Table of Contents

As filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on July 30, 2021.

No. 333-254842

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Cayman Islands   6770   98-1586578

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

  (Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number)
 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

535 Ramona Street, Suite #8

Palo Alto, CA 94301

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Daniel Leff

Chief Executive Officer

535 Ramona Street, Suite #8

Palo Alto, CA 94301

Telephone: (650) 308-9907

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies of all communications, including communications sent to agent for service, should be sent to:

Raphael M. Russo, Esq.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

1285 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10019

Tel: (212) 373-3000

Fax: (212) 757-3990

 

Alice Hsu, Esq.

Lucas Torres, Esq.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

One Bryant Park

New York, New York 10036
Tel: (212) 872-1000

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

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

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

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

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

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

 

Large accelerated filer      Accelerated filer  
Non-accelerated filer      Smaller reporting company  
     Emerging growth company  

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

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

 

Title of Each Class of
Securities to be Registered
 

Amount

to be
Registered

  Proposed
Maximum
Offering Price
Per Unit
  Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Offering Price(1)(2)
  Amount of
Registration Fee

Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one-third of one redeemable public warrant(2)

  23,000,000 units   $10.00   $230,000,00   $25,093.00

Class A ordinary shares included as part of the units(3)

  23,000,000 shares   —     —     —  (4)

Redeemable public warrants to acquire one Class A ordinary share included as part of the units(3)

  7,666,667 public warrants   —     —     —  (4)

Total

          $230,000,000   $25,093.00(5)

 

 

(1)

Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fees.

(2)

Includes 3,000,000 units, consisting of 3,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and 1,000,000 redeemable public warrants, which may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any.

(3)

Pursuant to Rule 416(a), there are also being registered an indeterminable number of additional securities as may be offered or issued to prevent dilution resulting from share sub-divisions, share dividends or similar transactions.

(4)

No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g).

(5)

Previously paid.

The registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until this Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 

 


Table of Contents

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JULY 30, 2021

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

$200,000,000

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

20,000,000 units

 

 

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. Although we will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region in our identification and acquisition of a target company, we intend to focus on industries that complement our team’s background and capitalize on our team’s ability to source and acquire a business focused on media, technology or entertainment.

This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable public warrant. Each whole public warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, terms and limitations as described herein. Only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and 12 months from the closing of this offering. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described herein The underwriters have a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional units to cover over-allotments, if any.

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares in connection with our initial business combination, subject to the limitations as described herein. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, or during any shareholder approved extension period, we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as described herein.

Our sponsor, WCAC1 Sponsor LLC (an affiliate of Waverley Capital, L.P.) has agreed to purchase 4,666,667 private placement warrants (or 5,066,667 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant, in a private placement to occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering.

Our initial shareholders currently own 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described herein. Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of directors and to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, approval of the organizational documents of our company in such other jurisdiction).

Currently, there is no public market for our securities. We intend to apply to have our units listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, under the symbol “WAVCU.” We expect that the Class A ordinary shares and public warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the NYSE under the symbols “WAVC” and “WAVCW,” respectively, on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless the underwriters permit earlier separate trading and we have satisfied certain conditions.

We are an “emerging growth company” and a “smaller reporting company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements.

No offer or invitation to subscribe for securities may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands.

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 34 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.

 

 

Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

     Per Unit      Total  

Public offering price

   $ 10.00      $ 200,000,000  

Underwriting discounts and commissions(1)

   $ 0.55      $ 11,000,000  

Proceeds, before expenses, to us

   $ 9.45      $ 189,000,000  

 

(1)

Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 in the aggregate (or $8,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein and released to the underwriters only upon the consummation of an initial business combination. See “Underwriting” for a description of compensation payable to the underwriters.

Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $200,000,000, or $230,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.

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

Joint Book-Running Managers

 

 

 

Evercore ISI     Morgan Stanley

The date of this prospectus is             , 2021

 


Table of Contents

We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information, and neither we nor the underwriters take any responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information others may give to you. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover page of this prospectus.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

SUMMARY

     1  

THE OFFERING

     15  

SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA

     33  

RISK FACTORS

     34  

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     77  

USE OF PROCEEDS

     78  

DIVIDEND POLICY

     82  

DILUTION

     83  

CAPITALIZATION

     85  

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

     86  

PROPOSED BUSINESS

     91  

MANAGEMENT

     123  

PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

     135  

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

     137  

DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

     140  

TAXATION

     162  

UNDERWRITING

     177  

LEGAL MATTERS

     184  

EXPERTS

     184  

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

     184  

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

     F-1  

TRADEMARKS

This prospectus contains references to trademarks and service marks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ® or TM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that the applicable licensor will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, its rights to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.

 

i


Table of Contents

SUMMARY

This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.

Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus or the context otherwise requires, references to:

 

   

“amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that the company will adopt prior to the consummation of this offering;

 

   

“Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time;

 

   

“founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares and our Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class A ordinary shares will not be “public shares”);

 

   

“initial shareholders” are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares immediately prior to this offering;

 

   

“management” or our “management team” are to our executive officers and directors (including our director nominees that will become directors in connection with the consummation of this offering);

 

   

“ordinary resolution” are to a resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the votes cast by the holders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy at a general meeting of the company and entitled to vote on such matter or a resolution approved in writing by all of the holders of the issued shares entitled to vote on such matter;

 

   

“ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares;

 

   

“private placement warrants” are to the warrants to be issued to our sponsor in a private placement transaction simultaneously with the closing of this offering and upon conversion of working capital loans, if any;

 

   

“public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market) but specifically excludes all of our Class A ordinary shares that are issued upon conversion of our Class B ordinary shares;

 

   

“public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor and/or members of our management team to the extent our sponsor and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that our sponsor’s and each member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares;

 

   

“special resolution” are to a resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of at least a two-thirds (2/3) majority (or such higher approval threshold as specified in the company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) of the votes cast by the holders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy at a general meeting of the company and entitled to vote on such matter or a resolution approved in writing by all of the holders of the issued shares entitled to vote on such matter;

 

   

“sponsor” are to WCAC1 Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company;

 

   

“warrants” are, together, to the public warrants and the private placement warrants;

 

   

“warrant agreements” are, together, to our public warrant agreement and private warrant agreement;

 

   

“Waverley” are to Waverley Capital, L.P., an affiliate, of our sponsor; and

 

   

“we,” “us,” “our,” “company” or “our company” are to Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1, a Cayman Islands exempted company.


 

1


Table of Contents

Any forfeiture of shares described in this prospectus will take effect as a surrender of shares for no consideration of such shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any conversion of the Class B ordinary shares described in this prospectus will take effect as a compulsory redemption of Class B ordinary shares and an issuance of Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law, or as otherwise permitted by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any share dividends described in this prospectus will take effect as share capitalizations as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any share capitalization described in this prospectus will take effect as an issuance of shares from share premium as a matter of Cayman Islands law.

Unless we indicate otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option.

General

We are a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.

While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business, industry, sector or geographical location, we intend to focus on industries that complement our team’s background and capitalize on our team’s ability to source and acquire a business focused on media, technology or entertainment that will benefit from our expertise in developing and executing value creation plans in those areas, thereby positioning a target company for compounding growth over the long-term.

Waverley Partnership

Our sponsor, WCAC1 Sponsor LLC, is a Delaware limited liability company. Our sponsor is managed by Waverley.

Waverley is a venture capital firm focused solely on the innovation and disruption occurring globally throughout the media and entertainment industries. Waverley is led by its co-founders, Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Daniel V. Leff, who collectively possess decades of experience investing in, growing, and operating category-defining media start-ups as well as assisting them transition to public ownership. Their previous investments include: Roku, Inc. (IPO – NASDAQ: ROKU), fuboTV Inc. (IPO – NYSE: FUBO), Matterport (SPAC merger –NASDAQ: MTTR), Pluto TV (acquired by Viacom), Wondery (acquired by Amazon), The Athletic, and Headspace. Mr. Bronfman has also been foundationally involved with Warner Music Group and Universal Studios Inc., serving as Chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group and CEO of The Seagram Company Ltd., the parent company of Universal Studios Inc., as well as with Fandango, serving as a partner at Accretive, the company’s founding venture investor. Waverley is the successor fund to Luminari Capital L.P., a top-performing media-focused venture capital fund founded in 2014.

Waverley’s focus has primarily been on early-stage, private company opportunities in the U.S, with a balance of some later-stage investments. Its mission is to provide superior financial returns to its limited partners by partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs in the media ecosystem to help them build and scale category-defining companies. To this end, Waverley leverages proprietary access to deal flow, resources, people, and unique insights within the media industry. Its limited partners are primarily comprised of current and former executives and board members from leading media and technology companies.


 

2


Table of Contents

Notwithstanding Waverley’s past experiences, past performance is not a guarantee (i) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (ii) that we will provide an attractive return to our shareholders from any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of Waverley’s performance as indicative of our future performance. See “Risk Factors—General Risk Factors—Past performance by Waverley, our management team or either of their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.” See “Management—Conflicts of Interest” for additional information.

Our Management Team

Our management team will be led by Edgar Bronfman Jr., Daniel V. Leff, and Alan Henricks. Messrs. Bronfman and Leff will also serve as board members. Our management team will further be supported by our independent board members who bring extensive senior executive experience in the media sector.

Edgar Bronfman Jr. serves as our Chairman. Mr. Bronfman is the Co-Founder, Chairman and General Partner of Waverley. He is also Senior Advisor and Special Limited Partner of Luminari Capital (the predecessor fund to Waverley) and Managing Partner at Accretive, LLC. Prior to Waverley, Mr. Bronfman was the Chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group, one of the world’s largest music companies. During his tenure, WMG was named one of Fortune Magazine’s “Most Admired Companies” in 2007, the first ever music company to receive the honor and, in 2009, was recognized as one of the “World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company magazine. As a creator, Mr. Bronfman has produced films starring Peter Sellers and Jack Nicholson, and has written songs for artists such as Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Smokey Robinson, Donna Summer and Ashford & Simpson, among many others. Mr. Bronfman served on the board of InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IAC) for over 20 years and recently served as a Director of Falcon Capital Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company that recently consummated a business combination with Sharecare, Inc. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of the Board of fuboTV (NYSE: FUBO), a live TV streaming platform for sports, news, and entertainment, as well as Executive Chairman of Global Thermostat LLC, a pioneering company designed to develop and commercialize a technology for the direct capture of carbon dioxide, and as Chairman of the Board of Endeavor Global, a non-profit organization pioneering a new approach to international development. In addition, he serves on the board of the New York University Elaine A. and Kenneth G. Langone Medical Center and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Daniel V. Leff, Ph.D. serves as our CEO. Dr. Leff is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Waverley. He is also Founder and Managing Partner of Luminari Capital (the predecessor fund to Waverley). Prior to co-founding Waverley and founding Luminari Capital L.P., Dr. Leff was a Partner with Globespan Capital Partners in the firm’s Palo Alto office. Earlier in his career, Dr. Leff worked for Sevin Rosen Funds and Redpoint Ventures. He also previously held engineering, marketing and strategic investment positions with Intel Corporation, and served as a Director of Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) from 2011-2018. Dr. Leff has been an investor in a multitude of media and technology companies including 1Mainstream (sold to Cisco Systems), Art19, Elemental Technologies (sold to Amazon), Endel, fuboTV (NYSE:FUBO), Matterport (NASDAQ:MTTR), MikMak, MOVL (sold to Samsung), PlutoTV (sold to Viacom), Roku, The Athletic, Wink, Wondery (sold to Amazon) and others. He currently serves as a director of fuboTV (NYSE: FUBO), a live TV streaming platform for sports, news, and entertainment, where he sits on the audit committee. Dr. Leff earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from The University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Leff also earned an MBA from The UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, where he was an Anderson Venture Fellow and where he currently serves on the Board of Visitors.

Alan Henricks serves as our Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Henricks is a 45-year veteran of Silicon Valley, working for media, entertainment and technology firms He serves as the ChowNow board’s audit committee chair and previously served as the Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) board’s audit committee chair from 2013 to 2021. He has also served on the board of Model N (NYSE:MODN) for 6 years. Prior to this, he served on the boards of Ellie Mae (NYSE:ELLI), A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN) and Applied Predictive Technologies (sold to MasterCard). Alan


 

3


Table of Contents

served as CFO during IPOs at Documentum (NASDAQ: DCTM) and Borland (NASDAQ:BORL), and was CFO at Ring (sold to Amazon), Pure Digital Technologies (sold to Cisco), Traiana (sold to ICAP), Interwoven (NASDAQ: IWOV) and Maxim Integrated Products (NASDAQ: MXIM). He served as Finance VP of Atari, a division of Warner Communications, for 6 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Notwithstanding our management team’s past experiences, past performance is not a guarantee (i) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (ii) that we will provide an attractive return to our shareholders from any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s performance as indicative of our future performance. See “Risk Factors—General Risk Factors—Past performance by Waverley, our management team or either of their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.” See “Management—Conflicts of Interest” for additional information.

Our Independent Director Nominees

Our efforts to seek a suitable business combination target will be complemented and augmented by the expertise and network of relationships of our directors, who each have extensive experience in business and financial matters. In addition to Mr. Bronfman, who will be the Chairman of our board of directors, upon completion of this offering our directors will consist of the following independent directors.

David Gandler is the co-founder of fuboTV (NYSE: FUBO), the live TV streaming platform that is transforming how people watch sports, news and entertainment, and has served as its CEO since March 2014. Prior to joining fuboTV, Mr. Gandler served from 2013 to 2014, as Vice President, Ad Sales at DramaFever, a video streaming service acquired in 2016 by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Prior to 2013, Mr. Gandler held positions at Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc., Time Warner Cable and Telemundo, a division of NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Mr. Gandler received a B.A. degree in economics from Boston University. Mr. Gandler brings our board his considerable experience in the digital media industry as well as the operational insight and expertise he has accumulated as Chief Executive Officer of fuboTV.

Jeff Bewkes served as the Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Inc. from 2008 to 2018. He was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors in January 2009, having served on the Board since January 2007. Mr. Bewkes previously served as Time Warner’s President and COO from January 2006 to December 2007 and as Chairman of the Entertainment and Networks group from July 2002 to December 2005. Before joining the corporate management of Time Warner, Mr. Bewkes served as Chairman and CEO of HBO from May 1995 to July 2002, and as President and COO of HBO from September 1991 to May 1995. Mr. Bewkes serves on the Boards of Yale University and the Partnership for New York City and serves on the advisory board for The Creative Coalition. He is also a member of The Business Council. Mr. Bewkes has a BA from Yale University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Chris Silbermann is Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director & Partner at ICM Partners, a global talent and literary agency representing clients in the fields of television, motion pictures, sports, publishing, broadcasting, music, theatre, corporate marketing and new media. In addition to running the day-to-day management of the agency, which encompasses a team of more than 600 employees in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, DC and London, Mr. Silbermann personally guides the careers of some of the most influential creative voices of our generation. He joined ICM in 2007, upon the agency’s acquisition of The Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency, where he was a managing partner. In 2012, he led the management buyout of the agency that returned control and ownership of the company to a newly created partnership. In 2020, ICM completed 3 acquisitions, most notably that of The Stellar Group in the UK, the world’s #1 global sports agency representing football, rugby, American football and track and field athletes. This division of the agency now operates as ICM Stellar Sports.


 

4


Table of Contents

Mr. Silbermann is also an angel investor in a multitude of media, entertainment, and technology startups. Previously, he was President of International Creative Management, Inc. Mr. Silbermann served as Co-Head of Worldwide Television and Co-President at International Creative Management, Inc. since August 2006. He serves as President-elect of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society (HRTS) and serves on its board as Treasurer. He served as Managing Partner of The Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency where he was closely involved in overseeing the day-to-day management and its 27 agents. Mr. Silbermann joined BWCS in 1991. While there, he oversaw a prestigious list of clients and packaged such comedy and drama series as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “According to Jim” and “Criminal Minds.” He also represented the television production arms of several noted feature film producers. He serves on the board of the California chapter of The Nature Conservancy. A former member of the Board of Trustees for The University of California, Berkeley Foundation, Mr. Silbermann is the Chairman of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), serves on the board of the American Film Institute (AFI), and was a member of the LA24 Olympic committee. He began his career in the mailroom at Triad Artists Agency. Mr. Silbermann holds B.A. in English Literature from The University of California, Berkeley.

Alfred Osborne is the Senior Associate Dean for external affairs at the UCLA Anderson School of Management since 2003. He served as Interim Dean from July 2018 to June 2019. Osborne has been a Professor of Global Economics, Management and Entrepreneurship since July 2008 and is the founder and faculty Director of the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Anderson School since 1984. Previous positions include service as an Economic Fellow at the Brookings Institution where he directed studies at the Securities and Exchange Commission that contributed to changes in Rule 144, Regulation D and other exemptive requirements to the securities laws designed to lower costs and improve liquidity and capital market access to venture capitalists and emerging growth companies.

His board and governance experience spans 40 years and includes positions on the board of directors at the Times Mirror Company, Nordstrom Inc., Greyhound Lines, US Filter Corporation, K2 Inc. and First Interstate Bank of California among others. Dr. Osborne is currently a director of Kaiser Aluminum (Nasdaq:KALU) where he serves as the Lead Independent Director, First Pacific Advisors (FPA) family of mutual funds, and Wedbush Capital. His not-for-profit affiliations include serving as a trustee of Fidelity Charitable, Harvard-Westlake School and a director of the Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation. He was educated at Stanford University where he earned a BS in Electrical Engineering, an MBA in Finance, an MA in Economics and a Ph.D. in Business-Economics.

Together, we believe our directors and the rest of our management team bring extensive operating and media-sector domain expertise that will enhance our ability to identify and execute our initial business combination, and may enhance our ability to execute upon various value creation initiatives after successful completion of our business combination.

Competitive Strengths

Our management team and directors have proven track records of creating significant shareholder value investing across public and private markets and in operating and building businesses to scale across industries, geographies, and macroeconomic environments. The Waverley platform enables us to deploy our prior experiences and extensive network of relationships developed over decades to identify a wide range of attractive business combination opportunities, partner with management teams to build enduring businesses, and generate significant value for shareholders.

 

   

Successful track record of investing in disruptive media companies including but not limited to Roku (consummated an IPO), fuboTV (consummated an IPO), Matterport (SPAC merger consummated), Pluto TV (sold to Viacom), 1Mainstream (sold to Cisco), Elemental Technologies (sold to Amazon), Wondery (sold to Amazon), The Athletic, Headspace, and others


 

5


Table of Contents
   

Seasoned management team that possesses extensive domain expertise and decades of experience investing in, building, and operating transformative media companies

 

   

Proprietary access to deal flow, people, resources, and unique insights within the media industry to make superior investments/acquisitions of category-defining companies

 

   

Extensive senior executive network in media, technology, entertainment, and financial services ecosystems to provide unparalleled access, advantage, and due diligence leverage

 

   

Deep engagement with senior management and board members of investee companies to help drive strategic and operational excellence at target companies, assist with the transition to public ownership, and continue to create value thereafter

 

   

Singular focus on media drives discipline and unique identity with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, media and technology incumbents, and the broader financial community

Market Opportunity

We believe that many companies in the media industry have characteristics that make them potentially attractive investment opportunities. With the ever-evolving changes in consumer behavior, these companies are poised for long-term growth and have the potential to unlock unrealized value as public companies, particularly when partnered with our team, which brings strategic, operating, management and capital markets expertise. Media increasingly interacts with nearly all businesses and industries, and we believe our broad experience and track record will enable us to consider a wide range of potential transaction opportunities. We intend to focus on businesses that benefit from one or more of the following macro themes:

The global media market is massive and growing. We believe the total addressable market (“TAM”) for the media industry is large and continues to grow. PwC estimates that the global market for the entertainment and media industry was $2.1 trillion in 2019, and has the potential to reach $2.5 trillion by 2024, or approximately a 3% Compound Annualized Growth Rate (“CAGR”) over the period. Media is an active and dynamic industry that is under constant transformation, as the mechanisms for consumption are constantly evolving. There is great disruption occurring in each sub-sector within media as consumers demand content in forms that suit their evolving consumption behavior.

Content aggregation platforms bring about new and evolving consumption habits. There is an ever-increasing amount of media content being produced and distributed, and there has never been a greater degree of competition for consumers’ time and attention. Channels such as over-the-top (OTT), social media, and online marketplaces have changed the way content is produced, distributed, and consumed. Deloitte reports that 76% of US consumers now subscribe to at least one streaming platform, spending an average of $33 a month across 3 streaming services. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the desire for content, as Ipsos reports that there has been a 50%+ increase in the number of individuals streaming content since the pandemic began.

Proliferation of connected devices supports new ways to engage consumers. Rising access to high-speed Internet and smartphones has fueled the growth of online content consumption. Engagement has shifted to interactive, mobile, and multi-screen experiences, with individuals having greater control over what, when, and how they consume. This growing appetite for content has opened the door for new platforms to drive innovation, including music streaming and podcasts. RIAA reported that streaming services accounted for roughly 80% of all music revenue in 2019, while IAB found that podcast advertising revenue rose 48% year-over-year in 2019. Emerging media such as these will continue to drive technological innovation.

Next-gen technologies unlock new avenues for audience monetization and growth. PwC estimates that by 2025, 45% of the world will be supported by 5G, connecting more than 1.7 billion devices. Stronger and more reliable internet connectivity will enable more multifaceted engagement with technology with improved latency.


 

6


Table of Contents

Advancements in artificial intelligence and analytics will enable new insights for consumption and distribution, allowing companies to develop more nuanced monetization models and accelerate growth.

Business models are evolving due to shifting consumption ecosystems. Technology has enabled new consumer experiences, leading traditionally segregated business models to converge. There has been a shift from the more traditional ad-driven monetization to subscriptions, social commerce, app-based microtransactions, and marketplaces. In a competitive market for consumer attention, pricing strategies such as the freemium model and service bundling are being used to entice new customers.

Interactive and interest-based entertainment are driving meaningful engagement. The gamification of sports through eSports, online sports betting, and fantasy sports has created a new value chain, attracting previously underserved portions of the population. Gaming more broadly has expanded into new audience segments beyond young men, with 66% of new gamers being female and 56% older than 45 according to Activate Consulting. These interactive platforms drive a higher level of engagement, sitting at the nexus of multimedia digital experiences across music, television, and lifestyle.

These macro themes are not intended to be exhaustive. We believe there are many potential targets within the media, entertainment and technology space that stand to benefit from these and other macro themes. Potential targets for an initial business combination may exhibit a broad range of business models and financial characteristics.

Acquisition Criteria

Consistent with our acquisition strategy, we have identified the following criteria to evaluate prospective target businesses. We will use these criteria in evaluating acquisition opportunities but may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet these criteria. We intend to identify and acquire a high-caliber company in the media, entertainment and technology space that possesses the following characteristics:

 

   

Category-defining disruptive media company. We plan to target companies that are positioned for new distribution and content dynamics and open new opportunities and avenues for growth. We hope to leverage our management team’s extensive experience as investors and operators as well our breadth of industry connections.

 

   

Significant barriers to entry. We will seek to consummate a business transaction with a company that has long-term, sustainable competitive positioning, such as proprietary technology, brand equity, market leadership, product supremacy, first-mover advantage, compelling unit economics and/or network effects.

 

   

Attractive financial metrics and compelling growth prospects. We intend to focus on businesses with demonstrated revenue scale, organic growth, unit economics, and multiple avenues for future growth, margin upside and free cash flow generation.

 

   

Large, compelling and growing market. We plan to target companies that operate in markets benefiting from digital disruption as new content and distribution dynamics unlock additional growth opportunities.

 

   

High quality and public-ready management team who can benefit from our media industry expertise. We hope to leverage our proven collection of operational strategies and tools as well as past experiences in scaling media businesses.

 

   

Potential M&A platform. We intend to seek businesses that can serve as a platform for future synergistic acquisitions.


 

7


Table of Contents
   

Opportunity for operational improvement. We will seek to identify businesses that could benefit from our ability to drive improvements in the company’s operations, go-to-market strategy, product offering, sales and marketing efforts, and/or leadership team.

Acquisition Process

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review, which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management teams, document reviews, assessment of the target’s technology infrastructure, compliance processes, capital structure assessment, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital markets experience to test and validate our investment thesis.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with Waverley or any of our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with any such persons, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Furthermore, in the event that we seek such a business combination, we expect that the independent and disinterested members of our board of directors would be involved in the process for considering, and approving the transaction.

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

We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.

Each of our directors, director nominees and officers, as well as those of Waverley, presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our or Waverley’s officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Waverley and its affiliates manage a number of funds, separate accounts and other investment vehicles (“Waverley Funds”), which may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these Waverley Funds decide to pursue any such opportunity or have existing investments in the issuer of such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within Waverley, including by any director affiliated with Waverley, may be suitable for both us and for a current or future Waverley Fund and, in such a case, will be directed to such Waverley Fund rather than to us. Neither Waverley nor any members of our management team who are also employed by Waverley have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Waverley and/or members of our management team, in their capacities as officers, directors or employees of Waverley or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us.


 

8


Table of Contents

We may be limited in our ability to make investments and to sell existing investments as a result of an existing investment by Waverley. We may acquire a target from or, in which, one or more Waverley Funds have an existing investment (or makes an investment at the same time or subsequently) at a different or overlapping level of the target’s capital structure, creating a potential conflict between our position and the applicable Waverley Funds’ position especially in the event of a bankruptcy. Waverley, Waverley employees and Waverley Funds may also have or make investments in, establish or serve on the boards of, businesses that compete with, provide services to, transact with, or otherwise have significant business relationships with the businesses we invest or seek to invest in. We may also forego an attractive investment opportunity as a result of an existing investment in the target or a competitor of the target by Waverley, a Waverley Fund or principals or employees of Waverley, or to otherwise mitigate any conflict of interest or the perception of any conflict of interest.

Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. In addition, Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time or resources to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time and resources among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. We do not believe, anticipate, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Initial Business Combination

So long as our securities are then listed on the NYSE, our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a target business or businesses, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained,


 

9


Table of Contents

would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of net assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-business combination company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-business combination company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor. If our securities are not then listed on the NYSE for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net asset test.

We may, at our option, subject to applicable law, pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with one or more entities affiliated with Waverley and/or one or more Waverley Funds and/or one or more investors in Waverley Funds, which we refer to as an “Affiliated Joint Acquisition.” Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. We refer to this potential future issuance, or a similar issuance to other specified purchasers, as a “specified future issuance” throughout this prospectus. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. This is not an offer for any specified future issuance. Pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B ordinary shares, any such specified future issuance would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio such that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance, unless the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding Class B ordinary shares agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to the specified future issuance at the time thereof. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B ordinary shares at the time of any such specified future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B ordinary shares, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. If such adjustment is waived, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our ordinary shares.


 

10


Table of Contents

To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. These risks include, among others, investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence.

The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.

Other Considerations

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Waverley, our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Waverley, our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in the event that we seek such a business combination, we expect that the independent and disinterested members of our board of directors would be involved in the process for considering, and approving the transaction.

We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our officers and directors have neither individually identified nor considered a target business on our behalf, nor have they had any discussions regarding possible target businesses on our behalf among themselves or with our underwriters or other advisors. We have not contacted any prospective target business nor had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with any business combination target. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any substantive measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate. Waverley, in the ordinary course of its business, is continuously made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination, but none has been contacted by us or on our behalf, and Waverley has no such obligation to refer any opportunity to us.

In addition, Waverley and certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities. As a result, if any of Waverley or our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he, she or it has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, he, she or it may be required to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are


 

11


Table of Contents

seeking an initial business combination. As a result, Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates.

We may also, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity.

Risk Factors Summary

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in the section titled “Risk Factors” immediately following this prospectus summary. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with:

 

   

being a newly incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues;

 

   

our ability to complete our initial business combination, including risks arising from the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic;

 

   

our public shareholders’ ability to exercise redemption rights;

 

   

the requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame;

 

   

the possibility that NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange;

 

   

being declared an investment company under the Investment Company Act;

 

   

complying with changing laws and regulations;

 

   

our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses;

 

   

the performance of the prospective target business or businesses;

 

   

the pool of prospective target businesses available to us and the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities;

 

   

the issuance of additional Class A ordinary shares in connection with a business combination that may dilute the equity interests of our shareholders;

 

   

the incentives to Waverley, our sponsor, officers and directors to complete a business combination to avoid losing their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed;

 

   

our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;

 

   

Waverley and its affiliates manage a number of funds, separate accounts and other investment vehicles that may compete with us for business combination opportunities;

 

   

our success in retaining or recruiting, or making changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;

 

   

our ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;

 

   

our ability to amend the terms of public warrants in a manner that may be adverse to the holders of public warrants;


 

12


Table of Contents
   

our ability to redeem your unexpired public warrants prior to their exercise;

 

   

our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; and

 

   

provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and Cayman Islands law.

Corporate Information

Our executive offices are located at 535 Ramona Street, Suite #8, Palo Alto, CA 94301 and our telephone number is (650) 308-9907. Upon completion of this offering, our corporate website address will be www.waverleycorp1.com. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this prospectus. You should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to invest in our securities.

We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 30 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.

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


 

13


Table of Contents

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


 

14


Table of Contents

THE OFFERING

In deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section below entitled “Risk Factors” of this prospectus.

 

Securities offered   

20,000,000 units (or 23,000,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of:

 

•   one Class A ordinary share; and

 

•   one-third of one redeemable public warrant.

Proposed symbols    Units: “WAVCU’’
   Class A ordinary shares: “WAVC’’
   Public Warrants: “WAVCW’’

Trading commencement and separation of Class A ordinary shares and public warrants

  

The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and public warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Evercore Group L.L.C. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A ordinary shares and public warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and public warrants. No fractional public warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole public warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least four units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole public warrant.

   Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.

Separate trading of the Class A ordinary shares and public warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K

   In no event will the Class A ordinary shares and public warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

 

15


Table of Contents

Units

Number outstanding before this offering

   None

Number outstanding after this offering

   20,000,000(1)

Ordinary shares

Number outstanding before this offering

   5,750,000(2)(3)

Number outstanding after this offering

   25,000,000(1)(2)(4)

Warrants

Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement transaction simultaneously with this offering

   4,666,667(1)

Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the sale of private placement warrants

   11,333,334(1)

Exercisability

   Each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share, subject to adjustment as described herein. Only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.
   We structured each unit to contain one-third of one redeemable public warrant, with each whole public warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, as compared to units issued by some other similar blank check companies which contain whole public warrants exercisable for one whole share, in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the public warrants upon completion of our initial business combination, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses.

 

(1) 

Assumes the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option.

(2) 

Founder shares are currently classified as Class B ordinary shares, which shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights” and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we do not consummate an initial business combination.

(3) 

Includes 750,000 founder shares that are subject to forfeiture.

(4) 

Includes 20,000,000 public shares and 5,000,000 founder shares, assuming 750,000 founder shares have been forfeited.


 

16


Table of Contents

Exercise price

   $11.50 per whole Class A ordinary share, subject to adjustments as described herein.

Exercise period

  

The warrants will become exercisable on the later of:

 

•  30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; and

 

•  twelve months from the closing of this offering;

   provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such Class A ordinary shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities or blue sky laws of the state of residence of the holder (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the public and private warrant agreements, as applicable. If and when the public warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
   We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following the closing of our initial business combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreements provided that, if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a public warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their public warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants. If such registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants is not effective by the 60th day after the closing of the initial business combination, public warrant holders may, until such time as there is a registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify for sale the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time,

 

17


Table of Contents
   five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account.

Redemption of public warrants

  

Once the public warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding public warrants :

 

•   in whole and not in part;

 

•   at a price of $0.01 per public warrant;

 

•   upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, which we refer to as the “30-day redemption period”; and

 

•   if, and only if, the last reported sale price (the “closing price”) of our Class A ordinary shares has been at least $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a public warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities— Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants-Anti-Dilution Adjustments”) for any ten (10) trading days within the twenty (20) trading day period ending on the third (3rd) trading day prior to the date on which notice of such redemption is given to the public warrant holders.

   We will not redeem public the warrants as described above unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, or we have elected to require the exercise of the public warrants on a “cashless basis” as described below. If and when the public warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
   If we call the public warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise public warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their public warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of public warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the public warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the public warrants, multiplied by the excess of the Fair Market Value (as defined below) over the exercise price of the public warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” means the volume-weighted average closing price of the Class A ordinary shares as reported for the 10-trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date that notice of exercise of the public warrants is received by the warrant agent from the holder of such public warrants. See “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” for additional information.

 

18


Table of Contents
   None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.

Founder shares

   On March 6, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in consideration of 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 each. On July 28, 2021, our sponsor forfeited 2,875,000 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in our sponsor continuing to hold 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, or approximately $.005 per share (assuming the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option and the initial shareholders forfeit 750,000 Class B ordinary shares). At the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor intends to transfer 45,000 founder shares to each of our director nominees and our chief financial officer, resulting in our sponsor holding 5,525,000 founder shares. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share surrender or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our initial shareholders, depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
  

The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, except that:

 

•   prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors and holders of our founder shares may by way of ordinary resolution remove a member of the board of directors for any reason;

 

•   the founder shares are entitled to registration rights;

 

•   prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors and vote to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of our company in such other jurisdiction);

 

•   the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below;

 

•   our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive, to the extent such exist, their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) waive, to the extent such exist, their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A


 

19


Table of Contents
  

ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any extended time that we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months as a result of a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (an “Extension Period”) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares and (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame). If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution for such business combination under Cayman Islands law, or such higher approval threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands law, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in respect of an ordinary resolution, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,250,001, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law;

 

•   the founder shares will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights” and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; and

 

•   the founder shares are entitled to registration rights.

Transfer restrictions on founder shares

  
Except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants,” our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of an initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share

 

20


Table of Contents
   subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares.

Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights

  
The founder shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares and will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares, which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions if we do not consummate an initial business combination, at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities (as defined herein) or rights issued or deemed issued, by us in connection with or in relation to the consummation of our initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, deemed issued, or to be issued, to any seller of an interest in the target to us in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, its affiliates or any member of our management team upon conversion of working capital loans. Any conversion of Class B ordinary shares described herein will take effect as a compulsory redemption of Class B ordinary shares and an issuance of Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. In no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one-to-one.
   The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for our Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt.

Appointment and removal of directors; voting rights

  

Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors and to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of our company in such other jurisdiction), in each case by way of ordinary resolution. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of directors or to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in person or by proxy at our general meeting which shall include the affirmative vote of a simple majority of our founder shares (and if the shareholders vote in favor of such act but the approval of a simple


 

21


Table of Contents
   majority of the holders of Class B ordinary shares has not yet been obtained, the holders of a simple majority of Class B ordinary shares shall have, in such vote, voting rights equal to the aggregate voting power of all the shareholders of the company who voted in favor of the resolution, plus one). With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote. In connection with our initial business combination, we may enter into a shareholders agreement or other arrangements with the shareholders of the target or other investors to provide for voting or other governance arrangements that differ from those in effect upon completion of this offering.

Private placement warrants

   Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 4,666,667 private placement warrants (or 5,066,667 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant ($7,000,000 in the aggregate or $7,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement transaction that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants will be non-redeemable by us and will be exercisable on a cashless basis (see “Description of Securities—Warrants—Private Placement Warrants”).

Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants

  
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as described herein under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.”

Cashless exercise of private placement warrants

  
If holders of private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering the Warrants for that number of the Class A Ordinary Shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of the Class A Ordinary Shares underlying the Warrants, multiplied by the excess of the Sponsor Fair Market Value (as defined below) of the Class A Ordinary Shares over the Warrant Price by (y) the Sponsor Fair Market Value. Solely for purposes of this paragraph, the “Sponsor Fair Market Value” shall mean the volume-weighted average last reported sale price of the Class A Ordinary Shares for the ten (10) trading days ending on the third (3rd) trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise of the Private Placement Warrant or Working Capital Warrant is sent to the Warrant Agent. The reason that we have agreed that the private placement warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether our sponsor or its permitted transferees will be affiliated with us following a business combination. If our sponsor or its permitted transferees remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in

 

22


Table of Contents
   place that restrict insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods.

Proceeds to be held in trust account

  
Of the proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $200,000,000, or $230,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a segregated trust account located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. The proceeds to be placed in the trust account include $7,000,000, or $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, in deferred underwriting commissions.
   Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as discussed below and subject to the requirements of law and regulation, will provide that the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account (1) to us, until the completion of our initial business combination, or (2) to our public shareholders, until the earliest of (a) the completion of our initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholders properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we have not consummated our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (b) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders.

Anticipated expenses and funding sources

  
Except as described above with respect to the payment of taxes or to redeem our public shares as described herein, unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.

 

23


Table of Contents
  

Assuming an interest rate of 0.02% per year, we estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $40,000 per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from:

 

•   the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $2,100,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $900,000 in expenses relating to this offering; and

 

•   any loans or additional investments from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors, although they are under no obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances and provided any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our initial business combination.

Conditions to completing our initial business combination

  
So long as our securities are then listed on the NYSE, our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Our shareholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion nor will they be able to rely on such opinion. If our securities are not then listed on the NYSE for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net asset test.
   We may structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, including an Affiliated Joint Acquisition. However, we will complete our initial business combination only if the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or is otherwise not required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-business combination company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test, provided that, in the event that the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net

 

24


Table of Contents
   assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.

Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities

  

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their respective affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See “Proposed Business—Permitted Purchases and Other Transactions with Respect to Our Securities” for a description of how our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their respective affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
   The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such public warrants on any matters submitted to the public warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants may

 

25


Table of Contents
   be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

Redemption rights for public shareholders in connection with our initial business combination

  

 

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares in connection with our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their public shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its public shares. There will be no redemption rights in connection with our initial business combination with respect to our public warrants. Further, we will not proceed with redeeming our public shares, even if a public shareholder has properly elected to redeem its public shares, if a business combination does not close. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive, to the extent such exist, their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) our initial business combination, and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares.

Limitations on redemptions

   Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, a greater net tangible asset or cash requirement may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. Furthermore, although we will not redeem shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to fall below $5,000,001, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination, we do not have a maximum redemption threshold based on the percentage of shares sold in this offering, as many blank check companies do. In the

 

26


Table of Contents
   event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any public shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

Manner of conducting redemptions

  

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval, while direct mergers with our company, including where we do not survive, and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote unless shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons.

  

If we hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination, we will:

 

•   conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and

 

•   file proxy materials with the SEC.

   If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution for such business combination under Cayman Islands law or such higher approval threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands law, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of the outstanding shares of the company representing one-third of the voting power of all outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the requisite majority of our outstanding ordinary shares voted, abstentions and non-voters will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in respect of an ordinary resolution, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,250,001, or 6.25% (assuming only

 

27


Table of Contents
   the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or vote at all. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that at least five days’ notice will be given of any such general meeting.
  

If we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

•   conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and

 

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

   Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
   In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.

Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold shareholder vote

  




Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their


 

28


Table of Contents
   ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those shareholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination.

Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination

  

On the completion of our initial business combination, the funds held in the trust account will be disbursed directly by the trustee to pay amounts due to any public shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights as described above adjacent to the caption “Redemption rights for public shareholders in connection with our initial business combination,” to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination

  



Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to consummate our initial business combination. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders


 

29


Table of Contents
  

(including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.

 

Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame).

   The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares.
   Our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares; unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described above adjacent to the caption “Limitations on redemptions.” For example, our board of directors may propose such an amendment if it determines that additional time is necessary to complete our initial business combination. In such event, we will conduct a proxy solicitation and distribute proxy materials pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act seeking shareholder approval of such proposal and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon shareholder approval of such amendment. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any officer, director or director nominee, or any other person.

 

30


Table of Contents
   Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if a resolution of the company’s shareholders is passed pursuant to the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands to commence the voluntary liquidation of the company, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.

Limited payments to insiders

  

There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by the company to our sponsor, officers or directors, or their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:

 

•   repayment of up to an aggregate of $400,000 in loans, if made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;

 

•   reimbursement for office space and secretarial, administrative, consulting, and other services provided to us by an affiliate of our sponsor in the amount of $20,000 per month;

 

•   reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating, negotiating and completing an initial business combination; and

 

•   repayment of any loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.

   Any such payments will be made either (i) prior to our initial business combination using proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held outside the trust account or from loans made to us by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors or (ii) in connection with or after the consummation of our initial business combination.

Audit committee

   We will establish and maintain an audit committee, which will be composed entirely of independent directors. Among its responsibilities, the audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers or directors or their respective affiliates and monitor compliance with the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. See “Management—Committees of the Board of Directors—Audit Committee” for additional information.

 

31


Table of Contents

Conflicts of interest

   Waverley and certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities. As a result, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then he or she may be required to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
   We may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with one or more entities affiliated with our sponsor or our management team. Such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity.
   Furthermore, our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time or resources to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating management time and resources among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.

Risks

   We are a newly organized company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, see “Proposed Business—Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.” You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” of this prospectus.

 

32


Table of Contents

SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA

The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data is presented.

 

     June 30, 2021  
     Actual      As Adjusted(1)  

Balance Sheet Data:

     

Working capital (deficit)

   $ (414,925    $ 195,107,226  

Total assets

   $ 509,636      $ 202,107,226  

Total liabilities

   $ 502,410      $ 7,000,000  

Value of ordinary shares subject to possible redemption

   $ —        $ 190,107,220  

Shareholder’s equity

   $ 7,226      $ 5,000,006  

 

(1)

The “as adjusted” information gives effect to the sale of the units we are offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, including the application of the related gross proceeds and the payment of the estimated remaining costs from such sale and the repayment of the accrued and other liabilities required to be repaid.

The “as adjusted” total assets amount includes the $200,000,000 to be held in the trust account, including the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $7,000,000, plus $2,100,000 in cash to be held outside the trust account plus $7,226 of actual shareholder’s equity as of June 30, 2021, assuming that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option. If our initial business combination is not consummated, the funds held in the trust account, less amounts we are permitted to withdraw as described in this prospectus, will be distributed solely to our public shareholders.


 

33


Table of Contents

RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Relating to Our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, an Initial Business Combination

Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination and, even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.

We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination if the business combination would not require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. For instance, if we were seeking to acquire a target business where the consideration we were paying in the transaction was all cash, we would typically not be required to seek shareholder approval to complete such a transaction, unless required by law. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Even if we seek shareholder approval, the holders of our founder shares will participate in the vote. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the business combination we complete. See “Proposed Business—Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.

Our initial shareholders will own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of this offering. Our sponsor and each member of our management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution for such business combination under Cayman Islands law, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by the Cayman Islands or other applicable law. As a result, in respect of an ordinary resolution, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised) or 1,250,001, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our sponsor and each member of our management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.

 

34


Table of Contents

Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.

At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder approval. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.

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

We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, we will not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.

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

At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a large number of shares are submitted for redemption, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for additional third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions.

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

If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our

 

35


Table of Contents

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

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

Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the time frame described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.

The securities in which we invest the proceeds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the interest income available for payment of taxes or reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.

The net proceeds of this offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants, in the amount of $200,000,000, will be held in an interest-bearing trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in direct U.S. Treasury obligations having a maturity of 185 days or less, or in certain money market funds which invest only in direct U.S. Treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. Treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event of very low or negative yields, the amount of interest income (which we may withdraw to pay taxes, if any) would be reduced. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income. If the balance of the trust account is reduced below $200,000,000 as a result of negative interest rates, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.

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

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in

 

36


Table of Contents

such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and the rules of the NYSE. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or public warrants in such transactions.

In the event that our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their public shares. The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such public warrants on any matters submitted to the public warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See “Proposed Business—Permitted Purchases and Other Transactions with Respect to Our Securities” for a description of how our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.

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

We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly redeem or tender public shares. For example, we may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy solicitation materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See “Proposed Business—Business Strategy—Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights” for additional information.

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

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our

 

37


Table of Contents

obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of public warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the public warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or public warrants, potentially at a loss.

Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public share” and other risk factors herein.

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

Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $2,100,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account, together with funds available from loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team will be sufficient

 

38


Table of Contents

to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of this offering; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate, and our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team are under no obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Of the funds available to us, we expect to use a portion of the funds available to us to pay director and officer liability insurance premiums and fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.

