public in Singapore other than (a) to an institutional investor or other person specified in Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, (b) to a sophisticated investor, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act or (c) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the Securities and Futures Act.
Notice to Residents of Germany
Each person who is in possession of this prospectus is aware that no German sales prospectus (Verkaufsprospekt) within the meaning of the Securities Sales Prospectus Act (Wertpapier-Verkaufsprospektgesetz, the “Act”) of the Federal Republic of Germany has been or will be published with respect to our units. In particular, each underwriter has represented that it has not engaged and has agreed that it will not engage in a public offering (offentliches Angebot) within the meaning of the Act with respect to any of our units otherwise then in accordance with the Act and all other applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Notice to Residents of France
The units are being issued and sold outside the Republic of France and that, in connection with their initial distribution, it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell, directly or indirectly, any units to the public in the Republic of France, and that it has not distributed and will not distribute or cause to be distributed to the public in the Republic of France this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, and that such offers, sales and distributions have been and will be made in the Republic of France only to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) in accordance with Article L.411-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code and décret no. 98-880 dated October 1, 1998.
Notice to Residents of the Netherlands
Our units may not be offered, sold, transferred or delivered in or from the Netherlands as part of their initial distribution or at any time thereafter, directly or indirectly, other than to, individuals or legal entities situated in the Netherlands who or which trade or invest in securities in the conduct of a business or profession (which includes banks, securities intermediaries (including dealers and brokers), insurance companies, pension funds, collective investment institution, central governments, large international and supranational organizations, other institutional investors and other parties, including treasury departments of commercial enterprises, which as an ancillary activity regularly invest in securities; hereinafter, “Professional Investors”), provided that in the offer, prospectus and in any other documents or advertisements in which a forthcoming offering of our units is publicly announced (whether electronically or otherwise) in the Netherlands it is stated that such offer is and will be exclusively made to such Professional Investors. Individual or legal entities who are not Professional Investors may not participate in the offering of our units, and this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units may not be considered an offer or the prospect of an offer to sell or exchange our units.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the Cayman Islands
No invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our shares.
Notice to Canadian Residents
Resale Restrictions
The distribution of units in Canada is being made only in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these securities are made. Any resale of the units in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the securities.
Representations of Canadian Purchasers
By purchasing units in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:
•
the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the units without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an “accredited investor” as defined under National Instrument 45-106 —
Prospectus Exemptions
;
•
the purchaser is a “permitted client” as defined in National Instrument 31-103 —
Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations
;
•
where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent; and
•
the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions.
Conflicts of Interest
Canadian purchasers are hereby notified that Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is relying on the exemption set out in section 3A.3 or 3A.4, if applicable, of National Instrument 33-105 —
Underwriting Conflicts
from having to provide certain conflict of interest disclosure in this document.
Statutory Rights of Action
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if the prospectus (including any amendment thereto) such as this document contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser of these securities in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Enforcement of Legal Rights
All of our directors and officers as well as the experts named herein may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.
Taxation and Eligibility for Investment
Canadian purchasers of units should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in the units in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the units for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation.
LEGAL MATTERS
Winston & Strawn LLP, New York, New York, is acting as counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act, and as such, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to units and warrants. Maples and Calder will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to the ordinary shares and matters of Cayman Islands law. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP advised the underwriters in connection with the offering of the securities.
EXPERTS
The balance sheet of New Frontier Corporation as of April 19, 2018 and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from March 28, 2018 (date of inception) to April 19, 2018 appearing in this prospectus have been audited by WithumSmith+Brown, PC, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon, appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, and are included in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.
Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at
www.sec.gov
. You may also read and copy any document we file with the SEC at its Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The information we file with the SEC or contained on or accessible through our corporate website or any other website that we may maintain is not part of this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
You may also obtain copies of the documents at prescribed rates by writing to the Public Reference Room of the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the Public Reference Room.
NEW FRONTIER CORPORATION
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
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Page
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Audited Financial Statements of New Frontier Corporation:
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F-2
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|
|
F-3
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|
|
|
|
|
F-4
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|
|
|
|
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F-5
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|
|
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|
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F-6
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F-7
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of New Frontier Corporation (the “Company”) as of April 19, 2018, and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from March 28, 2018 (date of inception) to April 19, 2018, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of April 19, 2018, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from March 28, 2018 (date of inception) to April 19, 2018, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2018.
Whippany, New Jersey
April 27, 2018
NEW FRONTIER CORPORATION
BALANCE SHEET
April 19, 2018
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ASSETS:
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Current asset:
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Cash
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$
|
—
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|
|
|
Deferred offering costs
|
|
|
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120,618
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|
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|
Total assets
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|
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$
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120,618
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|
|
|
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY:
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Current Liabilities:
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|
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Accrued expenses
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$
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101,628
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|
|
|
Shareholder’s equity:
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Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding
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|
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|
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—
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Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 180,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding
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—
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|
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|
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 10,750,000 shares issued and outstanding
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|
|
|
|
1,075
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|
|
|
Additional paid-in capital
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|
|
|
|
23,925
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|
|
|
Accumulated deficit
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|
|
|
|
(6,010
)
|
|
|
|
Total shareholder’s equity
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|
|
|
|
18,990
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|
|
|
Total liabilities and shareholder’s equity
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|
|
|
$
|
120,618
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|
|
|
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
NEW FRONTIER CORPORATION
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
For the period from March 28, 2018 (date of inception) to April 19, 2018
|
Revenue
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|
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|
$
|
—
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|
|
|
General and administrative expenses
|
|
|
|
|
6,010
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|
|
|
Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholder
|
|
|
|
$
|
(6,010
)
|
|
|
|
Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding
(1)
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|
|
|
|
5,000,000
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|
|
|
Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholder
|
|
|
|
$
|
(0.00
)
|
|
|
|
(1)
This number excludes an aggregate of up to 750,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to surrender if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriters and excludes up to 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to surrender ratably to the extent the total forward purchase of securities by anchor investors is less than $200,000,000.
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
NEW FRONTIER CORPORATION
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY
For the period from March 28, 2018 (date of inception) to April 19, 2018
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|
|
Class B Ordinary
Shares
|
|
|
Additional
Paid-In
Capital
|
|
|
Accumulated
Deficit
|
|
|
Total
Shareholder’s
Equity
|
|
|
Shares
|
|
|
Amount
|
|
Issuance of ordinary shares to initial shareholder at $0.0001 per share
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|
|
|
|
10,750,000
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
1,075
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
23,925
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|
|
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
25,000
|
|
|
Net loss
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|
|
|
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—
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
(6,010
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
(6,010
)
|
|
|
Balances as of April 19, 2018
|
|
|
|
|
10,750,000
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
1,075
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|
|
|
|
$
|
23,925
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
(6,010
)
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
18,990
|
|
|
|
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
NEW FRONTIER CORPORATION
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
For the period from March 28, 2018 (date of inception) to April 19, 2018
|
Cash flows from operating activities:
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss
|
|
|
|
$
|
(6,010
)
|
|
|
|
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:
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|
|
|
|
|
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|
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Formation expenses paid by Sponsor
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|
|
|
|
6,010
|
|
|
|
Net cash provided by operating activities
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
Increase in cash
|
|
|
|
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—
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Cash at beginning of period
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|
|
|
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—
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Cash at end of period
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|
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$
|
—
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|
|
|
Supplemental Schedule of Non-Cash Financing Activities:
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|
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|
|
|
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|
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Formation and offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for Founder Shares
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|
|
|
$
|
25,000
|
|
|
|
Deferred offering costs included in accrued expenses
|
|
|
|
$
|
120,618
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|
|
|
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
NEW FRONTIER CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. Organization and Business Operations
Incorporation
New Frontier Corporation (the “Company”) was incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on March 28, 2018. The functional currency of the Company is the United States dollar.
Sponsor
The Company’s sponsor is New Frontier Public Holding Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Sponsor”). New Frontier Capital II Limited is the member of the Sponsor.
Fiscal Year End
The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
Business Purpose
The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more operating businesses that it has not yet selected (a “Business Combination”). The Company has neither engaged in any operations nor generated significant revenue to date.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of its proposed initial public offering of Units (as defined in Note 3 below) (the “Proposed Offering”), although substantially all of the net proceeds of the Proposed Offering are intended to be generally applied toward completing a Business Combination. Furthermore, there is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully complete a Business Combination.
Financing
The Sponsor intends to finance a Business Combination in part with proceeds from a $200,000,000 public offering (the “Proposed Offering” — Note 3) and a private placement (Note 4).
Upon the closing of the Proposed Offering and the private placement, $200,000,000 (or $230,000,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full — Note 3) will be held in the Trust Account (discussed below).
Trust Account
The trust account (the “Trust Account”) will be invested in permitted United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, which we refer to as the Investment Company Act, having a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act that invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.
The Company’s memorandum and articles of association provide that, other than the withdrawal of interest earned on the funds that may be released to the Company to pay income taxes, if any, none of the funds held in trust will be released until the earlier of: (i) the completion of the Business Combination; (ii) the redemption of 100% of the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being sold in the Proposed Offering (the “public shares”) if the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Offering; or (iii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the public shares if the Company does not complete the Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Offering.
The Company, after signing a definitive agreement for a Business Combination, will either (i) seek shareholder approval of the Business Combination at a meeting called for such purpose in connection with which shareholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the Business Combination, for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay income taxes, or (ii) provide the holders of the public shares, “public shareholders,” with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount in cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to commencement of the tender offer, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us pay income taxes. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of the Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require the Company to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. If the Company seeks shareholder approval, it will complete its Business Combination only if a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. However, in no event will the Company redeem its public shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. In such case, the Company would not proceed with the redemption of its public shares and the related Business Combination, and instead may search for an alternate Business Combination.
If the Company holds a shareholder vote in connection with a Business Combination, a public shareholder will have the right to redeem its shares for an amount in cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account but not previously released to the Company to pay income taxes. As a result, such ordinary shares will be recorded at redemption amount and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Offering, in accordance with FASB, ASC 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” The amount in the Trust Account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public ordinary share ($200,000,000 held in the Trust Account divided by 20,000,000 public ordinary shares).
The Company will only have 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Offering to complete its initial Business Combination. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within this period of time, it will (i) cease all operations except for the purposes 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 net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholder’s rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of its remaining shareholders and its board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to its obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, in the event we commence a liquidation and all public shares have been redeemed, all founder shares not held by the sponsor shall be surrendered to the company for no consideration, such that only the founder shares held by the sponsor share in any assets in liquidation.
The Sponsor and certain accredited investors will enter into forward purchase agreements (“Forward Purchase Agreements”) with the Company (the “anchor investors” and collectively with the Sponsor, the “initial shareholders”) pursuant to which they will agree to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and, with respect to the initial shareholders other than the anchor investors, public shares in connection with the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and, with respect to the initial shareholders other than the anchor investors, public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the public shares if it has not consummated an
initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Offering and (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any public shares they hold if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame).
Emerging Growth Company
Section 102(b)(1) of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (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 registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) 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. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accountant standards used.
2. Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements of the Company are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with ASU 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern” as of April 19, 2018, the Company does not have sufficient liquidity to meet its current obligations. However, management has determined that the Company has access to funds from the Sponsor entity that are sufficient to fund the working capital needs of the Company until the earlier of the consummation of the Proposed Offering or a minimum one year from the date of issuance of these financial statements.
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were available to be issued.
Net Loss Per Ordinary Share
Net loss per ordinary share is computed by dividing net loss applicable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period, plus to the extent dilutive the incremental number of ordinary shares to settle warrants, as calculated using the treasury method. At April 19, 2018, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company under the treasury method. As a result, diluted loss per ordinary share is the same as basic loss per ordinary share for the period.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution which, at times, may exceed the Federal depository insurance coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Deferred Offering Costs
The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC 340-10-S99-1. Deferred offering costs of $120,618 consist principally of legal and accounting fees incurred through the balance sheet date that are related to the Proposed Offering and that will be charged to capital upon the receipt of the capital raised or charged to operations if the Proposed Offering is not completed.
Income Taxes
The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standard Codification, or FASB ASC, 740, “Income Taxes,” which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of April 19, 2018. FASB ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties at April 19, 2018. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
3. Proposed Offering
Public Units
Pursuant to the Proposed Offering, the Company will offer for sale up to 20,000,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit (the “Units”). Each Unit consists of one of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-half of one redeemable warrant (the “Warrants”). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. Each Warrant will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination or 12 months from the closing of the Proposed Offering. However, if the Company does not complete its initial Business Combination on or prior to the 24-month period allotted to complete the Business Combination, the Warrants will expire at the end of such period. If the Company is unable to deliver
registered ordinary shares to the holder upon exercise of Warrants issued in connection with the 20,000,000 Units during the exercise period, there will be no net cash settlement of these Warrants and the Warrants will expire worthless, unless they may be exercised on a cashless basis in the circumstances described in the warrant agreement governing the Company’s warrants.
The Company expects to grant the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional Units to cover any over-allotment, at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions.
The Company expects to pay an underwriting discount at the closing of the Proposed Offering, a portion of which will be deferred and payable upon the Company’s completion of an initial Business Combination. The deferred portion of the discount will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event the Company completes its initial Business Combination.
4. Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
During the period ended March 28, 2018 (date of inception) to April 19, 2018, (i) the Sponsor received 10,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Founder Shares”), in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000.
The Founder Shares are identical to the public shares except that the Founder Shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below. The initial shareholders will collectively own 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Proposed Offering to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised at all.
If the Company decreases the size of the Proposed Offering, or if the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option in full, the Sponsor will forfeit up to 750,000 Founder Shares for no consideration so as to maintain the ownership of the initial shareholders (together with any permitted transferees of their Founder Shares), on an as-converted basis, at 20% the sum of (i) the number of public shares (including any such shares issued following the exercise of the over-allotment option), (ii) the number of founder shares held by our sponsor and anchor investors (together with any permitted transferees of such founder shares) following such forfeiture and (iii) the number of forward purchase shares required to be purchased by the anchor investors pursuant to the forward purchase agreements.
The Sponsor and anchor investors will forfeit up to 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares ratably to the extent the total forward purchase of securities by the anchor investors is less than $200,000,000.
The Sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earlier of (a) one year after the completion of the initial business combination with respect to 50% of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof, (b) two years after the completion of the initial business combination with respect to the remaining 50% of its founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof, and (c) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after the initial business combination that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. The Anchor Investors have agreed to not transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to the initial business combination, if (x) the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial business combination, or (y) the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
Private Placement Warrants
The Sponsor has committed, pursuant to separate written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 6,000,000 private placement warrants (or 6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share (the “Private Placement Warrants”), at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate or $6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Offering. Each Private Placement Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. The purchase price of the Private Placement Warrants will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Offering to be held in the Trust Account pending completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination. The Private Placement Warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination and they will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the Units being sold in this offering. 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 and have no net cash settlement provisions.
If the Company does not complete a Business Combination, then the proceeds will be part of the liquidating distribution to the public shareholders and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
Registration Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be entered into concurrently with the closing of the Proposed Offering, the holders of the Private Placement Warrants, the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the working capital loans, and the Founder Shares will be entitled to registration rights with respect to such warrants and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants and Founder Shares. These holders will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed by the Company. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the Lock-up Period.
Sponsor Loans
The Company’s Sponsor has agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Proposed Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). This loan is non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2018 or the completion of the Proposed Offering. The Company has not borrowed any amounts under the Note as of April 19, 2018.
Administrative Services Agreement
The Company will pay $10,000 per month to an affiliate of the Sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of the Company’s management team. Upon completion of the initial Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying such monthly fees.
Working Capital Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial Business Combination, our Sponsor may, but is not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required. If the Company completes its initial Business Combination, the Company would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that the Company’s initial Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay
such loaned amounts but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.
5. Shareholder’s Equity
Class A Ordinary Shares
— The Company is authorized to issue 180,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. At April 19, 2018, there were no Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding.
Class B Ordinary Shares
— The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. At April 19, 2018, there were 10,750,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding, of which up to 750,000 are subject to surrender to the Company for no consideration to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part, and up to 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to surrender ratably to the extent the total forward purchase of securities by anchor investors is less than $200,000,000.
Preference Shares
— The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 preference shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. At April 19, 2018, there are no preference shares issued or outstanding.
