RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves risks and uncertainties. You should consider carefully the risks described below, as well as the other information included in this prospectus, and any applicable prospectus supplement, before making an investment decision. Any of the risks described could significantly and negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects and the trading price of our securities. You could lose all or part of your investment.

We have grouped the risks into five categories for ease of reading, and without any reflection on the importance of, or likelihood of, any particular category.

I. Risks Related to PAE’s Business

a. Risks Related to Performance and Operations

PAE relies on contracts with U.S. Government entities for substantially all of its revenue. A loss of contracts, a failure to obtain new contracts or a reduction of services provided under existing contracts with the U.S. Government, including as a result of a reduction in U.S. Government spending, could adversely affect PAE’s operating performance and result in a loss of expected revenue.

Substantially all of PAE’s revenue is derived from services ultimately provided to the U.S. Government. For the year ended December 31, 2019, PAE generated approximately 93% of its total revenue from contracts with the U.S. Government, with 37% of its total revenue from the Department of Defense (“DoD”) and 24% of its total revenue from the Department of State (“DoS”). PAE’s largest single contract accounts for approximately 8% of its total revenue. The remainder of its revenue is derived from other U.S. agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“NASA”), U.S. intelligence agencies and the National Science Foundation, and non-governmental organizations, including the United Nations (“U.N.”). PAE expects that U.S. Government contracts will continue to be its primary source of revenue for the foreseeable future. The continuation and renewal of PAE’s existing U.S. Government contracts and entrance into new U.S. Government contracts are, among other things, contingent upon the availability of adequate funding for various U.S. Government agencies. Changes in U.S. Government spending could directly affect PAE’s operating performance and result in a loss of expected revenue. The loss or significant reduction in government funding of a program in which PAE participates could also result in a material decrease to PAE’s future sales, earnings and cash flows.

U.S. Government contracts are also conditioned upon the approval of spending by the U.S. Congress. In addition, Congress usually appropriates funds for a given program on a September 30 fiscal year basis, even though contract periods of performance may extend over many years. Consequently, at the beginning of a major program, the contract is usually partially funded and additional monies are normally committed to the contract by the procuring agency only as appropriations are made by Congress for future fiscal years. The factors that could impact U.S. Government spending and reduce PAE’s federal government contracting business include: (i) policy and/or spending changes implemented by the current administration, any subsequent administration or Congress; (ii) a significant decline in, or reapportioning of, spending by the U.S. Government in general; (iii) changes, delays or cancellations of U.S. Government programs, requirements or policies; (iv) the adoption of new laws or regulations that affect companies that provide services to the U.S. Government; (v) U.S. Government shutdowns or other delays in the government appropriations process; (vi) changes in the political climate, including with regard to the funding or operation of the services PAE provides; and (vii) general economic conditions, including a slowdown in the economy or unstable economic conditions in the United States or in the countries in which PAE operates.

These or other factors could cause U.S. Government agencies to reduce their purchases under PAE’s contracts, to exercise their right to terminate PAE’s contracts in whole or in part, to issue temporary stop-work orders or to decline to exercise options to renew PAE’s contracts. The loss or significant curtailment of PAE’s material U.S. Government contracts, the decision by PAE’s customers not to renew existing contracts or PAE’s failure to enter into new contracts could adversely affect PAE’s operating performance and result in a loss of expected revenue.

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If PAE experiences service failures or fails to properly manage projects, its customers could assert claims against it for damages or refunds and its reputation could be harmed.

PAE’s engagements often involve large-scale, highly complex projects and PAE designs, implements and maintains service solutions that are often critical to PAE’s customers’ operations. The quality of PAE’s performance on such projects depends in large part upon its ability to manage the relationship with its customers, and to effectively manage the project and deploy appropriate resources, including third-party contractors and PAE’s own personnel, in a timely manner. PAE has experienced, and may in the future experience, service failures or schedule delays and other problems in connection with its work. If PAE experiences these problems, it may: (i) lose revenue due to adverse customer reaction; (ii) be required to provide additional services to a customer at no charge; (iii) cause customers to postpone, cancel or fail to renew contracts; (iv) receive negative publicity, which could damage PAE’s reputation and adversely affect its ability to attract or retain customers; and (v) suffer claims for substantial damages.

Any errors or failure to meet customers’ expectations could result in claims for substantial damages against PAE. PAE’s U.S. Government contracts generally limit its liability for damages that arise from negligent acts, errors, mistakes or omissions in rendering services to its customers to claims based on the contract itself (excluding fraud or false claim liabilities). However, PAE cannot be sure that these contractual provisions will protect it from liability for damages in the event it is involved in a dispute with a customer. PAE’s errors and omissions and product liability insurance coverage may not be adequate, may not continue to be available on reasonable terms, or may not be in sufficient amounts to cover one or more significant claims. In addition, the insurer may disclaim coverage as to some types of future claims, or the liability may be less than the insurance retention.

If a project experiences a performance problem, PAE may not be able to recover the additional costs it will incur, which could exceed revenues realized from a project. Finally, if PAE underestimates the resources or time it needs to complete a project with capped or fixed fees, its operating results could be seriously harmed. The successful assertion of any significant claim against PAE could seriously harm its business. Even if not successful, these claims could result in significant legal and other costs, may be a distraction to PAE’s management and may harm PAE’s reputation.

PAE’s reputation and its ability to do business may be impacted by the improper conduct of employees, agents, business partners or others working on its behalf.

PAE’s employees, agents and others working on its behalf may take actions or engage in conduct that could violate the applicable laws of the jurisdictions in which PAE operates, including laws governing improper payments to government officials, the protection of export controlled or classified information, cost accounting and billing, competition, data privacy, post-employment restrictions for government employees and protection of proprietary information of former employers or third parties. In addition, PAE’s employees, agents or others may engage in fraud or self-dealing activities that damage it. PAE may not be able to prevent all such misconduct committed by its employees, agents or others working on its behalf, and the risk of misconduct may increase in the current environment and as PAE continues to expand globally.

Such improper actions could subject PAE to civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspension or prohibition from doing business with the U.S. Government and other foreign governments and organizations, which could negatively impact PAE’s reputation and ability to conduct business and could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

In addition, PAE’s reputation could suffer serious harm if allegations of impropriety were made against it or its employees or agents. If PAE was suspended or prohibited from contracting with the U.S. Government, any significant U.S. Government agency, or foreign governmental entities, if PAE’s reputation or relationship with such entities was impaired, or if such entities otherwise ceased doing business with PAE, or significantly decreased the amount of business they do with PAE, its operating performance could be adversely affected and it may experience additional expenses and possible loss of revenue.

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Disruptions in the supply of PAE’s key materials and difficulties in the supplier qualification process, as well as increases in prices of materials, could adversely impact its results of operations.

PAE’s business is affected by the price and availability of materials, such as fuel, water, food and component parts that it uses to provide its various services. The prices of PAE’s materials and other supplies are subject to fluctuations attributable to, among other things, changes in supply and demand, weather conditions and governmental incentives and controls. PAE’s business, therefore, could be adversely impacted by factors affecting its suppliers (such as, but not limited to, the destruction of its suppliers’ facilities or their distribution infrastructure, a work stoppage or strike by its suppliers’ employees or the failure of its suppliers to provide materials of the requisite quality), or by increased costs of such materials or components if PAE was unable to pass along such price increases to its customers. PAE’s business could also be adversely affected if it was unable to obtain these materials and components from its suppliers in the quantities it requires or on favorable terms.

Supplier qualification and management is a key element of successful and compliant federal contracting. This requires extension of many of the same regulatory requirements which apply to PAE to its supplier base, incorporation of applicable regulatory requirements into contractual documents, screening of suppliers for violations of law and regulation, and active inspection of supplier business practices. In addition, PAE is reliant on a small number of key suppliers to provide unique source materials such as aircraft components, cameras, and communication devices which are not available from other sources and must be protected from tampering or counterfeiting. PAE’s failure to secure its supply chain against disruption due to regulatory noncompliance, physical threats, or cyber threats could have an adverse impact on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

If PAE’s subcontractors or joint venture partners fail to perform their contractual obligations, then PAE’s performance as the prime contractor and its ability to obtain future business could be materially and adversely impacted.

PAE subcontracts with other companies to perform a portion of the services on some of its contracts. Subcontractors, which represented approximately 24% of PAE’s direct costs for the year ended December 31, 2019, generally perform niche or specialty services for which they have more direct experience, such as catering services or specialized technical services, or otherwise have local knowledge of the region in which a contract will be performed. Often, PAE enters into subcontract arrangements to comply with requirements to award certain categories of services to small businesses. PAE generally does not have long-term contractual commitments with subcontractors, and skilled subcontractors may not continue to be available at reasonable rates and in the areas in which it conducts its operations. The inability to contract with skilled subcontractors at reasonable costs on a timely basis could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows. In addition, a failure by one or more of PAE’s subcontractors to satisfactorily and timely provide the agreed-upon supplies or perform the agreed-upon services may harm its reputation and materially and adversely impact PAE’s ability to perform its obligations as the prime contractor. Such subcontractor performance deficiencies could also result in a customer terminating PAE’s contract for default. A termination for default could expose PAE to liability and adversely affect PAE’s operating performance and result in a loss of expected revenue.

In addition, PAE often enters into joint ventures so that it can jointly bid and perform on a particular project or projects. The success of these and other joint ventures depends, in large part, on the satisfactory performance of the contractual obligations by PAE’s joint venture partners. PAE may not be able to effectively influence the operations of its joint ventures, or if PAE’s partners do not meet their obligations, the joint ventures may be unable to adequately perform and deliver their contracted services. Under these circumstances, PAE may be required to make additional investments and provide additional services to ensure the adequate performance and delivery of the contracted services. These additional obligations could result in reduced profits or, in some cases, significant losses for PAE with respect to such joint venture, which could also affect its reputation in the industries PAE serves.

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The failure of contractors with which PAE has entered into a sub- or prime-contractor relationship to meet their obligations to PAE or its clients could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

When PAE is a prime contractor under a contract, it often relies on other companies to perform some of the work under the contract, and it expects to continue to depend on relationships with other contractors for portions of its delivery of services and revenue in the foreseeable future. If PAE’s subcontractors fail to perform their contractual obligations, its future revenues, profitability and growth prospects could be adversely affected. There is a risk that PAE may have disputes with its subcontractors arising from, among other things, the quality and timeliness of work performed by the subcontractor, client concerns about the subcontractor, PAE’s failure to extend existing task orders or issue new task orders under a subcontract, or PAE’s hiring of a subcontractor’s personnel. During contract performance, failure by a subcontractor to deliver agreed-upon supplies or services, violation of applicable federal government procurement rules (such as, but not limited to, Combatting Trafficking in Persons laws), or failure to pay lower tier subcontractors in a timely fashion may result in early termination of the agreement with that subcontractor. Government decisions to remove elements of work from a contract due to dissatisfaction with performance, funding limitations, or changes in contracting practices and priorities may also result in a need to terminate subcontract agreements. As an example, on a base operation contract in the Bahamas, discrete portions of work were regularly added and removed as the needs of the base population changed, resulting in removal of contract services such as flights between the base and the mainland or addition of services such as watercraft storage facility operation. At the same location, PAE has been requested to add resources to deal with hurricane recovery efforts, and at other times reduce the number of medical facilities to be provided following reduction in base personnel. As a result of these fluctuations, PAE terminated subcontract agreements with subcontractors or materially decreased the scope of work they perform. This leads to a tension in working relationships and may in some cases result in litigation or difficulty in securing subcontractors for future work.