In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $900,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, unless funded by the proceeds of loans available from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $900,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. The amount held in the trust account will not be impacted as a result of such increase or decrease. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, its affiliates, members of our management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor their affiliates is under any obligation to us in such circumstances. Any such advances may be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public share” and other risk factors herein.

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

Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to retain their securities and remain shareholders

 

39


Table of Contents

following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

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

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

Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third-party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. The underwriters of this offering, as well as our registered independent public accounting firm, will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the ten years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement (the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part), our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by (A) a third-party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or (B) a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third-party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third-party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.

However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our

 

40


Table of Contents

sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

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

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

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

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy or insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

 

41


Table of Contents

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

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

 

   

restrictions on the nature of our investments; and

 

   

restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:

 

   

registration as an investment company with the SEC;

 

   

adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and

 

   

reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and compliance with other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to.

In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exemption, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.

We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will deem us to be an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares; or (iii) absent our completing an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

42


Table of Contents

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

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

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

We may pursue business combination opportunities in any industry or sector, except that we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to retain their securities and remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

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

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain

 

43


Table of Contents

shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.

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

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

Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the price we are paying is fair and in the best interest of the company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm. However, our shareholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion, nor will they be able to rely on such opinion.

We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 5,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 480,000,000 and 45,000,000 (assuming in each case that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option) authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares, if any. The

 

44


Table of Contents

Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares (which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we fail to consummate an initial business combination) at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Immediately after this offering, there will be no preference shares issued and outstanding.

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

 

   

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares;

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;

 

   

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

 

   

may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.

Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only

 

45


Table of Contents

approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

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

The net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will provide us with up to $200,000,000 (or $230,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) that we may use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $7,000,000, or $8,050,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account and the estimated expenses of this offering).

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

Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:

 

   

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

 

   

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

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

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

If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.

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

In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be

 

46


Table of Contents

required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. Upon the loss of control of a target business, new management may not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.

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

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

The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.

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

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that we will not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their respective affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us,

 

47


Table of Contents

we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require the affirmative vote of a majority of our board of directors, to approve our initial business combination, which may have the effect of delaying or preventing a business combination that our public shareholders would consider favorable.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require the affirmative vote of a majority of our board of directors. Accordingly, it is unlikely that we will be able to enter into an initial business combination unless Waverley find the target and the business combination attractive. This may make it more difficult for us to approve and enter into an initial business combination than other blank check companies and could result in us not pursuing an acquisition target or other board or corporate action that our public shareholders would find favorable.

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

In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters, memorandum and articles of association and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law (or such higher threshold as specified in the company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in person or by proxy at a general meeting of the company, amending our public warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants and amending our private warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.

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

Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of

 

48


Table of Contents

the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We may not be able to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.

We may not be able to find a suitable target business and consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect both the U.S. and global economies and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to funds lawfully available therefor), redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case, to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if a resolution of the company’s shareholders is passed pursuant to the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands to commence the voluntary liquidation of the company, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law. In either such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less than $10.00 per public share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public share” and other risk factors herein.

 

49


Table of Contents

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

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced, which has and is continuing to spread throughout the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization classified the outbreak as a “pandemic.” The pandemic, together with resulting voluntary and U.S. federal and state and non-U.S. governmental actions, including, without limitation, mandatory business closures, public gathering limitations, restrictions on travel and quarantines, has meaningfully disrupted the global economy and markets. Although the long-term economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult to predict, it has and is expected to continue to have ongoing material adverse effects across many, if not all, aspects of the regional, national and global economy. Additionally, if effective vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 are not widely available to the public, or if vaccines and treatments offer only limited protection, we expect to see continued fluctuations in business openings and closures as communities respond to local outbreaks, which could prolong the global economic impact. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted, and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result, in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.

In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.

We may seek business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.

We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the business combination may not be as successful as we anticipate.

To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of

 

50


Table of Contents

these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.

Risks Relating to Our Securities

The NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

We intend to apply to have our units listed on the NYSE on or promptly after the date of this prospectus and our Class A ordinary shares and public warrants listed on or promptly after their date of separation. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the NYSE listing standards, our securities may not be listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels, such as a minimum market capitalization (generally $50,000,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders) Additionally, our units will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination and, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our total market capitalization would be required to be at least $200.0 million, the aggregate market value of publicly held shares would be required to be at least $100.0 million and we would be required to have at least 400 round lot shareholders. We may not be able to meet those listing requirements at that time, especially if there are a significant number of redemptions in connection with our initial business combination.

If the NYSE delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

 

   

a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

 

   

reduced liquidity for our securities;

 

   

a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;

 

   

a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

 

   

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

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

 

51


Table of Contents

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

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

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. As a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.

If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offense and may be liable for a fine of up to approximately $18,000 and imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands or both.

We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination.

In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. There is no

 

52


Table of Contents

requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term.

We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.

We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreements, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a public warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify for sale the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. Exercising the warrants on a cashless basis could have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of units sold in this offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its permitted transferees (which may include our directors and officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the ordinary shares underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying ordinary shares. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying Class A ordinary shares

 

53


Table of Contents

for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.

The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and holders of our private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and their respective permitted transferees may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.

Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of this offering, our initial shareholders and holders of our private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and their respective permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of such warrants. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our securities that is expected when the securities owned by our initial shareholders, holders of our private placement warrants or warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans, or their respective permitted transferees are registered for resale.

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

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;

 

   

our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;

 

   

our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares;

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

54


Table of Contents
   

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

 

   

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

The exercise price for the public warrants is higher than in some other blank check company offerings, and, accordingly, the warrants are more likely to expire worthless.

The exercise price of the public warrants is higher than in some other blank check companies. For example, historically, the exercise price of a warrant was often a fraction of the purchase price of the units in the initial public offering. The exercise price for our public warrants is $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments as provided herein. As a result, the warrants are less likely to ever be in the money and more likely to expire worthless.

Our initial shareholders paid $25,000, or approximately $0.005 per founder share and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class A ordinary shares.

The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the Class A ordinary share and none to the public warrants) and the pro forma net tangible book value per Class A ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our initial shareholders acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the public warrants, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 91.7% (or $9.17 per share, assuming the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.83 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public shareholders seek redemptions from the trust for their public shares. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A ordinary shares.

The value of the founder shares following completion of our initial business combination is likely to be substantially higher than the nominal price paid for them, even if the trading price of our ordinary shares at such time is substantially less than $10.00 per share.

Upon the closing of this offering, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, our sponsor will have invested in us an aggregate of $7,025,000, comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the founder shares and the $7,000,000 purchase price for the private placement warrants. Assuming a trading price of $10.00 per share upon consummation of our initial business combination, the 5,000,000 founder shares would have an aggregate implied value of $50,000,000. Even if the trading price of our ordinary shares was as low as $1.20 per share, and the private placement warrants were worthless, the value of the founder shares would be equal to the sponsor’s initial investment in us. As a result, our sponsor is likely to be able to recoup its investment in us and make a substantial profit on that investment, even if our public shares have lost significant value. Accordingly, our management team, which owns interests in our sponsor, may have an economic incentive that differs from that of the public shareholders to pursue and consummate an initial business combination rather than to liquidate and to return all of the cash in the trust to the public shareholders, even if that business combination were with a riskier or less-established target business. For the foregoing reasons, you should consider our management team’s financial incentive to complete an initial business combination when evaluating whether to redeem your shares prior to or in connection with the initial business combination.

 

55


Table of Contents

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

We have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per public warrant, if, among other things, the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares has been at least $18.00 per share for any ten (10) trading days within the twenty (20) trading day period ending on the third (3rd) trading day prior to the date on which notice of such redemption is given to the public warrant holders (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a public warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-Dilution Adjustments”) for any ten (10) trading days within the twenty (20) trading day period ending on the third (3rd) trading day prior to the date on which notice of such redemption is given to the public warrant holder and provided that certain other conditions are met. If and when the public warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the public warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the public warrants. Redemption of the issued and outstanding public warrants could force you to (i) exercise your public warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your public warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your public warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding public warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of your public warrants. None of the public warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.

Our management’s ability to require holders of our public warrants to exercise such public warrants on a cashless basis will cause holders to receive fewer Class A ordinary shares upon their exercise of the public warrants than they would have received had they been able to exercise their public warrants for cash.

If we call our public warrants for redemption after the redemption criteria described elsewhere in this prospectus have been satisfied, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its public warrants (including any public warrants held by our sponsor, officers, directors or their permitted transferees) to do so on a “cashless basis.” If our management chooses to require holders to exercise their public warrants on a cashless basis, the number of Class A ordinary shares received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised their public warrant for cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in us.

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

We will be issuing public warrants to purchase 6,666,667 of our Class A ordinary shares (or up to 7,666,667 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement transaction an aggregate of 4,666,667 private placement warrants (or 5,066,667 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. In addition, if our sponsor, its affiliates or a member of our management team makes any working capital loans, it may convert up to $2,000,000 of such loans into up to an additional 1,333,333 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.50 per warrant. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares in connection with our redemption of our public warrants.

To the extent we issue Class A ordinary shares for any reason, including to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.

 

56


Table of Contents

The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.

Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A ordinary shares and public warrants underlying the units, include:

 

   

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

 

   

prior offerings of those companies;

 

   

our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values;

 

   

a review of debt-to-equity ratios in leveraged transactions;

 

   

our capital structure;

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

other factors as were deemed relevant.

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

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

There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.

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

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

 

57


Table of Contents

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

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

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

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions will include a staggered board of directors, the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, and the fact that prior to the completion of our initial business combination only holders of our Class B ordinary shares, which have been issued to our initial shareholders, are entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of directors, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 24 months before redemption from our trust account.

If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 24 months from the closing of this offering before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless, prior thereto, we consummate our initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon their redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we do not complete our initial business combination and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if a resolution of the company’s shareholders is passed pursuant to the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands to commence the voluntary liquidation of the

 

58


Table of Contents

company, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.

Holders of Class A ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on any appointment or removal of directors and to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial business combination.

Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors and to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of our company in such other jurisdiction), in each case by way of ordinary resolution. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment or removal of directors or to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands during such time. Accordingly, you will not have any say in the management of our company prior to the consummation of an initial business combination.

In addition, if holders of our founder shares were to continue our company into a jurisdiction within the United States, certain adverse tax consequences may result for holders of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, as described below under “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Holders—Consequences of a Domestication” and “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Non-U.S. Holders—Effects of a Domestication on Non-U.S. Holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares or Warrants.”

The warrants may become exercisable, or, in the case of the public warrants only, redeemable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, and you will not have any information regarding such other security at this time.

In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable or, in the case of the public warrants only, redeemable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your public warrants for securities pursuant to the public warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company of which you do not have information at this time. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, the surviving company will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register the issuance of the security underlying the warrants within 20 business days of the closing of an initial business combination.

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

The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares (which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we fail to consummate an initial business combination) at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by us in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, deemed issued, or to be issued, to any seller of an interest in the target to us in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, any of its affiliates or any members of our management team upon conversion of working capital loans. In no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one-to-one. This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies in which the initial shareholders will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to the initial business combination.

 

59


Table of Contents

We may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your public warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a public warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.

Our public warrants will be issued in registered form under a public warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The public warrant agreement provides that the terms of the public warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correcting any mistake, or defective provision contained therein including to conform the provisions of the public warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the public warrants and the public warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus, (ii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the public warrant agreement as the parties to the public warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the public warrants or (iii) to providing for the delivery of an “alternative Issuance” (as defined in the public warrant agreement), provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any other modification or amendment to the terms of the public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the public warrants, convert the public warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a public warrant.

Risks Relating to Our Management Team

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

Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers and directors is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers and directors are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. In addition, senior management of Waverley will spend a vast majority, if not substantially all, of their business time on their other duties, including to the investment management clients of Waverley. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, see “Management—Officers, Directors and Director Nominees.”

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

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

 

60


Table of Contents

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our key personnel, at least until we have consummated our initial business combination. None of our officers are required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote more substantial amounts of time to their other business activities, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs and could have a negative impact on our ability to consummate our initial business combination. In addition, we do not have employment agreements with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our officers. The unexpected loss of the services of our key personnel could have a detrimental effect on us.

The role of our key personnel after our initial business combination, however, remains to be determined. Although some of our key personnel serve in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that most, if not all, of the management of the target business will remain in place. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a public company which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.

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

Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. In addition, pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement, which is described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Registration and Shareholder Rights.”

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

When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company,

 

61


Table of Contents

the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to retain their securities and remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value. The officers and directors of an initial business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an initial business combination candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the initial business combination candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. As a result, we may need to reconstitute the management team of the post-transaction company in connection with our initial business combination, which may adversely impact our ability to complete an initial business combination in a timely manner or at all.

Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including another blank check company and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses or entities. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us.

In addition, Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors are and may in the future become affiliated with other blank check companies that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to such other blank check companies prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we renounce, to the maximum extent permitted by law, our interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in any business combination opportunity which may be a corporate opportunity for both us and our sponsor and another entity, including any entities managed by our sponsor or its affiliates and any companies in which our sponsor or such entities have invested about which any of our officers or directors acquires knowledge unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such director or officer solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. We will waive any claim or cause of action we may have in respect thereof. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will contain provisions to exculpate and indemnify, to the maximum extent permitted by law, such persons in respect of any liability, obligation or duty to our company that may arise as a consequence of such persons becoming aware of any business opportunity or failing to present such business opportunity.

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

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

We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by

 

62


Table of Contents

us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with Waverley, our sponsor, our directors or our officers, although we do not intend to do so, or we may acquire a target business through an Affiliated Joint Acquisition with one or more funds or accounts advised by Waverley and/or one or more investors in funds managed by Waverley. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.

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

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

In light of the involvement of Waverley, our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with Waverley, our sponsor, officers, directors or initial shareholders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, as described under “Management—Conflicts of Interest.” Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved, and such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Waverley and its affiliates manage a number of Waverley Funds, which may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business—Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with Waverley, our sponsor, officers, directors or initial shareholders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.

Moreover, we may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity affiliated with Waverley and/or one or more investors in funds managed by Waverley. Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such parties.

 

63


Table of Contents

Since our initial shareholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after this offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.

On March 6, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in consideration of 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 each. On July 28, 2021, our sponsor forfeited 2,875,000 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in our sponsor continuing to hold 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, or approximately $.005 per share (assuming the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option and the initial shareholders forfeit 750,000 Class B ordinary shares). At the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor intends to transfer 45,000 founder shares to each of our director nominees and our chief financial officer, resulting in our sponsor holding 5,525,000 founder shares. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share surrender or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 4,666,667 private placement warrants (or 5,066,667 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant ($7,000,000 in the aggregate or $7,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. If we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 24-month anniversary of the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for our consummation of an initial business combination.

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

We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.

Involvement of members of our management and companies with which they are affiliated in civil disputes and litigation, governmental investigations or negative publicity unrelated to our business affairs could materially impact our ability to consummate an initial business combination.

Members of our management team and companies with which they are affiliated have been, and in the future will continue to be, involved in a wide variety of business affairs, including transactions, such as sales and purchases of businesses, and ongoing operations. As a result of such involvement, members of our management

 

64


Table of Contents

and companies with which they are affiliated in have been, and may in the future be, involved in civil disputes, litigation, governmental investigations and negative publicity relating to their business affairs. Any such claims, investigations, lawsuits or negative publicity may be detrimental to our reputation and could negatively affect our ability to identify and complete an initial business combination in a material manner and may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.

After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States and, therefore, investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.

It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States, and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.

Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.

In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed in ways adverse to us and our management team. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. These trends may continue into the future.

The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.

In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.

Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries

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

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

 

65


Table of Contents

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

 

   

costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with difficult commercial and legal requirements of the overseas market;

 

   

rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;

 

   

complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;

 

   

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

 

   

exchange listing and/or delisting requirements;

 

   

tariffs and trade barriers;

 

   

regulations related to customs and import/export matters;

 

   

local or regional economic policies and market conditions;

 

   

unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;

 

   

longer payment cycles;

 

   

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

 

   

currency fluctuations and exchange controls;

 

   

rates of inflation;

 

   

challenges in collecting accounts receivable;

 

   

cultural and language differences;

 

   

employment regulations;

 

   

underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems;

 

   

corruption;

 

   

protection of intellectual property;

 

   

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

 

   

regime changes and political upheaval;

 

   

terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;

 

   

deterioration of political relations with the United States; and

 

   

government appropriation of assets.

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

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

Following our initial business combination, our management may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If

 

66


Table of Contents

new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.

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

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

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

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

General Risk Factors

We are a recently incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

We are a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.

Our financial statement footnotes include a disclosure that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”

As of June 30, 2021, we had cash and a working capital deficit of $87,485 and $414,925, respectively. Further we expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

 

67


Table of Contents

Past performance by Waverley, our management team or either of their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.

Information regarding performance is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience or performance is not a guarantee of either (i) our ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction or (ii) success with respect to any business combination that we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of Waverley, the members of our management team, our independent directors or their respective affiliates as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. In addition, Waverley advises funds and accounts which have investment mandates that overlap with ours and therefore may compete for investment opportunities with us, and Waverley will not be obligated to present any investment opportunities to us over the funds and accounts it manages.

Certain agreements related to this offering may be amended without shareholder approval.

Certain agreements, including the underwriting agreement relating to this offering, the letter agreement among us and our sponsor, officers and directors, and the registration rights agreement among us and our initial shareholders, may be amended without shareholder approval. These agreements contain various provisions that our public shareholders might deem to be material. While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it is possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendments would not require approval from our shareholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.

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

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

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected

 

68


Table of Contents

not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

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

We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”) of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”). Depending on the particular circumstances the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Additionally, even if we qualify for the start-up exception with respect to a given taxable year, there cannot be any assurance that we would not be a PFIC in other taxable years. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election with respect to their Class A ordinary shares, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules. For a more detailed discussion of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

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

We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. In addition, holders of our founder shares may determine to continue our company in a jurisdiction other than the Cayman Islands. Any such transaction may require a shareholder or warrant holder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay such taxes. Shareholders or warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.

 

69


Table of Contents

We may change our place of incorporation to a jurisdiction within the United States which may result in adverse tax consequences for holders of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants.

Holders of our founder shares may continue our company into a jurisdiction within the United States, or such reincorporation may take place in connection with our initial business combination (any such continuation or reincorporation, a “Domestication”). U.S. Holders (as defined in “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—General” below) of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants may be subject to U.S. federal income tax as a result of a Domestication. Additionally, non-U.S. Holders (as defined in “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—General” below) of our Class A ordinary shares may become subject to withholding tax on any dividends (including deemed dividends) paid on our new Class A ordinary shares subsequent to the Domestication.

As discussed more fully under the section entitled “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Holders—Consequences of Domestication” below, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a Domestication depend in part upon whether the Domestication qualifies as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Assuming that the Domestication so qualifies, a U.S. Holder of our Class A ordinary shares may nevertheless recognize gain or, upon election, income equal to its allocable “all earnings and profits” amount under Section 367(b) of the Code. If we are treated as a “passive foreign investment company,” or PFIC, a U.S. Holder of our Class A ordinary shares (or, if certain proposed Treasury Regulations are finalized in their current form, our warrants) may be required to recognize any gain (but not loss) embedded in such U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares (or warrants) at the time of the Domestication under the PFIC rules of the Code.

All holders are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of the Domestication in their particular situation. For a more detailed description of the U.S. federal income tax consequences associated with the Domestication, see “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Holders—Consequences of a Domestication” and “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Non-U.S. Holders—Effects of a Domestication on Non-U.S. Holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares or Warrants.”

Other than amendments relating to the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination and amendments relating to the company’s continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (which each such proposed amendment would require the approval of a special resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in person or by proxy at our general meeting which shall include the affirmative vote of a simple majority of our Class B ordinary shares), the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of a special resolution which requires the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds (or such higher threshold as specified in the company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in person or by proxy at a general meeting of the company, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.

Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter (or equivalent) which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to the rights of a company’s shareholders, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s shareholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified

 

70


Table of Contents

circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our ordinary shares; provided that the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) governing the appointment or removal of directors and (ii) provisions relating to the company’s continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including but not limited to, approval of the organizational documents of the Company in another jurisdiction) prior to our initial business combination may only be amended by a special resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in person or by proxy at our general meeting which shall include the affirmative vote of a simple majority of our Class B ordinary shares (and if the shareholders vote in favor of such act but the approval of a simple majority of the holders of Class B ordinary shares has not yet been obtained, the holders of a simple majority of Class B ordinary shares shall have, in such vote, voting rights equal to the aggregate voting power of all the shareholders of the company who voted in favor of the resolution, plus one). Our initial shareholders and their respective permitted transferees, if any, who will collectively beneficially own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our Class A ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

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

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

Upon closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our initial shareholders purchase any units in this offering or if our initial shareholders purchase any additional Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were appointed by our sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new

 

71


Table of Contents

directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual general meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for appointment and our initial shareholders, because of their ownership position, will control the outcome, as only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors and to continue our company in jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of our company in such other jurisdiction), in each case by way of ordinary resolution prior to our initial business combination. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our initial shareholders.

Our warrant agreements designates the courts of the City of New York, County of New York, State of New York, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, or the federal district courts of the United States as the exclusive forums for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.

Our warrant agreements provide that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreements will be brought and enforced in the courts of the City of New York, County of New York, State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreements will not apply to suits brought to enforce (i) any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder for which Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction, (ii) with respect to suits brought in federal district courts of the United States, any duty, claims, or liability arising under or created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder for which Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts or (iii) any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreements. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope of the forum provisions of the warrant agreements, is filed in a court other than a court of the City of New York, County of New York, State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”), in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions, and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such action brought in such court to enforce the forum provisions by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.

This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. However, the enforceability of similar exclusive forum provisions (including exclusive federal forum provisions for actions, suits or proceedings asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act) in other companies’ organizational documents has been challenged in legal proceedings, and there is uncertainty as to whether courts would enforce the exclusive forum provisions in our warrant agreements. Warrant holders who are unable to bring their claims in the judicial forum of their choosing may be required to incur additional costs in pursuit of actions which are subject to our choice-of-forum provision. Additionally, our shareholders cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Alternatively, if a court

 

72


Table of Contents

were to find these provisions of our warrant agreements to be inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.

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

Each unit contains one-third of one redeemable public warrant. Pursuant to the public warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole public warrants will trade. If, upon exercise of the public warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the public warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one whole public warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the public warrants upon completion of a business combination since the public warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-third of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole public warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if a unit included a public warrant to purchase one whole share.

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

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

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

We have been advised by Walkers, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are, or to the extent they are, penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to

 

73


Table of Contents

pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

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

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

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

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

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

Since only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors, upon the listing of our shares on the NYSE, the NYSE may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.

After completion of this offering, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors. As a result, the NYSE may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Under the NYSE corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another

 

74


Table of Contents

company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:

 

   

we have a board that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under the rules of the NYSE;

 

   

we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and

 

   

we have a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities.

We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE, subject to applicable phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.

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

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

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

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

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

As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.

In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.

 

75


Table of Contents

In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.

We may engage one or more of the underwriters or their affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering. The underwriters are entitled to receive deferred commissions that will be released from the trust only on a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause the underwriters to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.

We may engage one or more of the underwriters or their affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay the underwriters or their affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with the underwriters or their affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to the underwriters or their affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless such payment would not be deemed underwriter’s compensation in connection with this offering. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The fact that the underwriters or their affiliates’ financial interests are tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.

We employ a mail forwarding service, which may delay or disrupt our ability to receive mail in a timely manner.

Mail addressed to us at our registered office will be forwarded unopened to the forwarding address supplied by us. Neither we, our directors, officers, advisors or service providers (including the organization which provides registered office services in the Cayman Islands) will bear any responsibility for any delay caused in mail reaching the forwarding address, which may impair your ability to communicate with us.

There has been and may in the future be diversity in the capital structure, financial accounting policies, and resultant financial reporting by special purpose acquisition companies, which may impact the market price for our Class A ordinary shares and our ability to complete a business combination.

On April 12, 2021, the staff of the SEC issued a statement related to warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies (the “SEC Statement”), which resulted in the warrants issued by many special purpose acquisition companies being classified as liabilities rather than equity as previously reported. While we are accounting for our warrants as equity, further statements by the SEC relating to accepted accounting of special purpose acquisition companies could result in the correction of accounting errors in previously issued financial statements, restatements of previously issued audited financial statements, the filing of notices that previously issued financial statements may not be relied upon and findings of material weaknesses and significant deficiencies in internal controls over financial reporting.

 

76


Table of Contents

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Some of the statements contained in this prospectus may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “shall,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:

 

   

our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses;

 

   

our ability to complete our initial business combination;

 

   

our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses;

 

   

our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;

 

   

our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;

 

   

our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;

 

   

our pool of prospective target businesses;

 

   

our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic;

 

   

the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities;

 

   

our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;

 

   

the lack of a market for our securities;

 

   

the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance;

 

   

the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or

 

   

our financial performance following this offering.

The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

 

77


Table of Contents

USE OF PROCEEDS

We are offering 20,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering, together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants, will be used as set forth in the following table:

 

     Without Over-
allotment Option
    Over-allotment
Option Exercised
 

Gross proceeds

    

Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1)

   $ 200,000,000     $ 230,000,000  

Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement

     7,000,000       7,600,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total gross proceeds

   $ 207,000,000     $ 237,600,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Estimated offering expenses(2)

    

Underwriting commissions (2.0% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(3)

   $ 4,000,000     $ 4,600,000  

Legal fees and expenses

     300,000       300,000  

Printing and engraving expenses

     45,000       45,000  

Accounting fees and expenses

     55,000       55,000  

SEC/FINRA Expenses

     60,093       60,093  

Stock exchange listing and filing fees

     85,000       85,000  

Travel and road show expenses

     10,000       10,000  

Miscellaneous

     344,907       344,907  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total estimated offering expenses

   $ 900,000     $ 900,000  

Proceeds after estimated offering expenses

   $ 202,100,000     $ 232,100,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Held in trust account(3)

   $ 200,000,000     $ 230,000,000  

% of public offering size

     100     100

Not held in trust account

   $ 2,100,000     $ 2,100,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The following table shows the use of the estimated $2,100,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account.(4)(5)

 

     Amount      % of Total  

Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel, and other expenses in connection with any business combination(6)

   $ 700,000        33.4

Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations

     75,000        3.6

Director and officer liability insurance premiums

     500,000        23.8

Payment for office space and secretarial administrative, consulting and other services(7)

     240,000        11.4

Stock exchange continued listing fees

     85,000        4.0

Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses and reserves (including franchise taxes net of anticipated interest income)

     500,000        23.8
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 2,100,000        100
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1)

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

 

78


Table of Contents
(2)

A portion of the offering expenses will be paid from the proceeds of loans from our sponsor of up to $400,000 as described in this prospectus. As of June 30, 2021, we had borrowed $170,000 under the promissory note with our sponsor. These amounts will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the offering proceeds that have been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) and not to be held in the trust account. In the event that offering expenses are less than as set forth in this table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses. In the event that the offering expenses are more than as set forth in this table, we may fund such excess with funds not held in the trust account.

(3)

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

(4)

These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring our initial business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify a business combination target in a specific geography or industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses. The amount in the table above does not include interest available to us from the trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Assuming an interest rate of 0.02% per year, we estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $40,000 per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount.

(5)

Assumes the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option.

(6)

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

(7)

Assumes the completion of an initial business combination within 24 months of this offering.

Of the $207,000,000 in proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, or $237,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, $200,344,900 ($10.00 per unit), or $230,344,900 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit), will be deposited into a trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, including $7,000,000, or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, in deferred underwriting compensation will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering (including the portion of the underwriting commissions payable upon closing of this offering) and for working capital following this offering. We will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the trust account, except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, until the earliest of (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the

 

79


Table of Contents

substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. Based on current interest rates, we expect that interest income earned on the trust account (if any) will be sufficient to pay our taxes.

NYSE rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the $207,000,000 in proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, or $237,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, $200,344,900 ($10.00 per unit), or $230,344,900 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit), will be deposited into a trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, after deducting $4,000,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions payable upon the closing of this offering (or $4,600,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) and an aggregate of $1,400,000 million to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering.

The net proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-business combination company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination.

We believe that amounts not held in trust, together with funds available to us from loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors although they are under no obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances.

We will reimburse an affiliate of our sponsor for office space and secretarial, administrative, consulting and other services provided to members of our management team in the amount of $20,000 per month. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $400,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of June 30, 2021, we had borrowed $170,000 under the promissory note with our sponsor. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 and the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the offering proceeds not held in the trust account.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination or any additional working capital requirements, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such

 

80


Table of Contents

loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, its affiliates or any members of our management team as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

 

81


Table of Contents

DIVIDEND POLICY

We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. If we increase the size of this offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share surrender or redemption or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with a business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

 

82


Table of Contents

DILUTION

The difference between the public offering price per Class A ordinary share, assuming no value is attributed to the public warrants we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per Class A ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public shareholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of Class A ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares.

At June 30, 2021, our net tangible book deficit was $414,925, or approximately $(0.07) per ordinary share. After giving effect to the sale of 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus (or 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at June 30, 2021 would have been $5,000,006 or $0.83 per share (or $0.73 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of 19,010,722 Class A ordinary shares that may be redeemed for cash, or 21,905,722 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of $0.90 per share (or $0.80 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) to our initial shareholders as of the date of this prospectus. Total dilution to public shareholders from this offering will be $9.17 per share (or $9.27 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).

The following table illustrates the dilution to the public shareholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:

 

     Without
Over-
allotment
    With Over-
allotment
 

Public offering price

   $ 10.00     $ 10.00  

Net tangible book deficit before this offering

     (0.07     (0.01

Increase attributable to public shareholders

     0.90       0.80  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants

     0.83       0.73  

Dilution to public shareholders

   $ 9.17     $ 9.27  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Percentage of dilution to public shareholders

     91.7     92.7

For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option) by $190,107,220 because holders of up to approximately 95.1% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares).

 

83


Table of Contents

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

 

     Shares Purchased     Total Consideration     Average
Price per
Share
 
     Number      Percentage     Number      Percentage  

Class B Ordinary Shares(1)

     5,000,000        20   $ 25,000        0.02   $ 0.005  

Public Shareholders

     20,000,000        80     200,000,000        99.98   $ 10.00  
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   
     25,000,000        100   $ 200,025,000        100.00  

 

(1)

Assumes the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 750,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders.

The pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering (assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option) is calculated as follows:

 

     Without Over-
allotment
     With Over-
allotment
 

Numerator:

     

Net tangible book deficit before this offering

   $ (414,925    $ (414,925

Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants(1)

     202,100,000        232,100,000  

Plus: Offering costs paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value before this offering

     422,151        422,151  

Less: Deferred underwriting commissions

     (7,000,000      (8,050,000

Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption(2)

     (190,107,220      (219,057,220
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ 5,000,006      $ 5,000,006  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Denominator:

     

Ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering

     5,750,000        5,750,000  

Ordinary shares forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised

     (750,000      —    

Ordinary shares included in the units offered

     20,000,000        23,000,000  

Less: Ordinary shares subject to redemption

     (19,010,722      (21,905,722
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     5,989,278        6,844,278  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1)

Expenses applied against gross proceeds include offering expenses of $900,000 and underwriting commissions of $4,000,000 or $4,600,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option (excluding deferred underwriting fees). See “Use of Proceeds.”

(2)

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

 

84


Table of Contents

CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our capitalization at June 30, 2021, and as adjusted to give effect to the filing of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the sale of our units in this offering and the private placement warrants and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:

 

     June 30, 2021  
     Actual      As Adjusted(1)  

Note payable to related party(2)

   $ 170,000      $ —    

Deferred underwriting commissions

     —          7,000,000  

Class A Ordinary shares subject to possible redemption

     —          190,107,220  

Shareholders’ equity:

     

Preference shares, $0.0001 par value each; 5,000,000 preference shares authorized, actual and as adjusted; 0 preference shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted

     —          —    

Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, 500,000,000 shares authorized, actual and as adjusted; 0 and 989,278 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 19,010,722 shares subject to possible redemption), actual and as adjusted, respectively(3)

     —          99  

Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, 50,000,000 shares authorized, actual and as adjusted; 5,750,000 and 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively(3)

     575        500  

Additional paid-in capital

     24,425        5,017,181  

Accumulated deficit

     (17,774      (17,774
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total shareholders’ equity

   $ 7,226      $ 5,000,006  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total capitalization

   $ 177,226      $ 202,107,226  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1)

Assumes the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 750,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders.

(2)

Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $400,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of June 30, 2021, we had borrowed $170,000 under the promissory note with our sponsor.

(3)

In connection with our initial business combination, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein whereby redemptions cannot cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination.

 

85


Table of Contents

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview

We are a blank check company incorporated on March 1, 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, consolidation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, equity and debt.

The issuance of additional shares in a business combination:

 

   

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares;

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;

 

   

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

 

   

may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.

Similarly, if we issue debt or otherwise incur significant debt, it could result in:

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;

 

   

our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;

 

   

our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares;

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

 

86


Table of Contents
   

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

As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, as of June 30, 2021, we had cash and deferred offering costs of $87,485 and $422,151, respectively. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.

Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events

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

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through (i) $25,000 paid by our sponsor to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for the issuance of the founder shares to our sponsor and (ii) the receipt of loans to us of up to $400,000 by our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note. As of June 30, 2021, we had borrowed $170,000 under the unsecured promissory note. We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting estimated offering expenses of $900,000, underwriting commissions of $4,000,000, or $4,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $7,000,000, or $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), and (ii) the sale of the private placement warrants for a purchase price of $7,000,000 (or $7,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be $202,444,900 (or $232,444,900 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $200,344,900 (or $230,344,900 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account, which includes the deferred underwriting commissions described above. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. The remaining $2,100,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $900,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $900,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

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

 

87


Table of Contents

Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the $2,100,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, as well as certain funds from loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team. We will use these funds to primarily identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.

We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial business combination, other than funds available from loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, its affiliates or our management team as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $700,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $75,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations; $500,000 for directors and officers liability insurance; $240,000 for office space and secretarial and administrative services; $85,000 for stock exchange continued listing fees; and $500,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves.

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

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

 

88


Table of Contents

Controls and Procedures

We are not currently required to certify an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.

Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our auditors tested our systems, of our internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our initial business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:

 

   

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

 

   

reconciliation of accounts;

 

   

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

 

   

evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions;

 

   

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

 

   

documentation of accounting policies and procedures.

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

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

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk. However, if the interest rates of U.S. Treasury obligations become negative, we may have less interest income available to us for payment of taxes, and a decline in the value of the assets held in the trust account could reduce the principal below the amount initially deposited in the trust account.

 

89


Table of Contents

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

As of June 30, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations.

JOBS Act

The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

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

 

90


Table of Contents

PROPOSED BUSINESS

General

We are a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.

While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business, industry, sector or geographical location, we intend to focus on industries that complement our team’s background and capitalize on our team’s ability to source and acquire a business focused on media, technology or entertainment that will benefit from our expertise in developing and executing value creation plans in those areas, thereby positioning a target company for compounding growth over the long-term.

Waverley Partnership

Our sponsor, WCAC1 Sponsor LLC, is a Delaware limited liability company. Our sponsor is managed by Waverley.

Waverley is a venture capital firm focused solely on the innovation and disruption occurring globally throughout the media and entertainment industries. Waverley is led by its co-founders, Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Daniel V. Leff, who collectively possess decades of experience investing in, growing, and operating category-defining media start-ups as well as assisting them transition to public ownership. Their previous investments include: Roku, Inc. (IPO – NASDAQ: ROKU), fuboTV Inc. (IPO – NYSE: FUBO), Matterport (SPAC merger NASDAQ: MTTR), Pluto TV (acquired by Viacom), Wondery (acquired by Amazon), The Athletic, and Headspace. Mr. Bronfman has also been foundationally involved with Warner Music Group and Universal Studios Inc., serving as Chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group and CEO of The Seagram Company Ltd., the parent company of Universal Studios Inc., as well as with Fandango, serving as a partner at Accretive, the company’s founding venture investor. Waverley is the successor fund to Luminari Capital L.P., a top-performing media-focused venture capital fund founded in 2014.

Waverley’s focus has primarily been on early-stage, private company opportunities in the U.S, with a balance of some later-stage investments. Its mission is to provide superior financial returns to its limited partners by partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs in the media ecosystem to help them build and scale category-defining companies. To this end, Waverley leverages proprietary access to deal flow, resources, people, and unique insights within the media industry. Its limited partners are primarily comprised of current and former executives and board members from leading media and technology companies.

Notwithstanding Waverley’s past experiences, past performance is not a guarantee (i) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (ii) that we will provide an attractive return to our shareholders from any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of Waverley’s performance as indicative of our future performance. See “Risk Factors—General Risk Factors—Past performance by Waverley, our management team or either of their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.” See “Management—Conflicts of Interest” for additional information.

Our Management Team

Our management team will be led by Edgar Bronfman Jr., Daniel V. Leff, and Alan Henricks. Messrs. Bronfman and Leff will also serve as board members. Our management team will further be supported by our independent board members who bring extensive senior executive experience in the media sector.

 

91


Table of Contents

Edgar Bronfman Jr. serves as our Chairman. Mr. Bronfman is the Co-Founder, Chairman and General Partner of Waverley. He is also Senior Advisor and Special Limited Partner of Luminari Capital (the predecessor fund to Waverley) and Managing Partner at Accretive, LLC. Prior to Waverley, Mr. Bronfman was the Chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group, one of the world’s largest music companies. During his tenure, WMG was named one of Fortune Magazine’s “Most Admired Companies” in 2007, the first ever music company to receive the honor and, in 2009, was recognized as one of the “World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company magazine. As a creator, Mr. Bronfman has produced films starring Peter Sellers and Jack Nicholson, and has written songs for artists such as Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Smokey Robinson, Donna Summer and Ashford & Simpson, among many others. Mr. Bronfman served on the board of InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IAC) for over 20 years and recently served as a Director of Falcon Capital Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company that recently consummated a business combination with Sharecare, Inc. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of the Board of fuboTV (NYSE: FUBO), a live TV streaming platform for sports, news, and entertainment, as well as Executive Chairman of Global Thermostat LLC, a pioneering company designed to develop and commercialize a technology for the direct capture of carbon dioxide, and as Chairman of the Board of Endeavor Global, a non-profit organization pioneering a new approach to international development. In addition, he serves on the board of the New York University Elaine A. and Kenneth G. Langone Medical Center and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Daniel V. Leff, Ph.D. serves as our CEO. Dr. Leff is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Waverley. He is also Founder and Managing Partner of Luminari Capital (the predecessor fund to Waverley). Prior to co-founding Waverley and founding Luminari Capital L.P., Dr. Leff was a Partner with Globespan Capital Partners in the firm’s Palo Alto office. Earlier in his career, Dr. Leff worked for Sevin Rosen Funds and Redpoint Ventures. He also previously held engineering, marketing and strategic investment positions with Intel Corporation, and served as Director of Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) from 2011-2018. Dr. Leff has been an investor in a multitude of media and technology companies including 1Mainstream (sold to Cisco Systems), Art19, Elemental Technologies (sold to Amazon), Endel, fuboTV (NYSE:FUBO), Matterport (NASDAQ:MTTR), MikMak, MOVL (sold to Samsung), PlutoTV (sold to Viacom), Roku, The Athletic, Wink, Wondery (sold to Amazon) and others. He currently serves as a director of fuboTV (NYSE: FUBO), a live TV streaming platform for sports, news, and entertainment, where he sits on the audit committee. Dr. Leff earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from The University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Leff also earned an MBA from The UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, where he was an Anderson Venture Fellow and where he currently serves on the Board of Visitors.

Alan Henricks serves as our Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Henricks is a 45-year veteran of Silicon Valley, working for media, entertainment and technology firms. He serves as the ChowNow board’s audit committee chair and previously served as the Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) board’s audit committee chair from 2013 to 2021. He has also served on the board of Model N (NYSE:MODN) for 6 years. Prior to this, he served on the boards of Ellie Mae (NYSE:ELLI), A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN) and Applied Predictive Technologies (sold to MasterCard). Alan served as CFO during IPOs at Documentum (NASDAQ: DCTM) and Borland (NASDAQ:BORL), and was CFO at Ring (sold to Amazon), Pure Digital Technologies (sold to Cisco), Traiana (sold to ICAP), Interwoven (NASDAQ: IWOV) and Maxim Integrated Products (NASDAQ: MXIM). He served as Finance VP of Atari, a division of Warner Communications, for 6 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Notwithstanding our management team’s past experiences, past performance is not a guarantee (i) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (ii) that we will provide an attractive return to our shareholders from any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s performance as indicative of our future performance. See “Risk Factors—General Risk Factors—Past performance by Waverley, our management team or either of their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.” See “Management—Conflicts of Interest” for additional information.

 

92


Table of Contents

Our Independent Director Nominees

Our efforts to seek a suitable business combination target will be complemented and augmented by the expertise and network of relationships of our directors, who each have extensive experience in business and financial matters. In addition to Mr. Bronfman, who will be the Chairman of our board of directors, upon completion of this offering our directors will consist of the following independent directors.

David Gandler is the co-founder of fuboTV (NYSE: FUBO), the live TV streaming platform that is transforming how people watch sports, news and entertainment, and has served as its CEO since March 2014. Prior to joining fuboTV, Mr. Gandler served from 2013 to 2014, as Vice President, Ad Sales at DramaFever, a video streaming service acquired in 2016 by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Prior to 2013, Mr. Gandler held positions at Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc., Time Warner Cable and Telemundo, a division of NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Mr. Gandler received a B.A. degree in economics from Boston University. Mr. Gandler brings our board his considerable experience in the digital media industry as well as the operational insight and expertise he has accumulated as Chief Executive Officer of fuboTV.

Jeff Bewkes served as the Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Inc. from 2008 to 2018. He was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors in January 2009, having served on the Board since January 2007. Mr. Bewkes previously served as Time Warner’s President and COO from January 2006 to December 2007 and as Chairman of the Entertainment and Networks group from July 2002 to December 2005. Before joining the corporate management of Time Warner, Mr. Bewkes served as Chairman and CEO of HBO from May 1995 to July 2002, and as President and COO of HBO from September 1991 to May 1995. Mr. Bewkes serves on the Boards of Yale University and the Partnership for New York City and serves on the advisory board for The Creative Coalition. He is also a member of The Business Council. Mr. Bewkes has a BA from Yale University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Chris Silbermann is Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director & Partner at ICM Partners, a global talent and literary agency representing clients in the fields of television, motion pictures, sports, publishing, broadcasting, music, theatre, corporate marketing and new media. In addition to running the day-to-day management of the agency, which encompasses a team of more than 600 employees in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, DC and London, Mr. Silbermann personally guides the careers of some of the most influential creative voices of our generation. He joined ICM in 2007, upon the agency’s acquisition of The Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency, where he was a managing partner. In 2012, he led the management buyout of the agency that returned control and ownership of the company to a newly created partnership. In 2020, ICM completed 3 acquisitions, most notably that of The Stellar Group in the UK, the world’s #1 global sports agency representing football, rugby, American football and track and field athletes. This division of the agency now operates as ICM Stellar Sports.

Mr. Silbermann is also an angel investor in a multitude of media, entertainment, and technology startups. Previously, he was President of International Creative Management, Inc. Mr. Silbermann served as Co-Head of Worldwide Television and Co-President at International Creative Management, Inc. since August 2006. He serves as President-elect of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society (HRTS) and serves on its board as Treasurer. He served as Managing Partner of The Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency where he was closely involved in overseeing the day-to-day management and its 27 agents. Mr. Silbermann joined BWCS in 1991. While there, he oversaw a prestigious list of clients and packaged such comedy and drama series as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “According to Jim” and “Criminal Minds.” He also represented the television production arms of several noted feature film producers. He serves on the board of the California chapter of The Nature Conservancy. A former member of the Board of Trustees for The University of California, Berkeley Foundation, Mr. Silbermann is the Chairman of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), serves on the board of the American Film Institute (AFI), and was a member of the LA24 Olympic committee. He began his career in the mailroom at Triad Artists Agency. Mr. Silbermann holds B.A. in English Literature from The University of California, Berkeley.