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with the offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions) will be as follows:
|
SEC expenses
|
|
|
|
$
|
30,000
|
|
|
|
FINRA expenses
|
|
|
|
|
35,000
|
|
|
|
Accounting fees and expenses
|
|
|
|
|
50,000
|
|
|
|
Printing and engraving expenses
|
|
|
|
|
45,000
|
|
|
|
Travel and road show expenses
|
|
|
|
|
25,000
|
|
|
|
Legal fees and expenses
|
|
|
|
|
350,000
|
|
|
|
Listing and filing fees
|
|
|
|
|
85,000
|
|
|
|
Director & Officers liability insurance premiums
(1)
|
|
|
|
|
100,000
|
|
|
|
Miscellaneous
|
|
|
|
|
280,000
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
$
|
1,000,000
|
|
|
|
(1)
This amount represents the approximate amount of annual director and officer liability insurance premiums the registrant anticipates paying following the completion of its initial public offering and until it completes a business combination.
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful neglect, civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We may purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
On April 19, 2018, New Frontier Public Holding Ltd., our sponsor, subscribed for an aggregate of 10,750,000 of our Class B ordinary shares (up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised), which were issued to our sponsor on May 29, 2018 in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.002
per share. Such securities were issued in connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. On [ ], in connection with the execution of the forward purchase agreements, our sponsor transferred to certain accredited investors, whom we refer to as anchor investors, an aggregate of 2,262,500 Class B ordinary shares. The founder shares were transferred to the anchor investors in reliance on the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act as all of the anchor investors are accredited investors under Rule 501 of Regulation D. On [ ], 2018, our sponsor forfeited 475,000 Class B ordinary shares to us for no consideration.
Antony Leung and Carl Wu, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, own an indirect majority interest in and are the directors of and control our sponsor. Our sponsor is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D. Each of the equity holders in our sponsor is an accredited investor under Rule 501 of Regulation D. The sole business of our sponsor is to act as the company’s sponsor in connection with this offering.
Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to separate written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 6,000,000 private placement warrants (or 6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate or $6,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. These issuances will be made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
On June [ ], 2018, we entered into forward purchase agreements pursuant to which the anchor investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of 18,100,000 Class A ordinary shares, plus an aggregate of 4,525,000 redeemable warrants, for an aggregate purchase price of $181,000,000 in a private placement to close concurrently with our initial business combination.
No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
|
Exhibit No.
|
|
|
Description
|
|
|
1.1
|
|
|
Form of Underwriting Agreement.*
|
|
|
3.1
|
|
|
Memorandum and Articles of Association.
|
|
|
3.2
|
|
|
Form of Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.*
|
|
|
4.1
|
|
|
Specimen Unit Certificate.*
|
|
|
4.2
|
|
|
Specimen Ordinary Share Certificate.*
|
|
|
4.3
|
|
|
Specimen Warrant Certificate.*
|
|
|
4.4
|
|
|
Form of Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.*
|
|
|
5.1
|
|
|
Form of Opinion of Winston & Strawn LLP.
|
|
|
5.2
|
|
|
Form of Opinion of Maples and Calder, Cayman Islands Counsel to the Registrant.
|
|
|
10.1
|
|
|
Form of Letter Agreement among the Registrant, New Frontier Public Holding Ltd. and each of the directors and officers of the Registrant.*
|
|
|
10.2
|
|
|
Form of Investment Management Trust Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.*
|
|
|
10.3
|
|
|
Form of Registration Rights Agreement among the Registrant, New Frontier Public Holding Ltd. and the Holders signatory thereto.*
|
|
|
10.4
|
|
|
Form of Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement between the Registrant and the Holders signatory thereto.*
|
|
|
10.5
|
|
|
Form of Indemnity Agreement for directors and officers of the Registrant.*
|
|
*
To be filed by amendment.
Item 17. Undertakings.
(a)
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
(b)
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(c)
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
(1)
For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.
(2)
For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial
bona fide
offering thereof.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Hong Kong on the 4
th
day of June, 2018.
NEW FRONTIER CORPORATION
By:
/s/ Carl Wu
Carl Wu
Chief Executive Officer and Director
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each of the undersigned constitutes and appoints Antony Leung, Carl Wu and Shuo Wang his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this Registration Statement on Form S-1 (including all pre-effective and post-effective amendments and registration statements filed pursuant to Rule 462 under the Securities Act of 1933), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming that any such attorney-in-fact and agent, or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name
|
|
|
Position
|
|
|
Date
|
|
/s/ Antony Leung
Antony Leung
|
|
|
Chairman
|
|
|
June 4, 2018
|
|
/s/ Carl Wu
Carl Wu
|
|
|
Chief Executive Officer and Director
(principal executive officer)
|
|
|
June 4, 2018
|
|
/s/ Shuo Wang
Shuo Wang
|
|
|
Chief Financial Officer (principal financial and accounting officer)
|
|
|
June 4, 2018
|
|
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 6(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned has signed this registration statement, solely in its capacity as the duly authorized representative of New Frontier Corporation, in the City of New York, State of New York, on the 4
th
day of June, 2018.
|
|
|
|
/s/ Donald J. Puglisi
Name: Donald J. Puglisi
Title: Authorized Representative
|
|
Exhibit 3.1
THE COMPANIES LAW (2018 REVISION)
OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
OF
New
Frontier Corporation
|
Auth Code: A45228454893
|
|
www.verify.gov.ky
|
THE COMPANIES LAW (2018 REVISION)
OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION
OF
New
Frontier Corporation
|
1
|
The name of the Company is New Frontier Corporation.
|
|
2
|
The Registered Office of the Company shall be at the offices of Maples Corporate Services Limited,
PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands, or at such other place within the Cayman Islands as the Directors
may decide.
|
|
3
|
The objects for which the Company is established are unrestricted and the Company shall have full
power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by the laws of the Cayman Islands.
|
|
4
|
The liability of each Member is limited to the amount unpaid on such Member's shares.
|
|
5
|
The share capital of the Company is US$20,100 divided into 180,000,000 Class A ordinary shares
of a par value of US$0.0001 each, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each and 1,000,000 preference
shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each.
|
|
6
|
The Company has power to register by way of continuation as a body corporate limited by shares
under the laws of any jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands and to be deregistered in the Cayman Islands.
|
|
7
|
Capitalised terms that are not defined in this Memorandum of Association bear the respective meanings
given to them in the Articles of Association of the Company.
|
|
Auth Code: A45228454893
|
|
www.verify.gov.ky
|
WE, the subscriber to this Memorandum of
Association, wish to form a company pursuant to this Memorandum of Association, and we agree to take the number of shares shown
opposite our name.
Dated this 28th day of March 2018.
Signature and Address of Subscriber
|
|
Number of Shares Taken
|
|
|
|
Maples Corporate Services Limited
|
|
One Class B ordinary share
|
of PO Box 309, Ugland House
|
|
|
Grand Cayman
|
|
|
KY1-1104
|
|
|
Cayman Islands
|
|
|
|
|
|
acting by:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tina Cansell
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Margo Richardson
|
|
|
Witness to the above signature
|
|
|
|
2
|
|
Auth Code: A45228454893
|
|
www.verify.gov.ky
|
THE COMPANIES LAW (2018 REVISION)
OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
OF
New
Frontier Corporation
|
1.1
|
In the Articles Table A in the First Schedule to the Statute does not apply and, unless there is
something in the subject or context inconsistent therewith:
|
"
Articles
"
|
|
means these articles of association of the Company.
|
|
|
|
"
Auditor
"
|
|
means the person for the time being performing the duties of auditor of the Company (if any).
|
|
|
|
"
Business Combination
"
|
|
means a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganisation or similar business combination involving the Company, with one or more businesses or entities (the "target business"), which Business Combination: (a) must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Fund (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Fund) at the time of the agreement to enter into a Business Combination; and (b) must not be effectuated with another blank cheque company or a similar company with nominal operations.
|
|
|
|
"
Class A Share
"
|
|
means a Class A ordinary share of a par value of US$0.0001 in the share capital of the Company.
|
|
|
|
"
Class B Share
"
|
|
means a Class B ordinary share of a par value of US$0.0001 in the share capital of the Company.
|
|
|
|
"
Company
"
|
|
means the above named company.
|
|
|
|
"
Directors
"
|
|
means the directors for the time being of the Company.
|
|
Auth Code: J81870421271
|
|
www.verify.gov.ky
|
"
Dividend
"
|
|
means any dividend (whether interim or final) resolved to be paid on Shares pursuant to the Articles.
|
|
|
|
"
Electronic Record
"
|
|
has the same meaning as in the Electronic Transactions Law.
|
|
|
|
"
Electronic Transactions Law
"
|
|
means the Electronic Transactions Law (2003 Revision) of the Cayman Islands.
|
|
|
|
"
IPO
"
|
|
means the Company's initial public offering of securities.
|
|
|
|
"
Member
"
|
|
has the same meaning as in the Statute.
|
|
|
|
"
Memorandum
"
|
|
means the memorandum of association of the Company.
|
|
|
|
"
Ordinary Resolution
"
|
|
means a resolution passed by a simple majority of the Members as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting, and includes a unanimous written resolution. In computing the majority when a poll is demanded regard shall be had to the number of votes to which each Member is entitled by the Articles.
|
|
|
|
"
Preference Share
"
|
|
means a preference share of a par value of US$0.0001 in the share capital of the Company.
|
|
|
|
"
Register of Members
"
|
|
means the register of Members maintained in accordance with the Statute and includes (except where otherwise stated) any branch or duplicate register of Members.
|
|
|
|
"
Registered Office
"
|
|
means the registered office for the time being of the Company.
|
|
|
|
"
Seal
"
|
|
means the common seal of the Company and includes every duplicate seal.
|
|
|
|
"
Share
"
|
|
means a Class A Share, a Class B Share or a Preference Share in the Company and includes a fraction of a share in the Company.
|
|
|
|
"
Special Resolution
"
|
|
has the same meaning as in the Statute, and includes a unanimous written resolution.
|
|
|
|
"
Statute
"
|
|
means the Companies Law (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands.
|
|
2
|
|
Auth Code: J81870421271
|
|
www.verify.gov.ky
|
"
Subscriber
"
|
|
means the subscriber to the Memorandum.
|
|
|
|
"
Treasury Share
"
|
|
means a Share held in the name of the Company as a treasury share in accordance with the Statute.
|
|
|
|
"
Trust Fund
"
|
|
means the trust account established by the Company upon the consummation of its IPO and into which a certain amount of the net proceeds of the IPO, together with the proceeds of the private placement of the warrants simultaneously with the closing date of the IPO, will be deposited.
|
|
(a)
|
words importing the singular number include the plural number and vice versa;
|
|
(b)
|
words importing the masculine gender include the feminine gender;
|
|
(c)
|
words importing persons include corporations as well as any other legal or natural person;
|
|
(d)
|
"written" and "in writing" include all modes of representing or reproducing
words in visible form, including in the form of an Electronic Record;
|
|
(e)
|
"shall" shall be construed as imperative and "may" shall be construed as permissive;
|
|
(f)
|
references to provisions of any law or regulation shall be construed as references to those provisions
as amended, modified, re-enacted or replaced;
|
|
(g)
|
any phrase introduced by the terms "including", "include", "in particular"
or any similar expression shall be construed as illustrative and shall not limit the sense of the words preceding those terms;
|
|
(h)
|
the term "and/or" is used herein to mean both "and" as well as "or."
The use of "and/or" in certain contexts in no respects qualifies or modifies the use of the terms "and" or
"or" in others. The term "or" shall not be interpreted to be exclusive and the term "and" shall not
be interpreted to require the conjunctive (in each case, unless the context otherwise requires);
|
|
(i)
|
headings are inserted for reference only and shall be ignored in construing the Articles;
|
|
(j)
|
any requirements as to delivery under the Articles include delivery in the form of an Electronic
Record;
|
|
3
|
|
Auth Code: J81870421271
|
|
www.verify.gov.ky
|
|
(k)
|
any requirements as to execution or signature under the Articles including the execution of the
Articles themselves can be satisfied in the form of an electronic signature as defined in the Electronic Transactions Law;
|
|
(l)
|
sections 8 and 19(3) of the Electronic Transactions Law shall not apply;
|
|
(m)
|
the term "clear days" in relation to the period of a notice means that period excluding
the day when the notice is received or deemed to be received and the day for which it is given or on which it is to take effect;
and
|
|
(n)
|
the term "holder" in relation to a Share means a person whose name is entered in the
Register of Members as the holder of such Share.
|
|
2
|
Commencement of Business
|
|
2.1
|
The business of the Company may be commenced as soon after incorporation of the Company as the
Directors shall see fit.
|
|
2.2
|
The Directors may pay, out of the capital or any other monies of the Company, all expenses incurred
in or about the formation and establishment of the Company, including the expenses of registration.
|
|
3.1
|
Subject to the provisions, if any, in the Memorandum (and to any direction that may be given by
the Company in general meeting) and without prejudice to any rights attached to any existing Shares, the Directors may allot, issue,
grant options over or otherwise dispose of Shares (including fractions of a Share) with or without preferred, deferred or other
rights or restrictions, whether in regard to Dividend or other distribution, voting, return of capital or otherwise and to such
persons, at such times and on such other terms as they think proper, and may also (subject to the Statute and the Articles) vary
such rights, save that the Directors shall not allot, issue, grant options over or otherwise dispose of Shares (including fractions
of a Share) to the extent that it may affect the ability of the Company to carry out a Class B Share Conversion described at Article
17.
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3.2
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Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subscriber shall have the power to:
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(a)
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issue one Share to itself;
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(b)
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transfer that Share by an instrument of transfer to any person; and
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(c)
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update the Register of Members in respect of the issue and transfer of that Share.
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3.3
|
The Company shall not issue Shares to bearer.
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4.1
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The Company shall maintain or cause to be maintained the Register of Members in accordance with
the Statute.
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4.2
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The Directors may determine that the Company shall maintain one or more branch registers of Members
in accordance with the Statute. The Directors may also determine which register of Members shall constitute the principal register
and which shall constitute the branch register or registers, and to vary such determination from time to time.
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5
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Closing Register of Members or Fixing Record Date
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5.1
|
For the purpose of determining Members entitled to notice of, or to vote at any meeting of Members
or any adjournment thereof, or Members entitled to receive payment of any Dividend or other distribution, or in order to make a
determination of Members for any other purpose, the Directors may provide that the Register of Members shall be closed for transfers
for a stated period which shall not in any case exceed forty days.
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5.2
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In lieu of, or apart from, closing the Register of Members, the Directors may fix in advance or
arrears a date as the record date for any such determination of Members entitled to notice of, or to vote at any meeting of the
Members or any adjournment thereof, or for the purpose of determining the Members entitled to receive payment of any Dividend or
other distribution, or in order to make a determination of Members for any other purpose.
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5.3
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If the Register of Members is not so closed and no record date is fixed for the determination of
Members entitled to notice of, or to vote at, a meeting of Members or Members entitled to receive payment of a Dividend or other
distribution, the date on which notice of the meeting is sent or the date on which the resolution of the Directors resolving to
pay such Dividend or other distribution is passed, as the case may be, shall be the record date for such determination of Members.
When a determination of Members entitled to vote at any meeting of Members has been made as provided in this Article, such determination
shall apply to any adjournment thereof.
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6
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Certificates for Shares
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6.1
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A Member shall only be entitled to a share certificate if the Directors resolve that share certificates
shall be issued. Share certificates representing Shares, if any, shall be in such form as the Directors may determine. Share certificates
shall be signed by one or more Directors or other person authorised by the Directors. The Directors may authorise certificates
to be issued with the authorised signature(s) affixed by mechanical process. All certificates for Shares shall be consecutively
numbered or otherwise identified and shall specify the Shares to which they relate. All certificates surrendered to the Company
for transfer shall be cancelled and subject to the Articles no new certificate shall be issued until the former certificate representing
a like number of relevant Shares shall have been surrendered and cancelled.
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6.2
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The Company shall not be bound to issue more than one certificate for Shares held jointly by more
than one person and delivery of a certificate to one joint holder shall be a sufficient delivery to all of them.
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6.3
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If a share certificate is defaced, worn out, lost or destroyed, it may be renewed on such terms
(if any) as to evidence and indemnity and on the payment of such expenses reasonably incurred by the Company in investigating evidence,
as the Directors may prescribe, and (in the case of defacement or wearing out) upon delivery of the old certificate.
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6.4
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Every share certificate sent in accordance with the Articles will be sent at the risk of the Member
or other person entitled to the certificate. The Company will not be responsible for any share certificate lost or delayed in the
course of delivery.