In addition, if any of PAE’s subcontractors fail to deliver the agreed-upon supplies or perform the agreed-upon services on a timely basis, PAE’s ability to fulfill its obligations as a prime contractor may be jeopardized. Material losses could arise in future periods and subcontractor performance deficiencies could result in a client terminating a contract for convenience or default. A termination for default could expose PAE to liability and have an adverse effect on PAE’s ability to compete for future contracts and orders. In the past, PAE has abandoned planned subcontractors prior to contract performance due to security concerns, at the direction of its government customer, or due to inability of the subcontractor to meet target pricing. During performance of a contract in Afghanistan, for example, PAE was compelled to release its planned physical security provider when the customer elected not to pay the higher price quoted by that subcontractor and instead retain the incumbent provider. While PAE’s contractual agreements are written to allow for termination in these cases, such action inevitably damages the working relationship between the two parties.

Conversely, PAE is often a subcontractor to third-party prime contractors. PAE estimates that revenue derived from contracts under which it acted as a subcontractor to other companies represented approximately 19% of its revenue for the year ended December 31, 2019. As a subcontractor, PAE often lacks control over fulfillment of a contract, and poor performance on the contract by the prime contractor or other subcontractors could tarnish PAE’s reputation, even when it performs as required, and could cause other contractors to choose not to hire PAE as a subcontractor in the future. If the U.S. Government terminates or reduces other prime contractors’ programs or does not award them new contracts, subcontracting opportunities available to PAE could decrease, which would have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows. In addition, as a subcontractor, PAE may be unable to collect payments owed to it by the prime contractor, even if it has performed its obligations under the contract, as a result of, among other things, the prime contractor’s inability to fulfill the contact. PAE could also experience delays in receiving payment if the prime contractor experiences payment delays, which could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows. For example, PAE has in the past and may in the future be required to accept contract payment terms that incorporate “pay-when-paid” provisions creating an inherent risk of delayed payment, particularly when the source of funds is a foreign government or corporation whose performance is difficult or impossible to compel through legal means. PAE performed under a subcontract in 2015 with pay-when-paid payment terms where the source of funds was the Governorate of Basrah in Iraq. When the Governorate failed to pay the prime contractor in a timely fashion, PAE’s corresponding payment was also delayed due to the pay-when-paid payment terms.

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PAE’s failure to maintain strong relationships with other contractors could have an adverse effect on its business and results of operations.

Maintaining strong relationships with other U.S. Government contractors, who may also be its competitors, is important to PAE’s business and its failure to do so could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows. To the extent that PAE fails to maintain good relationships with its subcontractors or other prime contractors due to either perceived or actual performance failures or other conduct, they may refuse to hire PAE as a subcontractor in the future or to work with PAE as its subcontractor. In addition, other contractors may choose not to use PAE as a subcontractor or choose not to perform work for PAE as a subcontractor for any number of additional reasons, including because they choose to establish relationships with PAE’s competitors or because they choose to directly offer services that compete with its business.

A negative audit or other investigations by the U.S. Government could adversely affect PAE’s ability to receive U.S. Government contracts and its future operating performance, and could result in financial or reputational harm, including disbarment from receiving government contracts.

PAE operates in a highly regulated environment and is routinely audited and reviewed by the U.S. Government and its agencies, such as the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”), the Defense Contract Management Agency (the “DCMA”), the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the DoD Inspector General, other agency Inspectors General, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the Department of Labor (“DoL”). These agencies review performance under PAE’s contracts, PAE’s cost structure and PAE’s compliance with applicable laws, regulations and standards, as well as the adequacy of, and PAE’s compliance with, its internal control systems and policies. Costs ultimately found to be unallowable or improperly allocated to a specific contract will not be paid or must be refunded or credited to the U.S. Government if already reimbursed. It is not uncommon for PAE to receive government audit findings that include millions of dollars of questioned costs.

Audits may also review the adequacy of, and PAE’s compliance with, its internal control systems and policies, including PAE’s labor, billing, accounting, purchasing, property, estimating, compensation and management information systems. Any costs found to be improperly allocated to a specific contract will not be paid. In addition, payments received by PAE for allowable direct and indirect costs are subject to adjustment after audit by U.S. Government auditors and repayment to the U.S. Government may be required if the payments do not comply with restrictions on allowable costs as defined in U.S. Government contracts. PAE’s audit risk with respect to these issues is increased where it is performing outside of the United States in contingency environments and other especially demanding circumstances. Any negative results from any audit of PAE’s control systems and policies by any U.S. Government agency, including any findings that PAE has not complied with any required policies or procedures, could delay or materially adversely affect PAE’s ability to invoice and receive timely payment on its contracts, perform contracts or compete for contracts with the U.S. Government and could have an adverse effect on PAE’s operating performance.

U.S. Government contractors that provide support services in theaters of conflict such as Iraq and Afghanistan have come under increased scrutiny by agency Inspectors General, special inspectors general, U.S. Government auditors, and congressional committees. Investigations pursued by any or all of these groups may result in adverse publicity and reputational harm for PAE, regardless of the underlying merit of the allegations being investigated. As a matter of general policy, PAE has cooperated and expects to continue to cooperate with government inquiries of this nature.

Obtaining a designation from the DCMA that a contractor’s purchasing system has been certified as satisfactory is a significant advantage for a government contractor, enabling competition on government contracts that would otherwise be prohibitively difficult or costly to bid, or that would require disclosure of competitively sensitive information. Certified Purchasing System Reviews (“CPSRs”) are highly detailed and commonly result in findings recommending improvements or corrective actions. A significantly negative CPSR may result in decertification of the purchasing system that would result in a far more burdensome business development and proposal process. The requirements for these systems and audits are frequently evolving.

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As a U.S. Government contractor, PAE is subject to various procurement and other laws and regulations and could be adversely affected by failure to comply with these laws and regulations or changes in such laws and regulations.

U.S. Government contractors must comply with many significant procurement regulations and other specific legal requirements. These regulations and requirements, although customary in U.S. Government contracting, increase PAE’s performance and compliance costs and are regularly evolving. For example, certain U.S. Government contracts that PAE performs in the United States are subject to the Service Contract Act, which requires hourly employees to be paid certain specified wages and benefits, and the Davis Bacon Act, which requires the “prevailing wage” to be paid for construction workers on federal projects as well as submission of a certification to the DoL. If the DoL determines that PAE violated the Service Contract Act or its implementing regulations, it could be suspended from being awarded new Government contracts or renewals of existing contracts for a period of time, which could adversely affect its future operating performance.

PAE is subject to, and expected to perform in compliance with, a vast array of federal and state civil and criminal laws, including:

Additionally, PAE is subject to the False Claims Act (the “FCA”), which provides for substantial damages and penalties where, for example, a contractor presents a false or fraudulent claim to the government for payment or approval. Actions under the FCA may be brought by the government or by individuals (including PAE employees or former employees) on behalf of the government (who may then share a portion of any recovery). If PAE fails to comply with these laws and regulations, it may also suffer harm to its reputation, which could impair its ability to win awards of contracts in the future or receive renewals of existing contracts. If PAE is subject to civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions or suffers harm to its reputation, it could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

Under PAE’s U.S. Government contracts, PAE is required to report significant overpayments it receives from the U.S. Government and other specified violations to the relevant agency inspector general. In 2019, PAE made four mandatory disclosures relating to subcontractor trafficking in persons compliance, subcontractor vendor’s fees, and missing program equipment. In addition, PAE’s compliance with procurement laws and regulations as well as its performance under the terms of its government contracts and subcontracts is periodically reviewed by U.S. Government agencies. PAE is currently, and may, from time to time, be subject to government investigation or litigation brought by or on behalf of the government under the FCA.

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If PAE is found to have violated the law, or is found not to have acted responsibly as defined by the law, it may be subject to civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspension or prohibition from doing business with the U.S. Government, any of which could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

New laws, regulations or procurement requirements, or changes to current laws, and regulations and requirements (including, for example, regulations related to allowability of compensation costs, counterfeit parts, specialty metals and conflict minerals), can increase PAE’s costs and risks and reduce its profitability. U.S. Government contract violations could result in the imposition of civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspension or prohibition from doing business with the U.S. Government. PAE could also suffer serious harm to its reputation. Any interruption or termination of PAE’s ability to bid on U.S. Government contracts could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

Compliance with diverse and changing legal requirements is costly, time-consuming and requires significant resources. PAE also conducts business in certain identified growth areas, such as national security and national intelligence, which are highly regulated and may expose it to increased compliance risk. Violations of one or more of these diverse legal requirements in the conduct of PAE’s business could result in civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspension or prohibition from doing business with the U.S. Government, as well as damage to its reputation. Violations of these regulations or contractual obligations related to regulatory compliance in connection with the performance of customer contracts could also result in liability for significant monetary damages, unfavorable publicity and allegations by PAE’s customers that it has not performed its contractual obligations.

PAE is subject to the U.S. Government’s requirements, including the DoD’s National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual, for its facility security clearances, which are prerequisites to its ability to perform on classified contracts for the U.S. Government.

A facility security clearance is required for a company to perform on classified contracts for the DoD and certain other agencies of the U.S. Government. Security clearances are subject to regulations and requirements including the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (the “NISPOM”), which specifies the requirements for the protection of classified information released or disclosed in connection with classified U.S. Government contracts. The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (the “DCSA”) manages the facility clearance process under the NISPOM and conducts various facility audits and inspections throughout the lifecycle of a respective facility clearance.

PAE requires certain facility and personnel security clearances to perform its classified U.S. Government business. Any facility not audit ready, not staffed by appropriately cleared personnel, and/or that fails a routine DCSA inspection places that contract in jeopardy. As such, PAE must comply with the requirements of the NISPOM and other applicable U.S. Government industrial security regulations. If PAE was to violate the terms and requirements of the NISPOM or such industrial security regulations (which apply to it under the terms of classified contracts), or if one or more of PAE’s facility or personnel security clearances is invalidated or terminated, it may not be able to continue to perform its existing classified contracts and may not be able to enter into new classified contracts, which could adversely affect its revenues. Failure to comply with the NISPOM or other security requirements may result in loss of access to classified information and subject PAE to civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspension or prohibition from doing business with the U.S. Government, which could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

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Some of PAE’s contracts with the U.S. Government are classified, which may limit investor insight into portions of its business.

PAE derives a portion of its revenues from programs with the U.S. Government that are subject to security restrictions (classified programs) that preclude the dissemination of information that is classified for national security purposes. PAE is limited in its ability to provide details about these classified programs, their risks or any disputes or claims relating to such programs. As a result, investors will have less insight into PAE’s classified programs than its other programs and, therefore, less ability to fully evaluate the risks related to its classified business.