 

93


Table of Contents

Alfred Osborne is the Senior Associate Dean for external affairs at the UCLA Anderson School of Management since 2003. He served as Interim Dean from July 2018 to June 2019. Osborne has been a Professor of Global Economics, Management and Entrepreneurship since July 2008 and is the founder and faculty Director of the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Anderson School since 1984. Previous positions include service as an Economic Fellow at the Brookings Institution where he directed studies at the Securities and Exchange Commission that contributed to changes in Rule 144, Regulation D and other exemptive requirements to the securities laws designed to lower costs and improve liquidity and capital market access to venture capitalists and emerging growth companies.

His board and governance experience spans 40 years and includes positions on the board of directors at the Times Mirror Company, Nordstrom Inc., Greyhound Lines, US Filter Corporation, K2 Inc. and First Interstate Bank of California among others. Dr. Osborne is currently a director of Kaiser Aluminum (Nasdaq:KALU) where he serves as the Lead Independent Director, First Pacific Advisors (FPA) family of mutual funds, and Wedbush Capital. His not-for-profit affiliations include serving as a trustee of Fidelity Charitable, Harvard-Westlake School and a director of the Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation. He was educated at Stanford University where he earned a BS in Electrical Engineering, an MBA in Finance, an MA in Economics and a Ph.D. in Business-Economics.

Together, we believe our directors and the rest of our management team bring extensive operating and media-sector domain expertise that will enhance our ability to identify and execute our initial business combination, and may enhance our ability to execute upon various value creation initiatives after successful completion of our business combination.

Competitive Strengths

Our management team and directors have proven track records of creating significant shareholder value investing across public and private markets and in operating and building businesses to scale across industries, geographies, and macroeconomic environments. The Waverley platform enables us to deploy our prior experiences and extensive network of relationships developed over decades to identify a wide range of attractive business combination opportunities, partner with management teams to build enduring businesses, and generate significant value for shareholders.

 

   

Successful track record of investing in disruptive media companies including but not limited to Roku (consummated an IPO), fuboTV (consummated an IPO), Matterport (SPAC merger consummated), Pluto TV (sold to Viacom), 1Mainstream (sold to Cisco), Elemental Technologies (sold to Amazon), Wondery (sold to Amazon), The Athletic, Headspace, and others

 

   

Seasoned management team that possesses extensive domain expertise and decades of experience investing in, building, and operating transformative media companies

 

   

Proprietary access to deal flow, people, resources, and unique insights within the media industry to make superior investments/acquisitions of category-defining companies

 

   

Extensive senior executive network in media, technology, entertainment, and financial services ecosystems to provide unparalleled access, advantage, and due diligence leverage

 

   

Deep engagement with senior management and board members of investee companies to help drive strategic and operational excellence at target companies, assist with the transition to public ownership, and continue to create value thereafter

 

   

Singular focus on media drives discipline and unique identity with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, media and technology incumbents, and the broader financial community

Market Opportunity

We believe that many companies in the media industry have characteristics that make them potentially attractive investment opportunities. With the ever-evolving changes in consumer behavior, these companies are

 

94


Table of Contents

poised for long-term growth and have the potential to unlock unrealized value as public companies, particularly when partnered with our team, which brings strategic, operating, management and capital markets expertise. Media increasingly interacts with nearly all businesses and industries, and we believe our broad experience and track record will enable us to consider a wide range of potential transaction opportunities. We intend to focus on businesses that benefit from one or more of the following macro themes:

The global media market is massive and growing. We believe the total addressable market (“TAM”) for the media industry is large and continues to grow. PwC estimates that the global market for the entertainment and media industry was $2.1 trillion in 2019, and has the potential to reach $2.5 trillion by 2024, or approximately a 3% Compound Annualized Growth Rate (“CAGR”) over the period. Media is an active and dynamic industry that is under constant transformation, as the mechanisms for consumption are constantly evolving. There is great disruption occurring in each sub-sector within media as consumers demand content in forms that suit their evolving consumption behavior.

Content aggregation platforms bring about new and evolving consumption habits. There is an ever-increasing amount of media content being produced and distributed, and there has never been a greater degree of competition for consumers’ time and attention. Channels such as over-the-top (OTT), social media, and online marketplaces have changed the way content is produced, distributed, and consumed. Deloitte reports that 76% of US consumers now subscribe to at least one streaming platform, spending an average of $33 a month across 3 streaming services. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the desire for content, as Ipsos reports that there has been a 50%+ increase in the number of individuals streaming content since the pandemic began.

Proliferation of connected devices supports new ways to engage consumers. Rising access to high-speed Internet and smartphones has fueled the growth of online content consumption. Engagement has shifted to interactive, mobile, and multi-screen experiences, with individuals having greater control over what, when, and how they consume. This growing appetite for content has opened the door for new platforms to drive innovation, including music streaming and podcasts. RIAA reported that streaming services accounted for roughly 80% of all music revenue in 2019, while IAB found that podcast advertising revenue rose 48% year-over-year in 2019. Emerging media such as these will continue to drive technological innovation.

Next-gen technologies unlock new avenues for audience monetization and growth. PwC estimates that by 2025, 45% of the world will be supported by 5G, connecting more than 1.7 billion devices. Stronger and more reliable internet connectivity will enable more multifaceted engagement with technology with improved latency. Advancements in artificial intelligence and analytics will enable new insights for consumption and distribution, allowing companies to develop more nuanced monetization models and accelerate growth.

Business models are evolving due to shifting consumption ecosystems. Technology has enabled new consumer experiences, leading traditionally segregated business models to converge. There has been a shift from the more traditional ad-driven monetization to subscriptions, social commerce, app-based microtransactions, and marketplaces. In a competitive market for consumer attention, pricing strategies such as the freemium model and service bundling are being used to entice new customers.

Interactive and interest-based entertainment are driving meaningful engagement. The gamification of sports through eSports, online sports betting, and fantasy sports has created a new value chain, attracting previously underserved portions of the population. Gaming more broadly has expanded into new audience segments beyond young men, with 66% of new gamers being female and 56% older than 45 according to Activate Consulting. These interactive platforms drive a higher level of engagement, sitting at the nexus of multimedia digital experiences across music, television, and lifestyle.

These macro themes are not intended to be exhaustive. We believe there are many potential targets within the media, entertainment and technology space that stand to benefit from these and other macro themes. Potential targets for an initial business combination may exhibit a broad range of business models and financial characteristics.

 

95


Table of Contents

Acquisition Criteria

Consistent with our acquisition strategy, we have identified the following criteria to evaluate prospective target businesses. We will use these criteria in evaluating acquisition opportunities but may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet these criteria. We intend to identify and acquire a high-caliber company in the media, entertainment and technology space that possesses the following characteristics:

 

   

Category-defining disruptive media company. We plan to target companies that are positioned for new distribution and content dynamics and open new opportunities and avenues for growth. We hope to leverage our management team’s extensive experience as investors and operators as well our breadth of industry connections.

 

   

Significant barriers to entry. We will seek to consummate a business transaction with a company that has long-term, sustainable competitive positioning, such as proprietary technology, brand equity, market leadership, product supremacy, first-mover advantage, compelling unit economics and/or network effects.

 

   

Attractive financial metrics and compelling growth prospects. We intend to focus on businesses with demonstrated revenue scale, organic growth, unit economics, and multiple avenues for future growth, margin upside and free cash flow generation.

 

   

Large, compelling and growing market. We plan to target companies that operate in markets benefiting from digital disruption as new content and distribution dynamics unlock additional growth opportunities.

 

   

High quality and public-ready management team who can benefit from our media industry expertise. We hope to leverage our proven collection of operational strategies and tools as well as past experiences in scaling media businesses.

 

   

Potential M&A platform. We intend to seek businesses that can serve as a platform for future synergistic acquisitions.

 

   

Opportunity for operational improvement. We will seek to identify businesses that could benefit from our ability to drive improvements in the company’s operations, go-to-market strategy, product offering, sales and marketing efforts, and/or leadership team.

Acquisition Process

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review, which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management teams, document reviews, assessment of the target’s technology infrastructure, compliance processes, capital structure assessment, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital markets experience to test and validate our investment thesis.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with Waverley or any of our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with any such persons, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Furthermore, in the event that we seek such a business combination, we expect that the independent and disinterested members of our board of directors would be involved in the process for considering, and approving the transaction.

Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own shares of our ordinary shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering, and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in

 

96


Table of Contents

determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.

Each of our directors, director nominees and officers, as well as those of Waverley, presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our or Waverley’s officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Waverley and its affiliates manage a number of funds, separate accounts and other investment vehicles (“Waverley Funds”), which may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these Waverley Funds decide to pursue any such opportunity or have existing investments in the issuer of such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within Waverley, including by any director affiliated with Waverley, may be suitable for both us and for a current or future Waverley Fund and, in such a case, will be directed to such Waverley Fund rather than to us. Neither Waverley nor any members of our management team who are also employed by Waverley have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Waverley and/or members of our management team, in their capacities as officers, directors or employees of Waverley or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us.

We may be limited in our ability to make investments and to sell existing investments as a result of an existing investment by Waverley. We may acquire a target from or, in which, one or more Waverley Funds have an existing investment (or makes an investment at the same time or subsequently) at a different or overlapping level of the target’s capital structure, creating a potential conflict between our position and the applicable Waverley Funds’ position especially in the event of a bankruptcy. Waverley, Waverley employees and Waverley Funds may also have or make investments in, establish or serve on the boards of, businesses that compete with, provide services to, transact with, or otherwise have significant business relationships with the businesses we invest or seek to invest in. We may also forego an attractive investment opportunity as a result of an existing investment in the target or a competitor of the target by Waverley, a Waverley Fund or principals or employees of Waverley, or to otherwise mitigate any conflict of interest or the perception of any conflict of interest.

Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. In addition, Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time or resources to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time and resources among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors

 

97


Table of Contents

becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce our interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a business combination opportunity for both us and our sponsor and another entity (including any entities managed by our sponsor or its affiliates and any companies in which our sponsor or such entities have invested about which any of our officers or directors acquires knowledge), unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such director or officer solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. We will waive any claim or cause of action we may have in respect thereof. We do not believe, anticipate, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Initial Business Combination

So long as our securities are then listed on the NYSE, our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a target business or businesses, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of net assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-business combination company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business

 

98


Table of Contents

combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-business combination company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor. If our securities are not then listed on the NYSE for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net asset test.

We may, at our option, subject to applicable law, pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with one or more entities affiliated with Waverley and/or one or more Waverley Funds and/or one or more investors in Waverley Funds, which we refer to as an “Affiliated Joint Acquisition.” Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. We refer to this potential future issuance, or a similar issuance to other specified purchasers, as a “specified future issuance” throughout this prospectus. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. This is not an offer for any specified future issuance. Pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B ordinary shares, any such specified future issuance would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio such that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance, unless the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding Class B ordinary shares agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to the specified future issuance at the time thereof. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B ordinary shares at the time of any such specified future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B ordinary shares, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. If such adjustment is waived, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our ordinary shares.

To the extent that we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. These risks include, among others, investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence.

The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.

Other Considerations

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event that we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in the event that we seek such a business combination, we expect that the independent and disinterested members of our board of directors would be involved in the process for considering, and approving the transaction.

 

99


Table of Contents

We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our officers and directors have neither individually identified nor considered a target business on our behalf, nor have they had any discussions regarding possible target businesses on our behalf among themselves or with our underwriters or other advisors. We have not contacted any prospective target business nor had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with any business combination target with us. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any substantive measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate. Waverley, in the ordinary course of its business, is continuously made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination, but none has been contacted by us or on our behalf, and Waverley has no such obligation to refer any opportunity to us.

In addition, Waverley and certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities. As a result, if any of Waverley or our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he, she or it has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, he, she or it may be required to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates.

We may also, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity.

Status as a Public Company

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

 

100


Table of Contents

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

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

Emerging Growth Company and Smaller Reporting Company

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved, If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.

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

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

Financial Position

With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $193,000,000, after payment of the estimated expenses of this offering and $7,000,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $221,950,000 after payment of the estimated expenses of this offering and $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), we offer a target business a variety of options such as

 

101


Table of Contents

creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.

Effecting Our Initial Business Combination

General

We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering, pending the discovery of a business combination target and the consummation of a transaction with such target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our equity, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.

If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-business combination company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. Additionally, we have not engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate, to conduct any research or take any measures, directly or indirectly, to locate or contact a target business, other than our officers and directors. Accordingly, there is no current basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination. Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter.

Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely affect a target business.

Sources of Target Businesses

We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity groups, investment banking firms, consultants, accounting firms and large business enterprises. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since some of these sources will have read this prospectus and may be familiar with types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may

 

102


Table of Contents

engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of a finder’s fee is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will Waverley, our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or their respective affiliates be paid by us any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). We have agreed to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a sum of $20,000 per month for office space and secretarial, administrative, consulting and other services and to reimburse our sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-business combination company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an acquisition candidate.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with any of our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with any such persons, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in the event that we seek such a business combination, we expect that the independent and disinterested members of our board of directors would be involved in the process for considering, and approving the transaction.

Waverley and each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including entities that are affiliates of our sponsor, pursuant to which they are or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if Waverley, any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which they have then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, they may be required to honor their fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity. See “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”

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

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive due diligence review which may encompass, as applicable and among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities and a review of financial and other information about the target and its industry. We will also utilize our management team’s operational and capital planning experience. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.

The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. The company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.

 

103


Table of Contents

Lack of Business Diversification

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team

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

We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.

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

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

Under the NYSE‘s listing rules, shareholder approval would typically be required for our initial business combination if, for example:

 

   

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

 

   

any of our directors, officers or substantial security holder (as defined by the NYSE rules) has a 5% or greater interest, directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in issued and outstanding

 

104


Table of Contents
 

ordinary shares or voting power of 1% or more (or 5% or more if the related party involved is classified as such solely because such person is a substantial security holder); or

 

   

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

Other than if effected by a merger under Companies Act, which would require the passing of a shareholders’ special resolution, the Companies Act and Cayman Islands law do not currently require, and we are not aware of any other applicable law that will require, shareholder approval of our initial business combination.

The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which shareholder approval is not required by law will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:

 

   

the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine shareholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek shareholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company;

 

   

the expected cost of holding a shareholder vote;

 

   

the risk that the shareholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination;

 

   

other time and budget constraints of the company; and

 

   

additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to shareholders.

Permitted Purchases and Other Transactions with Respect to Our Securities

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination.

Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), Waverley, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their respective affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights.

In the event that Waverley, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their respective affiliates purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.

 

105


Table of Contents

The purpose of any such transaction could be to (i) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination, (ii) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such public warrants on any matters submitted to the public warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (iii) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.

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

Waverley, our sponsor, initial shareholders, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom Waverley, our sponsor, initial shareholders, officers, directors or their respective affiliates may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of Class A ordinary shares) following our mailing of tender offer or proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that Waverley, our sponsor, initial shareholders, officers, directors, advisors or their respective affiliates enter into a private transaction, they would identify and contact only potential selling or redeeming shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such shareholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the general meeting related to our initial business combination. Waverley, our sponsor, initial shareholders, officers, directors, advisors or their respective affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase shares from based on the negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will be restricted from purchasing shares if such purchases do not comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.

Any purchases by Waverley, our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Waverley, our sponsor, initial shareholders, officers, directors and/or their respective affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. We expect any such purchases would be reported by such person pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.

Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders in Connection with Our Initial Business Combination

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares in connection with our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their public shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its public shares. There will be no redemption rights in connection with our initial business combination with respect to our public warrants. Further, we will not proceed with redeeming our public shares, even if a

 

106


Table of Contents

public shareholder has properly elected to redeem its public shares, if a business combination does not close. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive, to the extent such exist, their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) our initial business combination, and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares.

Limitations on Redemptions

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

Manner of Conducting Redemptions

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote unless shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on the NYSE, we will be required to comply with the NYSE rules.

If we held a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

   

conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and

 

   

file proxy materials with the SEC.

 

107


Table of Contents

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

If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution for such business combination under Cayman Islands law, or such higher percentage as may be required by Cayman Islands law, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of the outstanding shares of the company representing one-third of the voting power of all outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in respect of an ordinary resolution, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised) or 1,250,001, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or vote at all. In addition, our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive, to the extent such exist, their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) our initial business combination, and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares.

If we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

   

conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and

 

   

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

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

In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.

 

108


Table of Contents

Limitation on Redemption in Connection with Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.

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

Public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” will be required to either tender their certificates (if any) to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, mailed to such holders, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, in each case up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote to approve the business combination. The proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate the applicable delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short period in which to exercise redemption rights, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.

There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.

The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would

 

109


Table of Contents

contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming shareholder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.

Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination, unless otherwise agreed to by us. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.

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

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

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business Combination

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to consummate an initial business combination. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. If we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, there will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if a resolution of the company’s shareholders is passed pursuant to the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands to commence the voluntary liquidation of the company, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.

Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period (although they will be entitled to

 

110


Table of Contents

liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame).

Our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any officer, director or director nominee, or any other person.

We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the $2,100,000 held outside the trust account plus up to $100,000 of funds from the trust account available to us to pay dissolution expenses, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose.

If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.

Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including, but not limited, to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third-party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third-party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third-party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third-party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. Evercore Group L.L.C. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC will not execute an agreement with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or

 

111


Table of Contents

agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by (A) a third-party for services rendered or products sold to us (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), or (B) a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third-party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third-party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per public share.

We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $2,100,000 following this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors, however such liability will not be greater than the amount of funds from our trust account received by any such shareholder. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $900,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $900,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

If we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy or insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per public share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or

 

112


Table of Contents

winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash in connection with our initial business combination. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.

 

113


Table of Contents

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

The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with our initial business combination and if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period:

 

   

Redemptions in connection
with Our Initial Business Combination

 

Other Permitted

Purchases of Public

Shares by Our Affiliates

 

Redemption if We Fail to
Complete an Initial
Business Combination

Calculation of redemption price

  Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to make permitted withdrawals, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place, if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination.   If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, Waverley, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit to the prices that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may pay in these transactions.   If we are unable to completed our business combination within the completion window, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to make permitted withdrawals (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.

Impact to remaining shareholders

  The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable.   If the permitted purchases described above are made, there would be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us.   The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial shareholders, who will be our only remaining shareholders after such redemptions.

 

114


Table of Contents

Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419

The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.

 

    

Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

Escrow of offering proceeds

   $200,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants (or $230,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be deposited into a trust account located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.    Approximately $170,100,000 of the proceeds of this offering (or $195,615,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account.

Investment of net proceeds

   $200,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants (or $230,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.    Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States.

Receipt of interest on escrowed funds

   Interest income (if any) on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to shareholders is reduced by (i) any taxes paid or payable and (ii) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our liquidation and dissolution.    Interest income on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination.

 

115


Table of Contents
    

Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business

   The NYSE rules require that our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of our assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in trust and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of signing the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. If our securities are not then listed on the NYSE for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net asset test.    The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds.

Trading of securities issued

   The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and public warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Evercore Group L.L.C. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option. The units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.    No trading of the units or the underlying Class A ordinary shares and public warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account.

 

116


Table of Contents
    

Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

Exercise of the warrants

   The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and 12 months from the closing of this offering.    The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account.

Election to remain an investor

   We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, in connection with our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements to hold a shareholder vote. If we are not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and do not otherwise decide to hold a shareholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, we hold a shareholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek    A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if he, she or it elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require the return of his, her or its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account are automatically returned to the shareholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued.

 

117


Table of Contents
    

Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

  

shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution for such business combination under Cayman Islands law, or such higher approval threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands law, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or vote at all. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that at least five days’ notice will be given of any such general meeting.

 

A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of the outstanding shares of the company representing one-third of the voting power of all outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting.

  

Business combination deadline

   If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public    If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors.

 

118


Table of Contents
    

Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.   

Release of funds

   Except for the withdrawal of interest income (if any) to pay our taxes, if any, none of the funds held in trust will be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, subject to applicable law; and (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares.    The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time.

 

119


Table of Contents
    

Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a shareholder vote

   If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares, without our prior consent. However, we would not restrict our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.    Many blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of shareholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such shareholders in connection with an initial business combination.

Competition

In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies, operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.

Facilities

We currently maintain our executive offices at 535 Ramona Street, Suite #8, Palo Alto, CA 94301. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $20,000 per month fee we will pay to an affiliate of our sponsor for office space and secretarial, administrative, consulting and other services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

Human Capital

We currently have two officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary

 

120


Table of Contents

based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.

Periodic Reporting and Financial Information

We will register our units, Class A ordinary shares and public warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.

We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to shareholders. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.

We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.

We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 30 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.

 

121


Table of Contents

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.

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

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

Legal Proceedings

There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.

 

122


Table of Contents

MANAGEMENT

Executive Officers, Directors and Director Nominees

Our executive officers, directors and director nominees are as follows:

 

Name

   Age   

Position

Edgar Bronfman Jr.

   65    Chairman of the Board of Directors

Daniel Leff

   52    Chief Executive Officer and Director

Alan Henricks

   70    Chief Financial Officer

David Gandler

   45    Director Nominee

Jeff Bewkes

   68    Director Nominee

Chris Silbermann

   53    Director Nominee

Alfred Osborne

   76    Director Nominee

Edgar Bronfman Jr.Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Bronfman serves as our Chairman. Mr. Bronfman is the Co-Founder, Chairman and General Partner of Waverley. He is also Senior Advisor and Special Limited Partner of Luminari Capital (the predecessor fund to Waverley) and Managing Partner at Accretive, LLC. Prior to Waverley, Mr. Bronfman was the Chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group, one of the world’s largest music companies. During his tenure, WMG was named one of Fortune Magazine’s “Most Admired Companies” in 2007, the first ever music company to receive the honor and, in 2009, was recognized as one of the “World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company magazine. As a creator, Mr. Bronfman has produced films starring Peter Sellers and Jack Nicholson, and has written songs for artists such as Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Smokey Robinson, Donna Summer and Ashford & Simpson, among many others. Mr. Bronfman served on the board of InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IAC) for over 20 years and recently served as a Director of Falcon Capital Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company that recently consummated a business combination with Sharecare, Inc. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of the Board of fuboTV (NYSE: FUBO), a live TV streaming platform for sports, news, and entertainment, as well as Executive Chairman of Global Thermostat LLC, a pioneering company designed to develop and commercialize a technology for the direct capture of carbon dioxide, and as Chairman of the Board of Endeavor Global, a non-profit organization pioneering a new approach to international development. In addition, he serves on the board of the New York University Elaine A. and Kenneth G. Langone Medical Center and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Daniel LeffChief Executive Officer and Director. Mr. Leff serves as our CEO. Dr. Leff is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Waverley. He is also Founder and Managing Partner of Luminari Capital (the predecessor fund to Waverley). Prior to co-founding Waverley and founding Luminari Capital L.P., Dr. Leff was a Partner with Globespan Capital Partners in the firm’s Palo Alto office. Earlier in his career, Dr. Leff worked for Sevin Rosen Funds and Redpoint Ventures. He also previously held engineering, marketing and strategic investment positions with Intel Corporation, and served as Director of Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) from 2011-2018. Dr. Leff has been an investor in a multitude of media and technology companies including 1Mainstream (sold to Cisco Systems), Art19, Elemental Technologies (sold to Amazon), Endel, fuboTV (NYSE:FUBO), Matterport (NASDAQ:MTTR), MikMak, MOVL (sold to Samsung), PlutoTV (sold to Viacom), Roku, The Athletic, Wink, Wondery (sold to Amazon) and others. He currently serves as a director of fuboTV (NYSE: FUBO), a live TV streaming platform for sports, news, and entertainment, where he sits on the audit committee. Dr. Leff earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from The University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Leff also earned an MBA from The UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, where he was an Anderson Venture Fellow and where he currently serves on the Board of Visitors.

Alan Henricks—Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Henricks serves as our Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Henricks is a 45-year veteran of Silicon Valley, working for media, entertainment and technology firms. He

 

123


Table of Contents

serves as the ChowNow board’s audit committee chair and previously served as the Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) board’s audit committee chair from 2013 to 2021. He has also served on the board of Model N (NYSE:MODN) for 6 years. Prior to this, he served on the boards of Ellie Mae (NYSE:ELLI), A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN) and Applied Predictive Technologies (sold to MasterCard). Alan served as CFO during IPOs at Documentum (NASDAQ: DCTM) and Borland (NASDAQ:BORL), and was CFO at Ring (sold to Amazon), Pure Digital Technologies (sold to Cisco), Traiana (sold to ICAP), Interwoven (NASDAQ: IWOV) and Maxim Integrated Products (NASDAQ: MXIM). He served as Finance VP of Atari, a division of Warner Communications, for 6 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

David Gandler—Director Nominee. Mr. Gandler has agreed to serve as a member of our board of directors. Mr. Gandler is the co-founder of fuboTV (NYSE: FUBO), the live TV streaming platform that is transforming how people watch sports, news and entertainment, and has served as its CEO since March 2014. Prior to joining fuboTV, Mr. Gandler served from 2013 to 2014, as Vice President, Ad Sales at DramaFever, a video streaming service acquired in 2016 by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Prior to 2013, Mr. Gandler held positions at Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc., Time Warner Cable and Telemundo, a division of NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Mr. Gandler received a B.A. degree in economics from Boston University. Mr. Gandler brings our board his considerable experience in the digital media industry as well as the operational insight and expertise he has accumulated as Chief Executive Officer of fuboTV.

Jeff Bewkes—Director Nominee. Mr. Bewkes has agreed to serve as a member of our board of directors. Mr. Bewkes served as the Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Inc. from 2008 to 2018. He was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors in January 2009, having served on the Board since January 2007. Mr. Bewkes previously served as Time Warner’s President and COO from January 2006 to December 2007 and as Chairman of the Entertainment and Networks group from July 2002 to December 2005. Before joining the corporate management of Time Warner, Mr. Bewkes served as Chairman and CEO of HBO from May 1995 to July 2002, and as President and COO of HBO from September 1991 to May 1995. Mr. Bewkes serves on the Boards of Yale University and the Partnership for New York City and serves on the advisory board for The Creative Coalition. He is also a member of The Business Council. Mr. Bewkes has a BA from Yale University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Chris Silbermann—Director Nominee. Mr. Silbermann has agreed to serve as a member of our board of directors. He is Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director & Partner at ICM Partners, a global talent and literary agency representing clients in the fields of television, motion pictures, sports, publishing, broadcasting, music, theatre, corporate marketing and new media. In addition to running the day-to-day management of the agency, which encompasses a team of more than 600 employees in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, DC and London, Mr. Silbermann personally guides the careers of some of the most influential creative voices of our generation. He joined ICM in 2007, upon the agency’s acquisition of The Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency, where he was a managing partner. In 2012, he led the management buyout of the agency that returned control and ownership of the company to a newly created partnership. In 2020, ICM completed 3 acquisitions, most notably that of The Stellar Group in the UK, the world’s #1 global sports agency representing football, rugby, American football and track and field athletes. This division of the agency now operates as ICM Stellar Sports.

Mr. Silbermann is also an angel investor in a multitude of media, entertainment, and technology startups. Previously, he was President of International Creative Management, Inc. Mr. Silbermann served as Co-Head of Worldwide Television and Co-President at International Creative Management, Inc. since August 2006. He serves as President-elect of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society (HRTS) and serves on its board as Treasurer. He served as Managing Partner of The Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency where he was closely involved in overseeing the day-to-day management and its 27 agents. Mr. Silbermann joined BWCS in 1991. While there, he oversaw a prestigious list of clients and packaged such comedy and drama series as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “According to Jim” and “Criminal Minds.” He also represented the television production arms of several noted feature film producers. He serves on the board of the California chapter of The Nature

 

124


Table of Contents

Conservancy. A former member of the Board of Trustees for The University of California, Berkeley Foundation, Mr. Silbermann is the Chairman of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), serves on the board of the American Film Institute (AFI), and was a member of the LA24 Olympic committee. He began his career in the mailroom at Triad Artists Agency. Mr. Silbermann holds B.A. in English Literature from The University of California, Berkeley.

Alfred Osborne—Director Nominee. Mr. Osborne has agreed to serve as a member of our board of directors. He is the Senior Associate Dean for external affairs at the UCLA Anderson School of Management since 2003. He served as Interim Dean from July 2018 to June 2019. Osborne has been a Professor of Global Economics, Management and Entrepreneurship since July 2008 and is the founder and faculty Director of the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Anderson School since 1984. Previous positions include service as an Economic Fellow at the Brookings Institution where he directed studies at the Securities and Exchange Commission that contributed to changes in Rule 144, Regulation D and other exemptive requirements to the securities laws designed to lower costs and improve liquidity and capital market access to venture capitalists and emerging growth companies.

His board and governance experience spans 40 years and includes positions on the board of directors at the Times Mirror Company, Nordstrom Inc., Greyhound Lines, US Filter Corporation, K2 Inc. and First Interstate Bank of California among others. Dr. Osborne is currently a director of Kaiser Aluminum (Nasdaq:KALU) where he serves as the Lead Independent Director, First Pacific Advisors (FPA) family of mutual funds, and Wedbush Capital. His not-for-profit affiliations include serving as a trustee of Fidelity Charitable, Harvard-Westlake School and a director of the Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation. He was educated at Stanford University where he earned a BS in Electrical Engineering, an MBA in Finance, an MA in Economics and a Ph.D. in Business-Economics.

Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings

In June 2010, Mr. Bronfman was part of a trial in the Trial Court in Paris involving six other individuals, including the former Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Vivendi Universal. The other individuals faced various criminal charges and civil claims relating to Vivendi, including Vivendi’s financial disclosures, the appropriateness of executive compensation and trading in Vivendi stock. Mr. Bronfman previously served as the Vice Chairman of Vivendi and faced a charge and claims relating to certain trading in Vivendi stock in January 2002. At the trial, the public prosecutor and the lead civil claimant both took the position that Mr. Bronfman should be acquitted. In January 2011, the court found Mr. Bronfman guilty of the charge relating to his trading in Vivendi stock, found him not liable to the civil claimants and imposed a fine of 5 million euros and a suspended sentence of fifteen months. Mr. Bronfman appealed the Trial Court decision to the Paris Court of Appeal. In November 2013, Mr. Bronfman participated in a re-trial before a new judicial panel as part of his appeal of the Paris Trial Court’s 2011 ruling. In May 2014, the new judicial panel rendered its decision, affirming the Paris Trial Court’s finding that Mr. Bronfman was guilty of the charge, but stated that its finding would appear only in French judicial records (and not in Mr. Bronfman’s public record), removed the suspended sentence imposed by the Paris Trial Court and suspended 2.5 million euros of the original fine of 5 million euros. The new judicial panel affirmed the Paris Trial Court’s finding that Mr. Bronfman was not liable to the civil claimants. Mr. Bronfman appealed the verdict. On April 20, 2017, the Appellate Court rejected the appeal. Mr. Bronfman believes that his trading in Vivendi stock was proper and pursued a challenge to the Appellate Court’s decision before the European Court of Human Rights. The European Court of Human Rights declined to hear the challenge.

Putative shareholders of fuboTV have filed purported class action lawsuits against fuboTV and certain of its officers and directors alleging violations of federal securities laws through the dissemination of false and misleading statements regarding fuboTV’s financial health and operating condition. In connection with the same allegations, a putative shareholder has also filed a derivative lawsuit on behalf of fuboTV against certain of its officers and directors alleging breach of fiduciary duties and corporate waste. Each of Edgar Bronfman Jr and

 

125


Table of Contents

David Gandler is named as a defendant in the securities lawsuit. Each of Edgar Bronfman Jr, Daniel Leff and David Gandler is named as a defendant in the derivative lawsuit. fuboTV has stated that the claims alleged in these lawsuits are without merit and that it intends to vigorously defend against these litigations.

Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors

Our board of directors is divided into three classes, with only one class of directors being appointed in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Alfred Osborne and Jeff Bewkes, will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Chris Silbermann and David Gandler, will expire at our second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Daniel Leff, will expire at our third annual general meeting.

Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.

Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.

Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of one or more chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.

Director Independence

The NYSE listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. Our board of directors has determined that each of Mr. Gandler, Mr. Bewkes, Mr. Osborne and Mr. Silbermann are “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE listing standards. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

Executive Officer and Director Compensation

None of our executive officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on the NYSE through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will reimburse an affiliate of our sponsor for office space and secretarial, administrative, consulting and other services provided to us in the amount of $20,000 per month. In addition, our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for

 

126


Table of Contents

their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.

After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.

We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our board of directors will have three standing committees: an audit committee, a nominating committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of the NYSE and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of the NYSE require that the compensation committee and the nominating committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.

Audit Committee

Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish an audit committee of the board of directors. Mr. Osborne, Mr. Bronfman Jr. and Mr. Leff will serve as members of our audit committee. Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Osborne is independent under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules. We anticipate that within 90 days and 365 days of the completion of this offering, the audit committee will consist of two and three independent directors, respectively. Mr. Osobrne will serve as the Chairman of the audit committee. Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on the audit committee must be independent. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Osborne qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.

The audit committee is responsible for:

 

   

meeting with our independent registered public accounting firm regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our accounting and control systems;

 

127


Table of Contents
   

monitoring the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm;

 

   

verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law;

 

   

inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

 

   

pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed;

 

   

appointing or replacing the independent registered public accounting firm;

 

   

determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work;

 

   

establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies;

 

   

monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of this offering and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of this offering; and

 

   

reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing shareholders, executive officers or directors and their respective affiliates. Any payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our board of directors, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval.

Nominating Committee

Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a nominating committee of our board of directors. The members of our nominating committee will be Mr. Silbermann, Mr. Bronfman Jr. and Mr. Leff and Mr. Silbermann will serve as chairman of the nominating committee. Under the NYSE listing standards, we are required to have a nominating committee composed entirely of independent directors. Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Silbermann is independent.

The nominating committee is responsible for overseeing the selection of persons to be nominated to serve on our board of directors. The nominating committee considers persons identified by its members, management, shareholders, investment bankers and others.

Guidelines for Selecting Director Nominees

The guidelines for selecting nominees, which will be specified in a charter to be adopted by us, generally will provide that persons to be nominated:

 

   

should have demonstrated notable or significant achievements in business, education or public service;

 

   

should possess the requisite intelligence, education and experience to make a significant contribution to the board of directors and bring a range of skills, diverse perspectives and backgrounds to its deliberations; and

 

   

should have the highest ethical standards, a strong sense of professionalism and intense dedication to serving the interests of the shareholders.

The nominating committee will consider a number of qualifications relating to management and leadership experience, background and integrity and professionalism in evaluating a person’s candidacy for membership on the board of directors. The nominating committee may require certain skills or attributes, such as financial or

 

128


Table of Contents

accounting experience, to meet specific board needs that arise from time to time and will also consider the overall experience and makeup of its members to obtain a broad and diverse mix of board members. The nominating committee does not distinguish among nominees recommended by shareholders and other persons.

Compensation Committee

Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of our compensation committee will be Mr. Bewkes, Mr. Bronfman Jr. and Mr. Leff, and Mr. Bewkes will serve as chairman of the compensation committee. Under the NYSE listing standards, we are required to have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors. Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Bewkes is independent. We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:

 

   

reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation;

 

   

reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other Section 16 executive officers;

 

   

reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans;

 

   

implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;

 

   

assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;

 

   

approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our executive officers and employees;

 

   

producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and

 

   

reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.

The charter will also provide that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser.

However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by the NYSE and the SEC.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

None of our executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors.

Code of Ethics

Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. A copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.

 

129


Table of Contents

Conflicts of Interest

Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:

 

   

duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole;

 

   

duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose;

 

   

directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion;

 

   

duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and

 

   

duty to exercise independent judgment.

In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of skill and care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge skill and experience of that director.

As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders, provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.

Waverley and certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities. As a result, if any of Waverley or our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, he or she may be required to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.

Waverley and its affiliates manage a number of Waverley Funds, which may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these Waverley Funds decide to pursue any such opportunity or have existing investments in the issuer of such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within Waverley, including by any director affiliated with Waverley, may be suitable for both us and for a current or future Waverley Fund and, in such a case, will be directed to such Waverley Fund rather than to us. Neither Waverley nor any members of our management team who are also employed by Waverley have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Waverley and/or members of our management team, in their capacities as officers, directors or employees of Waverley or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future Waverley Funds, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us.

In addition, we may be limited in our ability to make investments and to sell existing investments because Waverley may have material, non-public information regarding the issuers of the applicable securities or as a

 

130


Table of Contents

result of an existing investment by Waverley. We may acquire a target from or, in which, one or more Waverley Funds have an existing investment (or makes an investment at the same time or subsequently) at a different or overlapping level of the target’s capital structure, creating a potential conflict between our position and the applicable Waverley Funds’ position especially in the event of a bankruptcy. Waverley, Waverley employees and Waverley Funds may also have or make investments in, establish or serve on the boards of, businesses that compete with, provide services to, transact with, or otherwise have significant business relationships with the businesses we invest or seek to invest in. We may also forego an attractive investment opportunity as a result of an existing investment in the target or a competitor of the target by Waverley, a Waverley Fund or principals or employees of Waverley, or to otherwise mitigate any conflict of interest or the perception of any conflict of interest.

Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. In addition, Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time or resources to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time and resources among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.

We may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with one or more entities affiliated with Waverley and/or one or more Waverley Funds and/or one or more investors in Waverley Funds. Such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity. Any participation by such entity in a Joint Acquisition or co-investment may be under terms that are different and more favorable to such entity than those applicable to us. Expenses incurred in connection with any Joint Acquisition or co-investment (including any broken deal expenses) may get allocated between us and such entity, which allocation is inherently subjective and creates a conflict of interest between Waverley and us.

Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties, contractual obligations or other material management relationships:

 

Individual

  

Entity

  

Entity’s Business

  

Affiliation

Edgar Bronfman Jr.

   Waverley Capital, L.P.    Venture Capital    Chairman and General Partner
   fuboTV Inc.    Broadcasting    Executive Chairman
   Luminari Capital, L.P.    Venture Capital    Senior Advisor and Special Limited Partner
   Accretive, LLC    Venture Capital    Managing Partner
   Global Thermostat Operations, LLC    Environmental Services    Director
   Insureon Holdings, LLC    Insurance    Director
   Everspring Inc.    Education    Director

Daniel Leff

   Waverley Capital, L.P.    Venture Capital    Co-Founder and Managing Partner
   Luminari Capital, L.P.    Venture Capital    Founder and Managing Partner
   fuboTV Inc.    Broadcasting    Director
   Naritiv, Inc.    Media    Director

 

131


Table of Contents

Individual

  

Entity

  

Entity’s Business

  

Affiliation

   Tapp Media, Inc.    Media    Director
   Novel Effect, Inc.    Media    Director
   CameraIQ    AR    Director

Alan Henricks

   Roku, Inc.    Entertainment    Director
   Model N, Inc.    Software–Application    Director
   Motiv Power Systems, Inc.    Industrial    Director

David Gandler

   fuboTV Inc.    Broadcasting    Director

Jeff Bewkes

   Section4, Inc.    Education    Director
   Imagine Entertainment    Entertainment    Director
   NJoy Holdings, Inc.    Consumer Staples    Director

Chris Silbermann

   ICM Partners    Talent and Literary Agency    Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director and Partner

Alfred Osborne

   Kaiser Aluminum, Inc.    Materials    Director
   First Pacific Advisors, LLC    Investments    Director
   Wedbush Securities Inc.    Investments    Director
   Nuverra Environmental Solutions, Inc.    Oil & Gas    Director
   A.E. Osborne Associates, Inc.    Management Consulting Services    Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

 

If any of the above officers, directors or director nominees becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities to which he or she has current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity.

Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:

 

   

Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs.

 

   

Our initial shareholders subscribed for founder shares prior to the date of this prospectus and will purchase private placement warrants in a transaction that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering.

 

   

Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive, to the extent such exist, their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) our initial business combination, and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. Additionally, our sponsor and each member of our management team have

 

132


Table of Contents
 

agreed to waive, to the extent such exist, their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”, our sponsor and our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of an initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Except as described herein, the private placement warrants will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because our directors and director nominees will own ordinary shares or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.

 

   

Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors is included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. In addition, Waverley and our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with any of our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event that we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with any such persons, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in the event that we seek such a business combination, we expect that the independent and disinterested members of our board of directors would be involved in the process for considering, and approving the transaction.

Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or their respective affiliates, be paid by us any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination. Further, commencing on the date our securities are first listed on the NYSE, we will also reimburse an affiliate of our sponsor for office space and secretarial, administrative, consulting and other services provided to us in the amount of $20,000 per month.

We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.

If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution for such business combination under Cayman Islands law or such higher approval threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands law, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination.

Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful

 

133


Table of Contents

default, willful neglect, actual fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own willful default, willful neglect or actual fraud. We will enter into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We expect to purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.

Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.

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

We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.

 

134


Table of Contents

PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our Class A ordinary shares included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:

 

   

each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares;

 

   

each of our executive officers, directors and director nominees that beneficially owns ordinary shares; and

 

   

all of our executive officers and directors as a group.

Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of our ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.

On March 6, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in consideration of 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 each. On July 28, 2021, our sponsor forfeited 2,875,000 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in our sponsor continuing to hold 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, or approximately $.005 per share (assuming the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option and the initial shareholders forfeit 750,000 Class B ordinary shares). At the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor intends to transfer 45,000 founder shares to each of our director nominees and our chief financial officer, resulting in our sponsor holding 5,525,000 founder shares. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The post-offering percentages in the following table assume that (i) the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, and (ii) there are 25,000,000 ordinary shares issued and outstanding after this offering.

 

     Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned(2)
    Approximate Percentage of Issued
and Outstanding Ordinary Shares
 
    Before
Offering
    After Offering  

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)

      

WCAC1 Sponsor LLC (our sponsor)

     5,525,000 (3)(4)      96.03     19.40

Edgar Bronfman Jr.

     —                

Daniel Leff

     —                

Alan Henricks

     45,000              

David Gandler

     45,000       *       *  

Jeff Bewkes

     45,000       *       *  

Chris Silbermann

     45,000       *       *  

Alfred Osborne

     45,000       *       *  

All officers, directors and director nominees as a group (7 individuals)

     225,000       4.07     *  

 

*

Less than one percent.

(1)

Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of our shareholders is 535 Ramona Street, Suite #8, Palo Alto, California 94301.

(2)

Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities.”

(3)

The shares reported above are held in the name of our sponsor. Our sponsor is controlled by Waverley.

(4)

Includes up to 750,000 founder shares that will be surrendered to us for no consideration by our initial shareholders depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

 

135


Table of Contents

Immediately after this offering, our initial shareholders will beneficially own 20% of the then issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering) and will have the right to appoint and remove all of our directors and to vote to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of our company in such other jurisdiction) prior to our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint or remove any directors to our board of directors or to vote to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions including our initial business combination. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share surrender or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.

Our initial shareholders have agreed (a) to vote any founder shares and public shares held by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (b) not to redeem any founder shares or public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.

Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants

The founder shares and private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the agreement entered into by our sponsor and each member of our management team. Each of our sponsor and each member of our management team has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier of (a one year after the completion of an initial business combination and (b) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. The private placement warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants are not transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. The foregoing restrictions are not applicable to transfers: (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any direct or indirect members or partners of our sponsor or their respective affiliates, any affiliates of our sponsor, any funds and accounts managed or advised by Waverley and its affiliates, and to direct or indirect members or partners of such funds and accounts or any affiliates thereof, any employees of such affiliates or any funds or accounts advised by our sponsor or its affiliates; (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of one of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private transfers or by other transfers made in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the founder shares, private placement warrants or Class A ordinary shares, as applicable, were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of our sponsor’s organizational documents upon liquidation or dissolution of our sponsor; (g) to us for no value for cancellation in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination; (h) in the event of our liquidation prior to the completion of our initial business combination; or (i) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement with us agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreement.