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7.1
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Subject to Article 3.1, Shares are transferable subject to the approval of the Directors by resolution
who may, in their absolute discretion, decline to register any transfer of Shares without giving any reason. If the Directors refuse
to register a transfer they shall notify the transferee within two months of such refusal.
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7.2
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The instrument of transfer of any Share shall be in writing and shall be executed by or on behalf
of the transferor (and if the Directors so require, signed by or on behalf of the transferee). The transferor shall be deemed to
remain the holder of a Share until the name of the transferee is entered in the Register of Members.
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8
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Redemption, Repurchase and Surrender of Shares
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8.1
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Subject to the provisions of the Statute the Company may issue Shares that are to be redeemed or
are liable to be redeemed at the option of the Member or the Company. The redemption of such Shares shall be effected in such manner
and upon such other terms as the Company may, by Special Resolution, determine before the issue of the Shares.
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8.2
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Subject to the provisions of the Statute, the Company may purchase its own Shares (including any
redeemable Shares) in such manner and on such other terms as the Directors may agree with the relevant Member.
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8.3
|
The Company may make a payment in respect of the redemption or purchase of its own Shares in any
manner permitted by the Statute, including out of capital.
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8.4
|
The Directors may accept the surrender for no consideration of any fully paid Share.
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9.1
|
The Directors may, prior to the purchase, redemption or surrender of any Share, determine that
such Share shall be held as a Treasury Share.
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9.2
|
The Directors may determine to cancel a Treasury Share or transfer a Treasury Share on such terms
as they think proper (including, without limitation, for nil consideration).
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10
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Variation of Rights of Shares
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10.1
|
If at any time the share capital of the Company is divided into different classes of Shares, all
or any of the rights attached to any class (unless otherwise provided by the terms of issue of the Shares of that class) may, whether
or not the Company is being wound up, be varied without the consent of the holders of the issued Shares of that class where such
variation is considered by the Directors not to have a material adverse effect upon such rights; otherwise, any such variation
shall be made only with the consent in writing of the holders of not less than two thirds of the issued Shares of that class, or
with the approval of a resolution passed by a majority of not less than two thirds of the votes cast at a separate meeting of the
holders of the Shares of that class. For the avoidance of doubt, the Directors reserve the right, notwithstanding that any such
variation may not have a material adverse effect, to obtain consent from the holders of Shares of the relevant class. To any such
meeting all the provisions of the Articles relating to general meetings shall apply
mutatis mutandis
, except that the necessary
quorum shall be one person holding or representing by proxy at least one third of the issued Shares of the class and that any holder
of Shares of the class present in person or by proxy may demand a poll.
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10.2
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For the purposes of a separate class meeting, the Directors may treat two or more or all the classes
of Shares as forming one class of Shares if the Directors consider that such class of Shares would be affected in the same way
by the proposals under consideration, but in any other case shall treat them as separate classes of Shares.
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10.3
|
The rights conferred upon the holders of the Shares of any class issued with preferred or other
rights shall not, unless otherwise expressly provided by the terms of issue of the Shares of that class, be deemed to be varied
by the creation or issue of further Shares ranking pari passu therewith.
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11
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Commission on Sale of Shares
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The Company may, in so far as
the Statute permits, pay a commission to any person in consideration of his subscribing or agreeing to subscribe (whether absolutely
or conditionally) or procuring or agreeing to procure subscriptions (whether absolutely or conditionally) for any Shares. Such
commissions may be satisfied by the payment of cash and/or the issue of fully or partly paid-up Shares. The Company may also on
any issue of Shares pay such brokerage as may be lawful.
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12
|
Non Recognition of Trusts
|
The Company shall not be bound
by or compelled to recognise in any way (even when notified) any equitable, contingent, future or partial interest in any Share,
or (except only as is otherwise provided by the Articles or the Statute) any other rights in respect of any Share other than an
absolute right to the entirety thereof in the holder.
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13.1
|
The Company shall have a first and paramount lien on all Shares (whether fully paid-up or not)
registered in the name of a Member (whether solely or jointly with others) for all debts, liabilities or engagements to or with
the Company (whether presently payable or not) by such Member or his estate, either alone or jointly with any other person, whether
a Member or not, but the Directors may at any time declare any Share to be wholly or in part exempt from the provisions of this
Article. The registration of a transfer of any such Share shall operate as a waiver of the Company's lien thereon. The Company's
lien on a Share shall also extend to any amount payable in respect of that Share.
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13.2
|
The Company may sell, in such manner as the Directors think fit, any Shares on which the Company
has a lien, if a sum in respect of which the lien exists is presently payable, and is not paid within fourteen clear days after
notice has been received or deemed to have been received by the holder of the Shares, or to the person entitled to it in consequence
of the death or bankruptcy of the holder, demanding payment and stating that if the notice is not complied with the Shares may
be sold.
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13.3
|
To give effect to any such sale the Directors may authorise any person to execute an instrument
of transfer of the Shares sold to, or in accordance with the directions of, the purchaser. The purchaser or his nominee shall be
registered as the holder of the Shares comprised in any such transfer, and he shall not be bound to see to the application of the
purchase money, nor shall his title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the sale or the exercise of
the Company's power of sale under the Articles.
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13.4
|
The net proceeds of such sale after payment of costs, shall be applied in payment of such part
of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable and any balance shall (subject to a like lien for sums
not presently payable as existed upon the Shares before the sale) be paid to the person entitled to the Shares at the date of the
sale.
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14.1
|
Subject to the terms of the allotment and issue of any Shares, the Directors may make calls upon
the Members in respect of any monies unpaid on their Shares (whether in respect of par value or premium), and each Member shall
(subject to receiving at least fourteen clear days' notice specifying the time or times of payment) pay to the Company at the time
or times so specified the amount called on the Shares. A call may be revoked or postponed, in whole or in part, as the Directors
may determine. A call may be required to be paid by instalments. A person upon whom a call is made shall remain liable for calls
made upon him notwithstanding the subsequent transfer of the Shares in respect of which the call was made.
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14.2
|
A call shall be deemed to have been made at the time when the resolution of the Directors authorising
such call was passed.
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14.3
|
The joint holders of a Share shall be jointly and severally liable to pay all calls in respect
thereof.
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14.4
|
If a call remains unpaid after it has become due and payable, the person from whom it is due shall
pay interest on the amount unpaid from the day it became due and payable until it is paid at such rate as the Directors may determine
(and in addition all expenses that have been incurred by the Company by reason of such non-payment), but the Directors may waive
payment of the interest or expenses wholly or in part.
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14.5
|
An amount payable in respect of a Share on issue or allotment or at any fixed date, whether on
account of the par value of the Share or premium or otherwise, shall be deemed to be a call and if it is not paid all the provisions
of the Articles shall apply as if that amount had become due and payable by virtue of a call.
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14.6
|
The Directors may issue Shares with different terms as to the amount and times of payment of calls,
or the interest to be paid.
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14.7
|
The Directors may, if they think fit, receive an amount from any Member willing to advance all
or any part of the monies uncalled and unpaid upon any Shares held by him, and may (until the amount would otherwise become payable)
pay interest at such rate as may be agreed upon between the Directors and the Member paying such amount in advance.
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14.8
|
No such amount paid in advance of calls shall entitle the Member paying such amount to any portion
of a Dividend or other distribution payable in respect of any period prior to the date upon which such amount would, but for such
payment, become payable.
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15.1
|
If a call or instalment of a call remains unpaid after it has become due and payable the Directors
may give to the person from whom it is due not less than fourteen clear days' notice requiring payment of the amount unpaid together
with any interest which may have accrued and any expenses incurred by the Company by reason of such non-payment. The notice shall
specify where payment is to be made and shall state that if the notice is not complied with the Shares in respect of which the
call was made will be liable to be forfeited.
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15.2
|
If the notice is not complied with, any Share in respect of which it was given may, before the
payment required by the notice has been made, be forfeited by a resolution of the Directors. Such forfeiture shall include all
Dividends, other distributions or other monies payable in respect of the forfeited Share and not paid before the forfeiture.
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|
15.3
|
A forfeited Share may be sold, re-allotted or otherwise disposed of on such terms and in such manner
as the Directors think fit and at any time before a sale, re-allotment or disposition the forfeiture may be cancelled on such terms
as the Directors think fit. Where for the purposes of its disposal a forfeited Share is to be transferred to any person the Directors
may authorise some person to execute an instrument of transfer of the Share in favour of that person.
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15.4
|
A person any of whose Shares have been forfeited shall cease to be a Member in respect of them
and shall surrender to the Company for cancellation the certificate for the Shares forfeited and shall remain liable to pay to
the Company all monies which at the date of forfeiture were payable by him to the Company in respect of those Shares together with
interest at such rate as the Directors may determine, but his liability shall cease if and when the Company shall have received
payment in full of all monies due and payable by him in respect of those Shares.
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15.5
|
A certificate in writing under the hand of one Director or officer of the Company that a Share
has been forfeited on a specified date shall be conclusive evidence of the facts stated in it as against all persons claiming to
be entitled to the Share. The certificate shall (subject to the execution of an instrument of transfer) constitute a good title
to the Share and the person to whom the Share is sold or otherwise disposed of shall not be bound to see to the application of
the purchase money, if any, nor shall his title to the Share be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in
reference to the forfeiture, sale or disposal of the Share.
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15.6
|
The provisions of the Articles as to forfeiture shall apply in the case of non payment of any sum
which, by the terms of issue of a Share, becomes payable at a fixed time, whether on account of the par value of the Share or by
way of premium as if it had been payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified.
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16
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Transmission of Shares
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|
16.1
|
If a Member dies the survivor or survivors (where he was a joint holder) or his legal personal
representatives (where he was a sole holder), shall be the only persons recognised by the Company as having any title to his Shares.
The estate of a deceased Member is not thereby released from any liability in respect of any Share, for which he was a joint or
sole holder.
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16.2
|
Any person becoming entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy or liquidation
or dissolution of a Member (or in any other way than by transfer) may, upon such evidence being produced as may be required by
the Directors, elect, by a notice in writing sent by him to the Company, either to become the holder of such Share or to have some
person nominated by him registered as the holder of such Share. If he elects to have another person registered as the holder of
such Share he shall sign an instrument of transfer of that Share to that person. The Directors shall, in either case, have the
same right to decline or suspend registration as they would have had in the case of a transfer of the Share by the relevant Member
before his death or bankruptcy or liquidation or dissolution, as the case may be.
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16.3
|
A person becoming entitled to a Share by reason of the death or bankruptcy or liquidation or dissolution
of a Member (or in any other case than by transfer) shall be entitled to the same Dividends, other distributions and other advantages
to which he would be entitled if he were the holder of such Share. However, he shall not, before becoming a Member in respect of
a Share, be entitled in respect of it to exercise any right conferred by membership in relation to general meetings of the Company
and the Directors may at any time give notice requiring any such person to elect either to be registered himself or to have some
person nominated by him be registered as the holder of the Share (but the Directors shall, in either case, have the same right
to decline or suspend registration as they would have had in the case of a transfer of the Share by the relevant Member before
his death or bankruptcy or liquidation or dissolution or any other case than by transfer, as the case may be). If the notice is
not complied with within ninety days of being received or deemed to be received (as determined pursuant to the Articles) the Directors
may thereafter withhold payment of all Dividends, other distributions, bonuses or other monies payable in respect of the Share
until the requirements of the notice have been complied with.
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17
|
Class B Share Conversion
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|
17.1
|
Class B Shares shall automatically convert into Class A Shares on a one-for-one basis (the "
Initial
Conversion Ratio
"): (a) at any time and from time to time at the option of the holder thereof; and (b) automatically on
a Business day following the closing of a Business Combination.
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17.2
|
Notwithstanding the Initial Conversion Ratio, in the case that additional Class A Shares or any
other equity linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in the IPO and related to the closing
of a Business Combination, all Class B Shares in issue shall automatically convert into Class A Shares at the time of the closing
of a Business Combination at a ratio for which the Class B Shares shall convert into Class A Shares will be adjusted (unless the
holders of a majority of the Class B Shares in issue agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance
or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A Shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B Shares will equal, in the aggregate,
20% of the sum of all Class A Shares and Class B Shares in issue upon completion of the IPO plus all Class A Shares and equity-linked
securities issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business Combination, excluding any Shares or equity-linked securities
issued, or to be issued, to any seller in a Business Combination.
|
Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary contained herein, the foregoing adjustment to the Initial Conversion Ratio may be waived as to any particular issuance
or deemed issuance of additional Class A Shares or equity-linked securities by the written consent or agreement of holders
of a majority of the Class B Shares then in issue consenting or agreeing separately as a separate class in the manner provided
in Article 10.
|
17.3
|
The foregoing conversion ratio shall also be adjusted to account for any subdivision (by share
split, subdivision, exchange, capitalisation, rights issue, reclassification, recapitalisation or otherwise) or combination (by
reverse share split, share consolidation, exchange, reclassification, recapitalisation or otherwise) or similar reclassification
or recapitalisation of the Class A Shares in issue into a greater or lesser number of shares occurring after the original filing
of the Articles without a proportionate and corresponding subdivision, combination or similar reclassification or recapitalisation
of the Class B Shares in issue.
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17.4
|
Each Class B Share shall convert into its pro rata number of Class A Shares pursuant to this Article
17. The pro rata share for each holder of Class B Shares will be determined as follows: each Class B Share shall convert into such
number of Class A Shares as is equal to the product of 1 multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the total number
of Class A Shares into which all of the Class B Shares in issue shall be converted pursuant to this Article and the denominator
of which shall be the total number of Class B Shares in issue at the time of conversion.
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17.5
|
References in this Article 17 to "
converted
", "
conversion
" or
"
exchange
" shall mean the compulsory redemption without notice of Class B Shares of any Member and, on behalf
of such Members, automatic application of such redemption proceeds in paying for such new Class A Shares into which the Class B
Shares have been converted or exchanged at a price per Class B Share necessary to give effect to a conversion or exchange calculated
on the basis that the Class A Shares to be issued as part of the conversion or exchange will be issued at par. The Class A Shares
to be issued on an exchange or conversion shall be registered in the name of such Member or in such name as the Member may direct.
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17.6
|
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Article 17, in no event may any Class B Share
convert into Class A Shares at a ratio that is less than one-for-one.
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18
|
Amendments of Memorandum and Articles of Association and Alteration of Capital
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|
18.1
|
The Company may by Ordinary Resolution:
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|
(a)
|
increase its share capital by such sum as the Ordinary Resolution shall prescribe and with such
rights, priorities and privileges annexed thereto, as the Company in general meeting may determine;
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|
(b)
|
consolidate and divide all or any of its share capital into Shares of larger amount than its existing
Shares;
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|
(c)
|
convert all or any of its paid-up Shares into stock, and reconvert that stock into paid-up Shares
of any denomination;
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|
(d)
|
by subdivision of its existing Shares or any of them divide the whole or any part of its share
capital into Shares of smaller amount than is fixed by the Memorandum or into Shares without par value; and
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|
(e)
|
cancel any Shares that at the date of the passing of the Ordinary Resolution have not been taken
or agreed to be taken by any person and diminish the amount of its share capital by the amount of the Shares so cancelled.
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18.2
|
All new Shares created in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Article shall be subject
to the same provisions of the Articles with reference to the payment of calls, liens, transfer, transmission, forfeiture and otherwise
as the Shares in the original share capital.
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|
18.3
|
Subject to the provisions of the Statute and the provisions of the Articles as regards the matters
to be dealt with by Ordinary Resolution, the Company may by Special Resolution:
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|
(b)
|
alter or add to the Articles;
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(c)
|
alter or add to the Memorandum with respect to any objects, powers or other matters specified therein;
and
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|
(d)
|
reduce its share capital or any capital redemption reserve fund.
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19
|
Offices and Places of Business
|
Subject to the provisions of
the Statute, the Company may by resolution of the Directors change the location of its Registered Office. The Company may, in addition
to its Registered Office, maintain such other offices or places of business as the Directors determine.
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20.1
|
All general meetings other than annual general meetings shall be called extraordinary general meetings.
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|
20.2
|
The Company may, but shall not (unless required by the Statute) be obliged to, in each year hold
a general meeting as its annual general meeting, and shall specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it. Any annual general
meeting shall be held at such time and place as the Directors shall appoint and if no other time and place is prescribed by them,
it shall be held at the Registered Office on the second Wednesday in December of each year at ten o'clock in the morning. At these
meetings the report of the Directors (if any) shall be presented.