Implementation of various data privacy and cybersecurity laws could require significant investment into ongoing compliance activities, trigger potential liability under such laws and limit PAE’s ability to use personal data.

Any failure by PAE, its vendors or other business partners to comply with international, federal, or state laws regarding data privacy or cybersecurity could result in regulatory actions or lawsuits against it, legal liability, fines, damages and other costs. PAE may also incur substantial expenses in implementing and maintaining compliance with such laws. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), implemented on May 25, 2018 across the European Union (“E.U.”), imposes more stringent data protection obligations on companies that process personal data in the E.U. GDPR has created new compliance obligations, requires investment into ongoing data protection activities and documentation requirements, and creates the potential for significantly increased fines for noncompliance. In addition, California has enacted the California Consumer Protection Privacy Act of 2018 (the “CCPA”), which provides new consumer privacy rights to natural persons residing in California. The CCPA is the most prescriptive general privacy law in the United States and may lead to similar laws being enacted in other U.S. states or at the federal level. It is possible that the CCPA or similar laws will be deemed applicable to some aspects of PAE’s business, which would impose new compliance obligations and require additional investment into data protection activities. The CCPA went into effect on January 1, 2020. Any obligations that may be imposed on PAE under the CCPA or similar laws may be different from or in addition to those required by GDPR, which may cause additional expense for compliance across various jurisdictions. GDPR, the CCPA, and the laws of other U.S. states also impose obligations to maintain a cybersecurity program at a certain level of quality, as well as obligations that may require giving notice to affected individuals and to certain regulators in the event of a data breach.

In addition, many of the systems and networks that PAE develops, installs and maintains for its customers involve managing and protecting personal information and information relating to national security and other sensitive government functions. While PAE has organizational and technical measures designed to comply with relevant privacy and security laws and restrictions, if a system or network that it develops, installs or maintains were to fail or experience a security breach or service interruption, whether caused by it, third-party service providers, cybersecurity threats or other events, PAE may experience loss of revenue, remediation costs or face claims for damages or contract termination. Any such event could prevent PAE from having access to or being eligible for further work on such systems and networks and cause serious harm to its reputation. PAE’s errors and omissions liability insurance may be inadequate to compensate it for all the damages that it may incur and, as a result, could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

Environmental laws and regulations may cause PAE to incur significant costs and liabilities that could adversely affect PAE’s operating performance and result in a loss of expected revenue.

PAE’s operations are subject to environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and other requirements in the United States as well as other jurisdictions where it does business. These include requirements governing the use, management and disposal of hazardous, radioactive and explosive substances and wastes, emissions and discharges of pollutants to the air and water, investigation or clean-up of contamination at host sites, and the maintenance of a safe workplace, including the use of personal protective equipment. PAE could incur substantial costs, including costs to install or retrofit pollution control equipment or to address contamination, fines, penalties and/or damage claims as a result of violations of, or liabilities under, environmental laws, and these costs and liabilities could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

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PAE is subject to various claims, litigation and other disputes that could ultimately be resolved against it.

The size, nature and complexity of PAE’s business make it highly susceptible to claims, litigation and other disputes. For example, PAE is and may become subject to various administrative, civil or criminal litigation, employment litigation, environmental claims, income tax matters, compliance matters, claims and investigations, which could divert financial and management resources and result in fines, penalties, compensatory, treble or other damages or non-monetary relief. U.S. Government regulations also provide that certain allegations against a contractor may lead to suspension or debarment from U.S. Government contracts or suspension of export privileges for PAE or one or more of its components. Suspension or debarment could have an adverse effect on PAE because of its reliance on U.S. Government contracts and authorizations. An adverse resolution or outcome of any of these lawsuits, claims, demands or investigations could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows. Any investigation, claim, demand or litigation, even if fully indemnified or insured, could negatively impact PAE’s reputation among its customers and the public, and make it more difficult for it to compete effectively or obtain adequate insurance in the future.

PAE’s business could be adversely affected by bid protests.

U.S. Government contract awards are frequently subject to bid protests from unsuccessful bidders on new program awards. It can take many months for the relevant U.S. Government agency to resolve protests by one or more of PAE’s competitors of contract awards it receives. Bid protests may result in significant expense to PAE and termination or cancellation of an awarded contract as a result of the award being overturned. Even if PAE does not lose the awarded contract, the resulting delay in the startup and funding of the work under these contracts could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows. In addition, PAE may protest the contract awards of its competitors when it believes it is prudent to do so to protect its rights and interest in the competition. This process requires the time, effort and attention of PAE’s management and employees and incurs additional costs.

PAE is exposed to risks associated with operating internationally.

A large portion of PAE’s business is conducted internationally. Consequently, PAE is subject to a variety of risks that are specific to international operations, including the following: (i) the burden and cost of compliance with export regulations; (ii) compliance with regulations enforced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control; (iii) the burden and cost of compliance with foreign laws, including employment laws, tax regulations, treaties and technical standards and changes in the foregoing; (iv) potential uncertainty with respect to laws and regulations due to a high degree of the difficulty of enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through some foreign legal systems; (v) discretion on the part of governmental authorities, which could result in arbitrary or selective actions against PAE, including suspension or termination of operating licenses; (vi) contract award and funding delays; (vii) potential restrictions on transfers of funds; (viii) import and export duties and value added taxes; (ix) transportation delays and interruptions; (x) uncertainties arising from foreign local business practices and cultural considerations; (xi) the adoption of regulations or enactment of other actions by certain governments that would have a direct or indirect adverse impact on PAE’s business and market opportunities, including nationalization of private enterprise; (xii) general economic conditions; and (xiii) potential military conflicts, civil strife and political risks. Similar to PAE’s U.S. Government contracts, many of its contracts with foreign governments are subject to procurement laws and regulations and governmental funding authorizations and provide such customers the right to terminate contracts at any time without cause.

In addition, PAE is subject to the FCPA, which prohibits improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by business entities for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. In addition, PAE may also be subject to anti-corruption laws in other jurisdictions, such as the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010. PAE has operations and deals with governmental personnel in countries known to experience, or that may be susceptible to, government corruption. PAE’s activities in these countries create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by its employees, consultants or contractors that could be in violation of various laws including the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws, even though these parties are not always subject to PAE’s control. PAE’s international operations also involve activities involving the transmittal of information, which may include personal data, that may expose PAE to data privacy laws in the jurisdictions in which it operates. If PAE’s data protection practices become subject to new or different restrictions, and to the extent such practices

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are not compliant with the laws of the countries in which PAE processes data, PAE could face increased compliance expenses and face penalties for violating such laws or be excluded from those markets altogether, in which case its operations could be adversely affected.

PAE’s overall success as a global business depends, in part, on its ability to anticipate and effectively manage these risks but there can be no assurance that PAE will be able to do so without incurring unexpected costs. If PAE is not able to manage the risks related to its international operations, it could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

PAE has operations in the Middle East and in certain regions that may experience turmoil, political unrest and destabilization, insurgency, war or terrorism.

The services PAE provides internationally are sometimes in countries with unstable governments, in areas of military conflict, in hostile and unstable environments, including war zones, or at military installations. Political unrest and destabilization and insurgent activities in the areas in which PAE operates may cause further destabilization in these regions. These factors increase the risk of an incident resulting in damage or destruction to PAE’s work or living sites or resulting in injury or loss of life to its employees, subcontractors or other third parties. PAE maintains insurance to mitigate risk and potential liabilities related to its international operations, but coverage may not be adequate to cover these claims and liabilities and it may be forced to bear substantial costs arising from those claims. Substantial claims in excess of PAE’s related insurance coverage could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

In certain circumstances, including civil war or increased insurgent activities in Iraq or Afghanistan, the U.S. Government may decide to terminate some or all U.S. Government activities, including PAE’s operations under applicable U.S. Government contracts in a location, country or region and to withdraw all personnel. Acts of terrorism and threats of armed conflicts in or around various areas in which PAE operates could limit or disrupt markets and its operations, including disruptions resulting from the evacuation of personnel, cancellation of contracts or the loss of key employees, contractors or assets. Furthermore, PAE may experience liability arising from accidents or incidents, which could involve significant potential injury, involving its employees or third parties. PAE also may incur material costs to maintain the safety of its personnel or be subject to increasing insurance costs.

Natural or environmental disasters or other events outside PAE’s control could disrupt PAE’s business and result in loss of revenue or higher expenses.

PAE has significant operations located in regions that may be exposed to earthquakes, damaging storms and other natural disasters, or other events outside of its control. PAE’s business also may be subject to environmental disasters. Although preventative measures may help to mitigate damage, the damage and disruption resulting from natural and environmental disasters or other events outside PAE’s control may be significant. If insurance or other risk transfer mechanisms are unavailable or insufficient to recover all costs, it could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

PAE’s subcontractors and suppliers are also subject to natural and environmental disasters, public health crises or other events outside their control that could affect their ability to perform. Performance failures by PAE’s subcontractors due to natural and environmental disasters or other events outside their control may adversely affect its ability to perform its obligations on the prime contract. Damages or other costs that may not be fully recoverable from the subcontractor or from the customer could reduce PAE’s profitability or result in a termination of the prime contract, which could have an adverse effect on PAE’s ability to compete for future contracts.

Natural and environmental disasters or other events outside PAE’s control could also disrupt PAE’s workforce, electrical and other power distribution networks, including computer and internet operation and accessibility, and the critical infrastructure necessary for its normal business operations. These disruptions could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

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We face various risks related to public health crises, such as the coronavirus (COVID-19), that could disrupt our business and result in loss of revenue or higher expenses.

Our operations face risks related to public health crises, such as the global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other pandemics and epidemics. The COVID-19 virus has spread to over 100 countries, including the United States, and the World Health Organization has classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. The ability of our personnel to work effectively and travel and the continued adequacy of our supply chains are likely to be adversely impacted by such a pandemic and responses thereto, such as the travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 virus. As a result of public health crises, such as COVID-19, we have experienced, and expect that we will experience in the future, delays, partial reductions or full suspensions of contract work, which could result in a decrease of revenue and have a material adverse impact on our business. It is also possible that we will have increased medical, housing or other costs due to quarantine requirements imposed by various jurisdictions and exposure of our personnel to pandemics such as the COVID-19 virus. In addition, the resulting volatility in the global capital markets could, among other things, restrict our access to capital and/or increase our cost of capital. At this time, we cannot predict the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of PAE—Current Economic Conditions – Impact of COVID-19” for additional discussion of management’s assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic.

PAE’s business could be negatively impacted by security threats, including cybersecurity threats, and other disruptions.