 

136


Table of Contents

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

On March 6, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in consideration of 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 each. On July 28, 2021, our sponsor forfeited 2,875,000 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in our sponsor continuing to hold 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, or approximately $.005 per share (assuming the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option and the initial shareholders forfeit 750,000 Class B ordinary shares). At the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor intends to transfer 45,000 founder shares to each of our director nominees and our chief financial officer, resulting in our sponsor holding 5,525,000 founder shares. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share surrender or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our initial shareholders depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. The founder shares (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.

Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 4,666,667 private placement warrants (or 5,066,667 private placement warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) for a purchase price of $1.50 per whole warrant in a private placement transaction that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. As such, our sponsor’s interest in this transaction is valued at between $7,000,000 and $7,600,000, depending on the number of private placement warrants purchased. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.

As more fully discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us. Additionally, Waverley and its affiliates manage a number of Waverley Funds, which may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. We may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity.

We currently maintain our executive offices at 535 Ramona Street, Suite #8, Palo Alto, CA 94301. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $20,000 per month fee we will pay to an affiliate of our sponsor for office space and secretarial, administrative, consulting and other services, commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on the NYSE. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.

 

137


Table of Contents

Prior to the consummation of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $400,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering pursuant to a promissory note. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 and the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the offering proceeds not held in the trust account.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, its affiliates or our management team as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a general meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.

We will enter into a registration and shareholder rights agreement pursuant to which our initial shareholders will be entitled to certain registration rights with respect to the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares, and, upon consummation of our initial business combination, to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as our initial shareholders hold any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement, which is described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Registration and Shareholder Rights.” We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions

The audit committee of our board of directors will adopt a charter, providing for the review, approval and/or ratification of “related party transactions,” which are those transactions required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K as promulgated by the SEC, by the audit committee. At its meetings, the audit committee shall be provided with the details of each new, existing, or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, any contractual restrictions that the company has already committed to, the business purpose of the transaction, and the benefits of the transaction to the company and to the relevant related party. Any member of the committee who has an interest in the related party transaction under review by the committee shall abstain from voting on the approval of the related party transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the committee, participate in some or all of the committee’s discussions of the related party transaction. Upon completion of its review of the related party transaction, the committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the related party transaction. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee will constitute a quorum. Without a meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or any of their affiliates.

 

138


Table of Contents

These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.

To further minimize conflicts of interest, in the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with any of our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in the event that we seek such a business combination, we expect that the independent and disinterested members of our board of directors would be involved in the process for considering, and approving the transaction.

 

139


Table of Contents

DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

We are a Cayman Islands exempted company and our affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act and the common law of the Cayman Islands. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which will be adopted prior to the consummation of this offering, we will be authorized to issue 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, as well as 5,000,000 preference shares, $0.0001 par value each. The following description summarizes the material terms of our shares as set out more particularly in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.

Units

Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable public warrant. Each whole public warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Pursuant to the public warrant agreement, a public warrant holder may exercise its public warrants only for a whole number of the company’s Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole public warrant may be exercised at any given time by a public warrant holder.

The Class A ordinary shares and public warrants are expected to begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Evercore Group L.L.C. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A ordinary shares and the public warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and public warrants. No fractional public warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole public warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least four units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole public warrant.

In no event will the Class A ordinary shares and public warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes this audited balance sheet promptly after the completion of this offering. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.

Ordinary Shares

Prior to the date of this prospectus, there were 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding, all of which were held of record by our initial shareholders, so that our initial shareholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming our initial shareholders do not purchase any units in this offering). Upon the closing of this offering, 25,000,000 of our ordinary shares will be outstanding (assuming the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option) including:

 

   

20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the units issued as part of this offering; and

 

   

5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders.

 

140


Table of Contents

If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share surrender or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.

Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Except as described below, holders of Class A ordinary shares and holders of Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders except as required by law. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by applicable provisions of the Companies Act or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a simple majority of our ordinary shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders. Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. Our board of directors is divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the appointment of directors can appoint all of the directors. Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor. Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment or removal of directors and to vote to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of our company in such other jurisdiction), in each case by way of ordinary resolution. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment or removal of directors or to vote to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination may only be amended by a special resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in person or by proxy at our general meeting which shall include the affirmative vote of a simple majority of our Class B ordinary shares (and if the shareholders vote in favor of such act but the approval of a simple majority of Class B ordinary shares has not yet been obtained, the holders of a simple majority of Class B ordinary shares shall have, in such vote, voting rights equal to the aggregate voting power of all the shareholders of the company who voted in favor of the resolution, plus one). In connection with our initial business combination, we may enter into a shareholders agreement or other arrangements with the shareholders of the target or other investors to provide for voting or other governance arrangements that differ from those in effect upon completion of this offering.

Because our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of Class A ordinary shares which we will be authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.

Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or general meetings to appoint directors. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.

 

141


Table of Contents

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares in connection with our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial owner must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive, to the extent such exist, their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) our initial business combination, and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. Unlike many blank check companies that hold shareholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial business combinations and provide for related redemptions of public shares for cash in connection with such initial business combinations even when a vote is not required by law, if a shareholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, if a shareholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, a shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution for such business combination under Cayman Islands law or such higher approval threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands law, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of the company representing one-third of the voting power of all outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. However, the participation of our sponsor, initial shareholders, officers, directors, advisors or their respective affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could result in the approval of our initial business combination even if a majority of our public shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that at least five days’ notice will be given of any general meeting.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to Excess Shares, without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our shareholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such

 

142


Table of Contents

shareholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such shareholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And, as a result, such shareholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution for such business combination under Cayman Islands law, or such higher approval threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands law, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in respect of an ordinary resolution, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,250,001, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved, subject to any higher consent threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands or other applicable law. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or vote at all.

Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame). Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if a resolution of the company’s shareholders is passed pursuant to the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands to commence the voluntary liquidation of the company, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.

In the event of a liquidation, winding up or dissolution of the company after a business combination, our shareholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the ordinary shares. Our shareholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, in connection with our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.

 

143


Table of Contents

Founder Shares

The founder shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares and, except as described below, are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that: (a) prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors and to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of our company in such other jurisdiction), in each case by way of ordinary resolution; (b) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; (c) our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive, to the extent such exist, their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares (ii) to waive, to the extent such exist, their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares; and (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame); (d) the founder shares will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described herein; and (e) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution for such business combination under Cayman Islands law, or such higher approval threshold as may be required by Cayman Islands law, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination.

The founder shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares and will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares (which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we do not consummate an initial business combination) at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, deemed issued, or to be issued, to any seller of an interest in the target to us in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, its affiliates or any member of our management team upon conversion of working capital loans. In no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one-to-one.

Except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”, our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until earlier of (A) one year after the completion of an initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least

 

144


Table of Contents

150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our sponsor and our directors and officers with respect to any founder shares.

Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors and to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of our company in such other jurisdiction), in each case by way of ordinary resolution. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of directors or to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in person or by proxy at our general meeting which shall include the affirmative vote of a simple majority of our Class B ordinary shares (and if the shareholders vote in favor of such act but the approval of a simple majority of the holders of Class B ordinary shares has not yet been obtained, the holders of a simple majority of Class B ordinary shares shall have, in such vote, voting rights equal to the aggregate voting power of all the shareholders of the company who voted in favor of the resolution, plus one). With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote. In connection with our initial business combination, we may enter into a shareholders agreement or other arrangements with the shareholders of the target or other investors to provide for voting or other governance arrangements that differ from those in effect upon completion of this offering.

Register of Members

Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there will be entered therein:

 

   

the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member and the voting rights of shares of each member (and whether such voting rights are conditional);

 

   

whether voting rights attached to the shares in issue;

 

   

the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and

 

   

the date on which any person ceased to be a member.

Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e., the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members will be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of this public offering, the register of members will be immediately updated to reflect the issue of shares by us. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.

 

145


Table of Contents

Preference Shares

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize 5,000,000 preference shares and provide that preference shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without shareholder approval, issue preference shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preference shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preference shares issued and outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preference shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preference shares are being issued or registered in this offering.

Warrants

Public Shareholders’ Warrants

Each whole public warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of one year from the closing of this offering and 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as discussed in the immediately succeeding paragraph. Pursuant to the public warrant agreement, a public warrant holder may exercise its public warrants only for a whole number of Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole public warrant may be exercised at a given time by a public warrant holder. No fractional public warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole public warrant. The public warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

We will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a public warrant and will have no obligation to settle such public warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the public warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No public warrant will be exercisable, and we will not be obligated to issue Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of a public warrant, unless the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon such public warrant exercise have been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the public warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a public warrant, the holder of such public warrant will not be entitled to exercise such public warrant and such public warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any public warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised public warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such public warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such unit.

We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following the closing of our initial business combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating thereto until the public warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the public warrant agreement; provided that if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a public warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option,

 

146


Table of Contents

require holders of public warrants who exercise their public warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants, but we will use our commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify for sale the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants is not effective by the 60th day after the closing of the initial business combination, public warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any other period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise public warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, but we will use our commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the public warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the public warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (as defined below) less the exercise price of the public warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” as used in this paragraph shall mean the volume-weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10-trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent from the holder of such public warrants.

Redemption of public warrants

Once the public warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding public warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):

 

   

in whole and not in part;

 

   

at a price of $0.01 per public warrant;

 

   

upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each public warrant holder; and

 

   

if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a public warrant as described under the heading “—Anti-Dilution Adjustments”) for any ten (10) trading days within the twenty (20) trading day period ending on the third (3rd) trading day prior to the date on which notice of such redemption is given to the warrant holders.

We will not redeem the public warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants is then effective, and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period or we have elected to require the exercise of the public warrants on a “cashless basis” as described below. If and when the public warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

If we call the public warrants for redemption as described above, we will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its public warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their public warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of public warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our public warrants. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the public warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the public warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (as defined below) of the Class A ordinary shares over the exercise price of the public warrants by (y) the “fair

 

147


Table of Contents

market value”. For purposes of this paragraph, the “fair market value” means the volume-weighted average closing price of the Class A ordinary shares as reported for the ten trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the public warrants pursuant to the public warrant agreement. If we take advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of Class A ordinary shares to be received upon exercise of the public warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a public warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the public warrants after our initial business combination. If we call our public warrants for redemption and we do not take advantage of this option, our sponsor and its permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had all warrant holders been required to exercise their public warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.

We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the public warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the public warrants, each public warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its public warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. Any such exercise would not be done on a “cashless” basis and would require the exercising public warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each public warrant being exercised. However, the price of the Class A ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a public warrant as described under the heading “—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-Dilution Adjustments”) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) public warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.

Redemption Procedures

A holder of a public warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such public warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.

Anti-Dilution Adjustments

If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is increased by a capitalization or share dividend payable in Class A ordinary shares, or by a subdivision of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such capitalization or share dividend, subdivision or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each public warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding Class A ordinary shares. A rights offering made to all or substantially all holders of Class A ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase Class A ordinary shares at a price less than the “historical fair market value” (as defined below) will be deemed a share dividend of a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the product of (i) the number of Class A ordinary shares actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares) and (ii) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per Class A ordinary share paid in such rights offering and (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes, if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares, in determining the price payable for Class A ordinary shares, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion. For the purposes of this paragraph, “fair market value” means the volume-weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares during the ten trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the Class A ordinary shares trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, no Class A ordinary shares shall be issued at less than their par value.

 

148


Table of Contents

In addition, if we, at any time while the public warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to all or substantially all of the holders of the Class A ordinary shares on account of such Class A ordinary shares (or other securities into which the public warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) any cash dividends or cash distributions which, when combined on a per share basis with all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the Class A ordinary shares during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution does not exceed $0.50 (as adjusted to appropriately reflect any other adjustments and excluding cash dividends or cash distributions that resulted in an adjustment to the exercise price of a public warrant or to the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of a public warrant) but only with respect to the amount of the aggregate cash dividends or cash distributions equal to or less than $0.50 per share, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, or (e) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the public warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each Class A ordinary share in respect of such event.

If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division or reclassification of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division, reclassification or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each public warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding Class A ordinary shares.

Whenever the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the public warrants is adjusted, as described above, the public warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the public warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the public warrants immediately prior to such adjustment and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.

In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such Class A ordinary shares), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the public warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the public warrants and in lieu of the Class A ordinary shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of Class A ordinary shares or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the public warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their public warrants immediately prior to such event.

The public warrants will be issued in registered form under the public warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The public warrant agreement provides that the terms of the public warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of

 

149


Table of Contents

(i) curing any ambiguity or correcting any mistake or defective provision, including to conform the provisions of the public warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the public warrants and the public warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus, (ii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the public warrant agreement as the parties to the public warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the public warrants and (iii) providing for the delivery of an “alternative issuance” (as defined in the public warrant agreement), provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any other modification or amendment, including any modification or amendment to increase the exercise price of the public warrants or shorten the exercise period. You should review a copy of the public warrant agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the public warrants.

The public warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Class A ordinary shares and any voting rights until they exercise their public warrants and receive Class A ordinary shares. After the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the public warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.

No fractional public warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole public warrants will trade. If, upon exercise of the public warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the public warrant holder.

We have agreed that any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreements will be brought and enforced in the courts of the City of New York, County of New York, State of New York, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York or the federal district courts of the United States, and we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. However, the enforceability of similar exclusive forum provisions (including exclusive forum provisions for actions, suits or proceedings asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act) in other companies’ organizational documents has been challenged in legal proceeds, and there is uncertainty as to whether courts would enforce the exclusive forum provisions in our warrant agreements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreements will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreements. Additionally, our shareholders cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. See “Risk Factors—Our warrant agreements will designate the courts of the City of New York, County of New York, State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our public warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes without company.”

Private Placement Warrants

Except as described below, and in the private warrant agreement, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the public warrants. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants,” to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants) and they will not be redeemable by us. Our sponsor, or its permitted transferees, has the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as

 

150


Table of Contents

the public warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. Any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the private warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants.

If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “sponsor fair market value” (as defined below) of the Class A ordinary shares over the exercise price of the private placement warrants Warrant Price by (y) the “sponsor fair market value.” For purposes of this paragraph, the “sponsor fair market value” means the volume-weighted average reported closing price of the Ordinary Shares for the ten trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise of the private placement warrants is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that the private placement warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor and its permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether our sponsor or its permitted transferees will be affiliated with us following a business combination. If they remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that restrict insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public shareholders who could exercise their public warrants and sell the Class A ordinary shares received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.

In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.

Dividends

We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. If we increase the size of this offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share surrender or redemption or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with a business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent

The transfer agent for our ordinary shares and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its shareholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any claims and losses due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity.

 

151


Table of Contents

Certain Differences in Corporate Law

Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modeled on English law but does not follow recent English law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.

Mergers and Similar Arrangements

In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).

Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution of the shareholders of each company; or (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that holds issued shares that together represent 90% of the votes at a general meeting of the subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company, if a copy of the plan of merger is given to every member of each subsidiary company to be merged unless that member agrees otherwise. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.

Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that where the surviving or consolidated company, is the Cayman Islands exempted company the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is required to be satisfied in respect of any constituent overseas company that: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdiction; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted; (v) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (vi) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (vii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (viii) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation. The requirements set out in sections (i) to (viii) above shall be met by a director of the Cayman Islands exempted company making a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that such requirements have been met, such declaration to include a statement of the assets and liabilities of the foreign company made up to the latest practicable date before making the declaration.

Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Act provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of their shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation in

 

152


Table of Contents

certain circumstances if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, where such rights apply, procedure is as follows: (a) the shareholder must give their written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for their shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of their intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of their shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase their shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; and (e) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree a price within such 30 day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30 day period expires, the company (and any dissenting shareholder) must file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.

Moreover, Cayman Islands law has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedures for which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:

 

   

the company is not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of its corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to dual majority vote have been complied with;

 

   

the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question;

 

   

the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and

 

   

the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.”

If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights (providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares), which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of United States corporations.

 

153


Table of Contents

Squeeze-Out Provisions

When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer relates within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.

Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through means other than these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, or through contractual arrangements of an operating business.

Shareholders’ Suits

Walkers, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court.

Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability for such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and be applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:

 

   

a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority;

 

   

the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; or

 

   

those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.”

A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.

Enforcement of Civil Liabilities

The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.

We have been advised by Walkers, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are, or to the extent they are, penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple

 

154


Table of Contents

damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

Special Considerations for Exempted Companies

We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:

 

   

annual reporting requirements are minimal and consist mainly of a statement that the company has conducted its operations mainly outside of the Cayman Islands and has complied with the provisions of the Companies Act;

 

   

an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection and can be kept outside the Cayman Islands;

 

   

an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting;

 

   

an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 30 years in the first instance); and

 

   

an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands

“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).

Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions designed to provide certain rights and protections relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without a special resolution under Cayman Islands law. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been adopted by either the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) of the votes cast by the holders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy at a general meeting of the company and entitled to vote on such matter or a resolution approved in writing by all of the holders of the issued shares entitled to vote on such matter. Other than as described above, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by at least two-thirds of the shares voted at a general meeting of the company (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.

Our initial shareholders and their respective permitted transferees, if any, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:

 

   

If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter (and

 

155


Table of Contents
 

subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes that were paid by us or are payable by us, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law;

 

   

Prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, we may not issue additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on our initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to shareholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months from the closing of this offering or (y) amend the foregoing provisions;

 

   

Although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event that we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in the event that we seek such a business combination, we expect that the independent and disinterested members of our board of directors would be involved in the process for considering, and approving the transaction;

 

   

If a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act;

 

   

So long as our securities are then listed on the NYSE, our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in trust and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination;

 

   

If our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein; and

 

156


Table of Contents
   

We will not effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination.

The Companies Act permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of a special resolution under Cayman Islands law. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required but, provided the approval of the required majority is obtained, any Cayman Islands exempted company may amend its memorandum and articles of association regardless of whether its memorandum and articles of association provide otherwise.

Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our proposed offering, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our officers or directors, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.

Anti-Money Laundering, Counter Terrorist Financing, Prevention of Proliferation Financing and Financial Sanctions Compliance—Cayman Islands

If any person resident in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects, or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting, that another person is engaged in criminal conduct, is involved with terrorism or terrorist property or proliferation financing or is the business combination partner of a financial sanction and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct, money laundering or proliferation financing or is the business combination partner of a financial sanction; or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report will not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise. We reserve the right to refuse to make any payment to a shareholder if our directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, prevention of proliferation financing and financial sanctions or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure our compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.

Data Protection-Cayman Islands

We have certain duties under the Data Protection Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands (the “DPA”) based on internationally accepted principles of data privacy.

Privacy Notice

Introduction

This privacy notice puts our shareholders on notice that through your investment in us you will provide us with certain personal information which constitutes personal data within the meaning of the DPA (“personal data”). In the following discussion, the “company” refers to us and our affiliates and/or delegates, except where the context requires otherwise.

 

157


Table of Contents

Investor Data

We will collect, use, disclose, retain and secure personal data to the extent reasonably required only and within the parameters that could be reasonably expected during the normal course of business. We will only process, disclose, transfer or retain personal data to the extent legitimately required to conduct our activities of on an ongoing basis or to comply with legal and regulatory obligations to which we are subject. We will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the DPA, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.

In our use of this personal data, we will be characterized as a “data controller” for the purposes of the DPA, while our affiliates and service providers who may receive this personal data from us in the conduct of our activities may either act as our “data processors” for the purposes of the DPA or may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us.

We may also obtain personal data from other public sources. Personal data includes, without limitation, the following information relating to a shareholder and/or any individuals connected with a shareholder as an investor: name, residential address, email address, contact details, corporate contact information, signature, nationality, place of birth, date of birth, tax identification, credit history, correspondence records, passport number, bank account details, source of funds details and details relating to the shareholder’s investment activity.

Who this Affects

If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation your investment in the company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should transmit the content of this Privacy Notice to such individuals or otherwise advise them of its content.

How the company May Use a Shareholder’s Personal Data

The company, as the data controller, may collect, store and use personal data for lawful purposes, including, in particular:

(a)    where this is necessary for the performance of our rights and obligations under any purchase agreements;

(b)    where this is necessary for compliance with a legal and regulatory obligation to which we are subject (such as compliance with anti-money laundering, counter terrorist financing, prevention of proliferation financing, financial sanctions and FATCA/CRS requirements); and/or

(c)    where this is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests and such interests are not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms.

Should we wish to use personal data for other specific purposes (including, if applicable, any purpose that requires your consent), we will contact you.

Why We May Transfer Your Personal Data

In certain circumstances we may be legally obliged to share personal data and other information with respect to your shareholding with the relevant regulatory authorities such as the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority or the Tax Information Authority. They, in turn, may exchange this information with foreign authorities, including tax authorities.

 

158


Table of Contents

We anticipate disclosing personal data to persons who provide services to us and their respective affiliates (which may include certain entities located outside the United States, the Cayman Islands or the European Economic Area), who will process your personal data on our behalf.

The Data Protection Measures We Take

Any transfer of personal data by us or our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the DPA.

We and our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates shall apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of personal data, and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.

We shall notify you of any personal data breach that is reasonably likely to result in a risk to your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms or those data subjects to whom the relevant personal data relates.

Rights of Individual Data Subjects

Individual data subjects have certain data protection rights, including the right to:

 

   

be informed about the purposes for which your personal data are processed;

 

   

access your personal data;

 

   

stop direct marketing;

 

   

restrict the processing of your personal data;

 

   

have incomplete or inaccurate personal data corrected;

 

   

ask us to stop processing your personal data;

 

   

be informed of a personal data breach (unless the breach is unlikely to be prejudicial to you);

 

   

complain to the Data Protection Ombudsman; and

 

   

require us to delete your personal data in some limited circumstances.

Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors. Prior to our initial business combination, only the holders of our class B shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of our directors.

Our authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and preference shares will be available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved Class A ordinary shares and preference shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide for advance notice procedures with respect to shareholder proposals and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of our board of directors or a committee of our board of directors. In order for any matter to be properly brought before a meeting, a shareholder will have to comply with advance notice requirements and provide us with certain information. Generally, to be timely, a shareholder notice must be received at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first

 

159


Table of Contents

anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of shareholders. Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act, proposals seeking inclusion in our annual proxy statement must comply with the notice periods contained therein. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will also specify requirements as to the form and content of a shareholder’s notice. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will allow the chairman of the meeting at a meeting of the shareholders to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of meetings which may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the rules and regulations are not followed. These provisions may also defer, delay or discourage a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to influence or obtain control of us.

Securities Eligible for Future Sale

Immediately after this offering, we will have 25,000,000 Class A ordinary shares (or 28,750,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) issued and outstanding on an as-converted basis. Of these shares, the Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering (20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any Class A ordinary shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the outstanding founder shares (5,000,000 founder shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 5,750,000 founder shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and all of the outstanding private placement warrants (4,666,667 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 5,066,667 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering.

Rule 144

Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the twelve months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.

Persons who have beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:

 

   

1% of the total number of ordinary shares then-outstanding, which will equal 250,000 shares immediately after this offering (or 287,500 shares if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full); or

 

   

the average weekly reported trading volume of the Class A ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale.

Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.

Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies

Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:

 

   

the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company;

 

160


Table of Contents
   

the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; and

 

   

the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding twelve months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Form 8-K reports; and at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.

As a result, our initial shareholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.

Registration and Shareholder Rights

The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination. However, the registration and shareholder rights agreement provides that no sales of these securities will be effected until after the expiration of the applicable lockup period, which occurs (i) in the case of the founder shares, as described in the following paragraph, and (ii) in the case of the private placement warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”, our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of an initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up.

In addition, pursuant to the registration and shareholder rights agreement, our initial shareholders, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as our initial shareholders hold any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.

Listing of Securities

We intend to apply to have our units listed on the NYSE under the symbol “WAVCU.” Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on the NYSE under the symbols “WAVC” and “WAVCW,” respectively. The units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded following the completion of our initial business combination.

 

161


Table of Contents

TAXATION

The following summary of certain Cayman Islands and U.S. federal income tax considerations generally relevant to of an investment in our units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable public warrant, which we refer to collectively as our securities, is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This summary does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our Class A ordinary shares and warrants, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws.

Prospective investors should consult their advisors on the possible tax consequences of investing in our securities under the laws of their country of citizenship, residence or domicile.

Cayman Islands Tax Considerations

The following is a discussion on certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in the securities of the company. The discussion is a general summary of present law, which is subject to prospective and retroactive change. It is not intended as tax advice, does not consider any investor’s particular circumstances, and does not consider tax consequences other than those arising under Cayman Islands law.

Under Existing Cayman Islands Laws

Payments of dividends and capital in respect of our securities will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the securities nor will gains derived from the disposal of the securities be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporate tax. The Cayman Islands currently has no income, corporation or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax.

No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of the warrants. An instrument of transfer in respect of a warrant is stampable if executed in or brought into the Cayman Islands.

No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of our Class A ordinary shares or on an instrument of transfer in respect of such shares. An instrument of transfer in respect of Class A ordinary shares is stampable if executed in or brought into the Cayman Islands.

The company has been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and, as such, has received an undertaking from the Government of the Cayman Islands substantially in the following form:

The Tax Concessions Act

(as amended)

Undertaking as to Tax Concessions

In accordance with the Tax Concessions Act the following undertaking is hereby given to Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”):

1.    That no Law which is hereafter enacted in the Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to the Company or its operations; and

2.    In addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable:

2.1    on or in respect of the shares, debentures or other obligations of the Company; or

 

162


Table of Contents

2.2    by way of the withholding in whole or part, of any relevant payment as defined in the Tax Concessions Act.

These concessions shall be for a period of 30 years from the date of the undertaking.

United States Federal Income Tax Considerations

General

The following discussion summarizes certain U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the acquisition ownership and disposition of our units (each consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable public warrant) that are purchased in this offering by U.S. Holders (as defined below) and Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below), as well as the consequences of a Domestication (as defined below). Because the components of a unit are generally separable at the option of the holder, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying Class A ordinary share and public warrant components of the unit. As a result, the discussion below with respect to holders of Class A ordinary shares and public warrants should also apply to holders of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying Class A ordinary shares and public warrants that constitute the units).

This discussion is limited to certain U.S. federal income tax considerations to beneficial owners of our securities who are initial purchasers of a unit pursuant to this offering and hold the unit and each component of the unit as a capital asset under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). This discussion assumes that the Class A ordinary shares and public warrants will trade separately and that any distributions made (or deemed made) by us on our Class A ordinary shares and any consideration received (or deemed received) by a holder in consideration for the sale or other disposition of our securities will be in U.S. dollars. This discussion is a summary only and does not consider all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of a unit by a prospective investor in light of its particular circumstances, including:

 

   

our sponsor (or any direct or indirect equityholder thereof), founders, officers or directors;

 

   

persons that actually or constructively own five percent or more of our shares by vote or value;

 

   

banks, financial institutions or financial services entities;

 

   

broker-dealers;

 

   

dealers in securities or foreign currencies;

 

   

persons deemed to sell our securities under the constructive sale provisions of the Code;

 

   

taxpayers that are subject to mark-to-market accounting rules for U.S. federal income tax purposes or the “applicable financial statement” accounting rules under Section 451(b) of the Code;

 

   

tax-exempt entities;

 

   

S-corporations;

 

   

governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof;

 

   

qualified foreign pension funds;

 

   

controlled foreign corporations;

 

   

passive foreign investment companies;

 

   

insurance companies;

 

   

regulated investment companies or real estate investment trusts;

 

   

expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States;

 

163


Table of Contents
   

persons that acquired our securities pursuant to an exercise of employee share options, in connection with employee share incentive plans or otherwise as compensation or in connection with services;

 

   

persons that hold our securities as part of a straddle, constructive sale, hedging, conversion or other integrated or similar transaction;

 

   

U.S. Holders that are required to pay the 3.8 percent tax on “net investment income” or “undistributed net investment income”; or

 

   

U.S. Holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar.

Moreover, the discussion below is based upon the provisions of the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all as of the date hereof. Those authorities may be repealed, revoked, modified or subject to differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis, so as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those discussed below. Furthermore, this discussion does not address any aspect of U.S. federal non-income tax laws, such as gift, estate or Medicare contribution tax laws, or state, local or non-U.S. tax laws.

We have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the IRS as to any U.S. federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may disagree with the discussion herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not adversely affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion.

As used herein, the term “U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

 

   

an individual citizen or resident of the United States;

 

   

a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that is created or organized (or treated as created or organized) in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

 

   

an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

 

   

a trust if (A) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (B) it has in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations a valid election to be treated as a U.S. person.

If a beneficial owner of our securities is not described as a U.S. Holder and is not an entity treated as a partnership or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, such owner will be considered a “Non-U.S. Holder.” The term “Non-U.S. Holder” generally does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition. If you are such an individual, you are urged to consult your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the sale or other disposition of our securities.

This discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships or other pass-through entities or persons who hold our securities through such entities. If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement classified as a partnership or pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is the beneficial owner of our securities, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partner and the partnership. If you are a partnership or a partner of a partnership (or another pass-through entity) holding our securities, we urge you to consult your own tax advisor.

THIS DISCUSSION IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF CERTAIN U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACQUISITION,

 

164


Table of Contents

OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES. EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR IN OUR SECURITIES IS URGED TO CONSULT ITS TAX ADVISOR WITH RESPECT TO THE PARTICULAR TAX CONSEQUENCES TO SUCH INVESTOR OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES, INCLUDING THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF U.S. FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND NON-UNITED STATES TAX LAWS, AS WELL AS UNDER ANY APPLICABLE TAX TREATY.

Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit

No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or instruments similar to a unit for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. The acquisition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as the acquisition of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable public warrant, a whole one of which is exercisable to acquire one Class A ordinary share. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner and, by purchasing a unit, you agree to adopt such treatment for applicable tax purposes. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the one Class A ordinary share and the one-third of one redeemable public warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. We strongly urge each investor to consult their own tax advisor regarding the determination of fair market value for these purposes. The price allocated to the Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable public warrant included in each unit should constitute the shareholder’s initial tax basis in such share or public warrant. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable public warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable public warrant based on their respective relative fair market values at the time of disposition. Neither the separation of the Class A ordinary share and the one-third of one redeemable public warrant constituting a unit nor the combination of thirds of public warrants into a single public warrant should be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

The treatment of the units, the Class A ordinary shares and public warrants described in the prior paragraph, and a holder’s purchase price allocation, is not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Each prospective investor is urged to consult its tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit and regarding the allocation of the acquisition price for a unit between the Class A ordinary share and one-third of one public warrant that comprise the unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

U.S. Holders

Taxation of Distributions

Subject to the passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will be required to include in gross income as dividends the amount of any distribution paid on our Class A ordinary shares to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Such amount will be includable in gross income by such U.S. Holder who actually or constructively receives the distribution in accordance with the U.S. Holder’s regular method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Except upon the occurrence of a Domestication, if any, as described below, dividends paid by us will be taxable to a corporate U.S. Holder at regular rates and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received from other domestic corporations. Subject to the PFIC rules described below, distributions in excess of such earnings and profits generally will be applied against and reduce the U.S. Holder’s basis in its Class A ordinary shares (but not below zero) and, to the extent in excess of such basis, will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such Class A ordinary shares (see “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below).

 

165


Table of Contents

With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, under tax laws currently in effect and subject to certain exceptions (including, but not limited to, dividends treated as investment income for purposes of investment interest deduction limitations), dividends generally will be taxed at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rate (see “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below) only if our Class A ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States, the company is not treated as a PFIC at the time the dividend was paid or in the preceding year and provided certain holding period requirements are met. It is unclear, however, whether the redemption rights described in this prospectus with respect to our Class A ordinary shares may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of such lower rate for any dividends paid with respect to our Class A ordinary shares.

Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss on the sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants (including on our liquidation and dissolution and if we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period). Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for such Class A ordinary shares or warrants exceeds one year. It is unclear, however, whether certain redemption rights described in this prospectus with respect to our Class A ordinary shares may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose.

The amount of gain or loss recognized by a U.S. Holder on a sale or other taxable disposition generally will be equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the Class A ordinary shares or public warrants are held as part of units at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the Class A ordinary shares or public warrants based upon the then relative fair market values of the Class A ordinary shares and the warrants included in the units) and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A ordinary shares or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A ordinary shares and warrants generally will equal the U.S. Holder’s acquisition cost (that is, for public warrants, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to a Class A ordinary share or one-third of one redeemable public warrant, as described above under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) reduced by any prior distributions treated as a return of capital. Long-term capital gain realized by a non-corporate U.S. Holder is currently eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. See “—Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant” below for a discussion regarding a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A ordinary share acquired pursuant to the exercise of a warrant. The deduction of capital losses is subject to certain limitations.

Redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, in the event that a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares are redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in “Description of Securities—Ordinary Shares” or if we purchase a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares in an open market transaction (in either case referred to herein as a “redemption”), the treatment of the redemption for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as a sale of the Class A ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as described under “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution with the tax consequences described above under “—Taxation of Distributions.” Whether a redemption qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our shares treated as held by the U.S. Holder (including any shares constructively owned by the U.S. Holder described in the following paragraph) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after such redemption. The redemption of Class A ordinary shares generally will be treated as a sale of the Class A ordinary

 

166


Table of Contents

shares (rather than as a corporate distribution) if such redemption (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. Holder, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. Holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. Holder. These tests are explained more fully below.

In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. Holder takes into account not only our Class A ordinary shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder, but also our shares that are constructively owned by such U.S. Holder for this purpose. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition to shares owned directly, shares owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. Holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. Holder, as well as any shares the U.S. Holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include Class A ordinary shares which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the warrants. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of Class A ordinary shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80 percent of the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately before the redemption. Prior to our initial business combination, the Class A ordinary shares may not be treated as voting shares for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially disproportionate test may not be applicable. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (i) all of our shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed or (ii) all of our shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed and the U.S. Holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of shares owned by certain family members and the U.S. Holder does not constructively own any other shares of ours. The redemption of the Class A ordinary shares will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend with respect to a U.S. Holder if it results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority shareholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” U.S. Holders are urged to consult with their tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption.

If none of the foregoing tests are satisfied, then the redemption will be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “—Taxation of Distributions” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. Holder in the redeemed Class A ordinary shares will be added to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its remaining shares. If the U.S. Holder no longer directly owns any Class A ordinary shares after such redemption, but continues to hold warrants or has a constructive interest in other Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder should consult its own tax advisors as to the impact of the redemption on any remaining tax basis in the redeemed Class A ordinary shares.

Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below and except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. Holder generally will not recognize gain or loss upon the acquisition of a Class A ordinary share on the exercise of a warrant for cash. A U.S. Holder’s initial tax basis in a Class A ordinary share received upon exercise of the warrant generally will equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrant (that is, the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary share will commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant; in either case, the holding period of such Class A ordinary share will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrant. If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant.

 

167


Table of Contents

Subject to the PFIC rules described below, if we redeem warrants for cash pursuant to the redemption provisions described in “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” or if we purchase warrants in an open market transaction, such redemption or purchase generally will be treated as a taxable disposition to the U.S. Holder, taxed as described above under “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants.”

The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant (including a cashless exercise following our giving notice of an intention to redeem the warrant for $0.01 or to require the cashless exercise of the public warrants as described in “Description of Securities— Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants”) are not clear under current law. Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a cashless exercise may not be taxable, either because the exercise is not a realization event or because the exercise is treated as a “recapitalization” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In either situation, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares received generally would equal the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants. If the cashless exercise was not a realization event, it is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary share will commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the Class A ordinary shares would include the holding period of the warrants.

It is also possible that a cashless exercise may be treated in part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a U.S. Holder may be deemed to have surrendered a number of warrants having an aggregate fair market value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, the U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in such warrants. In this case, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares received would equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrants exercised (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price of such warrants. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary share would commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held of the warrant.

Due to the absence of authority on the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise (including in connection with the exercise of a warrant after our giving notice of an intention to redeem the warrant), there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences described above would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise (including in connection with the exercise of a warrant after our giving notice of an intention to redeem the warrant).

Possible Constructive Distributions

The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of Class A ordinary shares for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in “Description of Securities—Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The U.S. Holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases such U.S. Holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of Class A ordinary shares that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease to the exercise price) as a result of a distribution of cash or other property to the holders of our Class A ordinary shares which is treated as a distribution taxable to holders of such Class A ordinary shares as described under “—Taxation of Distributions” above. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as described under “—Taxation of Distributions” above in the same manner as if the U.S. Holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest.

 

168


Table of Contents

Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules

A foreign (i.e., non-U.S.) corporation will be classified as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes if either (i) at least 75% of its gross income in a taxable year, including its pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, is passive income or (ii) at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year (ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year), including its pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, are held for the production of, or produce, passive income. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of passive assets.

Because we are a blank check company, with no current active business, we believe that it is likely that we will meet the PFIC asset or income test for our current taxable year. However, pursuant to a start-up exception, a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year the corporation has gross income (the “start-up year”), if (1) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC, (2) the corporation satisfies the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the two taxable years following the start-up year and (3) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. The applicability of the start-up exception to us is uncertain and will not be known until after the close of our current taxable year (or possibly not until after the close of the first two taxable years following our start-up year). After the acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination, we may still meet one of the PFIC tests depending on the timing of the acquisition and the amount of our passive income and assets as well as the passive income and assets of the acquired business. If the company that we acquire in a business combination is a PFIC, then we will likely not qualify for the start-up exception and will be a PFIC for our current taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year (and, in the case of the start-up exception to our current taxable year, perhaps until after the end of our two taxable years following our start-up year). Accordingly, there can be no assurance with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any future taxable year.

Although our PFIC status is determined annually, an initial determination that our company is a PFIC will generally apply for subsequent years to a U.S. Holder who held Class A ordinary shares or warrants while we were a PFIC, whether or not we meet the test for PFIC status in those subsequent years. If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants and, in the case of our Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder did not make either a timely and valid qualified electing fund (“QEF”) election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) Class A ordinary shares, a QEF election along with a purging election, or a mark-to-market election, each as described below, such U.S. Holder generally will be subject to special rules with respect to (i) any gain recognized by the U.S. Holder on the sale or other disposition of its Class A ordinary shares or warrants (which may include gain realized by reason of a transaction with respect to the Class A ordinary shares or warrants that would otherwise qualify as a nonrecognition transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes, including certain reorganizations of the company) and (ii) any “excess distribution” made to the U.S. Holder (generally, any distributions to such U.S. Holder during a taxable year of the U.S. Holder that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. Holder in respect of the Class A ordinary shares during the three preceding taxable years of such U.S. Holder or, if shorter, such U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares).

Under these rules:

 

   

the U.S. Holder’s gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares or warrants;

 

   

the amount allocated to the U.S. Holder’s taxable year in which the U.S. Holder recognized the gain or received the excess distribution, or to the period in the U.S. Holder’s holding period before the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, will be taxed as ordinary income;

 

169


Table of Contents
   

the amount allocated to other taxable years (or portions thereof) of the U.S. Holder and included in its holding period will be taxed at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and applicable to the U.S. Holder; and

 

   

an additional tax equal to the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed on the U.S. Holder with respect to the tax attributable to each such other taxable year of the U.S. Holder.

In general, if we are determined to be a PFIC, a U.S. Holder may avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above in respect of our Class A ordinary shares (but not our warrants) by making a timely and valid QEF election (if eligible to do so) to include in income its pro rata share of our net capital gains (as long-term capital gain) and other earnings and profits (as ordinary income), on a current basis, in each case, whether or not distributed, in the taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which or with which our taxable year ends. A U.S. Holder generally may make a separate election to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject to an interest charge.

A U.S. Holder may not make a QEF election with respect to its warrants to acquire our Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if a U.S. Holder sells or otherwise disposes of such warrants (other than upon exercise of such warrants) and we were a PFIC at any time during the U.S. Holder’s holding period of such warrants, any gain recognized generally will be treated as an excess distribution, taxed as described above. If a U.S. Holder that exercises such warrants properly makes a QEF election with respect to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (or has previously made a QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares), the QEF election will apply to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares. Notwithstanding such QEF election, the adverse tax consequences relating to PFIC shares, adjusted to take into account the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, will continue to apply with respect to such newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (which generally will be deemed to have a holding period for purposes of the PFIC rules that includes the period the U.S. Holder held the warrants), unless the U.S. Holder makes a purging election under the PFIC rules. Under one type of purging election, the U.S. Holder will be deemed to have sold such shares at their fair market value and any gain recognized on such deemed sale will be treated as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of this election, the U.S. Holder will have additional basis (to the extent of any gain recognized on the deemed sale) and, solely for purposes of the PFIC rules, a new holding period in the Class A ordinary shares acquired upon the exercise of the warrants. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors as to the application of the rules governing purging elections to their particular circumstances (including a potential separate “deemed dividend” purging election that may be available if we are a controlled foreign corporation).

The QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, can be revoked only with the consent of the IRS. A U.S. Holder generally makes a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621 (Information Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund), including the information provided in a PFIC Annual Information Statement, to a timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. Retroactive QEF elections generally may be made only by filing a protective statement with such return and if certain other conditions are met or with the consent of the IRS. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election under their particular circumstances.

In order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, a U.S. Holder must receive a PFIC Annual Information Statement from us. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the IRS may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a QEF election, but there is no assurance that we will timely provide such required information. There is also no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the required information to be provided.

If a U.S. Holder has made a QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares, and the excess distribution rules discussed above do not apply to such shares (because of a timely QEF election for our first

 

170


Table of Contents

taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) such shares or a purge of the PFIC taint pursuant to a purging election, as described above), any gain recognized on the sale of our Class A ordinary shares generally will be taxable as capital gain and no additional tax or interest charge will be imposed under the PFIC rules. As discussed above, if we are a PFIC for any taxable year, a U.S. Holder of our Class A ordinary shares that has made a QEF election will be currently taxed on its pro rata share of our earnings and profits, whether or not distributed for such year. A subsequent distribution of such earnings and profits that were previously included in income generally should not be taxable when distributed to such U.S. Holder. The tax basis of a U.S. Holder’s shares in a QEF will be increased by amounts that are included in income, and decreased by amounts distributed but not taxed as dividends, under the above rules. In addition, if we are not a PFIC for any taxable year, such U.S. Holder will not be subject to the QEF inclusion regime with respect to our Class A ordinary shares for such taxable year. On the other hand, if the QEF election is not effective for each of our taxable years in which we are a PFIC and the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our Class A ordinary shares, the PFIC rules discussed above will continue to apply to such shares unless the holder makes a purging election, as described above, and pays the taxes described above with respect to the gain inherent in such shares attributable to the pre-QEF election period.

Alternatively, if we are a PFIC and our Class A ordinary shares constitute “marketable stock,” a U.S. Holder may avoid the adverse PFIC tax consequences discussed above if such U.S. Holder, at the close of the first taxable year in which it holds (or is deemed to hold) our Class A ordinary shares, makes a mark-to-market election with respect to such shares for such taxable year. Such U.S. Holder generally will include for each of its taxable years as ordinary income the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its Class A ordinary shares at the end of such year over its adjusted basis in its Class A ordinary shares. The U.S. Holder also will recognize an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of its adjusted basis of its Class A ordinary shares over the fair market value of its Class A ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election). The U.S. Holder’s basis in its Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts, and any further gain recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition of its Class A ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary income. Currently, a mark-to-market election may not be made with respect to warrants.

The mark-to-market election is available only for “marketable stock,” generally, stock that is regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the NYSE (on which we intend to list the Class A ordinary shares), or on a foreign exchange or market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. If made, a mark-to-market election would be effective for the taxable year for which the election was made and for all subsequent taxable years unless the ordinary shares ceased to qualify as “marketable stock” for purposes of the PFIC rules or the IRS consented to the revocation of the election. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares under their particular circumstances.

If we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a foreign subsidiary that is classified as a PFIC, U.S. Holders generally would be deemed to own a portion of the shares of such lower-tier PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the lower-tier PFIC or the U.S. Holders otherwise were deemed to have disposed of an interest in the lower-tier PFIC. We will endeavor to cause any lower-tier PFIC to provide to a U.S. Holder the information that may be required to make or maintain a QEF election with respect to the lower-tier PFIC. There can be no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such lower-tier PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in any such lower-tier PFIC and thus there can be no assurance we will be able to cause the lower-tier PFIC to provide such required information. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by lower-tier PFICs.