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20.3
|
The Directors may call general meetings, and they shall on a Members' requisition forthwith proceed
to convene an extraordinary general meeting of the Company.
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20.4
|
A Members' requisition is a requisition of Members holding at the date of deposit of the requisition
not less than ten per cent. in par value of the issued Shares which as at that date carry the right to vote at general meetings
of the Company.
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|
20.5
|
The Members' requisition must state the objects of the meeting and must be signed by the requisitionists
and deposited at the Registered Office, and may consist of several documents in like form each signed by one or more requisitionists.
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|
20.6
|
If there are no Directors as at the date of the deposit of the Members' requisition or if the Directors
do not within twenty-one days from the date of the deposit of the Members' requisition duly proceed to convene a general meeting
to be held within a further twenty-one days, the requisitionists, or any of them representing more than one-half of the total voting
rights of all of the requisitionists, may themselves convene a general meeting, but any meeting so convened shall be held no later
than the day which falls three months after the expiration of the said twenty-one day period.
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|
20.7
|
A general meeting convened as aforesaid by requisitionists shall be convened in the same manner
as nearly as possible as that in which general meetings are to be convened by Directors.
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21
|
Notice of General Meetings
|
|
21.1
|
At least five clear days' notice shall be given of any general meeting. Every notice shall specify
the place, the day and the hour of the meeting and the general nature of the business to be conducted at the general meeting and
shall be given in the manner hereinafter mentioned or in such other manner if any as may be prescribed by the Company, provided
that a general meeting of the Company shall, whether or not the notice specified in this Article has been given and whether or
not the provisions of the Articles regarding general meetings have been complied with, be deemed to have been duly convened if
it is so agreed:
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|
(a)
|
in the case of an annual general meeting, by all of the Members entitled to attend and vote thereat;
and
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|
(b)
|
in the case of an extraordinary general meeting, by a majority in number of the Members having
a right to attend and vote at the meeting, together holding not less than ninety five per cent. in par value of the Shares giving
that right.
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21.2
|
The accidental omission to give notice of a general meeting to, or the non receipt of notice of
a general meeting by, any person entitled to receive such notice shall not invalidate the proceedings of that general meeting.
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22
|
Proceedings at General Meetings
|
|
22.1
|
No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum is present. Two Members
being individuals present in person or by proxy or if a corporation or other non-natural person by its duly authorised representative
or proxy shall be a quorum unless the Company has only one Member entitled to vote at such general meeting in which case the quorum
shall be that one Member present in person or by proxy or (in the case of a corporation or other non-natural person) by its duly
authorised representative or proxy.
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22.2
|
A person may participate at a general meeting by conference telephone or other communications equipment
by means of which all the persons participating in the meeting can communicate with each other. Participation by a person in a
general meeting in this manner is treated as presence in person at that meeting.
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|
22.3
|
A resolution (including a Special Resolution) in writing (in one or more counterparts) signed by
or on behalf of all of the Members for the time being entitled to receive notice of and to attend and vote at general meetings
(or, being corporations or other non-natural persons, signed by their duly authorised representatives) shall be as valid and effective
as if the resolution had been passed at a general meeting of the Company duly convened and held.
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22.4
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If a quorum is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting to commence
or if during such a meeting a quorum ceases to be present, the meeting, if convened upon a Members' requisition, shall be dissolved
and in any other case it shall stand adjourned to the same day in the next week at the same time and/or place or to such other
day, time and/or place as the Directors may determine, and if at the adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within half an hour
from the time appointed for the meeting to commence, the Members present shall be a quorum.
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22.5
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The Directors may, at any time prior to the time appointed for the meeting to commence, appoint
any person to act as chairman of a general meeting of the Company or, if the Directors do not make any such appointment, the chairman,
if any, of the board of Directors shall preside as chairman at such general meeting. If there is no such chairman, or if he shall
not be present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for the meeting to commence, or is unwilling to act, the Directors
present shall elect one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.
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22.6
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If no Director is willing to act as chairman or if no Director is present within fifteen minutes
after the time appointed for the meeting to commence, the Members present shall choose one of their number to be chairman of the
meeting.
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22.7
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The chairman may, with the consent of a meeting at which a quorum is present (and shall if so directed
by the meeting) adjourn the meeting from time to time and from place to place, but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned
meeting other than the business left unfinished at the meeting from which the adjournment took place.
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22.8
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When a general meeting is adjourned for thirty days or more, notice of the adjourned meeting shall
be given as in the case of an original meeting. Otherwise it shall not be necessary to give any such notice of an adjourned meeting.
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22.9
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A resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided on a show of hands unless before,
or on the declaration of the result of, the show of hands, the chairman demands a poll, or any other Member or Members collectively
present in person or by proxy (or in the case of a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorised representative
or proxy) and holding at least ten per cent. in par value of the Shares giving a right to attend and vote at the meeting demand
a poll.
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22.10
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Unless a poll is duly demanded and the demand is not withdrawn a declaration by the chairman that
a resolution has been carried or carried unanimously, or by a particular majority, or lost or not carried by a particular majority,
an entry to that effect in the minutes of the proceedings of the meeting shall be conclusive evidence of that fact without proof
of the number or proportion of the votes recorded in favour of or against such resolution.
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22.11
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The demand for a poll may be withdrawn.
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22.12
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Except on a poll demanded on the election of a chairman or on a question of adjournment, a poll
shall be taken as the chairman directs, and the result of the poll shall be deemed to be the resolution of the general meeting
at which the poll was demanded.
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22.13
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A poll demanded on the election of a chairman or on a question of adjournment shall be taken forthwith.
A poll demanded on any other question shall be taken at such date, time and place as the chairman of the general meeting directs,
and any business other than that upon which a poll has been demanded or is contingent thereon may proceed pending the taking of
the poll.
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22.14
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In the case of an equality of votes, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, the chairman shall
be entitled to a second or casting vote.
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23.1
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Subject to any rights or restrictions attached to any Shares, on a show of hands every Member who
(being an individual) is present in person or by proxy or, if a corporation or other non-natural person is present by its duly
authorised representative or by proxy, shall have one vote and on a poll every Member present in any such manner shall have one
vote for every Share of which he is the holder.
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23.2
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In the case of joint holders the vote of the senior holder who tenders a vote, whether in person
or by proxy (or, in the case of a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorised representative or proxy), shall
be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of the other joint holders, and seniority shall be determined by the order in which the
names of the holders stand in the Register of Members.
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23.3
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A Member of unsound mind, or in respect of whom an order has been made by any court, having jurisdiction
in lunacy, may vote, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, by his committee, receiver, curator bonis, or other person on such
Member's behalf appointed by that court, and any such committee, receiver, curator bonis or other person may vote by proxy.
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23.4
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No person shall be entitled to vote at any general meeting unless he is registered as a Member
on the record date for such meeting nor unless all calls or other monies then payable by him in respect of Shares have been paid.
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23.5
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No objection shall be raised as to the qualification of any voter except at the general meeting
or adjourned general meeting at which the vote objected to is given or tendered and every vote not disallowed at the meeting shall
be valid. Any objection made in due time in accordance with this Article shall be referred to the chairman whose decision shall
be final and conclusive.
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23.6
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On a poll or on a show of hands votes may be cast either personally or by proxy (or in the case
of a corporation or other non-natural person by its duly authorised representative or proxy). A Member may appoint more than one
proxy or the same proxy under one or more instruments to attend and vote at a meeting. Where a Member appoints more than one proxy
the instrument of proxy shall state which proxy is entitled to vote on a show of hands and shall specify the number of Shares in
respect of which each proxy is entitled to exercise the related votes.
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23.7
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On a poll, a Member holding more than one Share need not cast the votes in respect of his Shares
in the same way on any resolution and therefore may vote a Share or some or all such Shares either for or against a resolution
and/or abstain from voting a Share or some or all of the Shares and, subject to the terms of the instrument appointing him, a proxy
appointed under one or more instruments may vote a Share or some or all of the Shares in respect of which he is appointed either
for or against a resolution and/or abstain from voting a Share or some or all of the Shares in respect of which he is appointed.
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24.1
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The instrument appointing a proxy shall be in writing and shall be executed under the hand of the
appointor or of his attorney duly authorised in writing, or, if the appointor is a corporation or other non natural person, under
the hand of its duly authorised representative. A proxy need not be a Member.
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24.2
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The Directors may, in the notice convening any meeting or adjourned meeting, or in an instrument
of proxy sent out by the Company, specify the manner by which the instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited and the place
and the time (being not later than the time appointed for the commencement of the meeting or adjourned meeting to which the proxy
relates) at which the instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited. In the absence of any such direction from the Directors
in the notice convening any meeting or adjourned meeting or in an instrument of proxy sent out by the Company, the instrument appointing
a proxy shall be deposited physically at the Registered Office not less than 48 hours before the time appointed for the meeting
or adjourned meeting to commence at which the person named in the instrument proposes to vote.
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24.3
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The chairman may in any event at his discretion declare that an instrument of proxy shall be deemed
to have been duly deposited. An instrument of proxy that is not deposited in the manner permitted, or which has not been declared
to have been duly deposited by the chairman, shall be invalid.
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24.4
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The instrument appointing a proxy may be in any usual or common form (or such other form as the
Directors may approve) and may be expressed to be for a particular meeting or any adjournment thereof or generally until revoked.
An instrument appointing a proxy shall be deemed to include the power to demand or join or concur in demanding a poll.
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24.5
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Votes given in accordance with the terms of an instrument of proxy shall be valid notwithstanding
the previous death or insanity of the principal or revocation of the proxy or of the authority under which the proxy was executed,
or the transfer of the Share in respect of which the proxy is given unless notice in writing of such death, insanity, revocation
or transfer was received by the Company at the Registered Office before the commencement of the general meeting, or adjourned meeting
at which it is sought to use the proxy.
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Any corporation or other non-natural
person which is a Member may in accordance with its constitutional documents, or in the absence of such provision by resolution
of its directors or other governing body, authorise such person as it thinks fit to act as its representative at any meeting of
the Company or of any class of Members, and the person so authorised shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of
the corporation which he represents as the corporation could exercise if it were an individual Member.
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26
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Shares that May Not be Voted
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Shares in the Company that are
beneficially owned by the Company shall not be voted, directly or indirectly, at any meeting and shall not be counted in determining
the total number of outstanding Shares at any given time.
There shall be a board of Directors
consisting of not less than one person (exclusive of alternate Directors) provided however that the Company may by Ordinary Resolution
increase or reduce the limits in the number of Directors. The first Directors of the Company shall be determined in writing by,
or appointed by a resolution of, the Subscriber.
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28.1
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Subject to the provisions of the Statute, the Memorandum and the Articles and to any directions
given by Special Resolution, the business of the Company shall be managed by the Directors who may exercise all the powers of the
Company. No alteration of the Memorandum or Articles and no such direction shall invalidate any prior act of the Directors which
would have been valid if that alteration had not been made or that direction had not been given. A duly convened meeting of Directors
at which a quorum is present may exercise all powers exercisable by the Directors.
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28.2
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All cheques, promissory notes, drafts, bills of exchange and other negotiable or transferable instruments
and all receipts for monies paid to the Company shall be signed, drawn, accepted, endorsed or otherwise executed as the case may
be in such manner as the Directors shall determine by resolution.
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28.3
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The Directors on behalf of the Company may pay a gratuity or pension or allowance on retirement
to any Director who has held any other salaried office or place of profit with the Company or to his widow or dependants and may
make contributions to any fund and pay premiums for the purchase or provision of any such gratuity, pension or allowance.
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28.4
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The Directors may exercise all the powers of the Company to borrow money and to mortgage or charge
its undertaking, property and assets (present and future) and uncalled capital or any part thereof and to issue debentures, debenture
stock, mortgages, bonds and other such securities whether outright or as security for any debt, liability or obligation of the
Company or of any third party.
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29
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Appointment and Removal of Directors
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29.1
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The Company may by Ordinary Resolution appoint any person to be a Director or may by Ordinary Resolution
remove any Director.
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29.2
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The Directors may appoint any person to be a Director, either to fill a vacancy or as an additional
Director provided that the appointment does not cause the number of Directors to exceed any number fixed by or in accordance with
the Articles as the maximum number of Directors.
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30
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Vacation of Office of Director
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The office of a Director shall
be vacated if:
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(a)
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the Director gives notice in writing to the Company that he resigns the office of Director; or
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(b)
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the Director absents himself (for the avoidance of doubt, without being represented by proxy or
an alternate Director appointed by him) from three consecutive meetings of the board of Directors without special leave of absence
from the Directors, and the Directors pass a resolution that he has by reason of such absence vacated office; or
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(c)
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the Director dies, becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors
generally; or
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(d)
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the Director is found to be or becomes of unsound mind; or
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(e)
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all of the other Directors (being not less than two in number) determine that he should be removed
as a Director, either by a resolution passed by all of the other Directors at a meeting of the Directors duly convened and held
in accordance with the Articles or by a resolution in writing signed by all of the other Directors.
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31
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Proceedings of Directors
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31.1
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The quorum for the transaction of the business of the Directors may be fixed by the Directors,
and unless so fixed shall be two if there are two or more Directors, and shall be one if there is only one Director. A person who
holds office as an alternate Director shall, if his appointor is not present, be counted in the quorum. A Director who also acts
as an alternate Director shall, if his appointor is not present, count twice towards the quorum.
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31.2
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Subject to the provisions of the Articles, the Directors may regulate their proceedings as they
think fit. Questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a majority of votes. In the case of an equality of votes, the chairman
shall have a second or casting vote. A Director who is also an alternate Director shall be entitled in the absence of his appointor
to a separate vote on behalf of his appointor in addition to his own vote.
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31.3
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A person may participate in a meeting of the Directors or any committee of Directors by conference
telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all the persons participating in the meeting can communicate with
each other at the same time. Participation by a person in a meeting in this manner is treated as presence in person at that meeting.
Unless otherwise determined by the Directors the meeting shall be deemed to be held at the place where the chairman is located
at the start of the meeting.
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31.4
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A resolution in writing (in one or more counterparts) signed by all the Directors or all the members
of a committee of the Directors or, in the case of a resolution in writing relating to the removal of any Director or the vacation
of office by any Director, all of the Directors other than the Director who is the subject of such resolution (an alternate Director
being entitled to sign such a resolution on behalf of his appointor and if such alternate Director is also a Director, being entitled
to sign such resolution both on behalf of his appointer and in his capacity as a Director) shall be as valid and effectual as if
it had been passed at a meeting of the Directors, or committee of Directors as the case may be, duly convened and held.
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31.5
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A Director or alternate Director may, or other officer of the Company on the direction of a Director
or alternate Director shall, call a meeting of the Directors by at least two days' notice in writing to every Director and alternate
Director which notice shall set forth the general nature of the business to be considered unless notice is waived by all the Directors
(or their alternates) either at, before or after the meeting is held. To any such notice of a meeting of the Directors all the
provisions of the Articles relating to the giving of notices by the Company to the Members shall apply
mutatis mutandis.
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31.6
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The continuing Directors (or a sole continuing Director, as the case may be) may act notwithstanding
any vacancy in their body, but if and so long as their number is reduced below the number fixed by or pursuant to the Articles
as the necessary quorum of Directors the continuing Directors or Director may act for the purpose of increasing the number of Directors
to be equal to such fixed number, or of summoning a general meeting of the Company, but for no other purpose.
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31.7
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The Directors may elect a chairman of their board and determine the period for which he is to hold
office; but if no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within five minutes after the time
appointed for the meeting to commence, the Directors present may choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.
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31.8
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All acts done by any meeting of the Directors or of a committee of the Directors (including any
person acting as an alternate Director) shall, notwithstanding that it is afterwards discovered that there was some defect in the
appointment of any Director or alternate Director, and/or that they or any of them were disqualified, and/or had vacated their
office and/or were not entitled to vote, be as valid as if every such person had been duly appointed and/or not disqualified to
be a Director or alternate Director and/or had not vacated their office and/or had been entitled to vote, as the case may be.
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31.9
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A Director but not an alternate Director may be represented at any meetings of the board of Directors
by a proxy appointed in writing by him. The proxy shall count towards the quorum and the vote of the proxy shall for all purposes
be deemed to be that of the appointing Director.