PAE faces various security threats, including cybersecurity threats to its information technology infrastructure and attempts to gain access to sensitive or classified information. Such threats can come from external as well as internal sources. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyberattack or cyber intrusion, including by Advanced Persistent Threats such as organized computer hackers, foreign governments and cyber terrorists, has increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. Cybersecurity threats are significant and evolving and include, among others, malicious software, attempts to gain unauthorized access to data and other electronic security breaches that could lead to disruptions in mission critical systems, unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information and corruption of data. In addition to security threats, PAE is also subject to other systems failures, including network, software or hardware failures, whether caused by PAE, third-party service providers (including operators of data centers and physical storage sites), natural disasters, power shortages, terrorist attacks or other events. PAE has been, and expects that it will be in the future, the target of Social Engineering Attacks, including attempts by cybercriminals to spoof company email accounts and impersonate company executives in order to gain access to PAE funds. Insurance may have specified sub-limits or exclusions in these cases that limit the recovery of lost funds. The unavailability of PAE’s information or communications systems, the failure of these systems to perform as anticipated or any significant breach of data security could cause loss of data, disrupt PAE’s operations, lead to financial losses from remedial actions, require significant management attention and resources, subject it to claims for breach of contract, damages, penalties or contract termination, negatively impact PAE’s reputation among its customers and the public and prevent PAE from being eligible for further work on sensitive or classified programs for U.S. Government customers, which could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows. PAE has experienced cybersecurity attacks and other systems interruptions in the past and may experience them in the future. PAE’s property and business interruption insurance may be inadequate to compensate it for all losses that may occur as a result of any such system or operational failure or disruption.

PAE may be harmed by intellectual property infringement claims and its failure to protect its intellectual property could enable competitors to market services with similar features.

PAE may become subject to claims from its employees or third parties who assert that software and other forms of intellectual property that it uses in delivering services and solutions to its clients infringe upon intellectual property rights of such employees or third parties. PAE’s employees develop some of the software and other forms of intellectual property that PAE uses to provide its services and solutions to its clients, but PAE also licenses technology from other vendors and is subject to vendor software audits. If PAE’s employees, vendors, or other third parties assert claims that it or its clients are infringing on their intellectual property rights, it could incur substantial costs to defend against those claims. If any of these infringement claims are ultimately successful, PAE could be

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required to cease selling or using services that incorporate the challenged software or technology, obtain a license or additional licenses from its employees, vendors, or other third parties, or redesign its services that rely on the challenged software or technology.

PAE attempts to protect its trade secrets and proprietary rights by entering into confidentiality and intellectual property assignment agreements with third parties, its employees and consultants. However, if these are breached, there may not be an adequate remedy available to it. In addition, others may independently discover PAE’s trade secrets and proprietary information and, in such cases, PAE may not be able to assert any trade secret rights against such party. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally obtained and is using PAE’s trade secret is difficult, expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. If PAE is unable to protect its intellectual property, its competitors could market services similar to PAE’s services, which could reduce demand for its offerings. Any litigation or other action to enforce PAE’s intellectual property rights, protect its trade secrets or determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources, with no assurance of success.

In addition, U.S. Government contracts typically contain provisions that allow the U.S. Government to claim rights, including intellectual property rights, in products and data developed and/or delivered under such agreements. PAE may not have the right to prohibit the U.S. Government from using or disclosing certain technologies developed by it, and it may not be able to prohibit third parties, including PAE’s competitors, from using those technologies commercially or in providing products and services to the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government generally takes the position that it has an unlimited right to royalty-free use of technologies that are developed under U.S. Government contracts.

The loss of any member of PAE’s senior management could impair its relationships with U.S. Government customers and disrupt the management of its business.

PAE believes that the success of its business and its ability to operate profitably depends on the continued contributions of the members of its senior management. PAE relies on its senior management to generate business and execute programs successfully. In addition, the relationships and reputation that many members of its senior management team have established and maintain with U.S. Government personnel contribute to PAE’s ability to maintain strong customer relationships and to identify new business opportunities. The loss of any member of PAE’s senior management could impair its ability to identify and secure new contracts, maintain good customer relations and otherwise manage successfully its business.

If PAE fails to attract and retain skilled employees or contractors, it might not be able to perform under its contracts or win new business.

The growth of PAE’s business and revenue depends in large part upon its ability to attract and retain sufficient numbers of highly qualified individuals, including personnel that are in high demand, such as those with military and law enforcement experience and specialized technical skill sets. In addition, certain U.S. Government contracts require it, and certain of its employees, to maintain security clearances. Obtaining and maintaining security clearances for employees is a lengthy process, and it is challenging to identify, recruit and retain employees who already hold security clearances. Furthermore, the current COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult for applicants to complete the application process, particularly with respect to providing required fingerprint samples, causing delays in obtaining security clearances. If PAE’s employees are unable to obtain or retain security clearances or if its employees who hold security clearances terminate employment with it, PAE’s ability to perform the work under certain U.S. Government contracts may be adversely affected, and the customer whose work requires cleared employees could terminate the contract or decide not to renew it upon its expiration. Further, some of PAE’s U.S. Government contracts contain provisions requiring it to staff an engagement with personnel that the customer considers key to its successful performance under the contract. In the event PAE is unable to provide these key personnel or acceptable substitutions, where permitted, the customer may terminate the contract. As a result, if PAE is unable to recruit and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees, its ability to maintain and grow its business could be limited.

Moreover, in a tight labor market, PAE’s labor costs could increase and it may be required to engage large numbers of subcontractor personnel, which could cause its profit margins to suffer. If PAE’s employees are over- utilized, it could have a negative impact on employee morale and attrition. Conversely, if PAE maintains or increases its staffing levels in anticipation of one or more projects and the projects are delayed, reduced or terminated, PAE may underutilize the additional personnel, which would increase its general and administrative expenses and could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

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The expiration of PAE’s collective bargaining agreements could result in increased operating costs or work disruptions, which could potentially affect its operating performance.

As of December 31, 2019, PAE had a workforce of approximately 20,000, of which approximately 24% were covered by collective bargaining agreements. As of December 31, 2019, PAE had approximately 56 collective bargaining agreements with its unions. The length of these agreements varies, with the longest expiring in November 2022. PAE cannot predict how stable its union relationships will be or whether it will be able to successfully negotiate successor agreements without impacting its financial condition, and may, in the future, experience labor disruptions associated with the expiration or renegotiation of collective bargaining agreements or otherwise, which may cause a significant disruption of operations. In addition, PAE may face increased operating costs as a result of higher wages or benefits paid to union members, which could adversely affect its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to PAE’s Business—Risks Related to Financial Results and Reporting” for additional information.

b. Risks Related to Financial Results and Reporting

PAE may not receive the full amounts estimated under the U.S. Government contracts in its backlog, which could reduce its revenue in future periods below the levels anticipated and which makes backlog an uncertain indicator of future operating results.

As of December 31, 2019, PAE’s total backlog was approximately $6.4 billion, of which $1.5 billion was funded. Due to the U.S. Government’s ability not to exercise contract options or to terminate, modify or curtail PAE’s programs or contracts and the rights of its non-U.S. Government customers to cancel contracts and purchase orders in certain circumstances, PAE may realize less than expected or may never realize revenues from some of the contracts that are included in its backlog. PAE’s unfunded backlog, in particular, is not exact or guaranteed, and is based upon, among other things, management’s experience under such contracts and similar contracts, the particular customers, the type of work and budgetary expectations. PAE’s management may not accurately assess these factors or estimate the revenue it will realize from these contracts. In addition, backlog is typically subject to large variations from quarter-to-quarter, and comparisons of backlog from period to period are not necessarily indicative of future revenues. The timing of receipt of revenues, if any, on projects included in backlog could change due to the scheduling of projects, and cancellation of or adjustments to contracts may occur. As a result, PAE’s funded, unfunded and total backlog as of any particular date may not reflect the actual revenue ultimately received from these contracts and therefore may not be an accurate indicator of PAE’s future earnings. If PAE fails to realize as revenues amounts included in its backlog, it could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

PAE’s financial results may vary significantly from quarter-to-quarter.

PAE expects its sales and operating results to vary from quarter-to-quarter. Reductions in revenue in a quarter could lead to lower profitability in that quarter because PAE may not be able to reduce its expenses proportionately, or at all, for that quarter, as a relatively large amount of its expenses are fixed in the short-term. PAE may also incur additional expenses when contracts are terminated or expire and are not renewed.

Payments due to PAE from its customers may be delayed due to billing cycles or as a result of failures of U.S. Government appropriations to gain congressional and administration approval in a timely manner. The U.S. Government may have to suspend, and has in the past suspended, engagements that PAE is working on because federal appropriations were not timely approved. The U.S. Government’s September 30 fiscal year end may also trigger increased purchase requests from customers for equipment and materials due to expiring funds. Any increased purchase requests it received as a result of the U.S. Government’s fiscal year end would serve to increase PAE’s third or fourth quarter revenue but may lead to reductions in revenue in the first quarter.

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Additional factors that may cause PAE’s financial results to fluctuate from quarter-to-quarter include those addressed elsewhere in these Risk Factors and the following factors, among others:

Significant fluctuations in PAE’s operating results for a particular quarter could cause it to fall out of compliance with the financial covenants related to its debt, which if not waived, could restrict PAE’s access to capital and cause it to take extreme measures to pay down its debt under its existing revolving credit facility. In addition, fluctuations in PAE’s financial results could cause the trading price of the notes to decline.

PAE uses estimates when accounting for contracts and any changes in such estimates could have an adverse effect on PAE’s profitability and its overall financial performance.

When agreeing to contractual terms, PAE’s management makes assumptions and projections about future conditions and events, many of which extend over long periods. In order to make these projections it must assess the productivity and availability of labor, complexity of the work to be performed, cost and availability of materials, impact of delayed performance and timing of product deliveries. Contract accounting requires judgment relative to assessing risks, estimating contract revenues and costs, and making assumptions for schedule and technical issues.

Due to the size and nature of many of PAE’s U.S. Government contracts, the estimation of total revenues and costs at completion is complicated and subject to many variables. For example, assumptions are made regarding the length of time to complete a task, as well as the future impact of PAE’s efficiency initiatives and cost reduction efforts. Incentives, awards or penalties related to performance on contracts are considered in estimating revenue and profit rates and are recorded when there is sufficient information to assess anticipated performance. Suppliers’ assertions are also assessed and considered in estimating costs and profit rates.

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Because of the significance of the judgments, assumptions and estimation processes described above, it is possible that materially different amounts could be obtained if different assumptions were used or if the underlying circumstances were to change. Changes in underlying assumptions, circumstances or estimates may have an adverse effect upon the profitability of one or more of the affected contracts, future period financial reporting and performance.

PAE’s earnings and profitability may vary based on the mix of its contracts and may be adversely affected by PAE’s failure to accurately estimate or otherwise recover the expenses, time and resources for its contracts.

PAE enters into several different types of U.S. Government contracts including cost-reimbursable, fixed-price and time-and-materials. For the year ended December 31, 2019, PAE derived approximately 58%, 34% and 8% of its revenue from cost-reimbursable, fixed-price and time-and-materials contracts, respectively. Each of these types of contracts, to varying degrees, involves the risk that PAE could underestimate its cost of fulfilling the contract, which may reduce the profit it earns or lead to a financial loss on the contract and adversely affect PAE’s operating performance and result in a loss of expected revenue.