A U.S. Holder that owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year of the U.S. Holder, may have to file an IRS Form 8621 (whether or not a QEF or mark-to-market election is made) and such other

 

171


Table of Contents

information as may be required by the U.S. Treasury Department. Failure to do so, if required, will extend the statute of limitations until such required information is furnished to the IRS.

The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF and mark-to-market elections are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, U.S. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants are urged to consult their own tax advisors concerning the application of the PFIC rules to our securities under their particular circumstances.

Consequences of a Domestication

Holders of our founder shares may continue our company into a jurisdiction within the United States, or such reincorporation may take place in connection with our initial business combination (any such continuation or reincorporation, a “Domestication”). The U.S. federal income tax consequences of a Domestication will depend in part upon whether the Domestication qualifies as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368 of the Code. Under Section 368(a)(1)(F) of the Code a reorganization (an “F reorganization”) includes a “mere change in identity, form, or place of organization of one corporation, however effected.” To qualify as an F reorganization, a transaction must generally, among other requirements, (i) involve only one operating corporation; (ii) result in no change in shareholders; and (iii) result in no change in the assets of the corporation. Based on the foregoing, we expect that any change in our place of incorporation to a U.S. jurisdiction would qualify as an F reorganization.

Assuming a Domestication qualifies as an F reorganization, U.S. Holders of Class A ordinary shares or warrants would not recognize gain or loss on the Domestication for U.S. federal income tax purposes, except as provided below under “ —Effects of Section 367 of the Code.” However, if we are considered a PFIC, a U.S. Holder may recognize gain (but not loss) upon the Domestication even if the Domestication qualifies as an F reorganization (See below under “—Treatment of the Domestication under the PFIC Rules”). The initial tax basis of a new share or warrant received by a U.S. Holder in the Domestication would equal the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A ordinary share or warrant surrendered in exchange thereof, increased by any amount included in the income of such U.S. Holder as a result of Section 367 of the Code. The holding period for a new share or warrant received by a U.S. Holder would include such holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary share or warrant surrendered in exchange therefor.

Following a Domestication, a U.S. Holder generally would be required to include in gross income the amount of any distribution of cash or other property paid on our Class A ordinary shares. Such amount would be includible in gross income by a U.S. Holder on the date that such U.S. Holder actually or constructively receives the distribution in accordance with such U.S. Holder’s regular method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Dividends paid by us to a corporate U.S. Holder would be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received from other domestic corporations. With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, such dividends generally would be taxed at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rate if certain holding period and other requirements are met (see above, under “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants).

Effects of Section 367 of the Code

Section 367 of the Code applies to certain nonrecognition transactions involving foreign corporations, including the domestication of a foreign corporation in an F reorganization. When it applies, Section 367 imposes income tax on certain U.S. persons in connection with transactions that would otherwise generally be non-recognition events, including under Section 368 of the Code. Under a de minimis exception, a U.S. Holder who, on the day of the Domestication, beneficially owns (directly, indirectly or constructively, taking into account a U.S. Holder’s ownership of our warrants) our Class A ordinary shares with a fair market value of less than $50,000 is not generally subject to income tax under these rules. Additionally, a U.S. Holder who, on the day of the Domestication, beneficially owns (directly, indirectly or constructively, taking into account a U.S. Holder’s

 

172


Table of Contents

ownership of our warrants) our Class A ordinary shares with a fair market value of $50,000 or more but less than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of our stock entitled to vote and less than 10% of the total combined value of all classes of our stock must recognize gain (but not loss) with respect to the Domestication or may, in the alternative, elect to recognize the net positive earnings and profits amount as described below. Unless such U.S. Holder makes the “all earnings and profits” election described below, such holder generally must recognize gain (but not loss) embedded in such U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares at the time of the Domestication. Any such gain would be equal to the excess of the fair market value of the new shares received over the U.S. Holder’s adjusted basis in the Class A ordinary shares deemed to be surrendered in exchange therefor. Such gain would be capital gain, and would be long-term capital gain if the holder held our shares for longer than one year. Complex attribution rules apply in determining whether a U.S. Holder owns 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of our ordinary shares entitled to vote. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to those attribution rules.

In lieu of recognizing any gain as described in the preceding paragraph, a U.S. Holder may elect to, and holders holding in excess of 10% of our total combined voting power or 10% of the total combined value of all classes of our stock must, include the “all earnings and profits” amount attributable to our Class A ordinary shares under Section 367(b) of the Code. There are, however, strict conditions for when an eligible holder may make this election. This election must comply with applicable Treasury Regulations and generally must include, among other things: (i) a statement that the Domestication is a Section 367(b) exchange; (ii) a complete description of the Domestication, (iii) a statement describing the amounts required to be taken into account for U.S. federal income tax purposes, including information substantiating the all earnings and profits amount with respect to the U.S. Holder’s shares, and (iv) certain other information required to be furnished pursuant to the Code or the Treasury Regulations thereunder. In addition, the election must be attached by the U.S. Holder to its timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the year of the Domestication, and the U.S. Holder must send notice to us of the election no later than the date such tax return is filed. We do not expect to have significant, if any, cumulative earnings and profits through the date of the Domestication and if we do not have cumulative earnings and profits that are greater than zero, a U.S. Holder who makes this election generally would not have an income inclusion under Section 367(b) provided the U.S. Holder properly executes the election and complies with the applicable notice requirements.

U.S. HOLDERS ARE STRONGLY URGED TO CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS REGARDING WHETHER TO MAKE THIS ELECTION AND, IF THE ELECTION IS DETERMINED TO BE ADVISABLE, THE FILING REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO THIS ELECTION.

Treatment of the Domestication under the PFIC Rules

Even if the Domestication qualifies as an F reorganization, if we are treated as a PFIC, Section 1291(f) of the Code requires that, to the extent provided in Treasury Regulations, a United States person who disposes of our stock (including for this purpose exchanging warrants for newly issued warrants in a Domestication) recognizes gain notwithstanding any other provision of the Code. No final Treasury Regulations are currently in effect under Section 1291(f) of the Code. However, proposed Treasury Regulations under Section 1291(f) of the Code have been promulgated with a retroactive effective date. If finalized in their current form, those proposed Treasury Regulations may require gain recognition to U.S. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants upon the Domestication in the manner discussed above in the section entitled “— Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules” if

(i)    we were classified as a PFIC at any time during such U.S. Holder’s holding period in our Class A ordinary shares or warrants; and

(ii)    the U.S. Holder had not timely made (a) a QEF election for the first taxable year in which the U.S. Holder owned such Class A ordinary shares or in which we were a PFIC, whichever is later (or a QEF election along with a purging election), or (b) a mark-to-market election with respect to such Class A ordinary shares.

 

173


Table of Contents

Any “all earnings and profits amount” included in income by a U.S. Holder as a result of the Domestication (discussed under the heading “— Effects of Section 367 of the Code” above) would generally be treated as gain subject to these rules.

It is impossible to predict whether, in what form and with what effective date, final Treasury Regulations under Section 1291(f) of the Code may be adopted or how any such Treasury Regulations would apply. Therefore, U.S. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares that have not made a valid QEF election (or a QEF election along with a purging election) or a mark-to-market election may, pursuant to the proposed Treasury Regulations, be subject to taxation under the PFIC rules on the Domestication with respect to their Class A ordinary shares and warrants under the PFIC rules in the manner set forth above. A U.S. Holder that made a valid QEF election would generally not be subject to the adverse rules discussed above with respect to their Class A ordinary shares but would include annually in gross income its pro rata share of our ordinary earnings and net capital gain, whether or not such amounts are actually distributed as described above in the section entitled “— Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

The application of the PFIC rules to our warrants is unclear. A proposed Treasury Regulation issued under the PFIC rules generally treats an “option” (which would include one of our warrants) to acquire the stock of a PFIC as stock of the PFIC, while a final Treasury Regulation issued under the PFIC rules provides that the QEF election does not apply to options and no mark-to-market election is currently available with respect to options. Therefore, it is possible that the proposed Treasury Regulations, if finalized in their current form, would apply to cause gain recognition on the exchange of our warrants for new warrants pursuant to the Domestication.

Any gain recognized by a U.S. Holder of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants as a result of the Domestication pursuant to PFIC rules would be taxable income to such U.S. Holder, taxed under the PFIC rules in the manner set forth above.

ALL U.S. HOLDERS ARE STRONGLY URGED TO CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS REGARDING THE U.S. FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND FOREIGN TAX CONSEQUENCES OF A DOMESTICATION AND ITS APPLICATION TO THEM.

Tax Reporting

Certain U.S. Holders may be required to file an IRS Form 926 (Return by a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation) to report a transfer of property (including cash) to us. Substantial penalties may be imposed on a U.S. Holder that fails to comply with this reporting requirement and the period of limitations on assessment and collection of U.S. federal income taxes will be extended in the event of a failure to comply. Furthermore, certain U.S. Holders who are individuals and certain entities will be required to report information with respect to such U.S. Holder’s investment in “specified foreign financial assets” on IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), subject to certain exceptions. Unless one of the available exceptions applies, an interest in the company constitutes a specified foreign financial asset for these purposes. Persons who are required to report specified foreign financial assets and fail to do so may be subject to substantial penalties and the period of limitations on assessment and collection of U.S. federal income taxes will be extended in the event of a failure to comply. Potential investors are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the foreign financial asset and other reporting obligations and their application to an investment in our Class A ordinary shares and warrants.

Non-U.S. Holders

Dividends (including constructive distributions) paid or deemed paid to a Non-U.S. Holder in respect of our Class A ordinary shares generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax, unless the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States). In addition, a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S.

 

174


Table of Contents

federal income tax on any gain attributable to a sale or other taxable disposition of, or event with respect to, our Class A ordinary shares or warrants unless such gain is effectively connected with its conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States).

Dividends (including constructive distributions) and gains that are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base in the United States) generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the same regular U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to a comparable U.S. Holder and, in the case of a Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate.

The characterization for U.S. federal income tax purposes of a Non-U.S. Holder’s exercise of a warrant, the lapse of a warrant held by a Non-U.S. Holder or the redemption of a warrant held by a Non-U.S. Holder generally will correspond to the characterization described under “—U.S. Holders—Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant” above, although to the extent a cashless exercise or redemption results in, or is treated as, a taxable exchange, the consequences would generally be similar to those described in the preceding paragraphs above for a Non-U.S. Holder’s gain on the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants.

The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of Class A ordinary shares for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in “Description of Securities—Warrants.” As described under “—U.S. Holders—Possible Constructive Distributions” above, an adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. However, Non-U.S. Holders of the warrants would be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of Class A ordinary shares that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease to the exercise price) as a result of a distribution of cash or other property to the holders of our Class A ordinary shares which is taxable to the holders of such Class A ordinary shares as a distribution (as described under “—U.S. Holders—Taxation of Distributions” above). Such constructive distribution would be treated as if the Non-U.S. Holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest and subject to tax in the circumstances described above.

Effects of a Domestication on Non-U.S. Holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares or Warrants

A Non-U.S. Holder will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a Domestication. However, after a Domestication, any distributions (including constructive distributions) made to a Non-U.S. Holder on our Class A ordinary shares, to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles), will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, provided such dividends are not effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States, will be subject to withholding tax from the gross amount of the dividend at a rate of 30%, unless such Non-U.S. Holder is eligible for a reduced rate of withholding tax under an applicable income tax treaty and provides proper certification of its eligibility for such reduced rate (usually on an IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E, as applicable). In the case of any constructive dividend, it is possible that this tax would be withheld from any amount owed to a Non-U.S. Holder by us or the applicable withholding agent, including cash distributions on other property or sale proceeds from warrants or other property subsequently paid or credited to such Non-U.S. Holder. Any distribution not constituting a dividend will be treated first as reducing (but not below zero) the Non-U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in our Class A ordinary shares or warrants and then, to the extent such distribution exceeds the Non-U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis, as gain realized from the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, which will be treated as described immediately below. Dividends paid by us to a Non-U.S. Holder that are effectively connected with such Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States will continue to be taxed in the manner described above.

 

175


Table of Contents

A Non-U.S. Holder will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on gain realized on a sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, including with respect to warrants, exercise, lapse or redemption, unless:

 

   

as described above, the gain is effectively connected with a trade or business of the Non-U.S. Holder in the United States (and, if an applicable treaty so requires, is attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base in the United States) in which case the gain would be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at the same regular U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to a comparable U.S. Holder, and, if the Non-U.S. Holder is a corporation, an additional “branch profits tax” (or lower treaty rate) may also apply, or

 

   

we are or have been a U.S. real property holding corporation at any time within the five-year period preceding the disposition or the Non-U.S. Holder’s holding period, whichever period is shorter, and either (i) our Class A ordinary shares have ceased to be regularly traded on an established securities market or (ii) the Non-U.S. Holder has owned or is deemed to have owned, at any time within the five-year period preceding the disposition or the Non-U.S. Holder’s holding period, whichever period is shorter, more than 5% of our Class A ordinary shares.

If the second bullet point above applies to a Non-U.S. Holder, then gain recognized by such Non-U.S. Holder on the sale, exchange or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants will be subject to tax at generally applicable U.S. federal income tax rates. We would be classified as a U.S. real property holding corporation if the fair market value of our “United States real property interests” equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market value of our worldwide real property interests plus our other assets used or held for use in a trade or business, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes. No assurance can be provided as to whether we are or will be a U.S. real property holding corporation with respect to a Non-U.S. Holder following the Domestication or at any future time.

ALL NON-U.S. HOLDERS ARE URGED TO CONSULT THEIR OWN TAX ADVISORS REGARDING THE U.S. FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND FOREIGN TAX CONSEQUENCES OF A DOMESTICATION AND ITS APPLICATION TO THEM.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

Dividend payments with respect to our Class A ordinary shares and proceeds from the sale, exchange or redemption of our Class A ordinary shares may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and possible United States backup withholding. Backup withholding will not apply, however, to a U.S. Holder who furnishes a correct taxpayer identification number and makes other required certifications, or who is otherwise exempt from backup withholding and establishes such exempt status on the appropriate tax form. A Non-U.S. Holder generally will eliminate the requirement for information reporting and backup withholding by providing certification of its foreign status, under penalties of perjury, on a duly executed applicable IRS Form W-8 or by otherwise establishing an exemption.

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against a holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, and a holder generally may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by timely filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS and furnishing any required information.

The U.S. federal income tax discussion set forth above is included for general information only and may not be applicable depending upon a holder’s particular situation. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences to them of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants, including the tax consequences under state, local, estate, foreign and other tax laws and tax treaties and the possible effects of changes in U.S. or other tax laws.

 

176


Table of Contents

UNDERWRITING

Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters named below, the following respective number of units at a public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.

 

Underwriter

   Number of Units  

Evercore Group L.L.C.

  

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

  
  

 

 

 

Total

     20,000,000  
  

 

 

 

The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the units included in this offering are subject to approval of legal matters by counsel and to other conditions. The underwriters are obligated to purchase all of the units (other than those covered by the over-allotment option described below) if they purchase any of the units.

Units sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus. The underwriters may allow dealers concessions not in excess of $         per unit and the dealers may re-allow a concession not in excess of $         per unit to other dealers. If all of the units are not sold at the initial offering price, the underwriters may change the offering price and the other selling terms. Evercore Group L.L.C. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC have advised us that the underwriters do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts. The offering of the units by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part. Sales of any units outside the United States may be made by affiliates of the underwriters.

If the underwriters sell more than 20,000,000 units, we have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 45 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional units at the public offering price less the underwriting discount. The underwriters may exercise this option solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments, if any, in connection with this offering. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter must purchase a number of additional units approximately proportionate to that underwriter’s initial purchase commitment. Any units issued or sold under the option will be issued and sold on the same terms and conditions as the other units that are the subject of this offering.

We, our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed that, for a period of 180 days from the date of this prospectus, we and they will not, without the prior written consent of Evercore Group L.L.C. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any units, warrants, ordinary shares or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, ordinary shares; provided, however, that we may (1) issue and sell the private placement warrants, (2) issue and sell the additional units to cover our underwriters’ over-allotment option (if any), (3) register with the SEC pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, the resale of the founder shares, the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issued or issuable upon exercise of any such private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the working capital loans and upon conversion of the founder shares); and (4) issue securities in connection with our initial business combination. However, the foregoing shall not apply to the forfeiture of any founder shares pursuant to their terms or any transfer of founder shares to any of our current or future independent directors (as long as such current or future independent director is subject to the terms of the letter agreement, filed herewith, at the time of such transfer; and as long as, to the extent any Section 16 reporting obligation is triggered as a result of such transfer, any related Section 16 filing includes a practical explanation as to the nature of the transfer). Evercore Group L.L.C. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC in their sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.

 

177


Table of Contents

Except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”, our sponsor and our directors and officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of (A) one year after the completion of an initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our sponsor and our directors and officers with respect to any founder shares.

The private placement warrants (including the shares of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities. Consequently, the initial public offering price for the units was determined by negotiations between us and Evercore Group L.L.C. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC.

The determination of our per unit offering price was more arbitrary than would typically be the case if we were an operating company. Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure, and currently prevailing general conditions in equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company. We cannot assure you, however, that the price at which the units, Class A ordinary shares or public warrants will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, Class A ordinary shares or public warrants will develop and continue after this offering.

We intend to apply to have our units listed on the NYSE under the symbol “WAVCU” commencing on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on NYSE. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and public warrants will be listed on NYSE under the symbols “WAVC” and “WAVCW,” respectively.

The following table shows the underwriting discounts and commissions that we are to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. We will pay $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 in the aggregate (or $8,050,000 in the aggregate if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), of deferred underwriting commissions to the underwriters upon the completion of our initial business combination. Up to 25% of such amount (or $1,750,000, or $2,012,500 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) may be paid at our sole discretion to the underwriters in the allocations determined by us and/or to third parties not participating in this offering (but who are members of FINRA) that assist us in consummating our initial business combination. We have agreed to pay for the FINRA-related fees and expenses of the underwriters’ legal counsel, not to exceed $25,000.

 

     Paid By WCAC1 Sponsor LLC  
     No Exercise      Full Exercise  

Per Unit(1)

   $ 0.55      $ 0.55  

Total(1)

   $ 11,000,000      $ 12,650,000  

 

178


Table of Contents

 

(1)

Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 in the aggregate (or $8,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein and released to the underwriters only upon the consummation of an initial business combination.

If we do not complete our initial business combination within the time period required by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the underwriters have agreed that (i) they will forfeit any rights or claims to their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account, and (ii) that the deferred underwriters’ discounts and commissions will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares.

In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell units in the open market. Purchases and sales in the open market may include short sales, purchases to cover short positions, which may include purchases pursuant to the over-allotment option and stabilizing purchases.

 

   

Short sales involve secondary market sales by the underwriters of a greater number of units than they are required to purchase in the offering.

 

   

“Covered” short sales are sales of units in an amount up to the number of units represented by the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

 

   

“Naked” short sales are sales of units in an amount in excess of the number of units represented by the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

 

   

Covering transactions involve purchases of units either pursuant to the over-allotment option or in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions.

 

   

To close a naked short position, the underwriters must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering.

 

   

To close a covered short position, the underwriters must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed or must exercise the over-allotment option. In determining the source of units to close the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the over-allotment option.

 

   

Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase units so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum.

Purchases to cover short positions and stabilizing purchases, as well as other purchases by the underwriters for its own accounts, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. They may also cause the price of the units to be higher than the price that would otherwise exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The underwriters may conduct these transactions in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. If the underwriters commence any of these transactions, they may discontinue them at any time.

We estimate that the total expenses of this offering payable by us will be $900,000, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions. We have agreed to reimburse the underwriters for certain expenses related to this offering, including background searches of our officers and directors and the FINRA-related fees of the underwriters’ legal counsel (not to exceed $25,000), up to a maximum of $                 .

We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make because of any of those liabilities.

 

179


Table of Contents

We are not under any contractual obligation to engage any of the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering, but we may do so at our discretion. However, any of the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses, provide financial advisory services to us in connection with a business combination or assist us in raising additional capital in the future, including by acting as a placement agent in a private offering or underwriting or arranging debt financing. If any of the underwriters provide services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters and no fees for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering. We may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination. Any fees we may pay the underwriters or their affiliates for services rendered to us after this offering may be contingent on the completion of a business combination and may include non-cash compensation. The underwriters or their affiliates that provide these services to us may have a potential conflict of interest given that the underwriters are entitled to the deferred portion of their underwriting compensation for this offering only if an initial business combination is completed within the specified timeframe.

Some of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have engaged in, and may in the future engage in, investment banking and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates. They have received, or may in the future receive, customary fees and commissions for these transactions.

In addition, in the ordinary course of their business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own accounts and for the accounts of their customers. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.

Alan Henricks, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, has an economic interest in up to (i) 258,689 founder shares and (ii) 166,980 private placement warrants, assuming full exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option. These founder shares and private placement warrants have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a 180-day lock-up pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1), commencing on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1), these securities will not be sold during the offering, or sold, transferred, assigned, pledged, or hypothecated, or be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or commencement of sales of the public offering, except as provided in FINRA Rule 5110(e)(2).

In addition, the terms of the private placement warrants purchased by Mr. Henricks shall comply with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8), and shall not be exercisable for more than five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. We have granted the holders of private placement warrants the registration rights as described under the section “Description of Securities — Registration and Shareholder Rights”. Mr. Henricks may not exercise his demand and “piggyback” registration rights after five and seven years, respectively, after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and may not exercise his demand rights on more than one occasion.

Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area (each a “Relevant Member State”), no units have been offered or will be offered pursuant to the offering to the public in that Relevant Member State

 

180


Table of Contents

prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation, except that offers of units may be made to the public in that Relevant Member State at any time:

(a)    to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation;

(b)    to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representative for any such offer; or

(c)    in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation.

provided that no such offer of units shall require the company or any representative to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation and each person who initially acquires any units or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed to and with each of the representatives and us that is a qualified investor within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation.

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any units in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any units, and the expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.

Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom

No units have been offered or will be offered pursuant to this offering to the public in the United Kingdom prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units that either (i) has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority or (ii) is to be treated as if it had been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority in accordance with the transitional provisions in Regulation 74 of the Prospectus (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, except that offers of units may be made to the public in the United Kingdom at any time:

 

  (a)

to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation;

 

  (b)

to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or

 

  (c)

in any other circumstances falling within section 86 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended, the “FSMA”),

provided that no such offer of units shall require the company or any representative to publish a prospectus pursuant to section 85 of the FSMA or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the UK Prospectus Regulation.

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any units in the United Kingdom means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any units, and the expression “UK Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

Each underwriter has represented and agreed that:

(a)    it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of

 

181


Table of Contents

Section 21 of the FSMA) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of the units in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to the Issuer; and

(b)    it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the units in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.

Notice to Canadian Residents

The units may be sold in Canada only to purchasers purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions, and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. Any resale of the units must be made in accordance with an exemption form, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws.

Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if this prospectus (including any amendment thereto) contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.

Pursuant to section 3A.3 of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts (NI 33-105), the underwriters are not required to comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 33-105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.

Notice to Prospective Investors in Hong Kong

The units may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32 of the Laws of Hong Kong) (“Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance”) or which do not constitute an invitation to the public within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong) (“Securities and Futures Ordinance”), or (ii) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance, and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the units may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to units which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” in Hong Kong as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made thereunder.

Notice to Prospective Investors in Singapore

This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the units may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the units be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor (as defined under Section 4A of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”)) under Section 274 of the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA) pursuant to Section 275(1) of the SFA, or any person

 

182


Table of Contents

pursuant to Section 275(1A) of the SFA, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA, in each case subject to conditions set forth in the SFA.

Where the units are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor, the securities (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation shall not be transferable for 6 months after that corporation has acquired the securities under Section 275 of the SFA except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA), (2) where such transfer arises from an offer in that corporation’s securities pursuant to Section 275(1A) of the SFA, (3) where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer, (4) where the transfer is by operation of law, (5) as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA, or (6) as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore (“Regulation 32”).

Where the units are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an accredited investor, the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferable for 6 months after that trust has acquired the securities under Section 275 of the SFA except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA), (2) where such transfer arises from an offer that is made on terms that such rights or interest are acquired at a consideration of not less than S$200,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) for each transaction (whether such amount is to be paid for in cash or by exchange of securities or other assets), (3) where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer, (4) where the transfer is by operation of law, (5) as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA, or (6) as specified in Regulation 32.

Notice to Prospective Investors in Japan

The securities have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan (Act No. 25 of 1948, as amended), or the FIEA. The securities may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to or for the benefit of any resident of Japan (including any person resident in Japan or any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan) or to others for reoffering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to or for the benefit of any resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the FIEA and otherwise in compliance with any relevant laws and regulations of Japan.

Notice to Investors in the Cayman Islands

No offer or invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our securities.

 

183


Table of Contents

LEGAL MATTERS

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to units and public warrants. Walkers, Cayman Islands, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to the ordinary shares and matters of Cayman Islands law. In connection with this offering, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP advised the underwriters in connection with the offering of the securities.

EXPERTS

The financial statements of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 as of March 6, 2021 and for the period from March 1, 2021 (inception) through March 6, 2021 appearing in this prospectus have been audited by Marcum LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to substantial doubt about the ability of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 to continue as a going concern as described in Note 1 to the financial statements), appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, and are included in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.

Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

 

184


Table of Contents

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Financial Statements of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1:

 

     Page  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     F-2  

Financial Statements:

  

Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2021 (unaudited) and March  6, 2021 (audited)

     F-3  

Statements of Operations for the  three months ended June 30, 2021, the period from March 1, 2021 (inception) through
June 30, 2021 (unaudited) and March 1, 2021 (inception) through March 6, 2021 (audited)

     F-4  

Statement of Changes in Shareholder’s Equity for the period from March 1, 2021 (inception) through June 30, 2021 (unaudited)

     F-5  

Statements of Cash Flows for the period from March  1, 2021 (inception) through
June 30, 2021 (unaudited) and March 1, 2021 (inception) through March 6, 2021 (audited)

     F-6  

Notes to Financial Statements

     F-7  

 

F-1


Table of Contents

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholder and Board of Directors of

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”) as of March 6, 2021, the related statements of operations, shareholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from March 1, 2021 (inception) through March 6, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of March 6, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from March 1, 2021 (inception) through March 6, 2021 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Explanatory Paragraph — Going Concern

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company’s ability to execute its business plan is dependent on the completion of the proposed initial public offering described in Note 3 to the financial statements. The Company has a working capital deficiency as of March 6, 2021 and lacks the financial resources it needs to sustain operations for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Notes 1 and 3. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might become necessary should be the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ Marcum LLP

Marcum LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.

Boston, MA

March 29, 2021, except for Note 2, Note 4, Note 7, and Note 8, as to which the date is July 30, 2021

 

F-2


Table of Contents

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

Balance Sheets

 

     June 30,
2021
    March 6,
2021
 
     (unaudited)     (audited)  

ASSETS

    

Current assets – Cash

   $ 87,485     $ —    

Deferred offering costs

     422,151       90,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Assets

   $ 509,636     $ 90,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY

    

Accrued offering costs

   $ 300,056     $ 65,000  

Accrued formation costs

     17,109       12,109  

Advances from sponsor

     15,245       —    

Promissory note – related party

     170,000       —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Current Liabilities

     507,410       77,109  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies (Note 6)

    

Shareholder’s Equity:

    

Preference shares, $0.0001 par value each; 5,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding

     —         —    

Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each; 500,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding

     —         —    

Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 shares issued and outstanding(1) (2)

     575       575  

Additional paid-in capital

     24,425       24,425  

Accumulated deficit

     (17,774     (12,109
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Shareholder’s Equity

     7,226       12,891  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Liabilities and Shareholder’s Equity

   $ 509,636     $ 90,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Includes an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares of Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).

(2)

In July 2021, the Sponsor forfeited 2,875,000 Founder Shares, resulting in the Sponsor continuing to hold 5,750,000 Founder Shares. The share amounts as of June 30, 2021, March 31, 2021 and March 6, 2021 have been retroactively restated to account for the stock reclassification (see Note 5).

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F-3


Table of Contents

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

Statements of Operations

 

     For the Three Months
Ended June 30, 2021
    For the Period from
March 1, 2021
(Inception) through
June 30, 2021
    For the Period
from

March 1, 2021
(Inception) through
March 6, 2021
 
     (unaudited)     (unaudited)     (audited)  

Formation costs

   $ 5,665     $ 17,774     $ 12,109  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

   $ (5,665   $ (17,774   $ (12,109
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted(1) (2)

     5,000,000       5,000,000       5,000,000  

Basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share

   $ (0.00   $ (0.00   $ (0.00
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Excludes an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares of Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).

(2)

In July 2021, the Sponsor forfeited 2,875,000 Founder Shares, resulting in the Sponsor continuing to hold 5,750,000 Founder Shares. The share amounts as of June 30, 2021, March 31, 2021 and March 6, 2021 have been retroactively restated to account for the stock reclassification (see Note 5).

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F-4


Table of Contents

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

Statement of Changes in Shareholder’s Equity

For the period from March 1, 2021 (Inception) through June 30, 2021

 

     Class B Ordinary
Shares
     Additional
Paid-in
     Accumulated     Total
Shareholder’s
 
     Shares      Amount      Capital      Deficit     Equity  

Balance, March 1, 2021 (inception)

     —        $     —        $ —        $ —       $ —    

Issuance of Class B ordinary shares to Sponsor(1) (2)

     5,750,000        575        24,425        —         25,000  

Net loss

     —          —          —          (12,109     (12,109
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, March 6, 2021 (audited)

     5,750,000      $ 575      $ 24,425      $ (12,109   $ 12,891  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

     —          —          —          —         —    
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, March 31, 2021 (unaudited)

     5,750,000      $ 575      $ 24,425      $ (12,109   $ 12,891  

Net loss

     —          —          —          (5,665     (5,665

Balance, June 30, 2021

     5,750,000        575        24,425        (17,774     7,226  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Includes an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares of Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).

(2)

In July 2021, the Sponsor forfeited 2,875,000 Founder Shares, resulting in the Sponsor continuing to hold 5,750,000 Founder Shares. The share amounts as of June 30, 2021, March 31, 2021 and March 6, 2021 have been retroactively restated to account for the stock reclassification (see Note 5).

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F-5


Table of Contents

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

Statements of Cash Flows

 

     For the Period from
March 1, 2021
(Inception) through
June 30, 2021
    For the Period from
March 1, 2021
(Inception) through
March 6, 2021
 
     (unaudited)     (audited)  

Cash Flows from Operating Activities:

    

Net loss

   $ (17,774   $ (12,109

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

    

Accrued offering costs

     (81,850     —    

Accrued formation costs

     17,109       12,109  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in operating activities

     (82,515         
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash Flows from Financing Activities:

    

Proceeds from promissory note - related party

     170,000       —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash from financing activities

     170,000       —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net change in cash

     87,485       —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash at beginning of period

     —         —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash at end of period

   $ 87,485     $ —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-cash financing activities:

    

Deferred offering costs included in accrued offering costs

   $ 381,906     $ 65,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred offering costs in exchange for Class B ordinary shares to Sponsor

   $ 25,000     $ 25,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred offering costs paid by related party

   $ 15,245     $ —    

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F-6


Table of Contents

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

Notes to the Financial Statements

Note 1 — Description of Organization and Business Operations and Going Concern

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”) was incorporated in the Cayman Islands on March 1, 2021. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.

As of June 30, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from March 1, 2021 (inception) through June 30, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the proposed initial public offering (“Proposed Public Offering”), which is described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Proposed Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a Proposed Public Offering of 20,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit (or 23,000,000 Units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), which is discussed in Note 3, and the sale of 4,666,667 warrants (or 5,066,667 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised on full) (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant in private placements to WCAC1 Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”) that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Public Offering.

The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account). The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, management has agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.00 per Unit sold in the Proposed Public Offering, including proceeds of the Private Placement Warrants, will be held in a trust account (“Trust Account”), located in the United States and invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting certain conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds held in the Trust Account, as described below.

The Company will provide the holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “Public Shareholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer in connection with the Business Combination. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company. The Public Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their

 

F-7


Table of Contents

Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest then in the Trust Account, net of taxes payable). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. The Public Shares subject to redemption will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”

The Company will not redeem Public Shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that it does not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to the Business Combination. If the Company seeks shareholder approval of the Business Combination, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if an ordinary resolution is passed, or such higher approval threshold as may be required by law, in favor of the Business Combination, or such other vote as required by law or stock exchange rule. If a shareholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “Articles of Association”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor has agreed to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Public Offering in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company seeks shareholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Articles of Association will provide that a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company.

The Sponsor has agreed (a) to waive its redemption rights with respect to the Founder Shares and Public Shares held by it in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (b) not to propose an amendment to the Articles of Association (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemptions in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period (as defined below) or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.

If the Company has not completed a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to pay taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s

 

F-8


Table of Contents

remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.

The Sponsor has agreed to waive its liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Sponsor acquires Public Shares in or after the Proposed Public Offering, such Public Shares will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Proposed Public Offering price per Unit ($10.00).

In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (i) $10.00 per Public Share or (ii) such lesser amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 per public Share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account and except as to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Proposed Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (except for the Company’s independent registered accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.

Going Concern Consideration

At June 30, 2021, the Company had cash and a working capital deficit of $87,485 and $414,925, respectively. Further, the Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. The Company lacks the financial resources it needs to sustain operations for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the date of the issuance of the financial statements. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management plans to address this uncertainty through the Proposed Public Offering. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to raise capital will be successful. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Risks and Uncertainties

Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations, close of the Proposed Public Offering and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

F-9


Table of Contents

Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying audited financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Emerging Growth Company

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

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

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period.

Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

Deferred Offering Costs

Deferred offering costs consist of costs incurred in connection with preparation for the Proposed Public Offering. These costs, together with the underwriting discounts and commissions, will be charged to additional paid in capital upon completion of the Proposed Public Offering or charged to operations if the Proposed Public Offering is not completed. At June 30, 2021 and March 6, 2021, the Company had deferred offering costs of $422,151 and $90,000, respectively.

 

F-10


Table of Contents

Income Taxes

The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

FASB ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of June 30, 2021 and March 6, 2021. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.

There is currently no taxation imposed on income by the Government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements.

Net Loss per Ordinary Share

Net loss per ordinary share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period, excluding ordinary shares subject to forfeiture. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 750,000 Class B ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriters (see Note 5). At June 30, 2021 and March 6, 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on this account.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging (ASC 815)”. For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recorded at its fair value on the grant date and is then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in

 

F-11


Table of Contents

the fair value reported in the statements of operations. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period. Derivative liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or noncurrent based on whether or not net-cash settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date. There were no derivative financial instruments as of June 30, 2021 and March 6, 2021.

Recent Accounting Standards

Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.

Note 3 — Proposed Public Offering

Pursuant to the Proposed Public Offering, the Company intends to offer for sale 20,000,000 Units (or 23,000,000 Units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable public warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per whole share, subject to adjustment (see Note 8).

Note 4 — Private Placements

The Sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 4,666,667 Private Placement Warrants (or 5,066,667 Private Placement Warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised in full) at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant ($7,000,000, or an aggregate of $7,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised in full) from the Company in private placements that will occur simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 8). The proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be added to the net proceeds from the Proposed Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The Private Placement Warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of an Initial Business Combination, subject to certain exceptions.

Note 5 — Related Parties

Founder Shares

During the period ended June 30, 2021, the Sponsor purchased 8,625,000 shares of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”) in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000 that was paid by the Sponsor for formation and deferred offering costs. In July 2021, the Sponsor forfeited 2,875,000 Founder Shares, resulting in the Sponsor continuing to hold 5,750,000 Founder Shares. The share amounts as of June 30, 2021, March 31, 2021 and March 6, 2021 have been retroactively restated to account for the stock reclassification. The Founder Shares include an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment is not exercised in full or in part, so that the number of Founder Shares will equal, on an as-converted basis, approximately 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the Proposed Public Offering.

The Sponsor has agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary share equals

 

F-12


Table of Contents

or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.

Promissory Note — Related Party

On March 6, 2021, the Sponsor issued an unsecured promissory note to the Company (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $400,000. The Promissory Note is non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2021 or (ii) the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering. As of June 30, 2021 and March 6, 2021, there was $170,000 and $0, respectively, outstanding under the Promissory Note.

Administrative Services Agreement

Commencing on the date the Units are first listed on NYSE, the Company has agreed to pay the Sponsor a total of $20,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of the Initial Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees.

Related Party Loans

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). Such Working Capital Loans would be evidenced by promissory notes. The notes may be repaid upon completion of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $2,000,000 of the notes may be converted upon completion of a Business Combination into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. As of June 30, 2021 and March 6, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under the Working Capital Loans.

Note 6 — Commitments and Contingencies

Registration Rights

The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of Proposed Public Offering requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion to Class A ordinary shares). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to completion of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that no sales of these securities will be effected until after the expiration of the applicable lockup period. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

 

F-13


Table of Contents

Underwriting Agreement

The Company will grant the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of Proposed Public Offering to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Proposed Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

The underwriters will be entitled to a cash underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $4,000,000 in the aggregate (or $4,600,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. In addition, the underwriters will be entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $7,000,000 in the aggregate (or $8,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

Note 7 — Shareholder’s Equity

Preference Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 5,000,000 preference shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of June 30, 2021 and March 6, 2021, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.

Class A Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. As of June 30, 2021 and March 6, 2021, there were no Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding.

Class B Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. As of June 30, 2021 and March 6, 2021, there were 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding, of which an aggregate of up to 750,000 Class B ordinary shares are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part so that the number of Founder Shares will equal 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the Proposed Public Offering.

Only holders of the Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors and to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, approval of the organizational documents of our company in such other jurisdiction), in each case by way of ordinary resolution, prior to our initial business combination. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and holders of Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders except as otherwise required by law. In connection with our initial business combination, we may enter into a shareholders’ agreement or other arrangements with the shareholders of the target or other investors to provide for voting or other corporate governance arrangements that differ from those in effect upon completion of this offering.

The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of a Business Combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in the Proposed Public Offering and related to the closing of a Business Combination, the ratio at which of Class B ordinary shares shall convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon the completion of Proposed Public Offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business

 

F-14


Table of Contents

Combination (net of the number of Class A ordinary shares redeemed in connection with a Business Combination), excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued or issuable to any seller of an interest in the target to us in a Business Combination.

Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Public Warrants. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination and (b) one year from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. The Public Warrants will expire five years from the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a Public Warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue a Class A ordinary share upon exercise of a warrant unless the Class A ordinary share issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants.

The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days, after the closing of a Business Combination, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following the closing of a Business Combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating thereto until the warrants expire or, in the case of the Public Warrants only, are redeemed, as specified in the public or private warrant agreements, as applicable; provided that if the Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a public warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, but the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify for sale the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In the case of public Warrants only, if such registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is not effective by the 60th day after the closing of a Business Combination, holders of the Public Warrants may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise Public Warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, but the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.

Redemption of Public Warrants. Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding Public Warrants:

 

   

in whole and not in part;

 

   

at a price of $0.01 per Public Warrant;

 

   

upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each Public Warrant holder; and

 

   

if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares has been at least $18.00 per share (subject to adjustment in compliance with the public warrant agreement) for any ten (10) trading days within the twenty (20) trading day period ending on the third (3rd) trading day prior to the date on which notice of such redemption is given to the public warrant holders.

 

F-15


Table of Contents

The Company will not redeem the Public Warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period or the Company elected to require the exercise of the Public Warrants on a “cashless basis” as described below. If and when the Public Warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if it is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, as described above, its management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their Public Warrants on a “cashless basis”, the Company’s management will consider, among other factors, its cash position, the number of Public Warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on the Company’s shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Public Warrants. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the Public Warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the Public Warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (as defined below) of the Class A ordinary shares over the exercise price of the Public Warrants by (y) the “fair market value.” Solely for purposes of this paragraph, the “fair market value” means the volume-weighted average closing price of the Class A ordinary shares as reported for the ten trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the Public Warrants. However, except as described below, the Public Warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of ordinary shares at a price below their exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Public Warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of Public Warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their Public Warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such Public Warrants. Accordingly, the Public Warrants may expire worthless.

The Private Placement Warrants will be identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units being sold in the Proposed Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable and will be exercisable at the election of the holder on a “cashless basis.”

Neither the Private Placement Warrants nor Public Warrants contain any provisions that change dependent upon the characteristics of the holder of the warrant.

Note 8 — Subsequent Events

The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date through July 30, 2021, the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, other than as described below, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.

In July 2021, the Sponsor forfeited 2,875,000 Founder Shares, resulting in the Sponsor continuing to hold 5,750,000 Founder Shares. The share amounts as of June 30, 2021, March 31, 2021 and March 6, 2021 have been retroactively restated to account for the stock reclassification. See Notes 3, 5, and 7.

 

F-16


Table of Contents

 

 

$200,000,000

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

, 2021

 

 

Joint Book-Running Managers

Evercore ISI

Morgan Stanley

 

 

 

Until             , 2021, all dealers that effect transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to unsold allotments or subscriptions.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.

The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with the offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions) will be as follows:

 

SEC expenses

   $ 25,093  

FINRA expenses

     35,000  

Accounting fees and expenses

     55,000  

Printing and engraving expenses

     45,000  

Legal fees and expenses

     300,000  

Stock exchange listing and filing fees

     85,000  

Travel and road show expenses

     10,000  

Miscellaneous

     344,907  
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 900,000  
  

 

 

 

 

(1)

This amount represents the approximate amount of annual director and officer liability insurance premiums the registrant anticipates paying following the completion of its initial public offering and until it completes a business combination.

Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful neglect, actual fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own willful default, willful neglect or actual fraud. We will enter into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We expect to purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.

Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.

On March 6, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in consideration of 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 each. On July 28, 2021, our sponsor

 

II-1


Table of Contents

forfeited 2,875,000 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in our sponsor continuing to hold 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, or approximately $.005 per share (assuming the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option and the initial shareholders forfeit 750,000 Class B ordinary shares). Such securities were issued in connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. At the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor intends to transfer 45,000 founder shares to each of our director nominees and our chief financial officer, resulting in our sponsor holding 5,525,000 founder shares.

Our sponsor is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D. Each of the equity holders in our sponsor is an accredited investor under Rule 501 of Regulation D. The sole business of our sponsor is to act as the company’s sponsor in connection with this offering.

Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 4,666,667 private placement warrants (or 5,066,667 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, at a price of $1.50 per warrant ($7,000,000 in the aggregate or $7,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. This issuance will be made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.

No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.

Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.

(a)    The Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference.

(b)    The financial statements and notes thereto beginning on page F-1 are incorporated herein by reference.

Item 17. Undertakings.

(i)    The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

(ii)    Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

(iii)    The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

1.    For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

2.    For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

II-2


Table of Contents

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit No.

  

Description

  1.1*    Form of Underwriting Agreement.
  3.1**   

Memorandum and Articles of Association.

  3.2*    Form of Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.
  4.1**   

Specimen Unit Certificate.

  4.2*   

Specimen Class A Ordinary Share Certificate.

  4.3*   

Specimen Warrant Certificate.

  4.4*   

Form of Public Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.

  4.5*    Form of Private Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.
  5.1*    Opinion of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.
  5.2*    Opinion of Walkers, Cayman Islands Legal Counsel to the Registrant.
10.1*   

Form of Investment Management Trust Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer  & Trust Company and the Registrant.

10.2**   

Form of Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement among the Registrant, the Sponsor and the Holders signatory thereto.

10.3*   

Form of Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement between the Registrant and the Sponsor.

10.4**   

Form of Indemnity Agreement.

10.5**   

Promissory Note, dated March  6, 2021, issued by the Registrant to the Sponsor.

10.6**   

Securities Subscription Agreement, dated as of March 6, 2021, between the Registrant and the Sponsor.

10.7*   

Form of Letter Agreement among the Registrant, the Sponsor and directors and officers of the Registrant.