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A Director or alternate Director
who is present at a meeting of the board of Directors at which action on any Company matter is taken shall be presumed to have
assented to the action taken unless his dissent shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless he shall file his written
dissent from such action with the person acting as the chairman or secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall
forward such dissent by registered post to such person immediately after the adjournment of the meeting. Such right to dissent
shall not apply to a Director or alternate Director who voted in favour of such action.
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33.1
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A Director or alternate Director may hold any other office or place of profit under the Company
(other than the office of Auditor) in conjunction with his office of Director for such period and on such terms as to remuneration
and otherwise as the Directors may determine.
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33.2
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A Director or alternate Director may act by himself or by, through or on behalf of his firm in
a professional capacity for the Company and he or his firm shall be entitled to remuneration for professional services as if he
were not a Director or alternate Director.
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33.3
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A Director or alternate Director may be or become a director or other officer of or otherwise interested
in any company promoted by the Company or in which the Company may be interested as a shareholder, a contracting party or otherwise,
and no such Director or alternate Director shall be accountable to the Company for any remuneration or other benefits received
by him as a director or officer of, or from his interest in, such other company.
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33.4
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No person shall be disqualified from the office of Director or alternate Director or prevented
by such office from contracting with the Company, either as vendor, purchaser or otherwise, nor shall any such contract or any
contract or transaction entered into by or on behalf of the Company in which any Director or alternate Director shall be in any
way interested be or be liable to be avoided, nor shall any Director or alternate Director so contracting or being so interested
be liable to account to the Company for any profit realised by or arising in connection with any such contract or transaction by
reason of such Director or alternate Director holding office or of the fiduciary relationship thereby established. A Director (or
his alternate Director in his absence) shall be at liberty to vote in respect of any contract or transaction in which he is interested
provided that the nature of the interest of any Director or alternate Director in any such contract or transaction shall be disclosed
by him at or prior to its consideration and any vote thereon.
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33.5
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A general notice that a Director or alternate Director is a shareholder, director, officer or employee
of any specified firm or company and is to be regarded as interested in any transaction with such firm or company shall be sufficient
disclosure for the purposes of voting on a resolution in respect of a contract or transaction in which he has an interest, and
after such general notice it shall not be necessary to give special notice relating to any particular transaction.
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The Directors shall cause minutes
to be made in books kept for the purpose of recording all appointments of officers made by the Directors, all proceedings at meetings
of the Company or the holders of any class of Shares and of the Directors, and of committees of the Directors, including the names
of the Directors or alternate Directors present at each meeting.
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35
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Delegation of Directors' Powers
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35.1
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The Directors may delegate any of their powers, authorities and discretions, including the power
to sub-delegate, to any committee consisting of one or more Directors. They may also delegate to any managing director or any Director
holding any other executive office such of their powers, authorities and discretions as they consider desirable to be exercised
by him provided that an alternate Director may not act as managing director and the appointment of a managing director shall be
revoked forthwith if he ceases to be a Director. Any such delegation may be made subject to any conditions the Directors may impose
and either collaterally with or to the exclusion of their own powers and any such delegation may be revoked or altered by the Directors.
Subject to any such conditions, the proceedings of a committee of Directors shall be governed by the Articles regulating the proceedings
of Directors, so far as they are capable of applying.
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35.2
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The Directors may establish any committees, local boards or agencies or appoint any person to be
a manager or agent for managing the affairs of the Company and may appoint any person to be a member of such committees, local
boards or agencies. Any such appointment may be made subject to any conditions the Directors may impose, and either collaterally
with or to the exclusion of their own powers and any such appointment may be revoked or altered by the Directors. Subject to any
such conditions, the proceedings of any such committee, local board or agency shall be governed by the Articles regulating the
proceedings of Directors, so far as they are capable of applying.
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35.3
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The Directors may by power of attorney or otherwise appoint any person to be the agent of the Company
on such conditions as the Directors may determine, provided that the delegation is not to the exclusion of their own powers and
may be revoked by the Directors at any time.
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35.4
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The Directors may by power of attorney or otherwise appoint any company, firm, person or body of
persons, whether nominated directly or indirectly by the Directors, to be the attorney or authorised signatory of the Company for
such purpose and with such powers, authorities and discretions (not exceeding those vested in or exercisable by the Directors under
the Articles) and for such period and subject to such conditions as they may think fit, and any such powers of attorney or other
appointment may contain such provisions for the protection and convenience of persons dealing with any such attorneys or authorised
signatories as the Directors may think fit and may also authorise any such attorney or authorised signatory to delegate all or
any of the powers, authorities and discretions vested in him.
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35.5
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The Directors may appoint such officers of the Company (including, for the avoidance of doubt and
without limitation, any secretary) as they consider necessary on such terms, at such remuneration and to perform such duties, and
subject to such provisions as to disqualification and removal as the Directors may think fit. Unless otherwise specified in the
terms of his appointment an officer of the Company may be removed by resolution of the Directors or Members. An officer of the
Company may vacate his office at any time if he gives notice in writing to the Company that he resigns his office.
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36.1
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Any Director (but not an alternate Director) may by writing appoint any other Director, or any
other person willing to act, to be an alternate Director and by writing may remove from office an alternate Director so appointed
by him.
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36.2
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An alternate Director shall be entitled to receive notice of all meetings of Directors and of all
meetings of committees of Directors of which his appointor is a member, to attend and vote at every such meeting at which the Director
appointing him is not personally present, to sign any written resolution of the Directors, and generally to perform all the functions
of his appointor as a Director in his absence.
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36.3
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An alternate Director shall cease to be an alternate Director if his appointor ceases to be a Director.
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36.4
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Any appointment or removal of an alternate Director shall be by notice to the Company signed by
the Director making or revoking the appointment or in any other manner approved by the Directors.
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36.5
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Subject to the provisions of the Articles, an alternate Director shall be deemed for all purposes
to be a Director and shall alone be responsible for his own acts and defaults and shall not be deemed to be the agent of the Director
appointing him.
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37
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No Minimum Shareholding
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The Company in general meeting
may fix a minimum shareholding required to be held by a Director, but unless and until such a shareholding qualification is fixed
a Director is not required to hold Shares.
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38
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Remuneration of Directors
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|
38.1
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The remuneration to be paid to the Directors, if any, shall be such remuneration as the Directors
shall determine. The Directors shall also be entitled to be paid all travelling, hotel and other expenses properly incurred by
them in connection with their attendance at meetings of Directors or committees of Directors, or general meetings of the Company,
or separate meetings of the holders of any class of Shares or debentures of the Company, or otherwise in connection with the business
of the Company or the discharge of their duties as a Director, or to receive a fixed allowance in respect thereof as may be determined
by the Directors, or a combination partly of one such method and partly the other.
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38.2
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The Directors may by resolution approve additional remuneration to any Director for any services
which in the opinion of the Directors go beyond his ordinary routine work as a Director. Any fees paid to a Director who is also
counsel, attorney or solicitor to the Company, or otherwise serves it in a professional capacity shall be in addition to his remuneration
as a Director.
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39.1
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The Company may, if the Directors so determine, have a Seal. The Seal shall only be used by the
authority of the Directors or of a committee of the Directors authorised by the Directors. Every instrument to which the Seal has
been affixed shall be signed by at least one person who shall be either a Director or some officer of the Company or other person
appointed by the Directors for the purpose.
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39.2
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The Company may have for use in any place or places outside the Cayman Islands a duplicate Seal
or Seals each of which shall be a facsimile of the common Seal of the Company and, if the Directors so determine, with the addition
on its face of the name of every place where it is to be used.
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39.3
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A Director or officer, representative or attorney of the Company may without further authority
of the Directors affix the Seal over his signature alone to any document of the Company required to be authenticated by him under
seal or to be filed with the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere wheresoever.
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40
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Dividends, Distributions and Reserve
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40.1
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Subject to the Statute and this Article and except as otherwise provided by the rights attached
to any Shares, the Directors may resolve to pay Dividends and other distributions on Shares in issue and authorise payment of the
Dividends or other distributions out of the funds of the Company lawfully available therefor. A Dividend shall be deemed to be
an interim Dividend unless the terms of the resolution pursuant to which the Directors resolve to pay such Dividend specifically
state that such Dividend shall be a final Dividend. No Dividend or other distribution shall be paid except out of the realised
or unrealised profits of the Company, out of the share premium account or as otherwise permitted by law.
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40.2
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Except as otherwise provided by the rights attached to any Shares, all Dividends and other distributions
shall be paid according to the par value of the Shares that a Member holds. If any Share is issued on terms providing that it shall
rank for Dividend as from a particular date, that Share shall rank for Dividend accordingly.
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40.3
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The Directors may deduct from any Dividend or other distribution payable to any Member all sums
of money (if any) then payable by him to the Company on account of calls or otherwise.
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40.4
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The Directors may resolve that any Dividend or other distribution be paid wholly or partly by the
distribution of specific assets and in particular (but without limitation) by the distribution of shares, debentures, or securities
of any other company or in any one or more of such ways and where any difficulty arises in regard to such distribution, the Directors
may settle the same as they think expedient and in particular may issue fractional Shares and may fix the value for distribution
of such specific assets or any part thereof and may determine that cash payments shall be made to any Members upon the basis of
the value so fixed in order to adjust the rights of all Members and may vest any such specific assets in trustees in such manner
as may seem expedient to the Directors.
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40.5
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Except as otherwise provided by the rights attached to any Shares, Dividends and other distributions
may be paid in any currency. The Directors may determine the basis of conversion for any currency conversions that may be required
and how any costs involved are to be met.
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40.6
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The Directors may, before resolving to pay any Dividend or other distribution, set aside such sums
as they think proper as a reserve or reserves which shall, at the discretion of the Directors, be applicable for any purpose of
the Company and pending such application may, at the discretion of the Directors, be employed in the business of the Company.
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40.7
|
Any Dividend, other distribution, interest or other monies payable in cash in respect of Shares
may be paid by wire transfer to the holder or by cheque or warrant sent through the post directed to the registered address of
the holder or, in the case of joint holders, to the registered address of the holder who is first named on the Register of Members
or to such person and to such address as such holder or joint holders may in writing direct. Every such cheque or warrant shall
be made payable to the order of the person to whom it is sent. Any one of two or more joint holders may give effectual receipts
for any Dividends, other distributions, bonuses, or other monies payable in respect of the Share held by them as joint holders.
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40.8
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No Dividend or other distribution shall bear interest against the Company.
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40.9
|
Any Dividend or other distribution which cannot be paid to a Member and/or which remains unclaimed
after six months from the date on which such Dividend or other distribution becomes payable may, in the discretion of the Directors,
be paid into a separate account in the Company's name, provided that the Company shall not be constituted as a trustee in respect
of that account and the Dividend or other distribution shall remain as a debt due to the Member. Any Dividend or other distribution
which remains unclaimed after a period of six years from the date on which such Dividend or other distribution becomes payable
shall be forfeited and shall revert to the Company.
|
The Directors may at any time
capitalise any sum standing to the credit of any of the Company's reserve accounts or funds (including the share premium account
and capital redemption reserve fund) or any sum standing to the credit of the profit and loss account or otherwise available for
distribution; appropriate such sum to Members in the proportions in which such sum would have been divisible amongst such Members
had the same been a distribution of profits by way of Dividend or other distribution; and apply such sum on their behalf in paying
up in full unissued Shares for allotment and distribution credited as fully paid-up to and amongst them in the proportion aforesaid.
In such event the Directors shall do all acts and things required to give effect to such capitalisation, with full power given
to the Directors to make such provisions as they think fit in the case of Shares becoming distributable in fractions (including
provisions whereby the benefit of fractional entitlements accrue to the Company rather than to the Members concerned). The Directors
may authorise any person to enter on behalf of all of the Members interested into an agreement with the Company providing for such
capitalisation and matters incidental or relating thereto and any agreement made under such authority shall be effective and binding
on all such Members and the Company.
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25
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42.1
|
The Directors shall cause proper books of account (including, where applicable, material underlying
documentation including contracts and invoices) to be kept with respect to all sums of money received and expended by the Company
and the matters in respect of which the receipt or expenditure takes place, all sales and purchases of goods by the Company and
the assets and liabilities of the Company. Such books of account must be retained for a minimum period of five years from the date
on which they are prepared. Proper books shall not be deemed to be kept if there are not kept such books of account as are necessary
to give a true and fair view of the state of the Company's affairs and to explain its transactions.
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42.2
|
The Directors shall determine whether and to what extent and at what times and places and under
what conditions or regulations the accounts and books of the Company or any of them shall be open to the inspection of Members
not being Directors and no Member (not being a Director) shall have any right of inspecting any account or book or document of
the Company except as conferred by Statute or authorised by the Directors or by the Company in general meeting.
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42.3
|
The Directors may cause to be prepared and to be laid before the Company in general meeting profit
and loss accounts, balance sheets, group accounts (if any) and such other reports and accounts as may be required by law.
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43.1
|
The Directors may appoint an Auditor of the Company who shall hold office on such terms as the
Directors determine.
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43.2
|
Every Auditor of the Company shall have a right of access at all times to the books and accounts
and vouchers of the Company and shall be entitled to require from the Directors and officers of the Company such information and
explanation as may be necessary for the performance of the duties of the Auditor.
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43.3
|
Auditors shall, if so required by the Directors, make a report on the accounts of the Company during
their tenure of office at the next annual general meeting following their appointment in the case of a company which is registered
with the Registrar of Companies as an ordinary company, and at the next extraordinary general meeting following their appointment
in the case of a company which is registered with the Registrar of Companies as an exempted company, and at any other time during
their term of office, upon request of the Directors or any general meeting of the Members.
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44.1
|
Notices shall be in writing and may be given by the Company to any Member either personally or
by sending it by courier, post, cable, telex, fax or e-mail to him or to his address as shown in the Register of Members (or where
the notice is given by e-mail by sending it to the e-mail address provided by such Member). Any notice, if posted from one country
to another, is to be sent by airmail.
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44.2
|
Where a notice is sent by courier, service of the notice shall be deemed to be effected by delivery
of the notice to a courier company, and shall be deemed to have been received on the third day (not including Saturdays or Sundays
or public holidays) following the day on which the notice was delivered to the courier. Where a notice is sent by post, service
of the notice shall be deemed to be effected by properly addressing, pre paying and posting a letter containing the notice, and
shall be deemed to have been received on the fifth day (not including Saturdays or Sundays or public holidays in the Cayman Islands)
following the day on which the notice was posted. Where a notice is sent by cable, telex or fax, service of the notice shall be
deemed to be effected by properly addressing and sending such notice and shall be deemed to have been received on the same day
that it was transmitted. Where a notice is given by e-mail service shall be deemed to be effected by transmitting the e-mail to
the e-mail address provided by the intended recipient and shall be deemed to have been received on the same day that it was sent,
and it shall not be necessary for the receipt of the e-mail to be acknowledged by the recipient.
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44.3
|
A notice may be given by the Company to the person or persons which the Company has been advised
are entitled to a Share or Shares in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Member in the same manner as other notices which
are required to be given under the Articles and shall be addressed to them by name, or by the title of representatives of the deceased,
or trustee of the bankrupt, or by any like description at the address supplied for that purpose by the persons claiming to be so
entitled, or at the option of the Company by giving the notice in any manner in which the same might have been given if the death
or bankruptcy had not occurred.
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44.4
|
Notice of every general meeting shall be given in any manner authorised by the Articles to every
holder of Shares carrying an entitlement to receive such notice on the record date for such meeting except that in the case of
joint holders the notice shall be sufficient if given to the joint holder first named in the Register of Members and every person
upon whom the ownership of a Share devolves by reason of his being a legal personal representative or a trustee in bankruptcy of
a Member where the Member but for his death or bankruptcy would be entitled to receive notice of the meeting, and no other person
shall be entitled to receive notices of general meetings.
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45.1
|
If the Company shall be wound up the liquidator shall apply the assets of the Company in satisfaction
of creditors' claims in such manner and order as such liquidator thinks fit. Subject to the rights attaching to any Shares, in
a winding up:
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(a)
|
if the assets available for distribution amongst the Members shall be insufficient to repay the
whole of the Company's issued share capital, such assets shall be distributed so that, as nearly as may be, the losses shall be
borne by the Members in proportion to the par value of the Shares held by them; or
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(b)
|
if the assets available for distribution amongst the Members shall be more than sufficient to repay
the whole of the Company's issued share capital at the commencement of the winding up, the surplus shall be distributed amongst
the Members in proportion to the par value of the Shares held by them at the commencement of the winding up subject to a deduction
from those Shares in respect of which there are monies due, of all monies payable to the Company for unpaid calls or otherwise.