Under cost-reimbursable contracts, PAE is reimbursed for allowable costs up to a ceiling and paid a fee, which may be fixed or performance-based. If PAE’s actual costs exceed the contract ceiling or are not allowable under the terms of the contract or applicable regulations, it may not be able to recover those costs. In particular, there is increasing focus by the U.S. Government on the extent to which government contractors, including PAE, are able to receive reimbursement for employee compensation, including rules that substantially limit the level of allowable compensation cost for executive-level and other employees. In addition, there is risk of compensation being deemed unallowable or payments being withheld as a result of government audit, review, or investigation.

Under fixed-price contracts, PAE performs specific tasks for a pre-determined price. Compared to time-and- materials and cost-reimbursable contracts, fixed-price contracts generally offer higher margin opportunities because PAE receives the benefits of any cost savings and operating efficiencies, but involve greater financial risk because it bears the impact of any cost overruns. Because PAE assumes the risk for cost overruns and contingent losses on fixed-price contracts, an increase in the percentage of fixed-price contracts in its contract mix could increase its risk of suffering losses. In addition, U.S. Government procurement policies have focused on requiring disclosure of cost and pricing data in the context of fixed-price contracting, which can impact the profitability of those contracts.

Under time-and-materials contracts, PAE is reimbursed for the hours worked using pre-determined hourly rates for each labor category and typically reimbursed for other direct contract costs and expenses at cost. PAE assumes financial risk on time-and-materials contracts because its cost of performance may exceed these negotiated hourly/daily rates. If PAE’s material costs on time-and-materials contracts grow at a faster rate than its labor-related costs, its overall profit margins may decrease and its profitability could be adversely affected.

Additionally, PAE’s profits could be adversely affected if its costs under any of these contracts exceed the assumptions it used in bidding for the contract. For example, PAE may miscalculate the costs, resources, or time needed to complete projects or meet contractual milestones as a result of delays on a particular project, including delays in designs, engineering information, or materials provided by the customer or a third party, delays or difficulties in equipment and material delivery, schedule changes, and other factors, some of which are beyond its control. Further, PAE cannot recover unallowable costs under any contracts, as direct contract charges or overhead. An increase in PAE’s unallowable costs could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

PAE has recorded provisions in its consolidated financial statements for losses on its contracts, as required under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, but PAE’s contract loss provisions may not be adequate to cover all actual losses that it may incur in the future. Actual losses could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

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PAE’s IDIQ contracts are not firm orders for services, and it may never receive revenue from these contracts, which could adversely affect PAE’s operating performance and result in a loss of expected revenue.

Many of PAE’s U.S. Government contracts are IDIQ contracts. IDIQ contracts are essentially umbrella contracts that set forth the basic terms and conditions under which an agency may order goods and services from one, and in many cases, more than one, contractor from time to time during the term of such contract. Therefore, the award of an IDIQ contract does not represent a firm order for services. Generally, under an IDIQ contract, the customer is obligated to pay only a de minimis fee or order a de minimis amount of services or supplies from its contractor, irrespective of the total estimated contract value. Furthermore, under an IDIQ contract, the customer develops requirements for task orders and each awardee is given a fair opportunity to be considered for the task order through a competitive bidding process. A task order is, generally, awarded to a single contractor using a best-value approach, which reflects the U.S. Government’s estimation of the proposal that would provide the greatest overall benefit. There can be no assurance that PAE’s existing IDIQ contracts will result in actual revenue during any particular period or at all.

PAE sometimes submits requests for equitable adjustments or claims to clients for work it performed beyond the initial scope of some of its contracts. If these clients do not approve these requests or claims, it could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

PAE typically has pending requests for equitable adjustments (“REAs”) or claims submitted under some of its contracts for payment of work performed beyond the initial contractual requirements for which it has already recorded revenue. PAE cannot guarantee that such REAs or claims will be approved in whole, in part, or at all. Often, these REAs or claims can be the subject of lengthy proceedings, and it is difficult to accurately predict when they will be fully resolved. When these types of events occur and unresolved REAs or claims are pending, PAE has used working capital to cover cost overruns pending the resolution of the relevant REAs or claims. If these REAs or claims are not approved, PAE’s revenue may be reduced in future periods.

PAE may pursue or complete acquisitions, or other transactions, which represent additional risk and could impact future financial results.

PAE’s business strategy includes the potential for future acquisitions or other transactions. Acquisitions involve a number of risks, including integration of the acquired company with PAE’s operations and unanticipated liabilities or contingencies related to the acquired company. PAE cannot ensure that the expected benefits of any future acquisitions will be realized. Costs could be incurred on pursuits or proposed acquisitions that have not yet or may not close which could significantly impact PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows. Additionally, after an acquisition, unforeseen issues could arise that adversely affect the anticipated returns or which are otherwise not recoverable as an adjustment to the purchase price. Even after careful integration efforts, actual operating results may vary significantly from initial estimates. Furthermore, PAE may engage in other strategic business transactions. Such transactions could cause unanticipated costs and difficulties, may not achieve intended results and may require significant time and attention from management that could have an adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

If PAE is unable to manage its growth, its business and financial results could suffer.

Sustaining PAE’s growth has placed significant demands on its management, as well as on its administrative, operational and financial resources. For PAE to continue to manage its growth, it must continue to improve its operational, financial and management information systems and expand, motivate and manage its workforce. Additionally, PAE’s future financial results depend in part on its ability to profitably manage its growth on a combined basis with the businesses it has acquired and those it may acquire in the future. If PAE is unable to manage its growth while maintaining its quality of service and profit margins, or if new systems that it implements to assist in managing its growth do not produce the expected benefits, it could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

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PAE may be unable to realize any benefit from its cost reduction and restructuring effort and its profitability may be hurt or its business otherwise might be adversely affected.

PAE has engaged in cost reduction and restructuring activities in the past and may engage in other cost reduction restructuring activities in the future such as headcount reductions. These types of cost reduction and restructuring activities are complex. If PAE does not successfully manage its current cost reduction and restructuring activities, or any other cost reduction and restructuring activities that it may undertake in the future, any expected efficiencies and benefits might be delayed or not realized, and its operations and business could be disrupted. In addition, the costs associated with implementing cost reduction and restructuring activities might exceed PAE’s initial estimates, which could result in additional future charges.

PAE may need additional capital to fund the growth of its business, and financing may not be available on favorable terms or at all.

PAE currently anticipates that its available capital resources, including its existing revolving credit facility and operating cash flow, will be sufficient to meet its expected working capital and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months. However, these resources may not be sufficient to fund the long-term growth of PAE’s business. If PAE determines that it is necessary to raise additional funds, either through an expansion or refinancing of its existing credit facilities or through public or private debt or equity financings, additional financing may not be available on terms favorable to PAE, or at all.

Disruptions in the capital and credit markets could adversely affect PAE’s ability to access these markets. Limitations on PAE’s borrowing base contained in its existing revolving credit facility may limit its access to capital, and PAE could fall out of compliance with financial and other covenants contained in its existing revolving credit facility which, if not waived, would restrict PAE’s access to capital and could require it to pay down its existing debt under its existing revolving credit facility. PAE’s lenders may not agree to extend additional or continuing credit under its existing revolving credit facility or waive restrictions on its access to capital. If adequate funds are not available or are not available on acceptable terms, PAE may not be able to take advantage of available opportunities, develop new products or otherwise respond to competitive pressures, which could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

PAE may not able to obtain adequate indemnity or insurance coverage.

Many of PAE’s contracts require it to maintain minimum insurance coverage levels. If any of the third-party insurers fail, suddenly cancel PAE’s coverage or otherwise are unable to provide adequate insurance coverage, then its overall risk exposure could increase and the management of its business operations could be disrupted. In addition, there can be no assurance that any of PAE’s insurance coverage will be renewable or obtainable on commercially reasonable terms or at all upon the expiration of the applicable coverage period.

In addition, PAE may incur significant liabilities, including liabilities related to doing business in developing countries. In some, but not all, circumstances, PAE may be entitled to indemnification from its customers, such as through contractual provisions. The amount of insurance coverage that PAE maintains or indemnification to which it may be contractually or otherwise entitled may not be adequate to cover all claims or liabilities, and it is not possible to obtain insurance or indemnification coverage to protect against all operational risks and liabilities. Additionally, PAE’s insurance policies and indemnification arrangements often require it to pay a retention or deductible out-of-pocket. Accordingly, PAE may be forced to bear substantial costs resulting from risks and uncertainties of its business which could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

Goodwill represents a significant portion of PAE’s assets and any impairment of these assets could an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

As of December 31, 2019, PAE’s goodwill was approximately $409.6 million, which represented approximately 30% of its total assets. PAE tests goodwill for impairment on an annual basis, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of goodwill may not be recoverable. PAE estimates the fair value of the reporting unit used in the goodwill impairment test using an income approach and market approach, and as a

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result, the fair value measurements depend on revenue growth rates, future operating margin assumptions, risk-adjusted discount rates, future economic and market conditions, and identification of appropriate market comparable data. PAE recognized goodwill impairment of $86.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2017 due to contract repricing and lost recompete opportunities. Because of the significance of PAE’s goodwill, any future impairment of this asset could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

Unanticipated changes in PAE’s tax provisions or exposure to additional U.S. and foreign tax liabilities could affect PAE’s profitability.

PAE and its subsidiaries are subject to various taxes, including but not limited to income, gross receipts and payroll withholding taxes in the United States and many foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining PAE’s worldwide provision or benefit for taxes. In the ordinary course of PAE’s business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Furthermore, changes in domestic or foreign tax laws and regulations, or their interpretation and enforcement, could result in higher or lower taxes assessed or changes in the taxability of certain revenue or the deductibility of certain expenses, thereby affecting PAE’s tax expense and profitability. In addition, PAE is frequently subject to audits by tax authorities, including the audit currently being conducted by the Afghan tax authorities. The final determination of tax audits and any related litigation could be materially different from PAE’s historical tax provisions and accruals. Additionally, changes in the geographic mix of PAE’s revenue could also impact its tax liabilities and affect its overall tax expense and profitability.

Recently enacted U.S. tax legislation has significantly changed the U.S. federal income taxation of U.S. corporations, including by reducing the U.S. corporate income tax rate, limiting interest deductions, adopting elements of a territorial tax system, limiting net operating loss carry forwards and introducing new anti-base erosion provisions. Many of these changes only became effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017. The legislation is unclear in many respects and could be subject to potential amendments and technical corrections, as well as interpretations and implementing regulations by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service, any of which could lessen or increase certain adverse impacts of the legislation. Further, it is reasonable to expect that non-U.S. taxing authorities will be reviewing current law for potential modifications in reaction to the implementation of the recent U.S. tax legislation. Changes to U.S. or foreign tax regulations, or the interpretation or implementation thereof, could adversely affect PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

Government withholding regulations could adversely affect PAE’s operating performance and result in a loss of expected revenue.

Approximately 39% of PAE’s revenues for the year ended December 31, 2019 were derived from U.S. Government contracts that are subject to a Defense FAR Supplement rule that permits the withholding of a percentage of payments when a contractor’s business system has one or more significant deficiencies, which the DoD defines as a “shortcoming in the system that materially affects the ability of officials of the DoD to rely upon information produced by the system that is needed for management purposes.” In accordance with the rule, contracting officers may withhold 5% of contract payments for one or more significant deficiencies in any single contractor business system or up to 10% of contract payments for significant deficiencies in multiple contractor business systems. If PAE has significant deficiencies and contract payments are withheld, it could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

The level of returns on pension and postretirement plan assets, changes in interest rates and other factors could affect PAE’s earnings and cash flows.