10.8**   

Form of Administrative Support Agreement between the Registrant and the Sponsor.

23.1*   

Consent of Marcum LLP.

23.2*    Consent of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (included on Exhibit 5.1).
23.3*    Consent of Walkers, Cayman Islands Legal Counsel to the Registrant (included on Exhibit 5.2).
24*   

Power of Attorney (included in the signature page hereto).

99.1**   

Consent of Chris Silbermann.

99.2**   

Consent of Jeff Bewkes.

99.3**   

Consent of David Gandler.

99.4**    Consent of Alfred Osborne.

 

*

Filed herewith.

**

Previously filed.

 

II-3


Table of Contents

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the city of Palo Alto, State of California, on the 30th day of July, 2021.

 

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1
By:  

/s/ Daniel Leff

  Name: Daniel Leff
  Title: Chief Executive Officer

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each of the undersigned constitutes and appoints each of Daniel Leff and Alan Henricks, each acting alone, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this registration statement on Form S-1 (including all pre-effective and post-effective amendments and registration statements filed pursuant to Rule 462 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, each acting alone, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming that any such attorney-in-fact and agent, or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signature

  

Title

 

Date

/s/ Daniel Leff    

   Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) and Director   July 30, 2021
Daniel Leff

 

/s/ Alan Henricks    

   Chief Financial Officer(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)   July 30, 2021
Alan Henricks

AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 6(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned has signed this registration statement, solely in its capacity as the duly authorized representative of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1, in the city of Palo Alto, State of California, on the 30th day of July, 2021.

 

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

By:

  /s/ Daniel Leff
  Name: Daniel Leff
  Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

II-4

Exhibit 1.1

20,000,000 Units

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

[•], 2021

Evercore Group L.L.C.

55 East 52nd Street, Ste 35

New York, New York 10055

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

1585 Broadway

New York, New York 10036

As Representatives of the several Underwriters

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. I, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), proposes to sell to the several underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (collectively, the “Underwriters”), for whom you are acting as representatives (the “Representatives”), 20,000,000 units (the “Units”) of the Company (said Units to be issued and sold by the Company being hereinafter called the “Underwritten Securities”). The Company also proposes to grant to the Underwriters an option to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any (the “Option Securities”; the Option Securities, together with the Underwritten Securities, being hereinafter called the “Securities”). To the extent there are no additional Underwriters listed on Schedule I other than you, the term Representatives as used herein shall mean you, as Underwriters, and the term Underwriter shall mean either the singular or plural as the context requires. Certain capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined are defined in Section 23 hereof.

Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share of the Company (the “Class A Ordinary Shares”), and one-third of one redeemable warrant, where each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A Ordinary Share (the “Warrants”). The Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants included in the Units will not trade separately until the 52nd day following the date of the Prospectus (unless the Underwriters inform the Company of its decision to allow earlier separate trading), subject to (a) the Company’s preparation of an audited balance sheet reflecting the receipt by the Company of the proceeds of the Offering (as defined below), (b) the filing of such audited balance sheet with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on a Form 8-K or similar form by the Company that includes such audited balance sheet and (c) the Company having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Each whole Warrant entitles its holder, upon exercise, to purchase one Class A Ordinary Share for $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, during the period commencing on the later of thirty (30) days after the completion of our Business Combination (as defined below) or twelve (12) months from the date of the consummation of the Offering and terminating on the five-year anniversary of the date of the completion of such Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation; provided, however, that pursuant to the Warrant Agreements (as defined below), a warrant may not be exercised for a fractional share. As used herein, the term “Business Combination” (as described more fully in the Registration Statement) shall mean a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses.


The Company has entered into an Investment Management Trust Agreement, effective as of the date hereof, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (“CST”), as trustee, in substantially the form filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Registration Statement (the “Trust Agreement”), pursuant to which the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants and certain proceeds of the Offering will be deposited and held in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) for the benefit of the Company, the Underwriters and the holders of the Underwritten Securities and the Option Securities, if and when issued.

The Company has entered into a Public Warrant Agreement, effective as of the date hereof, with respect to the Warrants with CST, as warrant agent, in substantially the form filed as Exhibit 4.4 to the Registration Statement (the “Public Warrant Agreement”), pursuant to which CST will act as warrant agent for the Warrants.

The Company has entered into a Private Warrant Agreement, effective as of the date hereof, with respect to the Private Placement Warrants with CST, as warrant agent, in substantially the form filed as Exhibit 4.5 to the Registration Statement (the “Private Warrant Agreement”, and together with the Public Warrant Agreement, the “Warrant Agreements”), pursuant to which CST will act as warrant agent for the Private Placement Warrants.

The Company has entered into a Securities Subscription Agreement, dated as of March 6, 2021, with WCACI Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”)(the “Founder’s Purchase Agreement”), pursuant to which the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company (including the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion thereof, the “Founder Shares”), for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. On July 28, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered 2,875,000 Founder Shares for no consideration, resulting in the Sponsor continuing to hold 5,750,000 Founder Shares (up to 750,000 of which are subject to surrender depending on the extent to which the Underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised). The Founder Shares are substantially similar to the Class A Ordinary Shares included in the Units except as described in the Prospectus.

The Company has entered into a Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement, effective as of the date hereof, with the Sponsor, in substantially the form filed as Exhibit 10.3 to the Registration Statement (the “Private Placement Warrant Purchase Agreement”), pursuant to which the Sponsor will purchase an aggregate of 4,666,667 warrants (or up to 5,066,667 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) (the “Private Placement Warrants”), at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant. Each Private Placement Warrant entitles the holder, upon exercise, to purchase one share of Class A Ordinary Share for $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The Private Placement Warrants are substantially similar to the Warrants included in the Units, except as described in the Registration Statement and the Private Warrant Agreement.

 

2


The Company has entered into a Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, effective as of the date hereof, with the Sponsor and the other parties thereto, in substantially the form filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Registration Statement (the “Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company has granted certain registration rights in respect of the Founder Shares, the Private Placement Warrants, the Private Placement Warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (if any, the “Working Capital Warrants”) and the Class A Ordinary Shares underlying the Private Placement Warrants and the Working Capital Warrants.

The Company has caused to be duly executed and delivered a letter agreement, effective as of the date hereof, by and among the Sponsor and each of the Company’s officers, directors, and director nominees, in substantially the form filed as Exhibit 10.7 to the Registration Statement (the “Insider Letter”).

The Company has entered into an Administrative Support Agreement, effective as of the date hereof, with the Sponsor, in substantially the form filed as Exhibit 10.8 to the Registration Statement (the “Administrative Services Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company will pay to the Sponsor an aggregate monthly fee of $20,000 for certain office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative services.

 

1.

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES.

The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each Underwriter as set forth below in this Section 1.

 

  (a)

The Company has prepared and filed with the Commission the Registration Statement (file number 333-254842) on Form S-1, including the related Preliminary Prospectus, for registration under the Act of the offering and sale of the Securities. Such Registration Statement, including any amendments thereto filed prior to the Execution Time, has become effective. The Company has filed one or more amendments thereto, including the related Preliminary Prospectus, each of which has previously been furnished to you. The Company will file with the Commission the Prospectus in accordance with Rule 424(b). As filed, such Prospectus shall contain all information required by the Act and, except to the extent the Representatives shall agree in writing to a modification, shall be in all substantive respects in the form furnished to you prior to the Execution Time or, to the extent not completed at the Execution Time, shall contain only such specific additional information and other changes (beyond that contained in the latest Preliminary Prospectus) as the Company has advised you and that has been approved by you, prior to the Execution Time, will be included or made therein. The Company has complied to the Commission’s satisfaction with all requests of the Commission for additional or supplemental information.

 

  (b)

On the Effective Date, the Registration Statement did, and when the Prospectus is first filed in accordance with Rule 424(b) and on the Closing Date (as defined herein) and on any date on which Option Securities are purchased, if such date is not the Closing Date (an “Additional Closing Date”), the Prospectus (and any supplement thereto) will, comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Act; on the Effective Date and at the Execution Time, the Registration Statement did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or

 

3


  necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; as of the Applicable Time, any individual Written Testing-the-Waters Communication (as defined herein) and any “road show” as defined in Rule 433(h) did not, and on the Closing Date and any Additional Closing Date, will not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Statutory Prospectus, complied or will comply, as applicable, in all material respects with the Act, when considered together with the Statutory Prospectus, and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and on the date of any filing pursuant to Rule 424(b) and on the Closing Date and any Additional Closing Date, the Prospectus (together with any supplement thereto) will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or warranties as to the information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (or any supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of any Underwriter through the Representatives specifically for inclusion in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (or any supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 8(b) hereof.

 

  (c)

The Statutory Prospectus, as of the Applicable Time and on the Closing Date and any Additional Closing Date, did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or warranties as to the information contained in or omitted from the Statutory Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of any Underwriter through the Representatives specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by or on behalf of any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 8(b) hereof.

 

  (d)

The Company has filed with the Commission a registration statement on Form 8-A (file number [•]) providing for the registration under the Exchange Act of the Securities, which registration is currently effective on the date hereof. The Securities have been authorized for listing, subject to official notice of issuance and evidence of satisfactory distribution, on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), and the Company knows of no reason or set of facts that is likely to adversely affect such authorization.

 

  (e)

The Commission has not issued any order or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened to issue any order preventing or suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any part thereof, and has not instituted or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened to institute any proceedings with respect to such an order.

 

4


  (f)

(i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement and (ii) as of the Execution Time (with such date being used as the determination date for purposes of this clause (ii)), the Company was and is an Ineligible Issuer (as defined in Rule

 

  (g)

405).The Company has not prepared or used a Free Writing Prospectus.

 

  (h)

The Company has been (i) duly incorporated and is validly existing as an exempted company in good standing under the laws of the Cayman Islands with full corporate power and authority to own or lease, as the case may be, and to operate its properties and conduct its business as described in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus and to enter into this Agreement, the Trust Agreement, the Public Warrant Agreement, the Private Warrant Agreement, the Founder’s Purchase Agreement, the Private Placement Warrant Purchase Agreement, the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, the Insider Letter and the Administrative Services Agreement, and to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, and (ii) is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation and is in good standing under the laws of each jurisdiction that requires such qualification, except in the case of this clause (ii), where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, business or prospects of the Company, taken as a whole, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”). The Company has no subsidiaries (as defined under the Act).

 

  (i)

Since the date of the most recent financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, except as otherwise specifically stated therein, (i) there has been no material adverse change or any development involving a prospective material adverse change in or affecting the financial condition, prospects, earnings, business or properties of the Company, (ii) there have been no material transactions entered into by the Company, other than as contemplated pursuant to this Agreement, (iii) no member of the Company’s management has resigned from any position with the Company and (iv) no event or occurrence has taken place which materially impairs, or would likely materially impair, with the passage of time, the ability of the Company’s directors, director nominees or management to act in their capacities with the Company as described in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus.

 

  (j)

There is no franchise, contract or other document of a character required to be described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus, or to be filed as an exhibit thereto, which is not described or filed as required (and the Statutory Prospectus contains in all material respects the same description of the foregoing matters contained in the Prospectus); and the statements in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus under the headings “Principal Shareholders,” “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions,” and “Description of Securities” insofar as such statements summarize legal matters, agreements, documents or proceedings discussed therein, are accurate and fair summaries of such legal matters, agreements, documents or proceedings. There are no business relationships or related party transactions involving the Company or any other person required by the Act to be described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus that have not been described as required.

 

5


  (k)

The Company’s authorized equity capitalization is as set forth in the Registration Statement, Statutory Prospectus, and the Prospectus and the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company.

 

  (l)

All issued and outstanding shares of the Company have been duly authorized and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable (meaning that that no additional sums may be levied in respect of such shares on the holder thereof by the Company); and none of such shares were issued in violation of the preemptive rights of any holders of any security of the Company or similar contractual rights granted by the Company. The offers and sales of the issued and outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants were at all relevant times either registered under the Act, the applicable state securities and blue sky laws or, based in part on the representations and warranties of the purchasers of such Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants, exempt from such registration requirements. The holders of issued and outstanding shares of the Company are not entitled to preemptive or other rights to subscribe for the Securities arising by operation of law or under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (the “Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association”); and, except as set forth in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, no options, warrants or other rights to purchase, agreements or other obligations to issue, or rights to convert any obligations into or exchange any securities for, shares or other ownership interests in the Company are issued and outstanding.

 

  (m)

The Securities have been duly authorized and when issued and delivered by the Company against payment by the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement, will be validly issued and will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability, and will conform to the description of the Units contained in the Prospectus; and the issuance of the Units is not subject to any preemptive or similar rights.

 

  (n)

The Class A Ordinary Shares included in the Units have been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment for the Securities by the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement and registered in the Company’s register of members (including the registration of the share issuance in the Company’s register of members as fully paid), will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable (meaning that no additional sums may be levied in respect of such Ordinary Shares on the holder thereof by the Company).

 

  (o)

The Private Placement Warrants have been duly authorized and, when delivered upon the consummation of this Offering, will be duly executed, authenticated and issued, and when issued and delivered in the manner set forth in the Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement against payment therefor pursuant to the Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement and registered in the Company’s register of members, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, and will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.

 

6


  (p)

The Warrants included in the Units, when executed, authenticated, issued and delivered in the manner set forth in the Public Warrant Agreement against payment for the Securities by the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement, will be duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered, and will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.

 

  (q)

The Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants included in the Units and the Private Placement Warrants have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance upon exercise thereof and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor pursuant to the Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants, as applicable, and the Public Warrant Agreement, Private Warrant Agreement and the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (including the registration of the share issuance in the Company’s register of members as fully paid) will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable (meaning that no additional sums may be levied in respect of such Ordinary Shares on the holder thereof by the Company). The holders of such Class A Ordinary Shares are not and will not be subject to personal liability by reason of being such holders; such Class A Ordinary Shares are not and will not be subject to any preemptive or other similar contractual rights granted by the Company; and all corporate action required to be taken for the authorization, issuance and sale of such Class A Ordinary Shares (other than such execution, countersignature and delivery at the time of issuance) has been duly and validly taken including in accordance with the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company.

 

  (r)

Except as set forth in the Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company, no holders of any securities of the Company or any rights exercisable for or convertible or exchangeable into securities of the Company have the right to require the Company to register any such securities of the Company under the Act or to include any such securities in a registration statement to be filed by the Company.

 

  (s)

No securities of the Company have been sold by the Company or by or on behalf of, or for the benefit of, any person or persons controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Company from its inception through and including the date hereof, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus.

 

  (t)

Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates has, prior to the date hereof, made any offer or sale of any securities that are required to be “integrated” pursuant to the Act with the offer and sale of the Underwritten Securities pursuant to the Registration Statement.

 

  (u)

The Class A Ordinary Shares included in the Founder Shares are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable (meaning that that no additional sums may be levied in respect of such shares on the holder thereof by the Company.

 

  (v)

[Reserved].

 

7


  (w)

This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.

 

  (x)

The Trust Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company, and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company, in accordance with its terms except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.

 

  (y)

The Public Warrant Agreement and Private Warrant Agreement have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and are valid and binding agreements of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.

 

  (z)

The Founder’s Purchase Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the Sponsor, and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company and the Sponsor, enforceable against the Company and the Sponsor in accordance with its terms except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.

 

  (aa)

The Private Placement Warrant Purchase Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the Sponsor, and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company and the Sponsor, enforceable against the Company and the Sponsor in accordance with its terms except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.

 

  (bb)

The Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.

 

  (cc)

The Insider Letter executed by the Company, the Sponsor and each executive officer, director and director nominee of the Company, has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company, the Sponsor and each such executive officer, director and director nominee, respectively, and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company, the Sponsor and each such executive officer, director and director nominee, respectively, enforceable against the Company, the Sponsor and each such executive officer, director and director nominee, respectively, in accordance with its terms except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.

 

8


  (dd)

The Administrative Services Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.

 

  (ee)

The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Securities and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, will not be an “investment company” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

 

  (ff)

No consent, approval, authorization, filing with or order of any court or governmental agency or body is required in connection with the transactions contemplated herein or in the Trust Agreement, the Public Warrant Agreement, the Private Warrant Agreement, the Founder’s Purchase Agreement, the Private Placement Warrant Purchase Agreement, the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, the Insider Letter or the Administrative Services Agreement, except for the registration under the Act and the Exchange Act of the Securities and such as may be required under state securities or blue sky laws of any jurisdiction in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters in the manner contemplated herein and in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus.

 

  (gg)

The Company is not in violation or default of (i) any provision of its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, (ii) the terms of any indenture, contract, lease, mortgage, deed of trust, note agreement, loan agreement or other agreement, obligation, condition, covenant or instrument to which it is a party or bound or to which its property is subject, or (iii) any (x) statute, law, rule, regulation, or (y) judgment, order or decree of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company; except in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above for any such conflict, breach or violation that would not, individually or in the aggregate, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

  (hh)

Neither the issue and sale of the Securities nor the consummation of any other of the transactions herein contemplated nor the fulfillment of the terms hereof or of the Trust Agreement, the Public Warrant Agreement, the Private Warrant Agreement, the Founder’s Purchase Agreement, the Private Placement Warrant Purchase Agreement, the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, the Insider Letter or the Administrative Services Agreement will conflict with, result in a breach or violation of, or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company pursuant to, (i) the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company, (ii) the terms of any

 

9


  indenture, contract, lease, mortgage, deed of trust, note agreement, loan agreement or other agreement, obligation, condition, covenant or instrument to which the Company is a party or bound or to which the Company’s property is subject, or (iii) any statute, law, rule, or regulation, judgment, order or decree applicable to the Company of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its respective properties.

 

  (ii)

No holders of securities of the Company have rights to the registration of such securities under the Registration Statement.

 

  (jj)

The historical financial statements, including the notes thereto and the supporting schedules, if any, of the Company included in the Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement present fairly in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the Company as of the dates and for the periods indicated, comply as to form with the applicable accounting requirements of the Act and have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved (except as otherwise noted therein). The summary financial data set forth under the caption “Summary Financial Data” in the Statutory Prospectus, Prospectus and Registration Statement fairly present, on the basis stated in the Statutory Prospectus, Prospectus and Registration Statement, the information included therein. The Company is not party to any off-balance sheet transactions, arrangements, obligations (including contingent obligations), or other relationships with unconsolidated entities or other persons that may have a material current or future effect on the Company’s financial condition, changes in financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures, capital resources, or significant components of revenues or expenses. The statistical, industry-related and market-related data included in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably and in good faith believes are reliable and accurate, and such data agree with the sources from which they are derived.

 

  (kk)

No action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or the Sponsor, or the property of either of them is pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened that (i) would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the performance of this Agreement or the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated hereby by the Company or (ii) would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto).

 

  (ll)

The Company owns or leases all such properties as are necessary to the conduct of its operations as presently conducted.

 

  (mm)

Marcum LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and delivered their report with respect to the audited financial statements and schedules included in the Registration Statement, Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, is a registered public accounting firm that is independent with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Act and the Exchange Act and the applicable published rules and regulations thereunder.

 

10


  (nn)

The Company is not aware of (i) any material weakness in internal control over financial reporting or (ii) any change in internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. The Company maintains effective “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined under Rule 13a-15 (e) under the Exchange Act to the extent required by such rule).

 

  (oo)

Solely to the extent that the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder (the “Sarbanes Oxley Act”) have been applicable to the Company, there is and has been no failure on the part of the Company to comply in all material respects with the applicable provisions of the Sarbanes Oxley Act.

 

  (pp)

There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s officers, directors or director nominees, in their capacities as such, to comply with (as and when applicable), and immediately following the Effective Date the Company will be in compliance with, Section 303A of the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual (subject to applicable phase-in rules). Further, there is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or of the Company’s officers, directors or director nominees, in their capacities as such, to comply with (as and when applicable), and immediately following the Effective Date the Company will be in compliance with, the phase-in requirements and all other provisions of the New York Stock Exchange LLC corporate governance requirements set forth in the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual.

 

  (qq)

No stamp, documentary, issuance, registration, transfer, withholding, capital gains, income or other taxes or duties are payable by or on behalf of the Underwriters, the Company or any of its subsidiaries in the Cayman Islands or to any taxing authority thereof or therein or under U.S. federal law or the laws of any state, or any political subdivision thereof, in connection with (i) the execution, delivery or consummation of this Agreement, (ii) the creation, allotment and issuance of the Securities, (iii) the sale and delivery of the Securities to the Underwriters or purchasers procured by the Underwriters, or (iv) the resale and delivery of the shares by the Underwriters in the manner contemplated herein.

 

  (rr)

It is not necessary under the laws of the Cayman Islands (i) to enable the Underwriters to exercise their rights under this Agreement, or (ii) solely by reason of the execution, delivery or consummation of this Agreement, for any of the Underwriters to be qualified or entitled to carry out business in the Cayman Islands.

 

  (ss)

[Reserved].

 

11


  (tt)

The courts of the Cayman Islands recognize as a valid judgment any final monetary judgment obtained against the Company in the courts of the State of New York (without any re-examination of the merits the underlying dispute) provided such judgment is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction, imposes on the judgment debtor a personal obligation to pay a debt or definite sum of money for which the judgment has been given, is not impeachable and is final and conclusive, is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty, and was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind where the enforcement of which would be contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands.

 

  (uu)

Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, under current laws and regulations of the Cayman Islands and any political subdivision thereof, all dividends and other distributions declared and payable on the Securities may be paid by the Company to the holder thereof in United States dollars or Cayman Islands dollars that may be converted into foreign currency and freely transferred out of the Cayman Islands and all such payments made to holders thereof or therein who are non-residents of the Cayman Islands will not be subject to income, withholding or other taxes under laws and regulations of the Cayman Islands or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein and will otherwise be free and clear of any other tax, duty, withholding or deduction in the Cayman Islands or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein and without the necessity of obtaining any governmental authorization in the Cayman Islands or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein.

 

  (vv)

The Company has filed all tax returns (including U.S. federal, state and non-U.S.) that are required to be filed by it or has requested extensions thereof (except in any case in which the failure so to file would not have a Material Adverse Effect) through the date hereof and has paid all taxes required to be paid by it and any other assessment, fine or penalty levied against it, to the extent that any of the foregoing is due and payable, except for any such assessment, fine or penalty that is currently being contested in good faith and for which adequate reserves required by generally accepted accounting principles have been created with respect thereto or as would not be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Registration Statement, Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto).

 

  (ww)

The Company possesses all licenses, certificates, permits and other authorizations issued by the appropriate federal, state or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct its business, and the Company has not received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such license, certificate, authorization or permit that, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto).

 

  (xx)

None of the Company, the Sponsor or any director, director nominee, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company: (i) has used or will use any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity: (ii) has made or will make any direct or indirect unlawful contribution or payment to any official of, or candidate for, or any employee of, any federal, state

 

12


  or foreign office from corporate funds; (iii) has made or will make any bribe, unlawful rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment; or (iv) is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the OECD Convention on Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (“OECD Convention”), the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “FCPA”) or any similar law or regulation to which the Company, any director, director nominee, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company is subject. The Company, the Sponsor and its directors, director nominees, officers, agents, employees and affiliates have each conducted and will continue to conduct the business of the Company and their own businesses on behalf of the Company in compliance with the FCPA and other applicable anti-corruption laws and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith. The Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the Offering in any manner that would result in a violation of the FCPA or any other applicable anti-corruption laws.

 

  (yy)

The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record-keeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act),the applicable money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company conducts business, the applicable rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or threatened. The Company maintains policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure compliance with Money Laundering Laws.

 

  (zz)

None of the Company, the Sponsor or, any director, director nominee, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company is an individual or entity that is, or is owned or controlled by one or more individuals or entities that are, (i) currently the subject or target of any sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”), the U.S. Department of State, or any similar economic sanctions or restrictive measures administered or enforced by the United Nations Security Council, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, any other body, governmental or other, to which any of such persons is subject (collectively, “Sanctions”), (ii) located or organized under the laws of a country or territory that is the subject or target of Sanctions, including, as of the date of this Agreement, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria (each, a “Sanctioned Country”), or (iii) engaged in any transactions or dealings with any person that is the subject or target of Sanctions or with any Sanctioned Country. The Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the Offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such

 

13


  proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of (i) financing or facilitating the activities of any person or entity that is currently the subject or target of Sanctions, (ii) financing or facilitating any activities or business in any Sanctioned Country, or (iii) in any manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions. The Company maintains policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure compliance with Sanctions. The Company and each of its subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, are not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or transactions with any person or entity, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions.

 

  (aaa)

The Company acknowledges that, in accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act, the Underwriters are required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies their respective clients, including the Company, which information may include the name and address of their respective clients, as well as other information that will allow the Underwriters to properly identify their respective clients.

 

  (bbb)

Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company (i) does not have any material lending or other relationship with any bank or lending affiliate of any of the Underwriters and (ii) does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities hereunder to repay any outstanding debt owed to any affiliate of any of the Underwriters.

 

  (ccc)

All information contained in the questionnaires (the “Questionnaires”) completed by the Company and the Sponsor, and, to the knowledge of the Company, the Company’s officers, directors and director nominees and provided to the Underwriters, is true and correct in all material respects and the Company has not become aware of any information that would cause the information disclosed in the Questionnaires completed by the Sponsor or the Company’s officers, directors and director nominees to become inaccurate and incorrect in any material respect.

 

  (ddd)

To the Company’s knowledge, none of the Sponsor, officers, directors or director nominees of the Company is subject to a non-competition agreement or non-solicitation agreement with any employer or prior employer or other entity that could affect its, his or her ability to be and act in the capacity of shareholder, officer or director of the Company, as applicable.

 

  (eee)

Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, prior to the date hereof, the Company has not selected any specific acquisition target and has not, nor, has anyone on its behalf, initiated contact with any prospective acquisition target or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a possible initial Business Combination, or undertaken, or engaged or retained any agent or other representative to contact any suitable acquisition candidate.

 

14


  (fff)

Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, there are no claims, payments, arrangements, contracts, agreements or understandings relating to the payment of a brokerage commission or finder’s, consulting, origination or similar fee by the Company or the Sponsor with respect to the sale of the Securities hereunder or any other arrangements, agreements or understandings of the Company, the Sponsor or any officer or director or director nominee of the Company, or their respective affiliates, that may affect the Underwriters’ compensation, as determined by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”).

 

  (ggg)

Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company has not made any direct or indirect payments (in cash, securities or any other “underwriting compensation” as defined in Rule 5110(j)(22) of FINRA’s Conduct Rules): (i) to any person, as a finder’s fee, consulting fee or otherwise, in consideration of such person raising capital for the Company or introducing to the Company persons who raised or provided capital to the Company; (ii) to any person, to the Company’s knowledge, that has been accepted by FINRA as a member of FINRA (a “Member”); or (iii) to any person or entity that, to the Company’s knowledge, has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any Member, within the twelve months prior to the Effective Date, other than payments to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement.

 

  (hhh)

Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, during the period beginning 180 days prior to the initial filing of the Registration Statement and ending on the Effective Date, no Member and/or any person associated or affiliated with a Member has provided any investment banking, financial advisory and/or consulting services to the Company.

 

  (iii)

Except as disclosed in the FINRA Questionnaires provided to the Representatives, to the Company’s knowledge, no officer, director, director nominee or beneficial owner of any class of the Company’s securities (whether debt or equity, registered or unregistered, regardless of the time acquired or the source from which derived) (any such individual or entity, a “Company Affiliate”) is a Member or a person associated or affiliated with a Member.

 

  (jjj)

Except as disclosed in the FINRA Questionnaires provided to the Representatives, to the Company’s knowledge, no Company Affiliate is an owner of shares or other securities of any Member (other than securities purchased on the open market).

 

  (kkk)

No Company Affiliate has made a subordinated loan to any Member.

 

  (lll)

Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, no proceeds from the sale of the Underwritten Securities (excluding underwriting compensation as disclosed in the Registration Statement, Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus) will be paid by the Company to any Member, or any persons associated or affiliated with a Member.

 

15


  (mmm) 

The Company has not issued any warrants or other securities, or granted any options, directly or indirectly to anyone who is a potential underwriter in the Offering or a related person (as defined by FINRA rules) of such an underwriter within the 180-day period prior to the initial filing date of the Registration Statement.

 

  (nnn)

Except as disclosed in the FINRA Questionnaires, no person to whom securities of the Company have been privately issued within the 180-day period prior to the initial filing date of the Registration Statement has, to the Company’s knowledge, any relationship or affiliation or association with any Member.

 

  (ooo)

To the Company’s knowledge, no Member intending to participate in the Offering has a conflict of interest with the Company. For this purpose, a “conflict of interest” means, if at the time of the Member’s participation in the Offering, any of the following applies: (A) the securities are to be issued by the Member; (B) the Company controls, is controlled by or is under common control with the Member or the Member’s associated persons; (C) at least 5% of the net offering proceeds, not including underwriting compensation, are intended to be: (i) used to reduce or retire the balance of a loan or credit facility extended by the Member, its affiliates and its associated persons, in the aggregate; or (ii) otherwise directed to the Member, its affiliates and associated persons, in the aggregate; or (D) as a result of the Offering and any transactions contemplated at the time of the Offering: (i) the Member will be an affiliate of the Company; (ii) the Member will become publicly owned; or (iii) the Company will become a Member or form a broker-dealer subsidiary.

 

  (ppp)

The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would constitute or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities.

 

  (qqq)

The Company does not own an interest in any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust or other entity.

 

  (rrr)

No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among any of the Company or any affiliate of the Company, on the one hand, and any director, director nominee, officer, shareholder, special advisor, customer or supplier of the Company or any affiliate of the Company, on the other hand, which is required by the Act or the Exchange Act to be described in the Registration Statement, Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus that is not described as required. There are no outstanding loans, advances (except normal advances for business expenses in the ordinary course of business) or guarantees of indebtedness by the Company to or for the benefit of any of the officers, directors or director nominees of the Company or any of their respective family members, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus. The Company has not extended or maintained credit, arranged for the extension of credit, or renewed an extension of credit, in the form of a personal loan to or for any director, director nominee or officer of the Company.

 

16


  (sss)

The Company has not offered, or caused the Underwriters to offer, the Underwritten Securities to any person or entity with the intention of unlawfully influencing: (a) a customer or supplier of the Company or any affiliate of the Company to alter the customer’s or supplier’s level or type of business with the Company or such affiliate or (b) a journalist or publication to write or publish favorable information about the Company or any such affiliate.

 

  (ttt)

Upon delivery and payment for the Units on the Closing Date, the Company will not be subject to Rule 419 under the Act and none of the Company’s issued and outstanding securities will be deemed to be a “penny stock” as defined in Rule 3a51-1 under the Exchange Act.

 

  (uuu)

From the time of filing the initial confidential submission of the Registration Statement to the Commission (or, if earlier, the first date on which the Company engaged, directly or through any Person authorized to act on its behalf, in any Testing-the-Waters Communication) through the Execution Time, the Company has been and is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”). “Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Act.

 

  (vvv)

The Company (i) has not alone engaged in any Testing-the-Waters Communication other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with the consent of the Representatives with entities that are qualified institutional buyers within the meaning of Rule 144A under the Act or institutions that are accredited investors within the meaning of Rule 501 under the Act and (ii) has not authorized anyone other than the Representatives to engage in Testing-the-Waters Communications. The Company reconfirms that the Representatives have been authorized to act on its behalf in undertaking Testing-the-Waters Communications. The Company has not distributed any Written Testing-the-Waters Communications other than those listed on Schedule III hereto. “Written Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written communication within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Act.

 

  (www)

As of the time of filing of the Registration Statement, the Company was a “smaller reporting company,” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under of the Exchange Act.

 

  (xxx)

No governmental approvals are currently required in order for the Company to pay dividends, interest attributable to shareholders’ equity or other distributions declared by the Company to the holders of ordinary shares, and, under current laws and regulations, any amounts payable with respect to the ordinary shares upon liquidation of the Company or upon redemption thereof.

 

  (yyy)

Neither the Company nor any of its properties or assets has any immunity from the jurisdiction of any court or from any legal process (whether through service or notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution or otherwise) under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

 

17


  (zzz)

Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters in connection with the Offering shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company, as to matters covered thereby, to each Underwriter.

 

2.

PURCHASE AND SALE.

 

  (a)

Subject to the terms and conditions and in reliance upon the representations and warranties herein set forth, the Company agrees to sell to each Underwriter, and each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price of $9.80 per Unit, the amount of the Underwritten Securities set forth opposite such Underwriter’s name in Schedule I hereto.

 

  (b)

Subject to the terms and conditions and in reliance upon the representations and warranties herein set forth, the Company hereby grants an option to the several Underwriters to purchase, severally and not jointly, up to 3,000,000 Option Securities at the same purchase price per Unit as the Underwriters shall pay for the Underwritten Securities. Said option may be exercised only to cover over-allotments in the sale of the Underwritten Securities by the Underwriters. Said option may be exercised in whole or in part at any time on or before the 45th day after the date of the Prospectus upon written notice by the Representatives to the Company setting forth the number of Option Securities as to which the several Underwriters are exercising the option and the Additional Closing Date. The number of Option Securities to be purchased by each Underwriter shall be based upon the same percentage of the total number of the Option Securities to be purchased by the several Underwriters as such Underwriter is purchasing of the Underwritten Securities, subject to such adjustments as the Representatives in its absolute discretion shall make to eliminate any fractional shares.

 

  (c)

In addition to the discount from the public offering price represented by the purchase price set forth in the first sentence of Section 2(a) of this Agreement, the Company hereby agrees to pay to the Underwriters a deferred discount of $.35 per Unit (including both Underwritten Securities and Option Securities purchased hereunder) (the “Deferred Discount”). The Underwriters hereby agree that if no Business Combination is consummated within the time period provided in the Trust Agreement and the funds held under the Trust Agreement are distributed to the holders of the Class A Ordinary Share included in the Securities sold pursuant to this Agreement (, (i) the Underwriters will forfeit any rights or claims to the Deferred Discount and (ii) the trustee under the Trust Agreement is authorized to distribute the Deferred Discount to the Public Shareholders on a pro-rata basis.

 

18


3.

DELIVERY AND PAYMENT.

Delivery of and payment for the Underwritten Securities and the Option Securities (if the option provided for in Section 2 hereof shall have been exercised on or before the third Business Day prior to the Closing Date) shall be made at 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on [•], 2021, or at such time on such later date not more than three Business Days after the foregoing date as the Representatives shall designate, which date and time may be postponed by agreement between the Representatives and the Company or as provided in Section 9 hereof (such date and time of delivery and payment for the Securities being herein called the “Closing Date”). Delivery of the Securities shall be made to the Representatives for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters against payment by the several Underwriters through the Representatives of the purchase price thereof by wire transfer payable in same-day funds to an account specified by the Company and to the Trust Account as described below in this Section 3. Delivery of the Underwritten Securities and the Option Securities shall be made through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) unless the Representatives shall otherwise instruct.

 

  (a)

Payment for the Underwritten Securities shall be made as follows: $196,000,000 of the net proceeds for the Underwritten Securities shall be deposited in the Trust Account pursuant to the terms of the Trust Agreement along with such portion of the gross proceeds of the Private Placement Warrants (the “Private Placement Portion”) in order for the Trust Account to equal the product of the number of Units sold and the Public Offering price per Unit as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus upon delivery to the Representatives of the Underwritten Securities through the facilities of DTC or, if the Representatives have otherwise instructed, upon delivery to the Representatives of certificates (in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives) representing the Underwritten Securities, in each case for the account of the Underwriters. The Underwritten Securities shall be registered in such name or names and in such authorized denominations as the Representatives may request in writing at least two Business Days prior to the Closing Date. If delivery is not made through the facilities of DTC, the Company will permit the Representatives to examine and package the Underwritten Securities for delivery, at least one Business Day prior to the Closing Date. The Company shall not be obligated to sell or deliver the Underwritten Securities except upon tender of payment by the Representatives for all the Underwritten Securities. Payment by the Underwriters for the Underwritten Securities is contingent on the (i) payment by the Sponsor to the Company for the Private Placement Warrants and (ii) deposit of the Private Placement Portion by or at the direction of the Company into the Trust Account, in each case at least one Business Day prior to the Closing Date.

 

  (b)

Payment for the Option Securities shall be made as follows: $9.80 per Option Security shall be deposited in the Trust Account pursuant to the terms of the Trust Agreement upon delivery to the Representatives of the Option Securities through the facilities of DTC or, if the Representatives have otherwise instructed, upon delivery to the Representatives of certificates (in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives) representing the Option Securities (or through the facilities of DTC) for the account of the Underwriters. The Option Securities shall be registered in such name or names and in such authorized denominations as the Representatives may request in writing at least two Business Days prior to the Closing Date. If delivery is not made through the facilities of DTC, the Company will permit the Representatives to examine and package the Option Securities for delivery, at least one Business Day prior to the Closing Date. The Company shall not be obligated to sell or deliver the Option Securities except upon tender of payment by the Representatives for all the Option Securities.

 

19


If the option provided for in Section 2 hereof is exercised after the third Business Day prior to the Closing Date, the Company will deliver the Option Securities (at the expense of the Company) to the Representatives, at 55 East 52nd Street, Ste 35, New York, New York 10055, on the date specified by the Representatives (which shall be at least three Business Days after exercise of said option) for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters, against payment by the several Underwriters through the Representatives of the purchase price thereof to the Trust Account as described above in this Section 3(b). If settlement for the Option Securities occurs after the Closing Date, the Company will deliver to the Representatives on the Additional Closing Date for the Option Securities, and the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase the Option Securities shall be conditioned upon receipt of, supplemental opinions, certificates and letters confirming as of such date the opinions, certificates and letters delivered on the Closing Date pursuant to Section 6 hereof.

 

4.

OFFERING BY UNDERWRITERS.

It is understood that the several Underwriters propose to offer the Securities for sale to the public as set forth in the Prospectus (the “Offering”).

 

5.

AGREEMENTS.

The Company agrees with the several Underwriters that:

 

  (a)

Prior to the termination of the Offering, the Company will not file any amendment of the Registration Statement or supplement to the Prospectus or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement unless the Company has furnished you a copy for your review prior to filing and will not file any such proposed amendment, supplement or Rule 462(b) Registration Statement to which you reasonably object. The Company will cause the Prospectus, properly completed, and any supplement thereto to be filed in a form approved by the Representatives with the Commission pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) within the time period prescribed and will provide evidence satisfactory to the Representatives of such timely filing. The Company will promptly advise the Representatives (i) when the Prospectus, and any supplement thereto, shall have been filed (if required) with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) or when any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication shall have been filed with the Commission, (ii) when, prior to termination of the Offering, any amendment to the Registration Statement shall have been filed or become effective, (iii) of any request by the Commission or its staff for any amendment of the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication or for any supplement to the Prospectus or for any additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any order preventing or suspending the use of the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, or

 

20


  of the institution of any proceedings for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Act and (v) of the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for sale in any jurisdiction or the institution or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatening of any proceeding for such purpose. The Company will use its best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such stop order or the occurrence of any such suspension or objection to the use of the Registration Statement and, upon such issuance, occurrence or notice of objection, to obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal of such stop order or relief from such occurrence or objection, including, if necessary, by filing an amendment to the Registration Statement or a new registration statement and using its best efforts to have such amendment or new registration statement declared effective as soon as practicable.

 

  (b)

If, at any time prior to the filing of the Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b), any event or development occurs as a result of which the Statutory Prospectus would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein in the light of the circumstances under which they were made at such time not misleading, the Company will (i) notify promptly the Representatives so that any use of the Statutory Prospectus may cease until it is amended or supplemented; (ii) amend or supplement the Statutory Prospectus to correct such statement or omission in a form reasonably acceptable to the Representatives; and (iii) supply any amendment or supplement to you in such quantities as you may reasonably request.

 

  (c)

If, at any time when a prospectus relating to the Securities is required to be delivered under the Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172), any event or development occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein in the light of the circumstances under which they were made at such time not misleading, or if it shall be necessary to amend the Registration Statement or supplement the Prospectus to comply with the Act or the rules thereunder, the Company promptly will (i) notify the Representatives of any such event; (ii) prepare and file with the Commission, subject to the first two sentences of paragraph (a) of this Section 5, an amendment or supplement that will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; and (iii) supply any supplemented Prospectus to you in such quantities as you may reasonably request.

 

  (d)

The Company will make generally available to its security holders and to the Representatives an earnings statement or statements of the Company and its subsidiaries that will satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Act and Rule 158.

 

  (e)

The Company will not make any offer relating to the Units that constitutes or would constitute a Free Writing Prospectus or a portion thereof required to be filed by the Company with the Commission or retained by the Company under Rule 433 of the Act.

 

21


  (f)

The Company will furnish to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters, without charge, signed copies of the Registration Statement (including exhibits thereto) and to each other Underwriter a copy of the Registration Statement (without exhibits thereto) and, so long as delivery of a prospectus by an Underwriter or dealer may be required by the Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172), as many copies of each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and any supplement thereto as the Representatives may reasonably request. The Company will pay the expenses of printing or other production of all documents relating to the Offering.

 

  (g)

The Company will arrange, if necessary, for the qualification of the Securities for sale under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Representatives may designate and will maintain such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Securities; provided that in no event shall the Company be obligated to qualify to do business in any jurisdiction where it is not now so qualified or to take any action that would subject it to service of process in suits, or to taxation as a foreign corporation doing business in such jurisdiction, other than those arising out of the offering or sale of the Securities, in any jurisdiction where it is not now so subject.

 

  (h)

The Company will not, without the prior written consent of the Representatives, offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of (or enter into any transaction that is designed to, or might reasonably be expected to, result in the disposition (whether by actual disposition or effective economic disposition due to cash settlement or otherwise) by the Company or any affiliate of the Company or any person in privity with the Company or any affiliate of the Company, in each case, other than those entities or individuals that have executed the Insider Letter), directly or indirectly, including the filing (or participation in the filing) of a registration statement with the Commission in respect of, or establish or increase a put equivalent position or liquidate or decrease a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act with respect to, any other Units, Class A Ordinary Shares, Warrants or any securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, Class A Ordinary Shares or publicly announce an intention to effect any such transaction during the period commencing on the date hereof and ending 180 days after the date of this Agreement; provided, however, that the Company may (1) issue and sell the Private Placement Warrants, (2) issue and sell the Option Securities on exercise of the option provided for in Section 2 hereof, (3) register with the Commission pursuant to the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, in accordance with the terms of the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, the resale of the securities covered thereby and (4) issue securities in connection with a Business Combination.

 

  (i)

The Company will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would constitute or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities.

 

22


  (j)

The Company agrees to pay the costs and expenses relating to the following matters: (i) the preparation, printing or reproduction and filing with the Commission of the Registration Statement (including financial statements and exhibits thereto), each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and each amendment or supplement to any of them; (ii) the printing (or reproduction) and delivery (including postage, air freight charges and charges for counting and packaging) of such copies of the Registration Statement, each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and all amendments or supplements to any of them, as may, in each case, be reasonably requested for use in connection with the offering and sale of the Securities; (iii) the preparation, printing, authentication, issuance and delivery of certificates for the Securities, including any stamp or transfer taxes in connection with the original issuance and sale of the Securities; (iv) the printing (or reproduction) and delivery of this Agreement and all other agreements or documents printed (or reproduced) and delivered in connection with the Offering; (v) the registration of the Securities under the Exchange Act and the listing of the Securities on the NYSE; (vi) the printing and delivery of a preliminary blue sky memorandum, any registration or qualification of the Securities for offer and sale under the securities or blue sky laws of the several states, and any filings required to be made with FINRA (including filing fees and the reasonable and documented fees and expenses of counsel for the Underwriters relating to such filings, memorandum, registration and qualification in an aggregate amount up to $25,000); (vii) the transportation and other expenses incurred by or on behalf of the Company (and not the Underwriters) in connection with presentations to prospective purchasers of the Securities; (viii) the fees and expenses of the Company’s accountants and the fees and expenses of counsel for the Company; and (ix) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder.

 

  (k)

For a period commencing on the Effective Date and ending five (5) years from the date of the consummation of the Business Combination or until such earlier time at which the Liquidation occurs, the Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the registration of the Class A Ordinary Shares (or such other security into which Class A Ordinary Shares may be exchanged in connection with a Business Combination) under the provisions of the Exchange Act, except after giving effect to a going private transaction after the completion of a Business Combination. The Company will not deregister the Class A Ordinary Shares under the Exchange Act (except in connection with an exchange of the Class A Ordinary Shares pursuant to a Business Combination or a going private transaction after the completion of a Business Combination) without the prior written consent of the Representatives.