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45.2
|
If the Company shall be wound up the liquidator may, subject to the rights attaching to any Shares
and with the approval of a Special Resolution of the Company and any other approval required by the Statute, divide amongst the
Members in kind the whole or any part of the assets of the Company (whether such assets shall consist of property of the same kind
or not) and may for that purpose value any assets and determine how the division shall be carried out as between the Members or
different classes of Members. The liquidator may, with the like approval, vest the whole or any part of such assets in trustees
upon such trusts for the benefit of the Members as the liquidator, with the like approval, shall think fit, but so that no Member
shall be compelled to accept any asset upon which there is a liability.
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46
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Indemnity and Insurance
|
|
46.1
|
Every Director and officer of the Company (which for the avoidance of doubt, shall not include
auditors of the Company), together with every former Director and former officer of the Company (each an "
Indemnified Person
")
shall be indemnified out of the assets of the Company against any liability, action, proceeding, claim, demand, costs, damages
or expenses, including legal expenses, whatsoever which they or any of them may incur as a result of any act or failure to act
in carrying out their functions other than such liability (if any) that they may incur by reason of their own actual fraud or wilful
default. No Indemnified Person shall be liable to the Company for any loss or damage incurred by the Company as a result (whether
direct or indirect) of the carrying out of their functions unless that liability arises through the actual fraud or wilful default
of such Indemnified Person. No person shall be found to have committed actual fraud or wilful default under this Article unless
or until a court of competent jurisdiction shall have made a finding to that effect.
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46.2
|
The Company shall advance to each Indemnified Person reasonable attorneys' fees and other costs
and expenses incurred in connection with the defence of any action, suit, proceeding or investigation involving such Indemnified
Person for which indemnity will or could be sought. In connection with any advance of any expenses hereunder, the Indemnified Person
shall execute an undertaking to repay the advanced amount to the Company if it shall be determined by final judgment or other final
adjudication that such Indemnified Person was not entitled to indemnification pursuant to this Article. If it shall be determined
by a final judgment or other final adjudication that such Indemnified Person was not entitled to indemnification with respect to
such judgment, costs or expenses, then such party shall not be indemnified with respect to such judgment, costs or expenses and
any advancement shall be returned to the Company (without interest) by the Indemnified Person.
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46.3
|
The Directors, on behalf of the Company, may purchase and maintain insurance for the benefit of
any Director or other officer of the Company against any liability which, by virtue of any rule of law, would otherwise attach
to such person in respect of any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust of which such person may be guilty in relation
to the Company.
|
Unless the Directors otherwise
prescribe, the financial year of the Company shall end on 31st December in each year and, following the year of incorporation,
shall begin on 1st January in each year.
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48
|
Transfer by Way of Continuation
|
If the Company is exempted as
defined in the Statute, it shall, subject to the provisions of the Statute and with the approval of a Special Resolution, have
the power to register by way of continuation as a body corporate under the laws of any jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands
and to be deregistered in the Cayman Islands.
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49
|
Mergers and Consolidations
|
The Company
shall have the power to merge or consolidate with one or more other constituent companies (as defined in the Statute) upon such
terms as the Directors may determine and (to the extent required by the Statute) with the approval of a Special Resolution.
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29
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Dated this 28th day of March 2018.
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Maples Corporate Services Limited
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of PO Box 309, Ugland House
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Grand Cayman
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KY1-1104
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Cayman Islands
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acting by:
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Tina Cansell
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Margo Richardson
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Witness to the above signature
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Auth Code: J81870421271
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Exhibit 5.1
_____________
,
2018
New Frontier Corporation
23
rd
Floor, 299 QRC
287-299 Queen’s Road Central
Hong Kong
Re:
Form
S-1 Registration Statement (Registration No. 333-
_______
)
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special
counsel to New Frontier Corporation, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “
Company
”), in connection with the
preparation of the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-_______) initially filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “
Commission
”) on _____________, 2018, as amended to date (the “
Registration
Statement
”), under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “
Securities Act
”).
The Registration Statement
relates to the registration of the offer and sale of up to 23,000,000 Units of the Company (the “
Units
”) (including
up to 3,000,000 Units subject to the Underwriters’ (as defined below) over-allotment option), with each Unit consisting of
(i) one of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the “
Class A Ordinary Shares
”
and the Class A Ordinary Shares underlying the Units, the “
Shares
”), for an aggregate of up to 23,000,000 Shares
(including up to 3,000,000 Shares included in the Units subject to the Underwriters’ over-allotment option) and (ii) one-half
of one redeemable warrant (a “
Warrant
”), with each whole Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one Class
A Ordinary Share, for an aggregate of up to 11,500,000 Warrants (including up to 1,500,000 Warrants included in the Units subject
to the Underwriters’ over-allotment option) to be issued under a Warrant Agreement (the “
Warrant Agreement
”)
to be entered into by the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as Warrant Agent, pursuant to the terms of
an underwriting agreement (the “
Underwriting Agreement
”) to be executed by the Company and Credit Suisse Securities
(USA) LLC and UBS Securities LLC, as representatives of the underwriters named therein (the “
Underwriters
”).
This opinion letter
is being furnished in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Act.
In rendering the opinions
set forth below, we examined and relied upon such certificates, corporate records, agreements, instruments and other documents,
and examined such matters of law, that we considered necessary or appropriate as a basis for the opinions. In rendering the opinions
set forth below, we have examined and are familiar with originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction,
of the Registration Statement and such other documents as we have deemed necessary or appropriate as a basis for the opinions set
forth below. In our examination, we have assumed the legal capacity of all natural persons, the genuineness of all signatures,
the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted
to us as certified or photostatic copies, the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents, that all parties to such
documents had the power, corporate or other, to enter into and perform all obligations thereunder and all such documents have been
duly authorized by all requisite action, corporate or other, and duly executed and delivered by all parties thereto. As to any
facts material to the opinions expressed herein that we did not independently establish or verify, we have relied upon oral or
written statements and representations of officers and other representatives of the Company and others. In rendering the opinions
set forth below, we have further assumed that, before the issuance of the Units, Shares and Warrants (i) the Registration Statement
will have become effective under the Securities Act and (ii) the conditions to consummating the transactions contemplated by the
Underwriting Agreement will have been satisfied or duly waived and such transactions are consummated.
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________________, 2018
Page 2
|
Based upon the foregoing
and subject to the assumptions, qualifications and limitations set forth herein, we are of the opinion that:
1.
When the Units are delivered to the Underwriters against payment of the agreed consideration therefor in accordance with
the Underwriting Agreement, each Unit will be a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in
accordance with its terms.
2.
When the Units are delivered to the Underwriters against payment of the agreed consideration therefor in accordance with
the Underwriting Agreement, each Warrant included in the Units will be a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable
against the Company in accordance with its terms.
The opinions expressed
herein are based upon and limited to the laws of the State of New York. We express no opinion herein as to any other laws, statutes,
regulations or ordinances. The opinions expressed herein that are based on the laws of the State of New York are limited to the
laws generally applicable in transactions of the type covered by the Registration Statement.
We hereby consent to
the filing of this opinion letter as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement and to the reference to our firm under the caption
“Legal Matters” in the prospectus included in the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby
admit that we are experts within the meaning of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission or that this
consent is required by Section 7 of the Securities Act.
Very truly yours,
Exhibit 5.2
Our ref MUL/741578-000001/55131013v3
New Frontier Corporation
PO Box 309, Ugland House
Grand Cayman
KY1-1104
Cayman Islands
|
4 June 2018
Dear Sirs
New Frontier Corporation
We have acted as Cayman Islands counsel
to New Frontier Corporation (the "
Company
") in connection with the Company's registration statement on Form S-1,
including all amendments or supplements thereto, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "
Commission
")
under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "
Act
") (including its exhibits, the "
Registration
Statement
") related to the offering and sale of: (a) up to 20,000,000 units (the "
Units
"), each Unit
consisting of one Class A ordinary share of the Company of a par value of US$0.0001 each (the "
Ordinary Shares
")
and one-half of one redeemable warrant to purchase one Ordinary Share (the "
Warrants
"); (b) up to 3,000,000 Units
(the "
Over-Allotment Units
"), which the several underwriters, for whom Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and
UBS Securities LLC are acting as representatives ("
Representatives
"), will have a right to purchase from the Company
to cover over allotments, if any; (c) all Ordinary Shares and all Warrants issued as part of the Units and the Over-Allotment Units;
and (d) all Ordinary Shares that may be issued upon exercise of the Warrants included in the Units and the Over-Allotment Units.
This opinion letter is given in accordance with the terms of the Legal Matters section of the Registration Statement.
We have reviewed originals, copies, drafts
or conformed copies of the following documents:
|
1.1
|
The certificate of incorporation dated 28 March 2018 and the memorandum and articles of association
of the Company as registered or adopted on 28 March 2018 (the "
Memorandum and Articles
").
|
|
1.2
|
The written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company dated 29 May 2018 (the "
Resolutions
")
and the corporate records of the Company maintained at its registered office in the Cayman Islands.
|
|
1.3
|
A certificate of good standing with respect to the Company issued by the Registrar of Companies
(the "
Certificate of Good Standing
").
|
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1.4
|
A certificate from a director of the Company a copy of which is attached to this opinion letter
(the "
Director's Certificate
").
|
|
1.5
|
The Registration Statement.
|
|
1.6
|
A draft of the form of the unit certificate representing the Units and the Over-Allotment Units
(the "
Unit Certificates
").
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1.7
|
A draft of the form of the warrant agreement and the warrant certificate constituting the Warrants
(the "
Warrant Documents
").
|
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1.8
|
A draft of the underwriting agreement between the Company and the Representatives (the "
Underwriting
Agreement
" and, together with the Unit Certificates and the Warrant Documents, the "
Documents
").
|
The following opinions are given only as
to, and based on, circumstances and matters of fact existing and known to us on the date of this opinion letter. These opinions
only relate to the laws of the Cayman Islands which are in force on the date of this opinion letter. In giving the following opinions,
we have relied (without further verification) upon the completeness and accuracy, as at the date of this opinion letter, of the
Director's Certificate and the Certificate of Good Standing. We have also relied upon the following assumptions, which we have
not independently verified:
|
2.1
|
The Documents have been or will be authorised and duly executed and unconditionally delivered by
or on behalf of all relevant parties in accordance with all relevant laws (other than, with respect to the Company, the laws of
the Cayman Islands).
|
|
2.2
|
The Documents are, or will be, legal, valid, binding and enforceable against all relevant parties
in accordance with their terms under the laws of the State of New York (the "
Relevant Law
") and all other relevant
laws (other than, with respect to the Company, the laws of the Cayman Islands).
|
|
2.3
|
The choice of the Relevant Law as the governing law of the Documents has been made in good faith
and would be regarded as a valid and binding selection which will be upheld by the courts of the State of New York and any other
relevant jurisdiction (other than the Cayman Islands) as a matter of the Relevant Law and all other relevant laws (other than the
laws of the Cayman Islands).
|
|
2.4
|
Copies of documents, conformed copies or drafts of documents provided to us are true and complete
copies of, or in the final forms of, the originals.
|
|
2.5
|
All signatures, initials and seals are genuine.
|
|
2.6
|
The capacity, power, authority and legal right of all parties under all relevant laws and regulations
(other than, with respect to the Company, the laws of the Cayman Islands) to enter into, execute, unconditionally deliver and perform
their respective obligations under the Documents.
|
|
2.7
|
No invitation has been or will be made by or on behalf of the Company to the public in the Cayman
Islands to subscribe for any of the Units, the Over-Allotment Units, the Warrants or the Ordinary Shares.
|
|
2.8
|
There is no contractual or other prohibition or restriction (other than as arising under Cayman
Islands law) binding on the Company prohibiting or restricting it from entering into and performing its obligations under the Documents.
|
|
2.9
|
No monies paid to or for the account of any party under the Documents or any property received
or disposed of by any party to the Documents in each case in connection with the Documents or the consummation of the transactions
contemplated thereby represent or will represent proceeds of criminal conduct or criminal property or terrorist property (as defined
in the Proceeds of Crime Law (2018 Revision) and the Terrorism Law (2018 Revision), respectively).
|
|
2.10
|
There is nothing under any law (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands) which would or might
affect the opinions set out below. Specifically, we have made no independent investigation of the Relevant Law.
|
|
2.11
|
The Company will receive money or money's worth in consideration for the issue of the Ordinary
Shares and none of the Ordinary Shares were or will be issued for less than par value.
|
Save as aforesaid we have not been instructed
to undertake and have not undertaken any further enquiry or due diligence in relation to the transaction the subject of this opinion
letter.
Based upon, and subject to, the foregoing
assumptions and the qualifications set out below, and having regard to such legal considerations as we deem relevant, we are of
the opinion that:
|
3.1
|
The Company has been duly incorporated as an exempted company with limited liability and is validly
existing and in good standing with the Registrar of Companies under the laws of the Cayman Islands.
|
|
3.2
|
The Ordinary Shares to be offered and issued by the Company as contemplated by the Registration
Statement (including the issuance of the Ordinary Shares upon the exercise of the Warrants in accordance with the Warrant Documents)
have been duly authorised for issue, and when issued by the Company against payment in full of the consideration as set out in
the Registration Statement and in accordance with the terms set out in the Registration Statement (including the issuance of the
Ordinary Shares upon the exercise of the Warrants in accordance with the Warrant Documents), such Ordinary Shares will be validly
issued, fully paid and non-assessable. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a share is only issued when it has been entered in the
register of members (shareholders).
|
|
3.3
|
The execution, delivery and performance of the Unit Certificates and the Warrant Documents have
been authorised by and on behalf of the Company and, once the Unit Certificates and the Warrant Documents have been executed and
delivered by any director or officer of the Company, the Unit Certificates and the Warrant Documents will be duly executed and
delivered on behalf of the Company and will constitute the legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable in accordance
with their terms.
|
The opinions expressed above are subject
to the following qualifications:
|
4.1
|
The term "
enforceable
" as used above means that the obligations assumed by the
Company under the Documents are of a type which the courts of the Cayman Islands will enforce. It does not mean that those obligations
will necessarily be enforced in all circumstances in accordance with their terms. In particular:
|
|
(a)
|
enforcement may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, reorganisation, readjustment
of debts or moratorium or other laws of general application relating to or affecting the rights of creditors;
|
|
(b)
|
enforcement may be limited by general principles of equity. For example, equitable remedies such
as specific performance may not be available,
inter alia
, where damages are considered to be an adequate remedy;
|
|
(c)
|
where obligations are to be performed in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, they may not
be enforceable in the Cayman Islands to the extent that performance would be illegal under the laws of that jurisdiction; and
|
|
(d)
|
some claims may become barred under relevant statutes of limitation or may be or become subject
to defences of set off, counterclaim, estoppel and similar defences.
|
|
4.2
|
To maintain the Company in good standing with the Registrar of Companies under the laws of the
Cayman Islands, annual filing fees must be paid and returns made to the Registrar of Companies within the time frame prescribed
by law.
|
|
4.3
|
Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members (shareholders) is
prima facie
evidence
of title to shares and this register would not record a third party interest in such shares. However, there are certain limited
circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members
reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained
by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. As
far as we are aware, such applications are rarely made in the Cayman Islands and for the purposes of the opinion given in paragraph
3.2, there are no circumstances or matters of fact known to us on the date of this opinion letter which would properly form the
basis for an application for an order for rectification of the register of members of the Company, but if such an application were
made in respect of the Company's Ordinary Shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman
Islands court.
|
|
4.4
|
Except as specifically stated herein, we make no comment with respect to any representations and
warranties which may be made by or with respect to the Company in any of the documents or instruments cited in this opinion letter
or otherwise with respect to the commercial terms of the transactions the subject of this opinion letter.
|
|
4.5
|
In this opinion letter, the phrase "non-assessable" means, with respect to the issuance
of shares, that a shareholder shall not, in respect of the relevant shares and in the absence of a contractual arrangement, or
an obligation pursuant to the memorandum and articles of association, to the contrary, have any obligation to make further contributions
to the Company's assets (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship
or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
|
We hereby consent to the filing of this
opinion letter as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the reference to our firm under the heading "Legal Matters"
in the prospectus included in the Registration Statement. In providing our consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the
category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the Rules and Regulations of the Commission thereunder.
This opinion letter is addressed to you
and may be relied upon by you, your counsel and purchasers of Units pursuant to the Registration Statement. This opinion letter
is limited to the matters detailed herein and is not to be read as an opinion with respect to any other matter.