A portion of PAE’s current and retired employee population, including employees of certain of its joint ventures, is covered by pension and other postretirement benefit plans (including multi-employer plans), the costs of which are dependent upon various assumptions, including estimates of rates of return on benefit plan assets, discount rates for future payment obligations, rates of future cost growth and trends for future costs. In addition, funding requirements for benefit obligations of PAE’s pension and other postretirement benefit plans are subject to legislative and other government regulatory actions. Variances from these estimates could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

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Because PAE owns a minority interest in some of the joint ventures with such plans, it has limited ability to control the management of those plans. One joint venture in which PAE has a minority interest operates in the United Kingdom, and its pension plan is subject to U.K. laws and regulations.

Additionally, due to government regulations, pension plan cost recoveries under PAE’s U.S. Government contracts occur in different periods from when those pension costs are recognized for financial statement purposes or when pension funding is made. These timing differences could have an adverse effect on PAE’s cash flows. The cost accounting rules have been revised in order to partially harmonize the measurement and period of assignment of defined benefit pension plan costs allocable to U.S. Government contracts and the minimum required contribution under Title I of the United States Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). These rules better align, but do not eliminate, mismatches between ERISA funding requirements and CAS pension costs for CAS-covered contracts.

Due to PAE’s participation in multi-employer pension plans, PAE may have exposure under those plans that extends beyond what its obligations would be with respect to its employees. PAE contributes to 13 multi-employer pension plans. In the event of a partial or complete withdrawal by PAE from any plan which is underfunded, it would be liable for a proportionate share of such plan’s unfunded vested benefits. Based on the limited information available from plan administrators, which it cannot independently validate, PAE believes that its portion of the contingent liability in the case of a full withdrawal or termination would be material to its financial position and results of operations. In the event that any other contributing employer withdraws from any plan that is underfunded, and such employer (or any member in its controlled group) cannot satisfy its obligations under the plan at the time of withdrawal, then PAE, along with the other remaining contributing employers, might be liable for its proportionate share of such plan’s unfunded vested benefits. PAE has experienced such an event in the past with one of its multi-employer pension plans and expects that it would experience it again in the future. Even if PAE does not take any actions that would subject it to withdrawal liabilities, another contributing employer could take such actions.

In addition, if a multi-employer plan fails to satisfy the minimum funding requirements, the Internal Revenue Service, pursuant to Section 4971 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), will impose an excise tax of 5% on the amount of the accumulated funding deficiency. Under Section 413(c)(5) of the Code, the liability of each contributing employer, including PAE, will be determined in part by each employer’s respective delinquency in meeting the required employer contributions under the plan. The Code also requires contributing employers to make additional contributions in order to reduce the deficiency to zero, which may, along with the payment of the excise tax, adversely impact on PAE’s financial results.

Further, PAE’s earnings may be positively or negatively impacted by the amount of expense or income recorded for employee benefit plans, primarily pension plans and other postretirement plans. PAE’s pension and other post-retirement benefit income or expense can also be affected by legislation or other regulatory actions.

II. Risks Related to PAE’s Industry

U.S. Government contracts differ materially from standard commercial contracts and may be subject to cancellation or delay by PAE’s customers without penalty.

PAE’s contracts with the U.S. Government and its agencies contain terms that differ materially from standard commercial contracts. Under the terms of PAE’s contracts with the U.S. Government and its agencies, the U.S. Government and its agencies may unilaterally, among other actions: (i) delay the payment of PAE’s invoices by government payment offices; (ii) reduce the value of existing contracts through partial termination; (iii) terminate or modify existing contracts; (iv) suspend PAE from receiving new contracts pending the resolution of alleged violations of procurement laws or regulations; (v) debar PAE from receiving new contracts for a period of time; (vi) audit and deny recovery of contract-related costs and fees; and (vii) terminate contracts awarded to PAE if the contracts are protested by a competitor.

As noted above, the U.S. Government can terminate or modify any of its contracts with PAE either for its convenience or if PAE defaults by failing to perform under the terms of the applicable contract. A termination arising out of PAE’s default could expose it to liability and could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

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PAE’s U.S. Government contracts typically have an initial term of one year with multiple option periods, exercisable at the discretion of the customer at previously negotiated prices. The U.S. Government and its agencies may, in their sole discretion, choose not to exercise the option periods. At the time of completion of any U.S. Government contract, PAE will often have to recompete for the contract, even if it had been the incumbent service provider. If the U.S. Government chooses not to exercise its option period, terminates and/or materially modifies any of PAE’s contracts or if PAE fails to win a recompete, it will not be entitled to any damages which it might be entitled to if the contract were a standard commercial contract, and it may not be able to win new business that would replace the revenue generated from such contract, which could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

In addition, U.S. Government contracts are usually awarded only after formal competitive bidding processes, which have been and may continue to be protracted and typically impose provisions that permit cancellation in the event that necessary funds are unavailable to the government agency. Competitive procurements impose substantial costs and managerial time and effort in order to prepare bids and proposals for contracts that may not be awarded to PAE. In many cases, unsuccessful bidders for U.S. Government contracts are provided the opportunity to formally protest certain contract awards through various agencies, administrative and judicial channels. The protest process may substantially delay a successful bidder’s contract performance, result in cancellation of the contract award entirely and distract management. PAE may not be awarded contracts for which it bids and substantial delays or cancellation of contract awards may follow its successful bids as a result of such protests.

Certain of PAE’s U.S. Government contracts also contain “organizational conflict of interest” clauses that have in the past limited, and in the future may limit, PAE’s ability to compete for certain related follow-on contracts. Organizational conflicts of interest arise when PAE engages in activities that may make it unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the U.S. Government, impair PAE’s objectivity in performing contract work or provide PAE with an unfair competitive advantage. A conflict of interest issue that precludes PAE’s competition for or performance on a significant program or contract could harm its prospects. While PAE actively monitors its contracts to avoid these conflicts, it cannot guarantee that it will be able to avoid all organizational conflict of interest issues. To the extent that organizational conflicts of interest laws, regulations and rules limit its ability to successfully compete for new contracts or task orders with the U.S. Government and/or commercial entities or require PAE to exit certain existing contracts or task orders or wind down certain existing contracts or task orders, either because of organizational conflicts of interest issues arising from PAE’s business or because companies with which PAE is affiliated or with which it otherwise conducts business create organizational conflicts of interest issues for PAE, it may have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

Finally, as a U.S. Government contractor, PAE is also subject to a wide variety of regulatory compliance requirements under federal regulations. Key examples include: requirements that PAE’s IT systems comply with the security and privacy controls in National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publications 800-53 and 800-171, an obligation to maintain DCAA certification of PAE’s accounting system to be eligible to perform cost reimbursable contracts, and a requirement to maintain a robust ethics and compliance program as well as anti-human trafficking measures. PAE may also be responsible if its subcontractors do not comply with these requirements. A failure to comply with the requirements could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

The failure by Congress to approve appropriations on a timely basis for the U.S. Government agencies supported by PAE could delay procurement of its services and cause it to lose future revenues, profitability and growth prospects.

On an annual basis, Congress must approve appropriations that govern spending by the U.S. Government agencies to which PAE provides services. When Congress is unable to agree on budget priorities and unable to pass annual appropriations on a timely basis, it typically enacts a continuing resolution. A continuing resolution allows U.S. Government agencies to operate at spending levels approved in the previous appropriations. When the U.S. Government operates under a continuing resolution, funding may not be available for new projects and U.S. Government agencies may delay funding PAE expects to receive from customers on work it is already performing. Any such delays would likely result in new business initiatives being delayed or, in some cases, canceled and could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

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Furthermore, a failure to complete the appropriations process or to fund U.S. Government operations pursuant to a continuing resolution may result in a U.S. Government shutdown, such as the recent 35-day partial shutdown from December 2018 to January 2019.

Finally, while Congress may pass a continuing resolution to end a shutdown, it is possible that no agreement on annual appropriations may be reached and the U.S. Government could shut down again. A U.S. Government shutdown may result in PAE incurring substantial costs without reimbursement under its contracts and the delay or cancellation of key programs, which could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

U.S. defense spending in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 currently remains subject to statutory spending limits established by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (the “Budget Control Act”). The Budget Control Act includes a sequester mechanism that would impose additional defense cuts. Continued budget uncertainty and the risk of future sequestration cuts remain unless the Budget Control Act is repealed or significantly modified.

Uncertain economic conditions and volatility in financial markets could impact PAE’s business.

PAE’s business may be adversely affected by factors that are beyond its control in the United States and other countries or in the various industries in which it operates, such as disruptions in financial markets or downturns in economic activity in specific countries or regions, adverse changes in the availability and cost of capital, interest rates, tax rates, or regulations in the jurisdictions in which PAE operates. If for any reason PAE loses access to its currently available lines of credit, or if PAE is required to raise additional capital or refinance its existing indebtedness, PAE may be unable to do so in the current credit and stock market environment, or it may be able to do so only on unfavorable terms, if at all. Adverse changes to financial conditions could jeopardize certain counterparty obligations, including those of PAE’s insurers and financial institutions. In particular, if the U.S. Government reduces funding for government initiatives in which PAE participates, it may have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

PAE cannot guarantee that its current sources of liquidity will enable it to continue to perform under its existing contracts and further grow its business. A disruption in the credit markets could adversely affect PAE’s ability to obtain additional liquidity or refinance existing indebtedness on acceptable terms or at all, it may have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

Competition in PAE’s industry could limit its ability to attract and retain customers.

PAE competes with various entities across geographic and business lines including, for example, large prime contractors to the U.S. Government, original equipment manufacturers, government services providers and construction companies. PAE competes on a number of factors, including its broad range of services, geographic reach and mobility.

Some of PAE’s competitors may have greater resources or are otherwise better positioned to compete for contract opportunities. For example, original equipment manufacturers that also provide aftermarket support services have a distinct advantage in obtaining service contracts for items they have manufactured, as they frequently have better access to replacement and service parts, as well as an existing technical understanding of the platform they have manufactured. In addition, PAE is at a disadvantage when bidding for contracts up for re-competition for which it is not the incumbent provider, because incumbent providers are frequently able to capitalize on customer relationships, technical knowledge and pricing experience gained from their prior service. If these competitive pressures cause PAE to lose recompetes or new business, it could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

U.S. Government contracting policies create preferences for various minority-owned, small and disadvantaged businesses that could limit PAE’s ability to be a prime contractor on certain governmental procurements.