 

  (l)

The Company shall, on the date hereof, retain its independent registered public accounting firm to audit the balance sheet of the Company as of the Closing Date (the “Audited Balance Sheet”) reflecting the receipt by the Company of the proceeds of the Offering on the Closing Date. As soon as the Audited Balance Sheet becomes available, the Company shall promptly, but not later than four Business Days after the Closing Date, file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Commission, which Report shall contain the Company’s Audited Balance Sheet. Additionally, upon the Company’s receipt of the proceeds from the exercise of all

 

23


  or any portion of the option provided for in Section 2 hereof, the Company shall promptly, but not later than four Business Days after the receipt of such proceeds, file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Commission, which report shall disclose the Company’s sale of the Option Securities and its receipt of the proceeds therefrom, unless the receipt of such proceeds is reflected in the Audited Balance Sheet included in the Current Report on Form 8-K referenced in the immediately prior sentence.

 

  (m)

For a period commencing on the Effective Date and ending five (5) years from the date of the consummation of the Business Combination or until such earlier time at which the Liquidation occurs or the Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants cease to be publicly traded, the Company, at its expense, shall cause its regularly engaged independent registered public accounting firm to review (but not audit) the Company’s financial statements for each of the first three fiscal quarters prior to the announcement of quarterly financial information, the filing of the Company’s Form 10-Q quarterly report and the mailing, if any, of quarterly financial information to shareholders.

 

  (n)

For a period commencing on the Effective Date and ending five (5) years from the date of the consummation of the Business Combination or until such earlier time at which the Liquidation occurs, the Company shall, to the extent such information or documents are not otherwise publicly available, upon written request from the Representatives, furnish to the Representatives copies of such financial statements and other periodic and special reports as the Company from time to time furnishes generally to holders of any class of securities, and, to the extent such information or documents are not otherwise publicly available, upon written request from the Representatives promptly furnish to the Representatives: (i) a copy of such registration statements, financial statements and periodic and special reports as the Company shall be required to file with the Commission and from time to time furnishes generally to holders of any such class of its securities; and (ii) such additional documents and information with respect to the Company and the affairs of any future subsidiaries of the Company as the Representatives may from time to time reasonably request, all subject to the execution of a satisfactory confidentiality agreement. Any registration statements, financial statements, periodic and special reports or other additional documents referred to in the preceding sentence filed on the Commission’s EDGAR website will be considered furnished for the purposes of this section.

 

  (o)

For a period commencing on the Effective Date and ending five (5) years from the date of the consummation of the Business Combination or until such earlier time at which the Liquidation occurs or the Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants cease to be publicly traded, the Company shall retain a transfer and warrant agent.

 

  (p)

In no event will the amounts payable by the Company for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative services exceed $20,000 per month in the aggregate until the earlier of the date of the consummation of the Business Combination or the Liquidation.

 

24


  (q)

The Company will not consummate a Business Combination with any entity that is affiliated with the Sponsor or any of the Company’s officers or directors or director nominees unless it or a committee of independent and disinterested members of the Company’s board of directors obtains an opinion from an independent and disinterested investment banking firm or from another independent and disinterested entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, that such initial Business Combination is fair to the Company from a financial point of view. The Company shall not pay the Sponsor or its affiliates or any of the Company’s officers, directors, director nominees or any of their respective affiliates any fees or compensation for services rendered to the Company prior to, or in connection with, the consummation of a Business Combination; provided however, that such officers, directors, director nominees and affiliates (i) may receive reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with activities on the Company’s behalf to the extent that such expenses do not exceed the amount of available proceeds not deposited in the Trust Account; (ii) may be repaid loans as described in the Registration Statement; and (iii) may be paid $20,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative services pursuant to the Administrative Services Agreement between the Company and an affiliate of the Sponsor.

 

  (r)

The Company will apply the net proceeds from the Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants received by it in a manner consistent in all material respects with the applications described under the caption “Use of Proceeds” in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus.

 

  (s)

For a period of 60 days following the Effective Date, in the event any person or entity (regardless of any FINRA affiliation or association) is engaged to assist the Company in its search for a merger candidate or to provide any other merger and acquisition services, or has provided or will provide any investment banking, financial, advisory and/or consulting services to the Company, the Company agrees that it shall promptly provide to FINRA (via a FINRA submission), the Representatives and its counsel a notification prior to entering into the agreement or transaction relating to a potential Business Combination: (i) the identity of the person or entity providing any such services; (ii) complete details of all such services and copies of all agreements governing such services prior to entering into the agreement or transaction; and (iii) justification as to why the value received by any person or entity for such services is not underwriting compensation for the Offering. The Company also agrees that proper disclosure of such arrangement or potential arrangement will be made in the tender offer materials or proxy statement, as applicable, which the Company may file in connection with the Business Combination for purposes of offering redemption of shares held by its shareholders or for soliciting shareholder approval, as applicable.

 

  (t)

The Company shall advise FINRA, the Representatives and its counsel if it is aware that any 10% or greater shareholder of the Company becomes an affiliate or associated person of a Member participating in the distribution of the Securities.

 

25


  (u)

The Company shall cause the proceeds of the Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants to be held in the Trust Account to be invested only in United States government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act as set forth in the Trust Agreement and disclosed in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus. The Company will otherwise conduct its business in a manner so that it will not become subject to the Investment Company Act. Furthermore, once the Company consummates a Business Combination, it will not be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

 

  (v)

All funds held in the Trust Account (including any interest income earned on the amounts held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable)) will remain in the Trust Account until the earlier of (a) the completion of our initial Business Combination, (b) the redemption of any Public Shares (as defined below) properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if it does not complete its initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Offering (or during any extended time that we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months as a result of a shareholder vote to amend our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association), or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to the rights of holders of the Company’s Class A Ordinary Shares, and (c) the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares if it is unable to complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Offering (or during any extended time that we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months as a result of a shareholder vote to amend our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association), subject to applicable law; provided, however, that in the event of the Liquidation, up to $100,000 of interest income may be released to the Company if the proceeds of the Offering held outside of the Trust Account are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing the Company’s plan of dissolution; provided, further that funds may be withdrawn from the Trust Account to pay the Company’s income tax and franchise tax obligations.

 

  (w)

The Company will reserve and keep available that maximum number of its authorized but unissued securities that are issuable upon exercise of any of the Warrants and Private Placement Warrants, collectively, outstanding from time to time.

 

  (x)

Prior to the consummation of a Business Combination or the Liquidation, the Company shall not issue any Class A Ordinary Shares, Warrants or any options or other securities convertible into Class A Ordinary Shares, or any preference shares, in each case, that participate in any manner in the Trust Account or that vote as a class with the Class A Ordinary Shares on a Business Combination.

 

  (y)

Prior to the consummation of a Business Combination or the Liquidation, the Company’s audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments made to the Sponsor, to the Company’s officers or directors, or to the Company’s or any of such other persons’ respective affiliates.

 

26


  (z)

The Company agrees that it will use commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the Company from becoming subject to Rule 419 under the Act prior to the consummation of any Business Combination, including, but not limited to, using its best efforts to prevent any of the Company’s issued and outstanding securities from being deemed to be a “penny stock” as defined in Rule 3a-51-1 under the Exchange Act during such period.

 

  (aa)

To the extent required by Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act, the Company will maintain “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined under Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) and a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary in order to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.

 

  (bb)

The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to effect and maintain the listing of the Units, Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants on the NYSE (or another national securities exchange) prior to the consummation of the Business Combination.

 

  (cc)

As soon as legally required to do so, the Company and its directors, director nominees and officers, in their capacities as such, shall take all actions necessary to comply with any applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications, and to comply with the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual.

 

  (dd)

The Company shall not take any action or omit to take any action that would cause the Company to be in breach or violation of its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.

 

  (ee)

The Company will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than independent accountants), prospective target businesses, lenders or other entities with which it does business enter into agreements waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account for the benefit of the holders of the Class A Ordinary Shares included in the Securities sold pursuant to this Agreement ( the “Public Shareholders”). The Company may forego obtaining such waivers only if the Company shall have received the approval of its Chief Executive Officer.

 

27


  (ff)

The Company may consummate the initial Business Combination and conduct redemptions of Class A Ordinary Shares for cash upon consummation of such Business Combination without a shareholder vote pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E under the Exchange Act, including the filing of tender offer documents with the Commission. Such tender offer documents will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial Business Combination and the redemption rights as is required under the Commission’s proxy rules and will provide each shareholder of the Company with the opportunity prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination to redeem the Class A Ordinary Shares held by such shareholder for an amount of cash equal to (A) the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two Business Days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, representing (x) the proceeds held in the Trust Account from the Offering and certain of the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants and (y) any interest income earned on the funds held in the Trust Account not previously released to the Company to pay franchise and income taxes, divided by (B) the total number of Class A Ordinary Shares sold as part of the Units in the Offering (the “Public Shares”) then issued and outstanding. If, however, a shareholder vote is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement in connection with the initial Business Combination or the Company decides to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will submit such Business Combination to the Company’s shareholders for their approval (“Business Combination Vote”). With respect to the initial Business Combination Vote, if any, the Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors and director nominees have agreed to vote all of their Founder Shares and any other Class A Ordinary Shares purchased during or after the Offering in favor of the Company’s initial Business Combination. If the Company seeks shareholder approval of the initial Business Combination, the Company will offer to each Public Shareholder holding Class A Ordinary Shares the right to have its shares redeemed in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules of the Commission at a per share redemption price (the “Redemption Price”) equal to (I) the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two Business Days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, representing (1) the proceeds held in the Trust Account from the Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants and (2) any interest income earned on the funds held in the Trust Account not previously released to the Company to pay franchise and income taxes, divided by (II) the total number of Public Shares then issued and outstanding. If the Company seeks shareholder approval of the initial Business Combination, the Company may proceed with such Business Combination only if a majority of the issued and outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares and Founder Shares voted by the shareholders at a duly held shareholders meeting are voted to approve such Business Combination. If, after seeking and receiving such shareholder approval, the Company elects to so proceed, it will redeem shares, at the Redemption Price, from those Public Shareholders who affirmatively requested such redemption. Only Public Shareholders holding Class A Ordinary Shares who properly exercise their redemption rights, in accordance with the applicable tender offer or proxy materials related to such Business Combination and the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company, shall be entitled to receive distributions from the Trust Account in connection with an initial Business Combination, and the Company shall pay no distributions with respect to any other holders of shares of capital stock of the Company in connection therewith. In the event that the Company does not effect a Business Combination

 

28


  within 24 months from the closing of the Offering (or during any extended time that we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months as a result of a shareholder vote to amend our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten (10) Business Days thereafter, redeem 100% of the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account (including interest not previously released to the Company to pay franchise and income taxes, and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Only Public Shareholders holding Class A Ordinary Shares included in the Securities shall be entitled to receive such redemption amounts and the Company shall pay no such redemption amounts or any distributions in liquidation with respect to any other shares of the Company. The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors and director nominees have agreed that they will not propose any amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association that would affect the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the issued and outstanding Public Shares if the Company has not consummated a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Offering (or during any extended time that we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months as a result of a shareholder vote to amend our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association) unless the Company offers to redeem the Public Shares in connection with such amendment, as described in the Statutory Prospectus and Prospectus.

 

  (gg)

In the event that the Company desires or is required by an applicable law or regulation to cause an announcement (“Business Combination Announcement”) to be placed in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times or any other news or media publication or outlet or to be made via a public filing with the Commission announcing the consummation of the Business Combination that indicates that the Underwriters were the underwriters in the Offering, the Company shall supply the Representatives with a draft of the Business Combination Announcement and provide the Representatives with a reasonable advance opportunity to comment thereon, subject to the agreement of the Underwriters to keep confidential such draft announcement in accordance with the Representatives’ standard policies regarding confidential information.

 

  (hh)

Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, upon the consummation of the initial Business Combination, the Company and the Underwriters will jointly direct the trustee under the Trust Agreement to pay the Underwriters the Deferred Discount out of the proceeds of the Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company fails to consummate its initial Business Combination within 24 months from the

 

29


  closing of the Offering (or during any extended time that we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months as a result of a shareholder vote to amend our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association) the Deferred Discount will not be paid to the Underwriters and will, instead, be included in the Liquidation distribution of the proceeds held in the Trust Account made to the Public Shareholders. In connection with any such Liquidation, the Underwriters forfeit any rights or claims to the Deferred Discount.

 

  (ii)

The Company will endeavor in good faith, in cooperation with the Representatives to qualify the Securities for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as the Representatives may reasonably designate and will maintain such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Securities, provided that no such qualification shall be required in any jurisdiction where, as a result thereof, the Company would be subject to service of general process or to taxation as a foreign corporation doing business in such jurisdiction. Until the earliest of (i) the date on which all Underwriters shall have ceased to engage in market-making activities in respect of the Securities, (ii) the date on which the Securities are listed on the NYSE (or any successor thereto), (iii) a going private transaction after the completion of a Business Combination, and (iv) the date of the liquidation of the Company, in each jurisdiction where such qualification shall be effected, the Company will, unless the Representatives agrees that such action is not at the time necessary or advisable, use all reasonable efforts to file and make such statements or reports at such times as are or may be required to qualify the Securities for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

 

  (jj)

If at any time following the distribution of any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication included or would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein in light of the circumstances under which they were made at such time, not misleading, the Company will promptly (i) notify the Representatives so that use of the Written Testing-the-Waters Communication may cease until it is amended or supplemented; (ii) amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication to eliminate or correct such untrue statement or omission; and (iii) supply any amendment or supplement to the Representatives in such quantities as may be reasonably requested.

 

  (kk)

The Company will deliver to each Underwriter (or its agent), on the date of execution of this Agreement, a properly completed and executed Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers, together with copies of identifying documentation, and the Company undertakes to provide such additional supporting documentation as each Underwriter may reasonably request in connection with the verification of the foregoing Certification.

 

  (ll)

The Company will promptly notify the Representatives if the Company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time prior to the later of (i) completion of the distribution of the Securities within the meaning of the Act and (ii) completion of the 180-day restricted period referred to in Section 5(h) hereof.

 

30


  (mm)

[Intentionally Omitted]

 

  (nn)

Upon the earlier to occur of the expiration or termination of the Underwriters’ over-allotment option, the Company shall cancel or otherwise effect the forfeiture of Founder Shares from the Sponsor, in an aggregate amount equal to the number of Founder Shares determined by multiplying (a) 750,000 by (b) a fraction, (i) the numerator of which is 3,000,000 minus the number of Class A Ordinary Shares purchased by the Underwriters upon the exercise of their over-allotment option, and (ii) the denominator of which is 3,000,000. For the avoidance of doubt, if the Underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, the Company shall not cancel or otherwise effect the forfeiture of the Founder Shares pursuant to this subsection.

 

6.

CONDITIONS TO THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE UNDERWRITERS.

The obligations of the Underwriters to purchase the Underwritten Securities and the Option Securities, as the case may be, shall be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company contained herein as of the Execution Time, the Closing Date and any Additional Closing Date pursuant to Section 3 hereof, to the accuracy of the statements of the Company made in any certificates pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions:

 

  (a)

The Prospectus, and any supplement thereto, have been filed in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b); and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any notice objecting to its use shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose shall have been instituted or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened.

 

  (b)

The Company shall have requested and caused Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP counsel for the Company, to have furnished to the Representatives its opinions dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Representatives, in a form reasonably acceptable to the Representatives.

 

  (c)

The Company shall have requested and caused Walkers (Cayman) LLP, Cayman Islands counsel for the Company, to have furnished to the Representatives its opinions dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Representatives, in a form reasonably acceptable to the Representatives.

 

  (d)

The Representatives shall have received from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, such opinion or opinions, dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Representatives, with respect to the issuance and sale of the Securities, the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus (together with any supplement thereto) and other related matters as the Representatives may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters.

 

31


  (e)

The Company shall have furnished to the Representatives a certificate of the Company, signed by the Chief Executive Officer and the principal financial or accounting officer of the Company, dated the Closing Date, to the effect that the signers of such certificate have carefully examined the Registration Statement each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, and this Agreement and that:

 

  (i)

the representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct on and as of the Closing Date with the same effect as if made on the Closing Date and the Company has complied with all the agreements and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Date;

 

  (ii)

no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any notice objecting to its use has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or threatened; and

 

  (iii)

since the date of the most recent financial statements included in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto), there has been no Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto).

 

  (f)

The Company shall have requested and caused Marcum LLP to have furnished to the Representatives, at the Execution Time and at the Closing Date, letters, dated respectively as of the Execution Time and as of the Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, confirming that they are a registered public accounting firm that is independent with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Act and the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission thereunder and that they have performed a review of the audited financial statements of the Company for the period March 1, 2021 (date of inception) through [•], 2021, provided that the cutoff date shall not be more than two Business Days prior to such Execution Time or Closing Date, as applicable, and stating in effect that:

 

  (i)

in their opinion the audited financial statements and financial statement schedules included in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus and reported on by them comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the Act and the related rules and regulations adopted by the Commission; and

 

  (ii)

they have performed certain other specified procedures as a result of which they determined that certain information of an accounting, financial or statistical nature (which is limited to accounting, financial or statistical information derived from the general accounting records of the Company) set forth in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, including the information set forth under the captions “Dilution” and “Capitalization” in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, agrees with the accounting records of the Company, excluding any questions of legal interpretation.

 

32


References to the Prospectus in this paragraph (e) include any supplement thereto at the date of the letter.

 

  (g)

Subsequent to the Execution Time or, if earlier, the dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement (exclusive of any amendment thereof), the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto), there shall not have been (i) any change or decrease specified in the letter or letters referred to in paragraph (e) of this Section 6 or (ii) any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in or affecting the earnings, business, management, properties, assets, rights, operations, condition (financial or otherwise) or prospects of the Company, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto) the effect of which, in any case referred to in clause (i) or (ii) above, is, in the sole judgment of the Representatives, so material and adverse as to make it impractical or inadvisable to proceed with the offering or delivery of the Securities as contemplated by the Registration Statement (exclusive of any amendment thereof), the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto).

 

  (h)

Prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Representatives such further information, certificates and documents as the Representatives may reasonably request on or prior to three business days prior to the Closing Date.

 

  (i)

FINRA shall not have raised any objection with respect to the fairness or reasonableness of the underwriting or other arrangements of the transactions contemplated hereby.

 

  (j)

The Securities shall be duly listed subject to notice of issuance on the NYSE, satisfactory evidence of which shall have been provided to the Representatives.

 

  (k)

On the effective date of the Registration Statement, the Company shall have delivered to the Representatives executed copies of the Trust Agreement, the Public Warrant Agreement, the Private Warrant Agreement, the Founder’s Purchase Agreement, the Private Placement Warrant Purchase Agreement, the Insider Letter, the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement and the Administrative Services Agreement.

 

  (l)

At least one Business Day prior to the Closing Date, the Sponsor shall have caused the Private Placement Portion to be deposited into the Trust Account.

 

  (m)

The Company shall have furnished to the Representatives a certificate signed by the Secretary or the Assistant Secretary of the Company, dated the Closing Date, certifying (i) that the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company are true and complete, have not been modified and are in full force and effect, (ii) that the resolutions relating to the Offering contemplated by this Agreement are in full force and effect and have not been modified and (iiii) as to the incumbency of the officers of the Company. The documents referred to in such certificate shall be attached to such certificate.

 

33


  (n)

No order preventing or suspending the sale of the Units in any jurisdiction designated by the Representatives pursuant to Section 5(hh) hereof shall have been issued as of the Closing Date, and no proceedings for that purpose shall have been instituted or shall have been threatened.

If any of the conditions specified in this Section 6 shall not have been fulfilled when and as provided in this Agreement, or if any of the opinions and certificates mentioned above or elsewhere in this Agreement shall not be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters, this Agreement and all obligations of the Underwriters hereunder may be canceled at, or at any time prior to, the Closing Date by the Representatives. Notice of such cancellation shall be given to the Company in writing or by telephone or facsimile confirmed in writing.

The documents required to be delivered by this Section 6 shall be delivered at the office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, at One Bryant Park, New York, New York 10036, Attention: Alice Hsu and Lucas Torres, unless otherwise indicated herein, on the Closing Date.

 

7.

REIMBURSEMENT OF UNDERWRITERS’ EXPENSES.

If the sale of the Securities provided for herein is not consummated because any condition to the obligations of the Underwriters set forth in Section 6 hereof is not satisfied, because of any termination pursuant to Section 10 hereof (other than clauses (ii), (iii) or (vi) thereof) or because of any refusal, inability or failure on the part of the Company to perform any agreement herein or comply with any provision hereof other than by reason of a default by any of the Underwriters, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters severally through the Representatives on demand for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (including reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel) that shall have been incurred by them in connection with the proposed purchase and sale of the Securities.

 

8.

INDEMNIFICATION AND CONTRIBUTION.

 

  (a)

The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, the directors, officers, employees and agents of each Underwriter, each person who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act and each affiliate of each Underwriter against any and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, that arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement for the registration of the Securities as originally filed or in any amendment thereof, or in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus, any “roadshow” as defined in Section 433(h) of the Act or any Testing-the-Waters Communication or in any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary

 

34


  to make the statements therein not misleading, and agrees to reimburse each such indemnified party, as incurred, for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with investigating or defending any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action (whether or not such indemnified party is a party thereto), whether threatened or commenced, and in connection with the enforcement of this provision with respect to any of the above; provided, however, that the Company will not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon any such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made therein in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of any Underwriter through the Representatives specifically for inclusion therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described in the last sentence of Section 8(b) hereof. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company may otherwise have.

 

  (b)

Each Underwriter severally and not jointly agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of its directors, each of its officers who signs the Registration Statement, and each person who controls the Company within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act, to the same extent as the foregoing indemnity from the Company to each Underwriter, but only with reference to written information relating to such Underwriter furnished to the Company by or on behalf of such Underwriter through the Representatives specifically for inclusion in the documents referred to in the foregoing indemnity. The Company acknowledges that the following information set forth under the heading “Underwriting” in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus constitutes the only information furnished in writing by or on behalf of the several Underwriters for inclusion in the documents referred to in the foregoing indemnity: (x) the list of Underwriters and their respective roles and participation in the sale of the Securities, (y) the fourth sentence of the third paragraph, and (z) the thirteenth and fourteenth paragraphs.

 

  (c)

Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 8 of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under this Section 8, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof. The indemnifying party shall be entitled to appoint counsel of the indemnifying party’s choice at the indemnifying party’s expense (and shall bear such expenses as they are incurred) to represent the indemnified party in any action for which indemnification is sought (in which case the indemnifying party shall not thereafter be responsible for the fees and expenses of any separate counsel retained by the indemnified party or parties except as set forth below); provided, however, that such counsel shall be satisfactory to the

 

35


  indemnified party. Notwithstanding the indemnifying party’s election to appoint counsel to represent the indemnified party in an action, the indemnified party shall have the right to employ separate counsel (including local counsel), and the indemnifying party shall bear the fees, costs and expenses of such separate counsel as they are incurred if (i) the use of counsel chosen by the indemnifying party to represent the indemnified party would present such counsel with a conflict of interest, (ii) the actual or potential defendants in, or targets of, any such action include both the indemnified party and the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to it and/or other indemnified parties that are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, (iii) the indemnifying party shall not have employed counsel satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party within a reasonable time after notice of the institution of such action or (iv) the indemnifying party shall authorize the indemnified party to employ separate counsel at the expense of the indemnifying party. An indemnifying party will not, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any pending or threatened claim, action, suit or proceeding in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties to such claim or action) unless (i) such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such claim, action, suit or proceeding and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party. If at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request and (ii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.

 

  (d)

To the extent the indemnification provided for in Section 8(a) or 8(b) is unavailable to an indemnified party or insufficient in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to therein, then each indemnifying party under such paragraph, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party thereunder, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (including legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with investigating or defending the same) (collectively “Losses”) (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand from the Offering (provided, however, that in no case shall any Underwriter be responsible for any amount in excess of the underwriting discount or commission applicable to the Securities purchased by such Underwriter hereunder) or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause 8(d)(i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not

 

36


  only the relative benefits referred to in clause 8(d)(i) above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of the Underwriters on the other hand in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. Benefits received by the Company shall be deemed to be equal to the total net proceeds from the Offering (before deducting expenses) received by it, and benefits received by the Underwriters shall be deemed to be equal to the total underwriting discounts and commissions, in each case as set forth on the cover page of the Prospectus. Relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any untrue or any alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information provided by the Company on the one hand or the Underwriters on the other, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement or omission. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution were determined by pro rata allocation or any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above. Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph (d), no person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations in this subsection (d) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint. For purposes of this Section 8, each person who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act and each director, officer, employee and agent of an Underwriter shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, and each person who controls the Company within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act, each officer of the Company who shall have signed the Registration Statement and each director of the Company shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the applicable terms and conditions of this paragraph (d).

 

  (e)

In any proceeding relating to the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Statutory Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, the Prospectus or any supplement or amendment thereto, each party against whom contribution may be sought under this Section 8 hereby consents to the exclusive jurisdiction of (i) the federal courts of the United States of America located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan and (ii) the courts of the State of New York located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), agrees that process issuing from such courts may be served upon it by any other contributing party and consents to the service of such process.

 

  (f)

Any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses for which an indemnified party is entitled to indemnification or contribution under this Section 8 shall be paid by the indemnifying party to the indemnified party as such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses are incurred. The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in this Section 8 and the representations and warranties of the Company set forth in this Agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect, regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter, its directors or officers or any person controlling any Underwriter, the Company, its directors, director nominees or officers or any persons controlling the Company, (ii) acceptance of any Securities and payment therefor hereunder, and (iii) any termination of this Agreement.

 

37


9.

DEFAULT BY AN UNDERWRITER.

If any one or more Underwriters shall fail to purchase and pay for any of the Securities agreed to be purchased by such Underwriter or Underwriters hereunder and such failure to purchase shall constitute a default in the performance of its or their obligations under this Agreement, the remaining Underwriters shall be obligated severally to take up and pay for (in the respective proportions that the amount of Securities set forth opposite their names in Schedule I hereto bears to the aggregate amount of Securities set forth opposite the names of all the remaining Underwriters) the Securities that the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed to purchase; provided, however, that in the event that the aggregate amount of Securities that the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed to purchase shall exceed 10% of the Underwritten Securities, the remaining Underwriters shall have the right to purchase all, but shall not be under any obligation to purchase any, of the Securities. If within one Business Day after such default relating to more than 10% of the Underwritten Securities the remaining Underwriters do not arrange for the purchase of such Underwritten Securities, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of one Business Day within which to procure another party or parties reasonably satisfactory to you to purchase said Underwritten Securities. In the event that neither the remaining Underwriters nor the Company purchase or arrange for the purchase of all of the Underwritten Securities to which a default relates as provided in this Section 9, this Agreement will terminate without liability to any nondefaulting Underwriter or the Company. In the event of a default by any Underwriter as set forth in this Section 9, the Closing Date shall be postponed for such period, not exceeding five Business Days, as the Representatives shall determine in order that the required changes in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements may be effected. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall relieve any defaulting Underwriter of its liability, if any, to the Company and any nondefaulting Underwriter for damages occasioned by its default hereunder.

 

10.

TERMINATION.

This Agreement shall be subject to termination in the absolute discretion of the Representatives, by notice given to the Company prior to delivery of and payment for the Securities, if at any time prior to such delivery and payment (i) trading in the Company’s Units, Class A Ordinary Shares or Warrants shall have been suspended by the Commission, or trading in securities generally on the NYSE or the Nasdaq Capital Market shall have been suspended or limited or minimum prices shall have been established on such exchange or trading market, (ii) a banking moratorium shall have been declared either by Federal or New York State authorities, (iii) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities, declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war, or other national or international calamity or crisis (including, without limitation, an act of terrorism) or change in economic or political conditions the effect of which on financial markets is such as to make it, in the sole judgment of the Representatives, impractical or inadvisable to proceed with the offering or delivery of the Securities as contemplated by the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto), (iv) since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration

 

38


Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, any material adverse change or any development involving a prospective material adverse change in or affecting the earnings, business, management, properties, assets, rights, operations, condition (financial or otherwise) or prospects of the Company, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, (v) the enactment, publication, decree or other promulgation of any statute, regulation, rule or order of any court or other governmental authority which in your opinion materially and adversely affects or may materially and adversely affect the business or operations of the Company, or (vi) the taking of any action by any governmental body or agency in respect of its monetary or fiscal affairs which in your opinion has a material adverse effect on the securities markets in the United States.

 

11.

REPRESENTATIONS AND INDEMNITIES TO SURVIVE.

The respective agreements, representations, warranties, indemnities and other statements of the Company or its officers and of the Underwriters set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or the Company or any of the officers, directors, director nominees, employees, agents or controlling persons referred to in Section 8 hereof, and will survive delivery of and payment for the Securities. The provisions of Sections 7 and 8 hereof shall survive the termination or cancellation of this Agreement.

 

12.

NOTICES.

All communications hereunder will be in writing and effective only on receipt, and, if sent to the Representatives, will be mailed and delivered to (i) Evercore Group L.L.C., 55 East 52nd Street, Ste 35, New York, NY 10055 and (ii) Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, 1585 Broadway, New York, New York 10036, with a copy to the Representatives’ counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, One Bryant Park, New York, New York, 10036, Attention: Alice Hsu, Esq.; or, if sent to the Company, will be mailed and delivered to Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1, 535 Ramona Street, Suite #8, Palo Alto, California 94301, with a copy to the Company’s counsel at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, 1285 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10019, Attention: Raphael M. Russo, Esq.

 

13.

SUCCESSORS.

This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and the affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents and controlling persons referred to in Section 8 hereof, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder. No party to this Agreement may assign, in whole or in part, this Agreement or any of its rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the other parties hereto.

 

14.

NO FIDUCIARY DUTY.

The Company hereby acknowledges that (a) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters and any affiliate through which it may be acting, on the other, (b) the Underwriters are acting as principal and not as an agent or fiduciary of the Company and (c) the Company’s engagement of the Underwriters in connection with the Offering and the process leading up to the Offering is as independent contractors and not in any other capacity. Furthermore, the Company agrees that it is solely responsible for making its own judgments in

 

39


connection with the Offering (irrespective of whether any of the Underwriters has advised or is currently advising the Company on related or other matters). The Company agrees that it will not claim that the Underwriters have rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owe an agency, fiduciary or similar duty to the Company, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto. Furthermore, the Company acknowledges that the Underwriters may have interests that differ from those of the Company, and that none of the activities of the Underwriters in connection with the transactions contemplated herein constitutes a recommendation, investment advice, or solicitation of any action by the Underwriters with respect to any entity or natural person. The Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against the Underwriters for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty and agrees that the Underwriters shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including shareholders, employees or creditors of the Company.

 

15.

RECOGNITION OF THE U.S. SPECIAL RESOLUTION REGIMES.

 

  (a)

In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from such Underwriter of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.

 

  (b)

In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate of such Underwriter becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against such Underwriter are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.

For purposes of this Section 15: (A) a “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k); (B) “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b); (C) “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable; and (D) “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

40


16.

INTEGRATION.

This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.

 

17.

APPLICABLE LAW

This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts made and to be performed within the State of New York, without regard to the conflicts of laws principles that would apply to the laws of another jurisdiction. The Company and each Underwriter hereby submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal and state courts in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York in any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The Company and each Underwriter irrevocably and unconditionally waives any objection to the laying of venue of any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby in Federal and state courts in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York and irrevocably and unconditionally waives and agrees not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit or proceeding in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.

 

18.

WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL; IMMUNITY.

The Company and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby. To the extent that the Company has or hereafter may acquire any immunity (sovereign or otherwise) from jurisdiction of any court of (i) the Cayman Islands, or any political subdivision thereof, (ii) the United States or the State of New York, (iii) any jurisdiction in which it owns or leases property or assets or from any legal process (whether through service of notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution, execution, set-off or otherwise) with respect to themselves or their respective property and assets or this Agreement, the Company hereby irrevocably waives such immunity in respect of its obligations under this Agreement to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

 

19.

JUDGEMENT CURRENCY.

If for the purposes of obtaining judgment in any court it is necessary to convert a sum due hereunder into any currency other than United States dollars, the parties hereto agree, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that the rate of exchange used shall be the rate at which in accordance with normal banking procedures the Underwriters could purchase United States dollars with such other currency in The City of New York on the business day preceding that on which final judgment is given. The obligation of the Company with respect to any sum due from it to any Underwriter or any person controlling any Underwriter shall, notwithstanding any judgment in a currency other than United States dollars, not be discharged until the first business day following receipt by such Underwriter or controlling person of any sum in such other currency, and only to the extent that such Underwriter or controlling person may in accordance with normal banking procedures purchase United States dollars with such other currency. If the United States dollars so purchased are less than the sum originally due to such Underwriter or

 

41


controlling person hereunder, the Company agrees as a separate obligation and notwithstanding any such judgment, to indemnify such Underwriter or controlling person against such loss. If the United States dollars so purchased are greater than the sum originally due to such Underwriter or controlling person hereunder, such Underwriter or controlling person agrees to pay to the Company an amount equal to the excess of the dollars so purchased over the sum originally due to such Underwriter or controlling person hereunder.

 

20.

TAXES.

If any sum payable by the Company under this Agreement is subject to withholding or deduction for or on account of any present or future tax, duties or governmental charges (excluding net income taxes on underwriting commissions payable hereunder), the sum payable to the Underwriter under this Agreement shall be increased to such sum payable as necessary to ensure that the net amount received by the Underwriter will equal the sum it would have received in the absence of such withholding or deduction of tax.

 

21.

COUNTERPARTS.

This Agreement may be signed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement. This Agreement may be executed by facsimile, PDF or other electronic means, which signatures will be accepted as if they were original execution signatures.

 

22.

HEADINGS.

The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.

 

23.

DEFINITIONS.

The terms that follow, when used in this Agreement, shall have the meanings indicated.

“Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.

“Applicable Time” shall mean [•] PM (New York time) on the date of this Agreement.

“Business Day” shall mean any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday or a day on which banking institutions or trust companies are authorized or obligated by law to close in New York City.

“Commission” shall mean the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Effective Date” shall mean each date and time that the Registration Statement, any post-effective amendment or amendments thereto and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement became or becomes effective.

“Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.

 

42


“Execution Time” shall mean the date and time that this Agreement is executed and delivered by the parties hereto.

“Free Writing Prospectus” shall mean a free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 405.

“FINRA Questionnaires” shall mean the written questionnaires sent on behalf of the Representatives to the officers, directors, director nominees and holders of 10% or more of any class of the Company’s capital stock prior to the Closing Date.

“Liquidation” shall mean the distributions of the Trust Account to the Public Shareholders in connection with the redemption of Class A Ordinary Share held by the Public Shareholders pursuant to the terms of the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination.

“Preliminary Prospectus” shall mean any preliminary prospectus referred to in paragraph 1(a) above and any preliminary prospectus included in the Registration Statement at the Effective Date that omits Rule 430A Information.

“Prospectus” shall mean the prospectus relating to the Securities that is first filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) after the Execution Time.

“Registration Statement” shall mean the registration statements referred to in paragraph 1(a) above, including exhibits and financial statements and any prospectus and prospectus supplement relating to the Securities that is filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) and deemed part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430A, as amended at the Execution Time and, in the event any post-effective amendment thereto or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement becomes effective prior to the Closing Date, shall also mean such registration statement as so amended or such Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, as the case may be.

“Rule 158”, “Rule 172”, “Rule 405”, “Rule 419”, “Rule 424”, “Rule 430A”, “Rule 433”, “Rule 462” and “Rule 501” refer to such rules under the Act.

“Rule 430A Information” shall mean information with respect to the Securities and the offering thereof permitted to be omitted from the Registration Statement when it becomes effective pursuant to Rule 430A.

“Rule 462(b) Registration Statement” shall mean a registration statement and any amendments thereto filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) relating to the offering covered by the registration statement referred to in Section 1(a) hereof.

“Statutory Prospectus” shall mean (i) the Preliminary Prospectus dated contained in the Registration Statement at the time of its effectiveness, relating to the Securities and (ii) the Time of Delivery Information, if any, set forth on Schedule II hereto.

 

24.

CONSTRUCTION.

Unless the context otherwise requires:

 

43


  (a)

the words “hereof,” “hereto,” “herein” and “hereunder” and words of similar import, when used in this Agreement, shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement;

 

  (b)

words defined in the singular shall have a comparable meaning when used in the plural, and vice versa;

 

  (c)

wherever the word “include,” “includes” or “including” is used in this Agreement, it shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation”;

 

  (d)

references herein to any law shall be deemed to refer to such law as amended, reenacted, supplemented or superseded in whole or in part and in effect from time to time and also to all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder;

 

  (e)

if the last day for the giving of any notice or the performance of any act required or permitted under this Agreement is a day that is not a Business Day, then the time for the giving of such notice or the performance of such action shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day;

 

  (f)

with regard to each and every term and condition of this Agreement and all other agreements and instruments subject to the terms hereof, the parties understand and agree that such documents have been mutually negotiated, prepared and drafted, and if at any time the parties desire or are required to interpret or construe any such term or condition, no consideration will be given to the issue of which party actually prepared, drafted or requested any such term or condition; and

 

  (g)

a reference to “knowledge” of the Company or of which the Company is “aware” means to the actual knowledge of any of the directors, director nominees or executive officers of the Company, each after due and reasonable inquiry.

[remainder of page intentionally left blank]

 

44


If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to us the enclosed duplicate hereof, whereupon it will become a binding agreement among the Company and the several Underwriters in accordance with its terms.

 

Very truly yours,
Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1
By:  

             

  Name:
  Title:

 

45


The foregoing Underwriting Agreement is hereby confirmed and accepted as of the date first above written.
Evercore Group L.L.C.
By:  

             

  Name:
  Title:
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC
By:  

             

  Name:
  Title:

 

46


SCHEDULE I

 

Underwriters    Number of
Underwritten
Securities to
be

Purchased
 

Evercore Group L.L.C.

  

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

  

Total

     20,000,000  

 

47


SCHEDULE II

TIME OF DELIVERY INFORMATION

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 priced 20,000,000 Units at $10.00 per Unit plus an additional 3,000,000 Units if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full.

The Units will be issued pursuant to an effective registration statement that has been previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities law of any such state or jurisdiction.

Copies of the prospectus related to this offering may be obtained from Evercore Group L.L.C., 55 East 52nd Street, Ste 35, New York, NY 10055.

 

48


SCHEDULE III

SCHEDULE OF WRITTEN TESTING-THE-WATERS COMMUNICATIONS

1. Investor presentation dated [•], 2021.

 

49

Exhibit 3.2

THE COMPANIES ACT (AS AMENDED)

COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES

AMENDED AND RESTATED

MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION

OF

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

(ADOPTED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION DATED 29 JULY 2021)


THE COMPANIES ACT (AS AMENDED)

COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES

AMENDED AND RESTATED

MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION

OF

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

(ADOPTED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION DATED 29 JULY 2021)

 

1.

The name of the company is Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”).

 

2.

The registered office of the Company will be situated at the offices of Walkers Corporate Limited, 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-9008, Cayman Islands or at such other location as the Directors may from time to time determine.

 

3.

The objects for which the Company is established are unrestricted and the Company shall have full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by any law as provided by Section 7(4) of the Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands (the “Companies Act”).

 

4.

The Company shall have and be capable of exercising all the functions of a natural person of full capacity irrespective of any question of corporate benefit as provided by Section 27(2) of the Companies Act.

 

5.

The Company will not trade in the Cayman Islands with any person, firm or corporation except in furtherance of the business of the Company carried on outside the Cayman Islands; provided that nothing in this section shall be construed as to prevent the Company effecting and concluding contracts in the Cayman Islands, and exercising in the Cayman Islands all of its powers necessary for the carrying on of its business outside the Cayman Islands.

 

6.

The liability of the shareholders of the Company is limited to the amount, if any, unpaid on the shares respectively held by them.

 

7.

The authorised share capital of the Company is US$55,500 divided into 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a nominal or par value of US$0.0001 each, 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a nominal or par value of US$0.0001 each, and 5,000,000 preference shares with a nominal or par value of US$0.0001 each, provided always that subject to the Companies Act and the Articles of Association, the Company shall have power to redeem or purchase any of its shares and to subdivide or consolidate the said shares or any of them and to issue all or any part of its capital whether original, redeemed, increased or reduced with or without any preference, priority, special privilege or other rights or subject to any postponement of rights or to any conditions or restrictions


  whatsoever and so that unless the conditions of issue shall otherwise expressly provide every issue of shares whether stated to be ordinary, preference or otherwise shall be subject to the powers on the part of the Company hereinbefore provided.

 

8.

The Company may exercise the power contained in Section 206 of the Companies Act to deregister in the Cayman Islands and be registered by way of continuation in some other jurisdiction.

 

2


THE COMPANIES ACT (AS AMENDED)

COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES

AMENDED AND RESTATED

ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

OF

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

(ADOPTED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION DATED 29 JULY 2021)


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

CLAUSE    PAGE  

TABLE A

     1  

INTERPRETATION

     1  

PRELIMINARY

     6  

SHARES

     6  

FOUNDER SHARES CONVERSION AND ANTI-DILUTION RIGHTS

     7  

MODIFICATION OF RIGHTS

     9  

CERTIFICATES

     9  

FRACTIONAL SHARES

     10  

LIEN

     10  

CALLS ON SHARES

     11  

FORFEITURE OF SHARES

     12  

TRANSFER OF SHARES

     13  

TRANSMISSION OF SHARES

     13  

ALTERATION OF SHARE CAPITAL

     14  

REDEMPTION, PURCHASE AND SURRENDER OF SHARES

     14  

TREASURY SHARES

     15  

GENERAL MEETINGS

     16  

NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETINGS

     17  

PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS

     17  

VOTES OF SHAREHOLDERS

     18  

CORPORATIONS ACTING BY REPRESENTATIVES AT MEETINGS

     19  

CLEARING HOUSES

     20  

DIRECTORS

     20  

 

i


ALTERNATE DIRECTOR

     21  

POWERS AND DUTIES OF DIRECTORS

     21  

BORROWING POWERS OF DIRECTORS

     23  

THE SEAL

     23  

DISQUALIFICATION OF DIRECTORS

     24  

PROCEEDINGS OF DIRECTORS

     24  

DIVIDENDS

     26  

ACCOUNTS, AUDIT AND ANNUAL RETURN AND DECLARATION

     27  

CAPITALISATION OF RESERVES

     28  

SHARE PREMIUM ACCOUNT

     29  

NOTICES

     29  

INDEMNITY

     31  

NON-RECOGNITION OF TRUSTS

     32  

BUSINESS COMBINATION REQUIREMENTS

     32  

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

     36  

WINDING UP

     37  

AMENDMENT OF ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

     37  

CLOSING OF REGISTER OR FIXING RECORD DATE

     37  

REGISTRATION BY WAY OF CONTINUATION

     38  

MERGERS AND CONSOLIDATION

     38  

DISCLOSURE

     39  

 

ii


THE COMPANIES ACT (AS AMENDED)

COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES

AMENDED AND RESTATED

ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

OF

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

(ADOPTED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION DATED 29 JULY 2021)

TABLE A

The Regulations contained or incorporated in Table ‘A’ in the First Schedule of the Companies Act shall not apply to Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”) and the following Articles shall comprise the Articles of Association of the Company.

INTERPRETATION

 

1.

In these Articles the following defined terms will have the meanings ascribed to them, if not inconsistent with the subject or context:

Articles” means these articles of association of the Company, as amended or substituted from time to time.

Audit Committee” means the audit committee of the Company formed pursuant to Article 142 hereof, or any successor audit committee.

Branch Register” means any branch Register of such category or categories of Members as the Company may from time to time determine.