Yours faithfully
Maples and Calder
New Frontier Corporation
PO Box 309, Ugland House
Grand Cayman
KY1-1104
Cayman Islands
4 June 2018
PO Box 309, Ugland
House
Grand Cayman
KY1-1104
Cayman Islands
Dear Sirs
New Frontier Corporation
(the "
Company
")
I, the undersigned, being a director of
the Company, am aware that you are being asked to provide an opinion letter (the "
Opinion
") in relation to certain
aspects of Cayman Islands law. Unless otherwise defined herein, capitalised terms used in this certificate have the respective
meanings given to them in the Opinion. I hereby certify that:
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1
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The Memorandum and Articles remain in full force and effect and are unamended.
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2
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The Company has not entered into any mortgages or charges over its property or assets other than
those entered in the register of mortgages and charges of the Company.
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3
|
The Resolutions were duly passed in the manner prescribed in the Memorandum and Articles (including,
without limitation, with respect to the disclosure of interests (if any) by directors of the Company) and have not been amended,
varied or revoked in any respect.
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4
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The authorised share capital of the Company is US$20,100 divided into 180,000,000 Class A ordinary
shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each and 1,000,000 preference
shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each. The issued share capital of the Company is 10,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, which have
been have been duly authorised and are validly issued as fully-paid and non-assessable.
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5
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The shareholders of the Company (the "
Shareholders
") have not restricted the powers
of the directors of the Company in any way.
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6
|
The directors of the Company at the date of the Resolutions and at the date of this certificate
were and are as follows: Kam Chung Leung and Carl Wu.
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7
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You have been provided with complete and accurate copies of all minutes of meetings or written
resolutions or consents of the Shareholders and directors (or any committee thereof) of the Company (which were duly convened,
passed and/or (as the case may be) signed and delivered in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles) and the certificate of
incorporation, Memorandum and Articles (as adopted on incorporation and as subsequently amended) and statutory registers of the
Company.
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8
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Prior to, at the time of, and immediately following the approval of the transactions the subject
of the Registration Statement the Company was, or will be, able to pay its debts as they fell, or fall, due and has entered, or
will enter, into the transactions the subject of the Registration Statement for proper value and not with an intention to defraud
or wilfully defeat an obligation owed to any creditor or with a view to giving a creditor a preference.
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9
|
Each director of the Company considers the transactions contemplated by the Registration Statement
to be of commercial benefit to the Company and has acted in good faith in the best interests of the Company, and for a proper purpose
of the Company, in relation to the transactions which are the subject of the Opinion.
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10
|
To the best of my knowledge and belief, having made due inquiry, the Company is not the subject
of legal, arbitral, administrative or other proceedings in any jurisdiction. Nor have the directors or Shareholders taken any steps
to have the Company struck off or placed in liquidation, nor have any steps been taken to wind up the Company. Nor has any receiver
been appointed over any of the Company's property or assets.
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11
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To the best of my knowledge and belief, having made due inquiry, there are no circumstances or
matters of fact existing which may properly form the basis for an application for an order for rectification of the register of
members of the Company.
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12
|
The Registration Statement has been, or will be, authorised and duly executed and delivered by
or on behalf of all relevant parties in accordance with all relevant laws.
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13
|
The Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to the Registration Statement have been, or will be,
duly registered, and will continue to be registered, in the Company's register of members (shareholders).
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14
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The Company is not a central bank, monetary authority or other sovereign entity of any state and
is not a subsidiary, direct or indirect, of any sovereign entity or state.
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I confirm that you may continue to rely
on this certificate as being true and correct on the day that you issue the Opinion unless I shall have previously notified you
in writing personally to the contrary.
Signature: _________________________________
Name:
Title: Director
Exhibit 10.6
THIS PROMISSORY NOTE (“NOTE”) HAS NOT BEEN REGISTERED
UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”). THIS NOTE HAS BEEN ACQUIRED FOR INVESTMENT
ONLY AND MAY NOT BE SOLD, TRANSFERRED OR ASSIGNED IN THE ABSENCE OF REGISTRATION OF THE RESALE THEREOF UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT
OR AN OPINION OF COUNSEL REASONABLY SATISFACTORY IN FORM, SCOPE AND SUBSTANCE TO THE COMPANY THAT SUCH REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED.
PROMISSORY NOTE
Principal Amount: $300,000
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Dated as of April 19th, 2018
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New Frontier Corporation, a
Cayman Islands exempted company and blank check company (the “
Maker
”), promises to pay to the order of New Frontier
Public Holding Ltd. or its registered assigns or successors in interest
(the
“
Payee
”), or order, the principal sum of Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000) or such lesser amount as
shall have been advanced by Payee to Maker and shall remain unpaid under this Note on the Maturity Date (as defined below) in lawful
money of the United States of America, on the terms and conditions described below. All payments on this Note shall
be made by check or wire transfer of immediately available funds or as otherwise determined by the Maker to such account as the
Payee may from time to time designate by written notice in accordance with the provisions of this Note.
1.
Principal.
The
entire unpaid principal balance of this Note shall be payable on the earlier of: (i) December 31, 2018 or (ii) the date on which
Maker consummates an initial public offering of its securities (such earlier date, the “
Maturity Date
”). The
principal balance may be prepaid at any time. Under no circumstances shall any individual, including but not limited to any officer,
director, employee or stockholder of the Maker, be obligated personally for any obligations or liabilities of the Maker hereunder.
2.
Drawdown Requests.
Maker and Payee agree that Maker may request, from time to time, up to Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000) in drawdowns under
this Note to be used for costs and expenses related to Maker’s formation and the proposed initial public offering of its
securities (the “
IPO
”). Principal of this Note may be drawn down from time to time prior to the Maturity Date
upon written request from Maker to Payee (each, a “
Drawdown Request
”). Each Drawdown Request must state the
amount to be drawn down, and must not be an amount less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000). Payee shall fund each Drawdown Request
no later than three (3) business days after receipt of a Drawdown Request; provided, however, that the maximum amount of drawdowns
outstanding under this Note at any time may not exceed Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000). No fees, payments or other amounts
shall be due to Payee in connection with, or as a result of, any Drawdown Request by Maker.
3.
Interest.
No
interest shall accrue on the unpaid principal balance of this Note.
4.
Application
of Payments.
All payments shall be applied first to payment in full of any costs incurred in the collection of any sum
due under this Note, including (without limitation) reasonable attorney’s fees, then to the payment in full of any late charges
and finally to the reduction of the unpaid principal balance of this Note.
5.
Events
of Default.
The following shall constitute an event of default (“
Event of Default
”):
(a)
Failure
to Make Required Payments
. Failure by Maker to pay the principal amount due pursuant to this Note within five (5) business
days of the date specified above.
(b)
Voluntary
Bankruptcy, Etc
. The commencement by Maker of a voluntary case under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization,
rehabilitation or other similar law, or the consent by it to the appointment of or taking possession by a receiver, liquidator,
assignee, trustee, custodian, sequestrator (or other similar official) of Maker or for any substantial part of its property, or
the making by it of any assignment for the benefit of creditors, or the failure of Maker generally to pay its debts as such debts
become due, or the taking of corporate action by Maker in furtherance of any of the foregoing.
(c)
Involuntary
Bankruptcy, Etc
. The entry of a decree or order for relief by a court having jurisdiction in the premises in respect of Maker
in an involuntary case under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law, or appointing a receiver, liquidator,
assignee, custodian, trustee, sequestrator (or similar official) of Maker or for any substantial part of its property, or ordering
the winding-up or liquidation of its affairs, and the continuance of any such decree or order unstayed and in effect for a period
of 60 consecutive days.
6.
Remedies.
(a) Upon
the occurrence of an Event of Default specified in Section 4(a) hereof, Payee may, by written notice to Maker, declare this Note
to be due immediately and payable, whereupon the unpaid principal amount of this Note, and all other amounts payable thereunder,
shall become immediately due and payable without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby
expressly waived, anything contained herein or in the documents evidencing the same to the contrary notwithstanding.
(b) Upon
the occurrence of an Event of Default specified in Sections 5(b) or 5(c), the unpaid principal balance of this Note, and all other
sums payable with regard to this Note, shall automatically and immediately become due and payable, in all cases without any action
on the part of Payee.
7.
Waivers.
Maker
and all endorsers and guarantors of, and sureties for, this Note waive presentment for payment, demand, notice of dishonor, protest,
and notice of protest with regard to the Note, all errors, defects and imperfections in any proceedings instituted by Payee under
the terms of this Note, and all benefits that might accrue to Maker by virtue of any present or future laws exempting any property,
real or personal, or any part of the proceeds arising from any sale of any such property, from attachment, levy or sale under execution,
or providing for any stay of execution, exemption from civil process, or extension of time for payment; and Maker agrees that any
real estate that may be levied upon pursuant to a judgment obtained by virtue hereof, on any writ of execution issued hereon, may
be sold upon any such writ in whole or in part in any order desired by Payee.
8.
Unconditional
Liability.
Maker hereby waives all notices in connection with the delivery, acceptance, performance, default, or enforcement
of the payment of this Note, and agrees that its liability shall be unconditional, without regard to the liability of any other
party, and shall not be affected in any manner by any indulgence, extension of time, renewal, waiver or modification granted or
consented to by Payee, and consents to any and all extensions of time, renewals, waivers, or modifications that may be granted
by Payee with respect to the payment or other provisions of this Note, and agrees that additional makers, endorsers, guarantors,
or sureties may become parties hereto without notice to Maker or affecting Maker’s liability hereunder.
9.
Notices.
All
notices, statements or other documents which are required or contemplated by this Agreement shall be: (i) in writing and delivered
personally or sent by first class registered or certified mail, overnight courier service or facsimile or electronic transmission
to the address designated in writing, (ii) by facsimile to the number most recently provided to such party or such other address
or fax number as may be designated in writing by such party and (iii) by electronic mail, to the electronic mail address most recently
provided to such party or such other electronic mail address as may be designated in writing by such party. Any notice
or other communication so transmitted shall be deemed to have been given on the day of delivery, if delivered personally, on the
business day following receipt of written confirmation, if sent by facsimile or electronic transmission, one (1) business day after
delivery to an overnight courier service or five (5) days after mailing if sent by mail.
10.
Construction.
THIS
NOTE SHALL BE CONSTRUED AND ENFORCED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF HONG KONG.
11.
Severability.
Any
provision contained in this Note which is prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective
to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition
or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.
12.
Trust
Waiver.
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Payee hereby waives any and all right, title, interest
or claim of any kind (“
Claim
”) in or to any distribution of or from the trust account to be established in which
the proceeds of the IPO conducted by the Maker (including the deferred underwriters discounts and commissions) and the proceeds
of the sale of the warrants issued in a private placement to occur prior to the effectiveness of the IPO are to be deposited, as
described in greater detail in the registration statement and prospectus to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
in connection with the IPO, and hereby agrees not to seek recourse, reimbursement, payment or satisfaction for any Claim against
the trust account for any reason whatsoever.
13.
Amendment;
Waiver.
Any amendment hereto or waiver of any provision hereof may be made with, and only with, the written consent
of the Maker and the Payee.
14.
Assignment.
No
assignment or transfer of this Note or any rights or obligations hereunder may be made by any party hereto (by operation of law
or otherwise) without the prior written consent of the other party hereto and any attempted assignment without the required consent
shall be void.
[
Signature page follows
]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF
, Maker, intending
to be legally bound hereby, has caused this Note to be duly executed by the undersigned as of the day and year first above written.
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NEW FRONTIER CORPORATION
a Cayman Islands exempted company
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By:
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/s/ Carl Wu
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Name: Carl Wu
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Title: Director
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[
Signature Page to Promissory Note
]
Exhibit 10.7
New Frontier Corporation
23
rd
Floor, 299QRC
287-299 Queen’s Road Central
Hong Kong
April 19th, 2018
New Frontier Public Holding Ltd.
23rd Floor, 299QRC
287-299 Queen’s Road Central
Hong Kong
RE:
Securities Subscription Agreement
Gentlemen:
This agreement (the “
Agreement
”) is entered
into on April 19, 2018 by and between New Frontier Public Holding Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “
Subscriber
”
or “
you
”), and New Frontier Corporation, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “
Company
”,
“
we
” or “
us
”). Pursuant to the terms hereof, the Company hereby accepts the offer the Subscriber
has made to purchase 10,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value per share (the “
Shares
”), up to 750,000
of which are subject to forfeiture by you if the underwriters of the initial public offering (“
IPO
”) of units
(“
Units
”) of the Company, do not fully exercise their over-allotment option (the “
Over-allotment Option
”)
and up to 5,000,000 of which are subject to forfeiture by you if the total forward purchase of securities (the “
Forward
Purchase
”) by our anchor investors is less than $200,000,000. The Company and the Subscriber’s agreements regarding
such Shares are as follows:
1.
Purchase
of Shares.
For the sum of $25,000 (the “
Purchase Price
”), which the Company acknowledges receiving in cash,
the Company hereby issues the Shares to the Subscriber, and the Subscriber hereby purchases the Shares from the Company, subject
to forfeiture, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement. All references in this Agreement to shares
of the Company being forfeited shall take effect as surrenders for no consideration of such shares as a matter of Cayman Islands
law.
2.
Representations,
Warranties and Agreements.
2.1.
Subscriber’s
Representations, Warranties and Agreements.
To induce the Company to issue the Shares to the Subscriber, the Subscriber hereby
represents and warrants to the Company and agrees with the Company as follows:
2.1.1.
No
Government Recommendation or Approval.
The Subscriber understands that no federal or state agency has passed upon or made any
recommendation or endorsement of the offering of the Shares.
2.1.2.
No
Conflicts.
The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation by the Subscriber of the transactions
contemplated hereby do not violate, conflict with or constitute a default under (i) the formation and governing documents of the
Subscriber, (ii) any agreement, indenture or instrument to which the Subscriber is a party or (iii) any law, statute, rule or regulation
to which the Subscriber is subject, or any agreement, order, judgment or decree to which the Subscriber is subject.
2.1.3.
Organization
and Authority.
The Subscriber is a Cayman Islands exempted company, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of
the Cayman Islands and possesses all requisite power and authority necessary to carry out the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement. Upon execution and delivery by you, this Agreement is a legal, valid and binding agreement of Subscriber, enforceable
against Subscriber in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency,
fraudulent conveyance or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and subject to general principles
of equity (regardless of whether enforcement is sought in a proceeding at law or in equity).
2.1.4.
Experience,
Financial Capability and Suitability.
Subscriber is: (i) sophisticated in financial matters and is able to evaluate the risks
and benefits of the investment in the Shares and (ii) able to bear the economic risk of its investment in the Shares for an indefinite
period of time because the Shares have not been registered under the Securities Act (as defined below) and therefore cannot be
sold unless subsequently registered under the Securities Act or an exemption from such registration is available. Subscriber is
capable of evaluating the merits and risks of its investment in the Company and has the capacity to protect its own interests.
Subscriber must bear the economic risk of this investment until the Shares are sold pursuant to: (i) an effective registration
statement under the Securities Act or (ii) an exemption from registration available with respect to such sale. Subscriber is able
to bear the economic risks of an investment in the Shares and to afford a complete loss of Subscriber’s investment in the
Shares.
2.1.5.
Access
to Information; Independent Investigation.
Prior to the execution of this Agreement, the Subscriber has had the opportunity
to ask questions of and receive answers from representatives of the Company concerning an investment in the Company, as well as
the finances, operations, business and prospects of the Company, and the opportunity to obtain additional information to verify
the accuracy of all information so obtained. In determining whether to make this investment, Subscriber has relied solely on Subscriber’s
own knowledge and understanding of the Company and its business based upon Subscriber’s own due diligence investigation and
the information furnished pursuant to this paragraph. Subscriber understands that no person has been authorized to give any information
or to make any representations which were not furnished pursuant to this Section 2 and Subscriber has not relied on any other representations
or information in making its investment decision, whether written or oral, relating to the Company, its operations and/or its prospects.
2.1.6.
Regulation
D Offering.
Subscriber represents that it is an “accredited investor” as such term is defined in Rule 501(a) of
Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “
Securities Act
”) and acknowledges the sale contemplated
hereby is being made in reliance on a private placement exemption to “accredited investors” within the meaning of Section
501(a) of Regulation D under the Securities Act or similar exemptions under state law.
2.1.7.
Investment
Purposes.