U.S. Government contracting policies include various socioeconomic programs that establish contracting preferences for particular groups including small businesses as well as minority-owned, women-owned, service-veteran-owned

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and Native-American-owned businesses, among others. In furtherance of these socioeconomic policies, the U.S. Government may decide to set-aside or otherwise restrict certain procurements only to bidders that meet certain socioeconomic qualifications or may provide other competitive advantages to such businesses even if the procurement is not set-aside or restricted. As a result, PAE would not be eligible to perform as a prime contractor on those programs, may be limited in its ability to perform as a subcontractor, or be at other competitive disadvantage on those programs. An increase in the amount of procurements under set-aside programs may impact PAE’s ability to bid on new procurements as a prime contractor or restrict its ability to recompete on incumbent work that is placed in the set-aside programs. In addition, even if PAE is qualified to work on a U.S. Government contract, it may not be awarded the contract because of existing government policies designed to assist small businesses and other designated classifications of business. PAE has experienced in the past, and may experience in the future, new opportunities and follow-on procurements for U.S. Government contracts that are subject to socioeconomic preferences for which PAE is not eligible.

U.S. Government in-sourcing could result in loss of business opportunities and personnel.

The U.S. Government may decide to reduce the percentage of contracted services in favor of more federal employees through a practice referred to as “in-sourcing.” Over time, in-sourcing could have an adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows. Specifically, as a result of in-sourcing, government procurements for services could be fewer and smaller in the future. In addition, work PAE currently performs could be in-sourced by the federal government and, as a result, PAE’s revenues could be reduced. Moreover, PAE’s employees working on contracts could also be hired by the government. This loss of PAE’s employees would necessitate the need to retain and train new employees. Accordingly, the potential effect of in-sourcing could have a materially adverse effect on PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

A change in public policy could result in the termination or alteration of PAE’s contracts.

A change in any number of public policy objectives, including with respect to national security and foreign aid, could impact PAE’s business positively or negatively. For example, if the U.S. Government withdraws from Afghanistan or Iraq, PAE’s business could be materially impacted. The Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan was signed on February 29, 2020, and could impact PAE’s business in Afghanistan. Also, by way of example, changes in immigration policy and border protection in the United States could negatively impact PAE’s business.

III. Risks Related to PAE’s Indebtedness

PAE’s substantial level of indebtedness could adversely affect it and prevent it from making dividends and distributions and payments on its other debt obligations (if any).

PAE has a substantial amount of debt. Following completion of the Business Combination, PAE had approximately $635.6 million of indebtedness, consisting of amounts outstanding under its senior secured credit facilities. PAE’s substantial level of indebtedness could have important consequences. For example, it could:

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In addition, the agreements governing PAE’s indebtedness contain restrictive covenants that will limit PAE and its subsidiaries’ ability to engage in activities that may be in their long-term best interests.

Despite substantial levels of indebtedness, PAE has the ability to incur substantially more indebtedness, which could further intensify the risks described above.

PAE may be able to incur substantial additional debt in the future. The terms of the Existing Credit Agreements contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, but these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions and do not fully prohibit PAE from so incurring substantial additional debt. Depending on borrowing base availability, net of outstanding letters of credit, PAE has the ability to draw up to $150 million under its ABL credit facility, all of which would be secured. PAE also has the ability to incur incremental loans under the term loan credit facilities subject to availability under certain fixed dollar baskets and/or the satisfaction of a maximum first lien net leverage ratio on a pro forma basis, all of which would be secured. If new debt is added to PAE’s current debt levels, the related risks that PAE now faces could intensify.

Restrictive covenants in PAE’s credit agreements could restrict its operating flexibility.

The agreements governing PAE’s senior secured credit facilities limit PAE’s ability to take certain actions. These restrictions may limit PAE’s ability to operate its businesses, prohibit or limit its ability to enhance its operations or take advantage of potential business opportunities as they arise and cause PAE to take actions that are not favorable to stockholders.

These agreements restrict, among other things and subject to certain exceptions, PAE’s and its restricted subsidiaries’ ability to:

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Under the credit agreements governing PAE’s term loan credit facilities, PAE could be required to make periodic prepayments based on excess cash flow (as defined therein), thereby limiting the amount of cash flow that can be reinvested in its business. In addition, under the credit agreement governing PAE’s ABL credit facility, if availability goes below a certain threshold, PAE will be required to comply with a minimum “consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio” financial covenant as calculated therein. Moreover, if availability were to fall below a certain threshold for a specified number of business days, PAE could be required to remit its cash funds to a dominion account maintained by the administrative agent under the ABL credit facility, which would then require daily review and approval of operating disbursements by the administrative agent.

PAE’s ability to comply with the covenants and restrictions contained in agreements governing its indebtedness may be affected by economic conditions and by financial, market and competitive factors, many of which are beyond PAE’s control. Its ability to comply with these covenants in future periods will also depend substantially on the revenues generated by its contracts, its success at implementing cost reduction initiatives and its ability to successfully implement its overall business strategy. The breach of any of these covenants or restrictions could result in a default under one or more of the agreements governing PAE’s indebtedness that would permit the applicable lenders to declare all amounts outstanding thereunder to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest. In that case, PAE may be unable to borrow under its Existing ABL Credit Agreement or otherwise, may not be able to repay the amounts due under the agreements governing its indebtedness, and may not be able make cash available by dividend, debt repayment or otherwise. In addition, PAE’s lenders could proceed against the collateral securing that indebtedness. Any of the foregoing could have serious consequences to PAE’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows and could cause it to become bankrupt or insolvent.

The Existing Credit Agreements contain cross default or cross acceleration provisions that may cause all the debt issued under those instruments to become immediately due and payable because of a default under an unrelated debt instrument.

The Existing Credit Agreements contain numerous covenants, and require PAE, if availability goes below a certain threshold, to comply with a minimum “consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio” financial covenant as calculated in the Existing ABL Credit Agreement. PAE’s failure to comply with the obligations contained in these agreements or other instruments governing its indebtedness could result in an event of default under the applicable instrument, which could result in the related debt and the debt issued under other instruments (together with accrued and unpaid interest and other fees) becoming immediately due and payable. In such event, PAE would need to raise funds from alternative sources, which funds may not be available to PAE on favorable terms, on a timely basis or at all. Alternatively, such a default could require PAE to sell assets and otherwise curtail its operations in order to pay its creditors. These alternative measures could have an adverse effect on PAE’s business, financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

If PAE does not generate sufficient cash flows, it may not be able to service all of its indebtedness.

To service its indebtedness, PAE will require a significant amount of cash. PAE’s ability to generate cash, make scheduled payments or to refinance its indebtedness depends on PAE’s successful financial and operating performance, which will be affected by a range of economic, competitive and business factors, many of which are outside of its control.

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If PAE’s cash flow and capital resources are insufficient to fund its debt service obligations or to repay indebtedness when it matures, PAE may have to undertake alternative financing plans, such as refinancing or restructuring its debt, selling assets or operations, reducing or delaying capital investments or seeking to raise additional capital. PAE may not be able to refinance its debt and any refinancing of its debt could be at higher interest rates and may require it to comply with more restrictive covenants that could further restrict its business operations and its ability to make cash available for dividends and distributions and payments on its other debt obligations (if any). PAE’s ability to implement successfully any such alternative financing plans will be dependent on a range of factors, including general economic conditions, the level of activity in mergers and acquisitions and capital markets generally, and the terms of its various debt instruments then in effect. In addition, a significant portion of PAE’s outstanding indebtedness is secured by substantially all of its and its subsidiaries’ assets and any successor credit facilities are likely to be secured on a similar basis. As such, PAE’s ability to seek additional financing or its ability to make cash available for dividends and distributions and payments on its other debt obligations (if any) could be impaired as a result of such security interests and the agreements governing such security interests. Moreover, as a result of these security interests, the underlying assets would only be available to satisfy claims of PAE’s general creditors or holders of its equity securities if it were to become insolvent to the extent the value of such assets exceeded the amount of its indebtedness and other obligations.

PAE’s inability to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy its debt obligations or to refinance its obligations on commercially reasonable terms could have an adverse effect on PAE’s business, financial position and results of operations.

IV. Risks Related to the Business Combination

We have incurred significant transaction and transition costs in connection with the Business Combination.

We have incurred and expect to incur significant, non-recurring costs in connection with consummating the Business Combination and operating as a public company following the consummation of the Business Combination. We may also incur additional costs to retain key employees. Certain expenses incurred in connection with the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby (including the Business Combination) have been or will be paid by the Company. The Company’s transaction expenses as a result of the Business Combination are currently estimated at approximately $33.0 million. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions was not adjusted for any shares that were redeemed in connection with the 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 stock price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.

Although Gores III conducted due diligence on PAE in connection with the Business Combination, this diligence may not have surfaced all material issues present in PAE’s business. Moreover, factors outside of PAE’s business and outside of our control may later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to write down or write off assets, restructure operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in losses. Further, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our 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. Accordingly, our securities could suffer a reduction in value. You are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value, unless you are able to successfully claim that the reduction in stock value was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to you, or if you are able to bring a private claim that our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A with respect to the Business Combination, filed with the SEC on January 24, 2020, contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

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The Company had no operating or financial history and our results of operations may differ significantly from the unaudited pro forma financial data included in this prospectus.

Prior to the Business Combination, the Company was a blank check company, and it had no operating history and no revenues. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations of the post-combination company combines the historical audited results of operations of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2019, with the historical audited results of operations of Shay for the year ended December 31, 2019, and gives pro forma effect to the Business Combination as if it had been consummated on January 1, 2019. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet of the post-combination company combines the historical balance sheets of the Company as of December 31, 2019 and of Shay as of December 31, 2019 and gives pro forma effect to the Business Combination as if it had been consummated on December 31, 2019.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements are presented for illustrative purposes only, are based on certain assumptions, address a hypothetical situation and reflect limited historical financial data. Therefore, the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations and financial position that would have been achieved had the Business Combination been consummated on the dates indicated above, or the future consolidated results of operations or financial position of the post-combination company. Accordingly, the post-combination company’s business, assets, cash flows, results of operations and financial condition may differ significantly from those indicated by the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements included in this prospectus.

If the Business Combination’s benefits do not meet the expectations of investors or financial analysts, the market price of our securities may decline.

If the benefits of the Business Combination do not meet the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the market price of our securities may decline. Fluctuations in the price of our securities could contribute to the loss of all or part of your investment. Immediately prior to the Business Combination, there was no public market for PAE’s stock and trading in the shares of our securities was not active. If an active market for our securities develops and continues, the trading price of our securities could be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. Any of the factors listed below could have a material adverse effect on your investment in our securities and our securities may trade at prices significantly below the price you paid for them. In such circumstances, the trading price of our securities may not recover and may experience a further decline.

Factors affecting the trading price of our securities may include:

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Broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our securities irrespective of our operating performance. The stock market in general and Nasdaq have experienced price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the particular companies affected. The trading prices and valuations of these stocks, and of our securities, may not be predictable. A loss of investor confidence in the market for the stocks of other companies which investors perceive to be similar to the post-combination company could depress our stock price regardless of our business, prospects, financial conditions or results of operations. A decline in the market price of our securities also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional securities and our ability to obtain additional financing in the future.

In the past, securities class action litigation has often been initiated against companies following periods of volatility in their stock price. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources, and could also require us to make substantial payments to satisfy judgments or to settle litigation.

V. Risks Related to Our Class A Common Stock and Warrants

Platinum Equity has significant influence over us.