The Subscriber is purchasing the Shares solely for investment purposes, for the Subscriber’s own account and
not for the account or benefit of any other person, and not with a view towards the distribution or dissemination thereof in violation
of the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The Subscriber did not decide to enter into this Agreement as a result
of any general solicitation or general advertising within the meaning of Rule 502 under the Securities Act.
2.1.8.
Restrictions
on Transfer; Shell Company.
Subscriber understands the Shares are being offered in a transaction not involving a public offering
within the meaning of the Securities Act. Subscriber understands the Shares will be “restricted securities” within
the meaning of Rule 144(a)(3) under the Securities Act, and Subscriber understands that the certificates representing the Shares
will contain a legend in respect of such restrictions. If in the future the Subscriber decides to offer, resell, pledge or otherwise
transfer the Shares, such Shares may be offered, resold, pledged or otherwise transferred only pursuant to: (i) registration under
the Securities Act, or (ii) an available exemption from registration. Subscriber agrees that if any transfer of its Shares or any
interest therein is proposed to be made, as a condition precedent to any such transfer, Subscriber may be required to deliver to
the Company an opinion of counsel satisfactory to the Company. Absent registration or an exemption, the Subscriber agrees not to
resell the Shares. Subscriber further acknowledges that because the Company is a shell company, Rule 144 may not be available to
the Subscriber for the resale of the Shares until one year following consummation of the initial business combination of the Company,
despite technical compliance with the requirements of Rule 144 and the release or waiver of any contractual transfer restrictions.
2.1.9.
No
Governmental Consents.
No governmental, administrative or other third party consents or approvals are required, necessary or
appropriate on the part of Subscriber in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
2.2.
Company’s
Representations, Warranties and Agreements.
To induce the Subscriber to purchase the Shares, the Company hereby represents
and warrants to the Subscriber and agrees with the Subscriber as follows:
2.2.1.
Organization
and Corporate Power.
The Company is a Cayman Islands exempted company and is qualified to do business in every jurisdiction
in which the failure to so qualify would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, operating
results or assets of the Company. The Company possesses all requisite corporate power and authority necessary to carry out the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
2.2.2.
No
Conflicts.
The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation by the Company of the transactions
contemplated hereby do not violate, conflict with or constitute a default under (i) the memorandum and articles of association
of the Company, (ii) any agreement, indenture or instrument to which the Company is a party or (iii) any law, statute, rule or
regulation to which the Company is subject, or any agreement, order, judgment or decree to which the Company is subject.
2.2.3.
Title
to Securities.
Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof, and registration in the Company’s
register of members, the Shares will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. Upon issuance in accordance with,
and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof, and registration in the Company’s register of members, the Subscriber will have
or receive good title to the Shares, free and clear of all liens, claims and encumbrances of any kind, other than (a) transfer
restrictions hereunder and other agreements to which the Shares may be subject, (b) transfer restrictions under federal and state
securities laws, and (c) liens, claims or encumbrances imposed due to the actions of the Subscriber.
2.2.4.
No
Adverse Actions.
There are no actions, suits, investigations or proceedings pending, threatened against or affecting the Company
which: (i) seek to restrain, enjoin, prevent the consummation of or otherwise affect the transactions contemplated by this Agreement
or (ii) question the validity or legality of any transactions or seeks to recover damages or to obtain other relief in connection
with any transactions.
3.
Forfeiture
of Shares.
3.1.
Partial
or No Exercise of the Over-allotment Option.
In the event the Over-allotment Option granted to the representative of the underwriters
of the Company’s IPO is not exercised in full, the Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that it shall forfeit any and all rights
to such number of Shares (pro rata based upon the percentage of the Over-allotment Option exercised) such that immediately following
such forfeiture, the Subscriber (and all other initial shareholders prior to the IPO, if any) will own an aggregate number of Shares
(not including (i) Shares issuable upon exercise of any warrants, (ii) any Shares purchased by Subscriber in the Company’s
IPO or in the aftermarket or (iii) the Shares issued to the Subscriber in respect of the Forward Purchase) equal to 20% of the
issued and outstanding Shares immediately following the IPO.
3.2.
Forward
Purchase Amount.
In the event the aggregate Forward Purchase by the Company’s anchor investors is less than $200,000,000,
the Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that it shall forfeit, immediately prior to the closing of the IPO, any and all rights to
such number of Shares such that immediately following such forfeiture, the Subscriber will own such number of Shares equal to the
number of Shares previously transferred by the Subscriber to the anchor investors in connection with the Forward Purchase. In the
event that any anchor investor defaults on the payment of the purchase price for its Forward Purchase and forfeits its Shares in
connection with such default, the Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that it shall automatically forfeit the number of the Shares
forfeited by such defaulting anchor investor.
3.3.
Termination
of Rights as Shareholder.
If any of the Shares are forfeited in accordance with this Section 3, then after such time the Subscriber
(or successor in interest), shall no longer have any rights as a holder of such Shares, and the Company shall take such action
as is appropriate to cancel such Shares.
4.
Waiver
of Liquidation Distributions; Redemption Rights.
In connection with the Shares purchased pursuant to this Agreement, the Subscriber
hereby waives any and all right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any distributions by the Company from the trust
account which will be established for the benefit of the Company’s public shareholders and into which substantially all of
the proceeds of the IPO will be deposited (the “
Trust Account
”), in the event of a liquidation of the Company
upon the Company’s failure to timely complete an initial business combination. For purposes of clarity, in the event the
Subscriber purchases Shares in the IPO or in the aftermarket, any additional Shares so purchased shall be eligible to receive any
liquidating distributions by the Company. However, in no event will the Subscriber have the right to redeem any Shares into funds
held in the Trust Account upon the successful completion of an initial business combination.
5.
Restrictions
on Transfer.
5.1.
Securities
Law Restrictions.
In addition to any restrictions to be contained in that certain letter agreement (commonly known as an “
Insider
Letter
”) dated as of the closing of the IPO by and between Subscriber and the Company, Subscriber agrees not to sell,
transfer, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of all or any part of the Shares unless (a) a registration statement on the
appropriate form under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws with respect to the Shares proposed to be transferred
shall then be effective or (b) if requested by the Company, the Company has received an opinion from counsel reasonably satisfactory
to the Company that such registration is not required because such transaction is exempt from registration under the Securities
Act and the rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder and with all applicable state securities laws.
5.2.
Restrictive
Legends.
Any certificates representing the Shares shall have endorsed thereon legends substantially as follows:
“THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY
HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS AND NEITHER THE SECURITIES
NOR ANY INTEREST THEREIN MAY BE OFFERED, SOLD, TRANSFERRED, PLEDGED OR OTHERWISE DISPOSED OF EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION
STATEMENT UNDER SUCH ACT OR SUCH LAWS OR AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION UNDER SUCH ACT AND SUCH LAWS WHICH, IN THE OPINION OF COUNSEL,
IS AVAILABLE.”
“THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED
BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO A LOCKUP AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD, TRANSFERRED, PLEDGED OR OTHERWISE DISPOSED DURING THE
TERM OF THE LOCKUP.”
5.3.
Additional
Shares or Substituted Securities.
In the event of the declaration of a share dividend, the declaration of an extraordinary
dividend payable in a form other than Shares, a spin-off, a share split, an adjustment in conversion ratio, a recapitalization
or a similar transaction affecting the Company’s outstanding Shares without receipt of consideration, any new, substituted
or additional securities or other property which are by reason of such transaction distributed with respect to any Shares subject
to this Section 5 or into which such Shares thereby become convertible shall immediately be subject to this Section 5 and Section
3. Appropriate adjustments to reflect the distribution of such securities or property shall be made to the number and/or class
of Shares subject to this Section 5 and Section 3.
5.4.
Registration
Rights.
Subscriber acknowledges that the Shares are being purchased pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements
of the Securities Act and will become freely tradable only after certain conditions are met or they are registered pursuant to
a Registration Rights Agreement to be entered into with the Company prior to the closing of the IPO.
6.
Other
Agreements.
6.1.
Further
Assurances.
Subscriber agrees to execute such further instruments and to take such further action as may reasonably be necessary
to carry out the intent of this Agreement.
6.2.
Notices.
All notices, statements or other documents which are required or contemplated by this Agreement shall be: (i) in writing and delivered
personally or sent by first class registered or certified mail, overnight courier service or facsimile or electronic transmission
to the address designated in writing, (ii) by facsimile to the number most recently provided to such party or such other address
or fax number as may be designated in writing by such party and (iii) by electronic mail, to the electronic mail address most recently
provided to such party or such other electronic mail address as may be designated in writing by such party. Any notice or other
communication so transmitted shall be deemed to have been given on the day of delivery, if delivered personally, on the business
day following receipt of written confirmation, if sent by facsimile or electronic transmission, one (1) business day after delivery
to an overnight courier service or five (5) days after mailing if sent by mail.
6.3.
Entire
Agreement.
This Agreement, together with that certain Insider Letter to be entered into between Subscriber and the Company
and the agreements to be entered into between the Company, the Subscriber and the anchor investors with respect to the Forward
Purchase, substantially in the forms to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 associated with the Company’s
IPO, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the Subscriber and the Company with respect to the subject matter
hereof and supersedes all prior oral or written agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. No statement,
representation, warranty, covenant or agreement of any kind not expressly set forth in this Agreement shall affect, or be used
to interpret, change or restrict, the express terms and provisions of this Agreement.
6.4.
Modifications
and Amendments.
The terms and provisions of this Agreement may be modified or amended only by written agreement executed by
all parties hereto.
6.5.
Waivers
and Consents.
The terms and provisions of this Agreement may be waived, or consent for the departure therefrom granted, only
by a written document executed by the party entitled to the benefits of such terms or provisions. No such waiver or consent shall
be deemed to be or shall constitute a waiver or consent with respect to any other terms or provisions of this Agreement, whether
or not similar. Each such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the purpose for which it was
given, and shall not constitute a continuing waiver or consent.
6.6.
Assignment.
The rights and obligations under this Agreement may not be assigned by either party hereto without the prior written consent of
the other party.
6.7.
Benefit.
All statements, representations, warranties, covenants and agreements in this Agreement shall be binding on the parties hereto
and shall inure to the benefit of the respective successors and permitted assigns of each party hereto. Nothing in this Agreement
shall be construed to create any rights or obligations except among the parties hereto, and no person or entity shall be regarded
as a third-party beneficiary of this Agreement.
6.8.
Governing
Law.
This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be construed in accordance with and governed
by the laws of Hong Kong applicable to contracts wholly performed within its borders of such state, without giving effect to the
conflict of law principles thereof.
6.9.
Severability.
In the event that any court of competent jurisdiction shall determine that any provision, or any portion thereof, contained in
this Agreement shall be unreasonable or unenforceable in any respect, then such provision shall be deemed limited to the extent
that such court deems it reasonable and enforceable, and as so limited shall remain in full force and effect. In the event that
such court shall deem any such provision, or portion thereof, wholly unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this Agreement
shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect.
6.10.
No
Waiver of Rights, Powers and Remedies.
No failure or delay by a party hereto in exercising any right, power or remedy under
this Agreement, and no course of dealing between the parties hereto, shall operate as a waiver of any such right, power or remedy
of such party. No single or partial exercise of any right, power or remedy under this Agreement by a party hereto, nor any abandonment
or discontinuance of steps to enforce any such right, power or remedy, shall preclude such party from any other or further exercise
thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or remedy hereunder. The election of any remedy by a party hereto shall not constitute
a waiver of the right of such party to pursue other available remedies. No notice to or demand on a party not expressly required
under this Agreement shall entitle the party receiving such notice or demand to any other or further notice or demand in similar
or other circumstances or constitute a waiver of the rights of the party giving such notice or demand to any other or further action
in any circumstances without such notice or demand.
6.11.
Survival
of Representations and Warranties.
All representations and warranties made by the parties hereto in this Agreement or in any
other agreement, certificate or instrument provided for or contemplated hereby, shall survive the execution and delivery hereof
and any investigations made by or on behalf of the parties.
6.12.
No
Broker or Finder.
Each of the parties hereto represents and warrants to the other that no broker, finder or other financial
consultant has acted on its behalf in connection with this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby in such a way as to
create any liability on the other. Each of the parties hereto agrees to indemnify and save the other harmless from any claim or
demand for commission or other compensation by any broker, finder, financial consultant or similar agent claiming to have been
employed by or on behalf of such party and to bear the cost of legal expenses incurred in defending against any such claim.
6.13.
Headings
and Captions.
The headings and captions of the various subdivisions of this Agreement are for convenience of reference only
and shall in no way modify or affect the meaning or construction of any of the terms or provisions hereof.
6.14.
Counterparts.
This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same
agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the other party, it being
understood that both parties need not sign the same counterpart. In the event that any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission
or any other form of electronic delivery, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or
on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such signature page were an original thereof.
6.15.
Construction.
The parties hereto have participated jointly in the negotiation and drafting of this Agreement. If an ambiguity or question of
intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement will be construed as if drafted jointly by the parties hereto and no presumption
or burden of proof will arise favoring or disfavoring any party hereto because of the authorship of any provision of this Agreement.
The words “
include
,” “
includes
,” and “
including
” will be deemed to be
followed by “
without limitation
.” Pronouns in masculine, feminine, and neuter genders will be construed to include
any other gender, and words in the singular form will be construed to include the plural and vice versa, unless the context otherwise
requires. The words “
this Agreement
,” “
herein
,” “
hereof
,” “
hereby
,”
“
hereunder
,” and words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular subdivision
unless expressly so limited. The parties hereto intend that each representation, warranty, and covenant contained herein will have
independent significance. If any party hereto has breached any representation, warranty, or covenant contained herein in any respect,
the fact that there exists another representation, warranty or covenant relating to the same subject matter (regardless of the
relative levels of specificity) which such party hereto has not breached will not detract from or mitigate the fact that such party
hereto is in breach of the first representation, warranty, or covenant.
6.16.
Mutual
Drafting.
This Agreement is the joint product of the Subscriber and the Company and each provision hereof has been subject
to the mutual consultation, negotiation and agreement of such parties and shall not be construed for or against any party hereto.
7.
Voting
and Tender of Shares.
Subscriber agrees to vote the Shares in favor of an initial business combination that the Company negotiates
and submits for approval to the Company’s shareholders and shall not seek redemption with respect to such Shares. Additionally,
the Subscriber agrees not to tender any Shares in connection with a tender offer presented to the Company’s shareholders
in connection with an initial business combination negotiated by the Company.
[
Signature Page Follows
]
If the foregoing accurately sets forth our
understanding and agreement, please sign the enclosed copy of this Agreement and return it to us.
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Very truly yours,
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NEW FRONTIER CORPORATION
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By:
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/s/ Carl Wu
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Name: Carl Wu
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Title: Director
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Accepted and agreed as of the date first written above.
NEW FRONTIER PUBLIC HOLDING LTD.
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By:
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/s/ Carl Wu
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Name: Carl Wu
Title: Director
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[
Signature
Page to Securities Subscription Agreement
]
Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC
ACCOUNTING FIRM
We hereby consent to the use in this Registration
Statement on Form S-1 of our report dated April 27, 2018, relating to the balance sheet of New Frontier Corporation as of April
19, 2018, and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from March
28, 2018 (date of inception) to April 19, 2018, and to the reference to our Firm under the caption “Experts” in the
Prospectus.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
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Whippany, New Jersey
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June 1, 2018
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Exhibit 99.1
Consent to be Named as a Director Nominee
In connection with the filing by New Frontier Corporation of
the Registration Statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
(the “Securities Act”), I hereby consent, pursuant to Rule 438 of the Securities Act, to being named as a
nominee to the board of directors of New Frontier Corporation in the Registration Statement and any and all amendments and supplements
thereto. I also consent to the filing of this consent as an exhibit to such Registration Statement and any amendments thereto.
Dated:
June 4,
2018
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/s/ Edward Leong Che-hung
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Edward Leong Che-hung
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Exhibit 99.2
Consent to be Named as a Director Nominee
In connection with the filing by New Frontier Corporation of
the Registration Statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
(the “Securities Act”), I hereby consent, pursuant to Rule 438 of the Securities Act, to being named as a
nominee to the board of directors of New Frontier Corporation in the Registration Statement and any and all amendments and supplements
thereto. I also consent to the filing of this consent as an exhibit to such Registration Statement and any amendments thereto.
Dated: June 4, 2018
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/s/ Frederick Ma Si-hang
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Frederick Ma Si-hang
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