Platinum Equity beneficially owns approximately 25% of our Class A Common Stock (after taking into account shares of our Class A Common Stock underlying warrants held by Platinum Equity). As long as Platinum Equity owns or controls a significant percentage of our outstanding voting power, it will have the ability to significantly influence all corporate actions requiring stockholder approval, including the election and removal of directors and the size of our Board, any amendment to our certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or the approval of any merger or other significant corporate transaction, including a sale of substantially all of our assets. Platinum Equity’s influence over our management could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control or otherwise discouraging a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of us, which could cause the market price of our securities to

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decline or prevent security holders from realizing a premium over the market price for such securities. Because our certificate of incorporation opts out of Section 203 of the DGCL regulating certain business combinations with interested stockholders, Platinum Equity may transfer shares to a third party by transferring their securities without the approval of our Board or other stockholders, which may limit the price that investors are willing to pay in the future for our securities.

Pursuant to the Investor Rights Agreement, the Platinum Stockholder has the right to nominate up to two directors to the Board. The remaining three directors will be independent directors initially nominated by the Platinum Stockholder and reasonably acceptable to the Company. In addition, for so long as the Platinum Stockholder has the right to nominate a director, it will also have the right to: (i) designate the chairman of the Board (who need not be a nominee of the Platinum Stockholder); (ii) appoint one representative to each committee of the Board of other than the audit committee; (iii) subject to applicable law and stock exchange requirements, appoint one observer to each committee of the Board; and (iv) subject to applicable law and stock exchange requirements, require that the Board does not exceed five directors. The Platinum Stockholder’s right to designate directors to the Board is subject to its ownership percentage of the total outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock. If the Platinum Stockholder holds: (a) 10% or greater of the outstanding Class A Common Stock, it will have the right to appoint two directors; (b) less than 10% but greater than or equal to 5% of the outstanding Class A Common Stock, it will have the right to appoint one director; (c) or less than 5% of the outstanding Class A Common Stock, it will not have the right to appoint any directors.

Platinum Equity’s interests may not align with our interests as a company or the interests of our other stockholders. Accordingly, Platinum Equity could cause us to enter into transactions or agreements of which our stockholders would not approve or make decisions with which our stockholders would disagree. Further, Platinum Equity is in the business of making investments in companies and may acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. Platinum Equity may also pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. In recognition that principals, members, directors, managers, partners, stockholders, officers, employees and other representatives of Platinum Equity and its affiliates and investment funds may serve as our directors or officers, our restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that none of Platinum Equity or any principal, member, director, manager, partner, stockholder, officer, employee or other representative of Platinum Equity has any duty to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business that we do. In the event that any of these persons or entities acquires knowledge of a potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for itself and us, we will not have any expectancy in such corporate opportunity, and these persons and entities will not have any duty to communicate or offer such corporate opportunity to us and may pursue or acquire such corporate opportunity for themselves or direct such opportunity to another person. These potential conflicts of interest could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations if, among other things, attractive corporate opportunities are allocated by Platinum Equity to themselves or their other affiliates.

Anti-takeover provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.

Our certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together, these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities. These provisions include:

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Our bylaws include a forum selection clause, which may impact your ability to bring actions against us.

Subject to certain limitations, our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for any stockholder (including a beneficial owner) to bring: (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (b) any action asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees or our stockholders; (c) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our certificate of incorporation or bylaws; or (d) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine. In addition, our bylaws provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the federal securities laws of the United States against us, our officers, directors, employees or underwriters. These limitations on the forum in which stockholders may initiate action against us could create costs, inconvenience or otherwise adversely affect your ability to seek legal redress.

Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, a court may decline to enforce these exclusive forum provisions with respect to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or any other claim for which the federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction, and our stockholders may not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. If a court were to find the exclusive forum provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions.

The exercise price for our Warrants is higher than in many similar blank check company offerings in the past, and, accordingly, the Warrants are more likely to expire worthless.

The exercise price of our Warrants (as defined below) is higher than is typical with many similar blank check companies in the past. Historically, with regard to units offered by blank check companies, the exercise price of a Warrant was generally a fraction of the purchase price of the units in the IPO. The exercise price for our Warrants is $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. As a result, the Warrants are less likely to ever be in the money and more likely to expire worthless.

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We may amend the terms of the Warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding Public Warrants. As a result, the exercise price of a holder’s Warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A Common Stock purchasable upon exercise of a Warrant could be decreased, all without the approval of that warrant holder.

Our Public Warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the Warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding Public Warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders or any amendment to the terms of the Private Placement Warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the Warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding Public Warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the Warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then-outstanding Public Warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the Warrants, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of Class A Common Stock purchasable upon exercise of a Warrant.

We may redeem unexpired Warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to warrant holders, thereby making their Warrants worthless.

We have the ability to redeem outstanding Public Warrants and, unless held by the Former Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants, at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per Warrant; provided that the last reported sales price of our Class A Common Stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption to the warrant holders and provided certain other conditions are met. 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 the warrant holders: (i) to exercise their Warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for them to do so; (ii) to sell their Warrants at the then-current market price when they might otherwise wish to hold their Warrants; or (iii) to 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 their Warrants.

The Warrants are exercisable for our Class A Common Stock, which would increase the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to our stockholders.

We issued Public Warrants to purchase 13,333,333 shares of Class A Common Stock as part of our IPO and, on September 11, 2018 (the “IPO Closing Date”), we issued Private Placement Warrants to the Former Sponsor to purchase 6,666,666 shares of our Class A Common Stock, in each case at $11.50 per share. We issued approximately 23,913,044 shares of our Class A Common Stock to the Private Placement Investors in the Private Placement, upon consummation of the Business Combination. The shares of Class A Common Stock issued in the Private Placement and additional shares of our Class A Common Stock issued upon exercise of our Warrants will result in dilution to the then existing holders of Class A Common Stock of the Company and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market could adversely affect the market price of our Class A Common Stock.

The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants sold as part of the public units issued in our IPO except that, so long as they are held by the Former Sponsor or its permitted transferees: (i) they will not be redeemable by us; (ii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (iii) they are subject to registration rights.

Resales of our securities could depress the market price of our securities.

There may be a large number of our securities sold in the market in the near future. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of securities intend to sell securities, could reduce the market price of our securities. Our public stockholders (other than the Private Placement Investors) collectively hold approximately 43% of our outstanding Class A Common Stock. Such securities are freely tradeable. In addition, the Initial Stockholders own approximately 6.6% of our outstanding Class A Common Stock, including a portion of the

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7,000,000 Conversion Shares, the Shay Stockholders own approximately 23% of our outstanding Class A Common Stock and the Private Placement Investors own approximately 26% of our outstanding Class A Common Stock. All of the securities held by the Initial Stockholders, including the Former Sponsor and the Shay Stockholders, and the Private Placement Shares, are subject to registration rights and may be registered for resale under the Securities Act.

Pursuant to the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement, the Founder Shares (and the resulting Conversion Shares) are bound by restrictions on transfer until 180 days following the closing of the Business Combination, and the Shay Stockholders have each signed separate letters with the Company agreeing to be bound by restrictions on the transfer of their shares for 180 days after the completion of the Business Combination. However, upon the expiration of such restrictions on transfer, the Conversion Shares and the shares received by the Shay Stockholders as Stock Consideration may be sold in the public market.

We also intend to register all shares of Class A Common Stock that we may issue under the PAE Incorporated 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Incentive Plan”). Once we register these shares, they can be freely sold in the public market upon issuance, subject to volume limitations applicable to affiliates.

Any sales of our securities or the perception of such sales may depress the market price of our securities.

Our only significant asset is our ownership interest in our operating subsidiaries and such ownership may not be sufficient to pay dividends or make distributions or loans to enable us to pay any dividends on our Class A Common Stock or satisfy our other financial obligations.

We have limited direct operations and no significant assets other than our ownership interest in our operating subsidiaries. We depend on our operating subsidiaries for distributions, loans and other payments to generate the funds necessary to meet our financial obligations, including our expenses as a publicly traded company, and to pay any dividends with respect to our Class A Common Stock. The financial condition and operating requirements of our operating subsidiaries may limit our ability to obtain cash from our operating subsidiaries. The earnings from, or other available assets of, our operating subsidiaries may not be sufficient to pay dividends or make distributions or loans to enable us to pay any dividends on our Class A Common Stock or satisfy our other financial obligations.

The ability of our operating subsidiaries (other than subsidiaries which have been designated as unrestricted pursuant to our ability to do so in certain limited circumstances) to make distributions, loans and other payments to us for the purposes described above and for any other purpose are governed by the terms of the Existing Credit Agreements, and will be subject to the negative covenants set forth therein. Any loans or other extensions of credit will be subject to the investment covenants under the Existing Credit Agreements. Similarly, any dividends, distributions or similar payments will be permitted only to the extent there is an applicable exception to the dividends and distributions covenants under the Existing Credit Agreements.

Unanticipated changes in effective tax rates or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income or other tax returns could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States and other jurisdictions, and our tax liabilities will be subject to the allocation of expenses in differing jurisdictions. Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:

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In addition, we may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other transaction taxes by taxing authorities.

Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

A market for our securities may not continue, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.

The price of our securities may fluctuate significantly due to the market’s reaction to the Business Combination and general market and economic conditions. An active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. In addition, the price of our securities may vary due to general economic conditions and forecasts, our general business condition and the release of our financial reports. Additionally, if our securities become delisted from Nasdaq for any reason, and are quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board or OTC Pink Sheet Market, an inter-dealer automated quotation system for equity securities that is not a national securities exchange, the liquidity and price of our securities may be more limited than if we were quoted or listed on Nasdaq or another national securities exchange. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established or sustained.

Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly and could fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors due to seasonality and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, resulting in a decline in our stock price.

Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly because of several factors, including:

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If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business, or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our securities adversely, then the price and trading volume of our securities could decline.

The trading market for our securities will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market, or our competitors. If analysts fail to cover us, or any of the analysts that may cover us change their recommendation regarding our securities adversely or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, the price of our securities would likely decline. If any analyst that may cover us ceases covering us or fails to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause the price or trading volume of our securities to decline.

Our internal controls over financial reporting may not be effective and our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to certify as to their effectiveness, which could have a significant and adverse effect on our business and reputation.

As a public company, we are required to comply with the SEC’s rules implementing Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which require management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. To comply with the requirements of being a public company, we are required to provide attestation on internal controls and we may need to undertake various actions, such as implementing additional internal controls and procedures and hiring additional accounting or internal audit staff. The standards required for a public company under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are significantly more stringent than those required of Shay as a privately-held company. Further, as an emerging growth company, our independent registered public accounting firm was not required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until the date we were no longer an emerging growth company. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event that it is not satisfied with the level at which the controls of the post-combination company are documented, designed or operating.

Testing and maintaining these controls can divert our management’s attention from other matters that are important to the operation of our business. If we identify material weaknesses in the internal control over financial reporting of the post-combination company or are unable to comply with the requirements of Section 404 or assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting when required, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our Class A Common Stock could be negatively affected, and we could become subject to investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources.

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