Business Combination” means a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganisation or similar business combination involving the Company, with one or more businesses or entities (the “target business”), which Business Combination: (a) (for as long as the securities in the Company are listed on the Designated Stock Exchange) must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Fund (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of the definitive agreement to enter into a Business Combination; (b) must not be effectuated solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations; (c) must be approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Directors; and (d) will only be completed if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target business or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

 

1


Class” or “Classes” means any class or classes of Shares as may from time to time be issued by the Company.

Class A Shares” means the Class A ordinary Shares in the capital of the Company of $0.0001 nominal or par value designated as Class A Shares, and having the rights provided for in these Articles.

Class B Shares” means the Class B ordinary Shares in the capital of the Company of $0.0001 nominal or par value designated as Class B Shares, and having the rights provided for in these Articles.

Companies Act” means the Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands.

Completion Window” means the period of time commencing on, and including the closing date of the IPO, and ending on the date that is twenty-four (24) months after such closing date of the IPO.

Designated Stock Exchange” means any national securities exchange or automated quotation system on which the Company’s securities are traded, including, but not limited to, The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, the NYSE MKT LLC, the New York Stock Exchange LLC or any over-the-counter (OTC) market.

Directors” means the directors of the Company for the time being, or as the case may be, the directors assembled as a board or as a committee thereof.

Electronic Facility” means without limitation, website addresses and conference call systems, and any device, system, procedure, method or other facility whatsoever providing an electronic means of venue for a general meeting of the Company.

Exchange Act” means the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any similar United States federal statute and the rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder, all as the same shall be in effect at the time.

Founders” means the Sponsor and all Members immediately prior to the consummation of the IPO.

Indemnified Person” has the meaning ascribed to it in Article 152.

Investment Account” shall have the meaning ascribed to it herein.

Investor Group” means the Sponsor and its affiliates, successors and assigns.

IPO” means the Company’s initial public offering of securities.

IPO Redemption” shall have the meaning ascribed to it in Article 164.

 

2


Memorandum of Association” means the memorandum of association of the Company, as amended or substituted from time to time.

Office” means the registered office of the Company as required by the Companies Act.

Officers” means the officers for the time being and from time to time of the Company.

Ordinary Resolution” means a resolution:

 

  (a)

passed by a simple majority of such Shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting of the Company and where a poll is taken regard shall be had in computing a majority to the number of votes to which each Shareholder is entitled; or

 

  (b)

approved in writing by all of the Shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the Company in one or more instruments each signed by one or more of the Shareholders and the effective date of the resolution so adopted shall be the date on which the instrument, or the last of such instruments, if more than one, is executed.

Ordinary Shares” means the Class A Shares and the Class B Shares.

Over-Allotment Option” means the option of the Underwriters to purchase on a pro rata basis up to 4,500,000 additional units at the IPO price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

paid up” means paid up as to the par value in respect of the issue of any Shares and includes credited as paid up.

Person” means any natural person, firm, company, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association or other entity (whether or not having a separate legal personality) or any of them as the context so requires, other than in respect of a Director or Officer in which circumstances Person shall mean any person or entity permitted to act as such in accordance with the laws of the Cayman Islands.

Preference Shares” means the Preference Shares in the capital of the Company of $0.0001 nominal or par value designated as Preference Shares, and having the rights provided for in these Articles.

Principal Register”, where the Company has established one or more Branch Registers pursuant to the Companies Act and these Articles, means the Register maintained by the Company pursuant to the Companies Act and these Articles that is not designated by the Directors as a Branch Register.

Private Placement Warrants” means the warrants issued to the Sponsor or a subsidiary thereof pursuant to a private placement warrants purchase agreement entered into by the Company and the Sponsor or such subsidiary in connection with the consummation of the IPO.

 

3


Public Shares” means the Class A Shares issued as part of the units issued in the IPO (which excludes, for the avoidance of doubt, Class A Shares that are issued upon conversion of Class B Shares).

Redemption Price” shall have the meaning ascribed to it in Article 164.

Regulatory Withdrawal” means interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Fund that may be released to the Company to fund regulatory compliance requirements and other costs related thereto.

Register” means the Register of Members of the Company required to be kept pursuant to the Companies Act and includes any Branch Register(s) established by the Company in accordance with the Companies Act.

Seal” means the common seal of the Company (if adopted) including any facsimile thereof.

SEC” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Secretary” means any Person appointed by the Directors to perform any of the duties of the secretary of the Company.

Series” means a series of a Class as may from time to time be issued by the Company.

Share” means a share in the capital of the Company. All references to “Shares” herein shall be deemed to be Shares of any or all Classes as the context may require. For the avoidance of doubt in these Articles the expression “Share” shall include a fraction of a Share.

Shareholder” or “Member” means a Person who is registered as the holder of Shares in the Register and includes each subscriber to the Memorandum of Association pending entry in the Register of such subscriber.

Share Premium Account” means the share premium account established in accordance with these Articles and the Companies Act.

signed” means bearing a signature or representation of a signature affixed by mechanical means.

Special Resolution” means a special resolution of the Company passed in accordance with the Companies Act, being a resolution:

 

  (a)

passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds (or, with respect to amending Article 97 or Article 187, a majority of not less than two-thirds of the votes cast at a meeting of the Shareholders including a simple majority of the holders of Class B Shares (and if the Shareholders vote in favour of such act but the approval of a simple majority of the holders of Class B Shares has not yet been obtained, the holders of a simple majority of Class B Shares shall have, in such vote, voting

 

4


  rights equal to the aggregate voting power of all of the Shareholders of the Company who voted in favour of the resolution, plus one) of such Shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting of the Company of which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been duly given and where a poll is taken regard shall be had in computing a majority to the number of votes to which each Shareholder is entitled; or

 

  (b)

approved in writing by all of the Shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the Company in one or more instruments each signed by one or more of the Shareholders and the effective date of the special resolution so adopted shall be the date on which the instrument or the last of such instruments, if more than one, is executed.

Sponsor” means WCAC1 Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

Sponsor Director” means any Director designated as a Sponsor Director by the Sponsor by notice in writing to the Company.

Treasury Shares” means Shares that were previously issued but were purchased, redeemed, surrendered or otherwise acquired by the Company and not cancelled.

Trust Fund” means the trust account established by the Company upon the consummation of its IPO and into which a certain amount of the net proceeds of the IPO, together with certain of the proceeds of a private placement of warrants simultaneously with the closing date of the IPO, will be deposited.

Underwriter” means an underwriter of the IPO.

 

2.

In these Articles, save where the context requires otherwise:

 

  (a)

words importing the singular number shall include the plural number and vice versa;

 

  (b)

words importing the masculine gender only shall include the feminine gender and any Person as the context may require;

 

  (c)

the word “may” shall be construed as permissive and the word “shall” shall be construed as imperative;

 

  (d)

reference to a dollar or dollars or USD (or $) and to a cent or cents is reference to dollars and cents of the United States of America;

 

  (e)

reference to a statutory enactment shall include reference to any amendment or reenactment thereof for the time being in force;

 

5


  (f)

reference to any determination by the Directors shall be construed as a determination by the Directors in their sole and absolute discretion and shall be applicable either generally or in any particular case; and

 

  (g)

reference to “in writing” shall be construed as written or represented by any means reproducible in writing, including any form of print, lithograph, email, facsimile, photograph or telex or represented by any other substitute or format for storage or transmission for writing or partly one and partly another.

 

3.

Subject to the preceding Articles, any words defined in the Companies Act shall, if not inconsistent with the subject or context, bear the same meaning in these Articles.

PRELIMINARY

 

4.

The business of the Company may be commenced at any time after incorporation.

 

5.

The Office shall be at such address in the Cayman Islands as the Directors may from time to time determine. The Company may in addition establish and maintain such other offices and places of business and agencies in such places as the Directors may from time to time determine.

 

6.

The expenses incurred in the formation of the Company and in connection with the offer for subscription and issue of Shares shall be paid by the Company. Such expenses may be amortised over such period as the Directors may determine and the amount so paid shall be charged against income and/or capital in the accounts of the Company as the Directors shall determine.

 

7.

The Directors shall keep, or cause to be kept, the Register at such place or (subject to compliance with the Companies Act and these Articles) places as the Directors may from time to time determine. In the absence of any such determination, the Register shall be kept at the Office. The Directors may keep, or cause to be kept, one or more Branch Registers as well as the Principal Register in accordance with the Companies Act, provided always that a duplicate of such Branch Register(s) shall be maintained with the Principal Register in accordance with the Companies Act and the rules or requirements of any Designated Stock Exchange.

SHARES

 

8.

Subject to these Articles, and, where applicable, the rules of the Designated Stock Exchange and/or any competent regulatory authority, all Shares for the time being unissued shall be under the control of the Directors who may:

 

  (a)

issue, allot and dispose of the same to such Persons, in such manner, on such terms and having such rights and being subject to such restrictions as they may from time to time determine; and

 

  (b)

grant options with respect to such Shares and issue warrants or similar instruments with respect thereto;

 

6


and, for such purposes, the Directors may reserve an appropriate number of Shares for the time being unissued; provided however that the Directors shall not allot, issue, grant options over or otherwise dispose of Shares (including fractions of a Share) to the extent that it may affect the ability of the Company to carry out a conversion described in Articles 14 to 18.

 

9.

The Company may issue units of securities in the Company, which may be comprised of whole or fractional Shares, rights, options, warrants or convertible securities or securities of similar nature conferring the right upon the holders thereof to subscribe for, purchase or receive any Class of Shares or other securities in the Company, upon such terms as the Directors may from time to time determine. The securities comprising any such units which are issued pursuant to the IPO can only be traded separately from one another on the 52nd day following the date of the prospectus relating to the IPO (or the immediately following business day if the 52nd day is not a business day) unless the Underwriters inform the Company of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to the Company filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC, containing an audited balance sheet reflecting the Company’s receipt of the gross proceeds of the IPO and the issuance of a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Prior to such date, the units can be traded, but the securities comprising such units cannot be traded separately from one another.

 

10.

The Directors, or the Shareholders by Ordinary Resolution, may authorise the division of Shares into any number of Classes and sub-classes and Series and sub-series and the different Classes and sub-classes and Series and sub-series shall be authorised, established and designated (or re-designated as the case may be) and the variations in the relative rights (including, without limitation, voting, dividend and redemption rights), restrictions, preferences, privileges and payment obligations as between the different Classes and Series (if any) may be fixed and determined by the Directors or the Shareholders by Ordinary Resolution.

 

11.

The Company may insofar as may be permitted by law, pay a commission to any Person in consideration of his or her subscribing or agreeing to subscribe whether absolutely or conditionally for any Shares. Such commissions may be satisfied by the payment of cash or the lodgement of fully or partly paid-up Shares or partly in one way and partly in the other. The Company may also pay such brokerage as may be lawful on any issue of Shares.

 

12.

The Directors may refuse to accept any application for Shares, and may accept any application in whole or in part, for any reason or for no reason.

 

13.

Except as otherwise specified in these Articles or required by law or Designated Stock Exchange rule, the holders of the Class A Shares and the Class B Shares (on an as converted basis) shall vote as a single class.

FOUNDER SHARES CONVERSION AND ANTI-DILUTION RIGHTS

 

14.

At the time of the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination, or at any earlier date at the option of the holders of the Class B Shares, the issued and outstanding Class B Shares shall automatically be converted into such number of Class A Shares as is equal to, on an as-converted basis, twenty percent (20%) of the sum of:

 

  (a)

the total number of Class A Shares and Class B Shares in issue at the time of the IPO (including pursuant to any Over-Allotment Option); plus

 

7


  (b)

the total number of Class A Shares issued or deemed issued, or issuable upon the conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, excluding (x) any Class A Shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A Shares issued, deemed issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and (y) any Class A Shares that may be issued upon conversion of Private Placement Warrants, and (z) any Class A Shares that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans.

The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any securities that are convertible into, exercisable or exchangeable for Class A Shares, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt.

For the avoidance of doubt, such Class A Shares issued upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to proceeds of liquidation from the Trust Fund if the Company does not consummate the Business Combination within the Completion Window.

 

15.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein:

 

  (a)

in no event shall the Class B Shares convert into Class A Shares at a ratio that is less than one-for-one; and

 

  (b)

the inclusion of shares as to any particular issuance or deemed issuance of Class A Shares or equity-linked securities in the calculation of the conversion ratio in Article 14(b) may be waived by the written consent or agreement of holders of a majority of the Class B Shares then outstanding consenting or agreeing separately as a single class.

 

16.

References in Articles 14 to Article 18 to “converted”, “conversion” or “exchange” shall mean the compulsory redemption without notice of Class B Shares of any Member and, on behalf of such Members, automatic application of such redemption proceeds in paying for such new Class A Shares into which the Class B Shares have been converted or exchanged at a price per Class B Share necessary to give effect to a conversion or exchange calculated on the basis that the Class A Shares to be issued as part of the conversion or exchange will be issued at par. The Class A Shares to be issued on an exchange or conversion shall be registered in the name of such Member or in such name as the Member may direct.

 

17.

Each Class B Share shall convert into its pro rata number of Class A Shares as set forth in this Article. The pro rata share for each holder of Class B Shares will be determined as

 

8


  follows: each Class B Share shall convert into such number of Class A Shares as is equal to the product of 1 multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the total number of Class A Shares into which all of the issued and outstanding Class B Shares shall be converted pursuant to Article 14 and the denominator of which shall be the total number of issued and outstanding Class B Shares at the time of conversion.

 

18.

The Directors may effect such conversion in any manner available under applicable law, including redeeming or repurchasing the relevant Class B Shares and applying the proceeds thereof towards payment for the new Class A Shares. For purposes of the repurchase or redemption, the Directors may, subject to the Company being able to pay its debts in the ordinary course of business, make payments out of amounts standing to the credit of the Company’s share premium account or out of its capital.

MODIFICATION OF RIGHTS

 

19.

Whenever the capital of the Company is divided into different Classes (and as otherwise determined by the Directors) the rights attached to any such Class may, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to any Class only be materially adversely varied or abrogated with the consent in writing of the holders of not less than two-thirds of the issued Shares of the relevant Class, or with the sanction of a resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the Shares of such Class by two-thirds of the votes cast at such a meeting. To every such separate meeting all the provisions of these Articles relating to general meetings of the Company or to the proceedings thereat shall, mutatis mutandis, apply, except that the necessary quorum shall be one or more Persons at least holding or representing by proxy one-third in nominal or par value amount of the issued Shares of the relevant Class (but so that if at any adjourned meeting of such holders a quorum as above defined is not present, those Shareholders who are present shall form a quorum) and that, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to the Shares of that Class, every Shareholder of the Class shall on a poll have one vote for each Share of the Class held by him or her. For the purposes of this Article the Directors may treat all the Classes or any two (2) or more Classes as forming one Class if they consider that all such Classes would be affected in the same way by the proposals under consideration, but in any other case shall treat them as separate Classes. The Directors may vary the rights attaching to any Class without the consent or approval of Shareholders provided that the rights will not, in the determination of the Directors, be materially adversely varied or abrogated by such action.

 

20.

The rights conferred upon the holders of the Shares of any Class issued with preferred or other rights shall not, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to the Shares of that Class, be deemed to be materially adversely varied or abrogated by, inter alia, the creation, allotment or issue of further Shares ranking parri passu with or subsequent to them or Shares with preferred rights or the redemption or purchase of any Shares of any Class by the Company.

CERTIFICATES

 

21.

If so determined by the Directors, any Person whose name is entered as a Member in the Register may receive a certificate in the form determined by the Directors. All certificates

 

9


  shall specify the Share or Shares held by that Person and the amount paid up thereon, provided that in respect of a Share or Shares held jointly by several Persons the Company shall not be bound to issue more than one certificate, and delivery of a certificate for a Share to one of several joint holders shall be sufficient delivery to all. All certificates for Shares shall be delivered personally or sent through the post addressed to the Member entitled thereto at the Member’s registered address as appearing in the Register.

 

22.

Every share certificate of the Company shall bear legends required under the applicable laws, including the Exchange Act.

 

23.

Any two (2) or more certificates representing Shares of any one Class held by any Member may at the Member’s request be cancelled and a single new certificate for such Shares issued in lieu on payment (if the Directors shall so require) of $1.00 or such smaller sum as the Directors shall determine.

 

24.

If a share certificate shall be damaged or defaced or alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, a new certificate representing the same Shares may be issued to the relevant Member upon request subject to delivery of the old certificate or (if alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed) compliance with such conditions as to evidence and indemnity and the payment of out-of-pocket expenses of the Company in connection with the request as the Directors may think fit.

 

25.

In the event that Shares are held jointly by several persons, any request may be made by any one of the joint holders and if so made shall be binding on all of the joint holders.

FRACTIONAL SHARES

 

26.

The Directors may issue fractions of a Share and, if so issued, a fraction of a Share shall be subject to and carry the corresponding fraction of liabilities (whether with respect to nominal or par value, premium, contributions, calls or otherwise), limitations, preferences, privileges, qualifications, restrictions, rights (including, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, voting and participation rights) and other attributes of a whole Share. If more than one fraction of a Share of the same Class is issued to or acquired by the same Shareholder such fractions shall be accumulated.

LIEN

 

27.

The Company has a first and paramount lien on every Share (whether or not fully paid) for all amounts (whether presently payable or not) payable at a fixed time or called in respect of that Share. The Company also has a first and paramount lien on every Share (whether or not fully paid) registered in the name of a Person indebted or under liability to the Company (whether he or she is the sole registered holder of a Share or one (1) of two (2) or more joint holders) for all amounts owing by him or her or his or her estate to the Company (whether or not presently payable). The Directors may at any time declare a Share to be wholly or in part exempt from the provisions of this Article. The Company’s lien on a Share extends to any amount payable in respect of it.

 

10


28.

The Company may sell, in such manner as the Directors may determine, any Share on which the Company has a lien, but no sale shall be made unless an amount in respect of which the lien exists is presently payable nor until the expiration of fourteen (14) days after a notice in writing, demanding payment of such part of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable, has been given to the registered holder for the time being of the Share, or the Persons entitled thereto by reason of his or her death or bankruptcy.

 

29.

For giving effect to any such sale the Directors may authorise some Person to transfer the Shares sold to the purchaser thereof. The purchaser shall be registered as the holder of the Shares comprised in any such transfer and he or she shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, nor shall his or her title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the sale.

 

30.

The proceeds of the sale after deduction of expenses, fees and commission incurred by the Company shall be received by the Company and applied in payment of such part of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable, and the residue shall (subject to a like lien for sums not presently payable as existed upon the Shares prior to the sale) be paid to the Person entitled to the Shares immediately prior to the sale.

CALLS ON SHARES

 

31.

Subject to the terms of allotment and issue of any Shares, the Directors may from time to time make calls upon the Shareholders in respect of any moneys unpaid on their Shares, and each Shareholder shall (subject to receiving at least fourteen (14) days’ notice specifying the time or times of payment) pay to the Company at the time or times so specified the amount called on such Shares.

 

32.

The joint holders of a Share shall be jointly and severally liable to pay calls in respect thereof.

 

33.

If a sum called in respect of a Share is not paid before or on the day appointed for payment thereof, the Person from whom the sum is due shall pay interest upon the sum at the rate of eight percent per annum from the day appointed for the payment thereof to the time of the actual payment, but the Directors shall be at liberty to waive payment of that interest wholly or in part.

 

34.

The provisions of these Articles as to the liability of joint holders and as to payment of interest shall apply in the case of non-payment of any sum which, by the terms of issue of a Share, becomes payable at a fixed time, whether on account of the amount of the Share, or by way of premium, as if the same had become payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified.

 

35.

The Directors may make arrangements on the issue of partly paid Shares for a difference between the Shareholders, or the particular Shares, in the amount of calls to be paid and in the times of payment.

 

11


36.

The Directors may, if they think fit, receive from any Shareholder willing to advance the same all or any part of the moneys uncalled and unpaid upon any partly paid Shares held by him or her, and upon all or any of the moneys so advanced may (until the same would, but for such advance, become presently payable) pay interest at such rate (not exceeding without the sanction of an Ordinary Resolution, eight percent per annum) as may be agreed upon between the Shareholder paying the sum in advance and the Directors.

FORFEITURE OF SHARES

 

37.

If a Shareholder fails to pay any call or instalment of a call in respect of any Shares on the day appointed for payment, the Directors may, at any time thereafter during such time as any part of such call or instalment remains unpaid, serve a notice on him or her requiring payment of so much of the call or instalment as is unpaid, together with any interest which may have accrued.

 

38.

The notice shall name a further day (not earlier than the expiration of fourteen (14) days from the date of the notice) on or before which the payment required by the notice is to be made, and shall state that in the event of non-payment at or before the time appointed the Shares in respect of which the call was made will be liable to be forfeited.

 

39.

If the requirements of any such notice as aforesaid are not complied with, any Share in respect of which the notice has been given may at any time thereafter, before the payment required by notice has been made, be forfeited by a resolution of the Directors to that effect.

 

40.

A forfeited Share may be sold or otherwise disposed of on such terms and in such manner as the Directors think fit, and at any time before a sale or disposition the forfeiture may be cancelled on such terms as the Directors think fit.

 

41.

A Person whose Shares have been forfeited shall cease to be a Shareholder in respect of the forfeited Shares, but shall, notwithstanding, remain liable to pay to the Company all moneys which at the date of forfeiture were payable by him or her to the Company in respect of the Shares forfeited, but his or her liability shall cease if and when the Company receives payment in full of the amount unpaid on the Shares forfeited.

 

42.

A statutory declaration in writing that the declarant is a Director, and that a Share has been duly forfeited on a date stated in the declaration, shall be conclusive evidence of the facts in the declaration as against all Persons claiming to be entitled to the Share.

 

43.

The Company may receive the consideration, if any, given for a Share on any sale or disposition thereof pursuant to the provisions of these Articles as to forfeiture and may execute a transfer of the Share in favour of the Person to whom the Share is sold or disposed of and that Person shall be registered as the holder of the Share, and shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, if any, nor shall his or her title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the disposition or sale.

 

12


44.

The provisions of these Articles as to forfeiture shall apply in the case of non-payment of any sum which by the terms of issue of a Share becomes due and payable, whether on account of the amount of the Share, or by way of premium, as if the same had been payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified.

TRANSFER OF SHARES

 

45.

Subject to these Articles and the rules or regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange or any relevant rules of the SEC or securities laws (including, but not limited to, the Exchange Act), a Member may transfer all or any of his or her Shares. If the Shares in question were issued in conjunction with rights, options or warrants issued pursuant to the Articles on terms that one cannot be transferred without the other, the Directors shall refuse to register the transfer of any such Share without evidence satisfactory to them of the like transfer of such option or warrant.

 

46.

The instrument of transfer of any Share shall be in (a) any usual or common form, (b) such form as is prescribed by the Designated Stock Exchange, or (c) in any other form as the Directors may determine and shall be executed by or on behalf of the transferor (or otherwise as prescribed by the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange) and if in respect of a nil or partly paid up Share, or if so required by the Directors, shall also be executed on behalf of the transferee and shall be accompanied by the certificate (if any) of the Shares to which it relates and such other evidence as the Directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer. The transferor shall be deemed to remain a Shareholder until the name of the transferee is entered in the Register in respect of the relevant Shares.

 

47.

Subject to the terms of issue thereof and the rules or regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange or any relevant rules of the SEC or securities laws (including, but not limited to the Exchange Act), the Directors may determine to decline to register any transfer of Shares without assigning any reason therefor.

 

48.

The registration of transfers may be suspended at such times and for such periods as the Directors may from time to time determine.

 

49.

All instruments of transfer that are registered shall be retained by the Company, but any instrument of transfer that the Directors decline to register shall (except in any case of fraud) be returned to the Person depositing the same.

TRANSMISSION OF SHARES

 

50.

The legal personal representative of a deceased sole holder of a Share shall be the only Person recognised by the Company as having any title to the Share. In the case of a Share registered in the name of two (2) or more holders, the survivors or survivor, or the legal personal representatives of the deceased holder of the Share, shall be the only Person recognised by the Company as having any title to the Share.

 

51.

Any Person becoming entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Shareholder shall upon such evidence being produced as may from time to time be

 

13


  required by the Directors, have the right either to be registered as a Shareholder in respect of the Share or, instead of being registered himself or herself, to make such transfer of the Share as the deceased or bankrupt Person could have made; but the Directors shall, in either case, have the same right to decline or suspend registration as they would have had in the case of a transfer of the Share by the deceased or bankrupt Person before the death or bankruptcy.

 

52.

A Person becoming entitled to a Share by reason of the death or bankruptcy of a Shareholder shall be entitled to the same dividends and other advantages to which he or she would be entitled if he or she were the registered Shareholder, except that he or she shall not, before being registered as a Shareholder in respect of the Share, be entitled in respect of it to exercise any right conferred by membership in relation to meetings of the Company.

ALTERATION OF SHARE CAPITAL

 

53.

The Company may from time to time by Ordinary Resolution increase the share capital by such sum, to be divided into Shares of such Classes and amount, as the resolution shall prescribe.

 

54.

The Company may by Ordinary Resolution:

 

  (a)

consolidate and divide all or any of its share capital into Shares of a larger amount than its existing Shares;

 

  (b)

convert all or any of its paid up Shares into stock and reconvert that stock into paid up Shares of any denomination;

 

  (c)

subdivide its existing Shares, or any of them into Shares of a smaller amount provided that in the subdivision the proportion between the amount paid and the amount, if any, unpaid on each reduced Share shall be the same as it was in case of the Share from which the reduced Share is derived; and

 

  (d)

cancel any Shares that, at the date of the passing of the resolution, have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any Person and diminish the amount of its share capital by the amount of the Shares so cancelled.

 

55.

The Company may by Special Resolution reduce its share capital and any capital redemption reserve in any manner authorised by law.

REDEMPTION, PURCHASE AND SURRENDER OF SHARES

 

56.

Subject to the Companies Act and the rules of the Designated Stock Exchange, the Company may:

 

  (a)

issue Shares on terms that they are to be redeemed or are liable to be redeemed at the option of the Company or the Shareholder on such terms and in such manner as the Directors may determine;

 

14


  (b)

purchase its own Shares (including any redeemable Shares) on such terms and in such manner as the Directors may determine and agree with the Shareholder;

 

  (c)

make a payment in respect of the redemption or purchase of its own Shares in any manner authorised by the Companies Act, including out of its capital; and

 

  (d)

accept the surrender for no consideration of any paid up Share (including any redeemable Share) on such terms and in such manner as the Directors may determine.

 

57.

With respect to redeeming, repurchasing or the surrender of the Shares:

 

  (a)

Members who hold Public Shares are entitled to request the redemption of such Shares in the circumstances described in Article 174;

 

  (b)

Shares held by the Founders shall be surrendered by the Founders on a pro rata basis for no consideration to the extent that the Over-Allotment Option is not exercised in full so that the Founders will own, on an as converted basis, twenty percent (20%) of the Company’s issued Shares after the IPO (as calculated in accordance with Article 14 and, for avoidance of doubt, without taking into account any issued and outstanding Private Placement Warrants); and

 

  (c)

Public Shares shall be repurchased by way of tender offer in the circumstances set out in Article 160(b).

 

58.

Any Share in respect of which notice of redemption has been given shall not be entitled to participate in the profits of the Company in respect of the period after the date specified as the date of redemption in the notice of redemption.

 

59.

The redemption, purchase or surrender of any Share shall not be deemed to give rise to the redemption, purchase or surrender of any other Share.

 

60.

The Directors may when making payments in respect of redemption or purchase of Shares, if authorised by the terms of issue of the Shares being redeemed or purchased or with the agreement of the holder of such Shares, make such payment either in cash or in specie including, without limitation, interests in a special purpose vehicle holding assets of the Company or holding entitlement to the proceeds of assets held by the Company or in a liquidating structure.

TREASURY SHARES

 

61.

Shares that the Company purchases, redeems or acquires (by way of surrender or otherwise) may, at the option of the Company, be cancelled immediately or held as Treasury Shares in accordance with the Companies Act. In the event that the Directors do not specify that the relevant Shares are to be held as Treasury Shares, such Shares shall be cancelled.

 

15


62.

No dividend may be declared or paid, and no other distribution (whether in cash or otherwise) of the Company’s assets (including any distribution of assets to Members on a winding up) may be declared or paid in respect of a Treasury Share.

 

63.

The Company shall be entered in the Register as the holder of the Treasury Shares provided that:

 

  (a)

the Company shall not be treated as a member for any purpose and shall not exercise any right in respect of the Treasury Shares, and any purported exercise of such a right shall be void;

 

  (b)

a Treasury Share shall not be voted, directly or indirectly, at any meeting of the Company and shall not be counted in determining the total number of issued shares at any given time, whether for the purposes of these Articles or the Companies Act, save that an allotment of Shares as fully paid bonus shares in respect of a Treasury Share is permitted and Shares allotted as fully paid bonus shares in respect of a treasury share shall be treated as Treasury Shares.

 

64.

Treasury Shares may be disposed of by the Company on such terms and conditions as determined by the Directors.

GENERAL MEETINGS

 

65.

The Directors may, whenever they think fit, convene a general meeting of the Company.

 

66.

For the avoidance of doubt, Members shall not have the ability to call general meetings except as provided in Article 70.

 

67.

Members seeking to bring business before an annual general meeting or to nominate candidates for appointment as Directors at the annual general meeting must (1) deliver notice to the principal executive officer of the Company not less than 120 days and not more than 150 days prior to the date of the Company’s annual general meeting or, if the Company did not hold an annual general meeting during the previous year, or if the date of the current year’s annual general meeting has been changed by more than 30 days from the date of the previous year’s annual general meeting, then the deadline shall be set by the Directors with such deadline being a reasonable time before the Company begins to print and send its related proxy materials (2) have continuously held Shares equal to at least $2,000 in market value, or 1%, of the Company’s Shares entitled to be voted on the proposal at the meeting for at least one year by the date of such notice or deadline, and (3) continue to hold those Shares through the date of the annual general meeting.

 

68.

For so long as the Company’s Shares are traded on a Designated Stock Exchange, the Company shall in each year hold a general meeting as its annual general meeting at such time and place (including any Electronic Facility) as may be determined by the Directors in accordance with the rules of the Designated Stock Exchange, unless such Designated Stock Exchange does not require the holding of an annual general meeting.

 

16


69.

The Directors may cancel or postpone any duly convened general meeting at any time prior to such meeting, for any reason or for no reason at any time prior to the time for holding such meeting or, if the meeting is adjourned, the time for holding such adjourned meeting. The Directors shall give Shareholders notice in writing of any cancellation or postponement. A postponement may be for a stated period of any length or indefinitely as the Directors may determine.

 

70.

If at any time there are no Directors, any two Shareholders (or if there is only one Shareholder then that Shareholder) entitled to vote at general meetings of the Company may convene a general meeting in the same manner as nearly as possible as that in which general meetings may be convened by the Directors.

NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETINGS

 

71.

At least five (5) days’ notice in writing counting from the date service is deemed to take place as provided in these Articles specifying the place (including any Electronic Facility), the day and the hour of the meeting and the general nature of the business, shall be given in the manner hereinafter provided or in such other manner (if any) as may be prescribed by the Company by Ordinary Resolution to such Persons as are, under these Articles, entitled to receive such notices from the Company, but with the consent of all the Shareholders entitled to receive notice of some particular meeting and attend and vote thereat, that meeting may be convened by such shorter notice or without notice and in such manner as those Shareholders may think fit.

 

72.

The accidental omission to give notice of a meeting to or the non-receipt of a notice of a meeting by any Shareholder shall not invalidate the proceedings at any meeting.

PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS

 

73.

All business carried out at a general meeting shall be deemed special with the exception of sanctioning a dividend, the consideration of the accounts, balance sheets, any report of the Directors or of the Company’s auditors, and the fixing of the remuneration of the Company’s auditors. No special business shall be transacted at any general meeting without the consent of all Shareholders entitled to receive notice of that meeting unless notice of such special business has been given in the notice convening that meeting.

 

74.

No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum of Shareholders is present at the time when the meeting proceeds to business. Save as otherwise provided by these Articles, one or more Shareholders holding at least one-third of the paid up voting share capital of the Company present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote at that meeting shall form a quorum.

 

75.

If within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting, if convened upon the requisition of Shareholders, shall be dissolved. In any other case it shall stand adjourned to the same day in the next week, at the same time and place, and if at the adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting the Shareholder or Shareholders present and entitled to vote shall form a quorum.

 

17


76.

If the Directors wish to make this facility available for a specific general meeting or all general meetings of the Company, participation in any general meeting of the Company may be by means of any Electronic Facility, a telephone or similar communication equipment by way of which all Persons participating in such meeting can communicate with each other and such participation shall be deemed to constitute presence in person at the meeting.

 

77.

The chairman, if any, of the Directors shall preside as chairman at every general meeting of the Company and the chairman from time to time may adopt certain rules and regulations for the conduct of meetings as he or she sees fit.

 

78.

If there is no such chairman, or if at any general meeting he or she is not present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting or is unwilling to act as chairman, any Director or Person nominated by the Directors shall preside as chairman, failing which the Shareholders present in person or by proxy shall choose any Person present to be chairman of that meeting.

 

79.

The chairman may adjourn a meeting from time to time and from place to place (including any Electronic Facility) either:

 

  (a)

with the consent of any general meeting at which a quorum is present (and shall if so directed by the meeting); or

 

  (a)

without the consent of such meeting if, in his or her sole opinion, he or she considers it necessary to do so to:

 

  (i)

secure the orderly conduct or proceedings of the meeting; or

 

  (ii)

give all persons present in person or by proxy and having the right to speak and/or vote at such meeting, the ability to do so,

but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting other than the business left unfinished at the meeting from which the adjournment took place. When a meeting, or adjourned meeting, is adjourned for fourteen days or more, notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given in the manner provided for the original meeting. Save as aforesaid, it shall not be necessary to give any notice of an adjournment or of the business to be transacted at an adjourned meeting.

 

80.

A resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided on a poll in such manner as the chairman directs.

 

81.

In the case of an equality of votes, the chairman of the meeting shall be entitled to a second or casting vote.

VOTES OF SHAREHOLDERS

 

82.

Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Share and subject to Article 187, every Shareholder present in person and every Person representing a Shareholder by proxy shall, at a general meeting of the Company, have one vote for each Share of which he or the Person represented by proxy is the holder.

 

18


83.

In the case of joint holders the vote of the senior who tenders a vote whether in person or by proxy shall be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of the other joint holders and for this purpose seniority shall be determined by the order in which the names stand in the Register.

 

84.

A Shareholder of unsound mind, or in respect of whom an order has been made by any court having jurisdiction in lunacy, may vote in respect of Shares carrying the right to vote held by him or her, by his or her committee, or other Person in the nature of a committee appointed by that court, and any such committee or other Person, may vote in respect of such Shares by proxy.

 

85.

No Shareholder shall be entitled to vote at any general meeting of the Company unless all calls, if any, or other sums presently payable by him or her in respect of Shares carrying the right to vote held by him or her have been paid.

 

86.

On a poll votes may be given either personally or by proxy.

 

87.

The instrument appointing a proxy shall be in writing under the hand of the appointor or of his or her attorney duly authorised in writing or, if the appointor is a corporation, either under Seal or under the hand of an Officer or attorney duly authorised or given in such other manner as the Directors may approve. A proxy need not be a Shareholder.

 

88.

An instrument appointing a proxy may be in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may approve.

 

89.

The instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited at the Office or at such other place as is specified for that purpose in the notice convening the meeting no later than the time for holding the meeting or, if the meeting is adjourned, the time for holding such adjourned meeting.

 

90.

A resolution in writing signed by all the Shareholders for the time being entitled to receive notice of and to attend and vote at general meetings of the Company (or being corporations by their duly authorised representatives) shall be as valid and effective as if the same had been passed at a general meeting of the Company duly convened and held.

CORPORATIONS ACTING BY REPRESENTATIVES AT MEETINGS

 

91.

Any corporation which is a Shareholder or a Director may by resolution of its directors or other governing body authorise such Person as it thinks fit to act as its representative at any meeting of the Company or of any meeting of holders of a Class or of the Directors or of a committee of Directors, and the Person so authorised shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the corporation which he or she represents as that corporation could exercise if it were an individual Shareholder or Director.

 

19


CLEARING HOUSES

 

92.

If a clearing house (or its nominee) is a Member of the Company, it may, by resolution of its directors or other governing body or by power of attorney, authorise such person or persons as it thinks fit to act as its representative or representatives at any general meeting of the Company or at any general meeting of any Class of Members of the Company provided that, if more than one person is so authorised, the authorisation shall specify the number and Class of Shares in respect of which each such person is so authorised. A person so authorised pursuant to this Article shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the clearing house (or its nominee) which he represents as that clearing house (or its nominee) could exercise if it were an individual Member holding the number and Class of Shares specified in such authorisation.

DIRECTORS

 

93.

Subject to Articles 94, 96 and 97, the Company may by Ordinary Resolution appoint any Person to be a Director.

 

94.

Subject to Article 96, the Directors may by majority from time to time fix the maximum and minimum number of Directors to be appointed but unless such numbers are fixed as aforesaid the minimum number of Directors shall be one and the maximum number of Directors shall be unlimited.

 

95.

There shall be no shareholding qualification for Directors.

 

96.

For so long as the Company’s Shares are traded on a Designated Stock Exchange, the Directors shall be divided into three (3) classes designated as Class I, Class II and Class III, respectively. Directors shall be assigned to each class in accordance with a resolution or resolutions adopted by the board of Directors. At the first annual general meeting of Members after the IPO, the term of office of the Class I Directors shall expire and Class I Directors shall be elected for a full term of three (3) years. At the second annual general meeting of Members after the IPO, the term of office of the Class II Directors shall expire and Class II Directors shall be elected for a full term of three (3) years. At the third annual general meeting of Members after the IPO, the term of office of the Class III Directors shall expire and Class III Directors shall be elected for a full term of three (3) years. At each succeeding annual general meeting of Members, Directors shall be elected for a full term of three (3) years to succeed the Directors of the class whose terms expire at such annual general meeting. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Article, each Director shall hold office until:

 

  (a)

the expiration of their term;

 

  (b)

until their successor shall have been duly elected and qualified; or

 

  (c)

until their earlier death, resignation or removal.

No decrease in the number of Directors constituting the board of Directors shall shorten the term of any incumbent Director.

 

20


97.

Prior to an initial Business Combination, and subject to the terms of any Preference Shares, only holders of Class B Shares will have the right to vote on the election of Directors pursuant to Article 96 or the removal of the Directors pursuant to Article 115.

 

98.

For so long as the Company’s Shares are traded on a Designated Stock Exchange, any and all vacancies in the board of Directors, however occurring, including, without limitation, by reason of an increase in the size of the board of Directors, or the death, resignation, disqualification or removal of a Director, shall be filled solely and exclusively by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Class B Shares. Any Director appointed in accordance with the preceding sentence shall hold office for the remainder of the full term of the class of Directors in which the new directorship was created or the vacancy occurred and until such Director’s successor shall have been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier resignation, death or removal. When the number of Directors is increased or decreased, the board of Directors shall, subject to Article 96, determine the class or classes to which the increased or decreased number of Directors shall be apportioned; provided, however, that no decrease in the number of Directors shall shorten the term of any incumbent Director. In the event of a vacancy in the board of Directors, the remaining Directors, except as otherwise provided by law, shall exercise the powers of the full board of Directors until the vacancy is filled.

ALTERNATE DIRECTOR

 

99.

Any Director may in writing appoint another Person to be his or her alternate and, save to the extent provided otherwise in the form of appointment, such alternate shall have authority to sign written resolutions on behalf of the appointing Director, but shall not be authorised to sign such written resolutions where they have been signed by the appointing Director, and to act in such Director’s place at any meeting of the Directors. Every such alternate shall be entitled to attend and vote at meetings of the Directors as the alternate of the Director appointing him or her and where he or she is a Director to have a separate vote in addition to his or her own vote. A Director may at any time in writing revoke the appointment of an alternate appointed by him or her. Such alternate shall not be an Officer solely as a result of his or her appointment as an alternate other than in respect of such times as the alternate acts as a Director. The remuneration of such alternate shall be payable out of the remuneration of the Director appointing him or her and the proportion thereof shall be agreed between them.

POWERS AND DUTIES OF DIRECTORS

 

100.

Subject to the Companies Act, these Articles and to any resolutions passed in a general meeting, the business of the Company shall be managed by the Directors, who may pay all expenses incurred in setting up and registering the Company and may exercise all powers of the Company. No resolution passed by the Company in general meeting shall invalidate any prior act of the Directors that would have been valid if that resolution had not been passed.

 

101.

The Directors may from time to time appoint any Person, whether or not a Director to hold such office in the Company as the Directors may think necessary for the administration of the Company (including, for the avoidance of doubt and without limitation, one or more

 

21


  chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer or any other Officers as may be determined by the Directors), for such term and at such remuneration (whether by way of salary or commission or participation in profits or partly in one way and partly in another), and with such powers and duties as the Directors may think fit. Any Person so appointed by the Directors may be removed by the Directors or by the Company by Ordinary Resolution. The Directors may also appoint one or more of their number to the office of managing director upon like terms, but any such appointment shall ipso facto terminate if any managing director ceases from any cause to be a Director, or if the Company by Ordinary Resolution resolves that his or her tenure of office be terminated.

 

102.

The Directors may appoint any Person to be a Secretary (and if need be an assistant Secretary or assistant Secretaries) who shall hold office for such term, at such remuneration and upon such conditions and with such powers as they think fit. Any Secretary or assistant Secretary so appointed by the Directors may be removed by the Directors or by the Company by Ordinary Resolution.

 

103.

The Directors may delegate any of their powers to committees consisting of such member or members of their body as they think fit; any committee so formed shall in the exercise of the powers so delegated conform to any regulations that may be imposed on it by the Directors.

 

104.

The Directors may from time to time and at any time by power of attorney (whether under Seal or under hand) or otherwise appoint any company, firm or Person or body of Persons, whether nominated directly or indirectly by the Directors, to be the attorney or attorneys or authorised signatory (any such person being an “Attorney” or “Authorised Signatory”, respectively) of the Company for such purposes and with such powers, authorities and discretion (not exceeding those vested in or exercisable by the Directors under these Articles) and for such period and subject to such conditions as they may think fit, and any such power of attorney or other appointment may contain such provisions for the protection and convenience of Persons dealing with any such Attorney or Authorised Signatory as the Directors may think fit, and may also authorise any such Attorney or Authorised Signatory to delegate all or any of the powers, authorities and discretion vested in him or her.

 

105.

The Directors may from time to time provide for the management of the affairs of the Company in such manner as they shall think fit and the provisions contained in the three next following Articles shall not limit the general powers conferred by this Article.

 

106.

The Directors from time to time and at any time may establish any committees, local boards or agencies for managing any of the affairs of the Company and may appoint any Person to be a member of such committees or local boards and may appoint any managers or agents of the Company and may fix the remuneration of any such Person.

 

107.

The Directors from time to time and at any time may delegate to any such committee, local board, manager or agent any of the powers, authorities and discretions for the time being vested in the Directors and may authorise the members for the time being of any such local board, or any of them to fill any vacancies therein and to act notwithstanding

 

22


  vacancies and any such appointment or delegation may be made on such terms and subject to such conditions as the Directors may think fit and the Directors may at any time remove any Person so appointed and may annul or vary any such delegation, but no Person dealing in good faith and without notice of any such annulment or variation shall be affected thereby.

 

108.

Any such delegates as aforesaid may be authorised by the Directors to sub-delegate all or any of the powers, authorities, and discretion for the time being vested in them.

 

109.

The Directors may agree with a Shareholder to waive or modify the terms applicable to such Shareholder’s subscription for Shares without obtaining the consent of any other Shareholder; provided that such waiver or modification does not amount to a variation or abrogation of the rights attaching to the Shares of such other Shareholders.

 

110.

The Directors shall have the authority to present a winding up petition on behalf of the Company without the sanction of a resolution passed by the Company in general meeting.

BORROWING POWERS OF DIRECTORS

 

111.

The Directors may exercise all the powers of the Company to borrow money and to mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and uncalled capital or any part thereof, or to otherwise provide for a security interest to be taken in such undertaking, property or uncalled capital, and to issue debentures, debenture stock and other securities whenever money is borrowed or as security for any debt, liability or obligation of the Company or of any third party.

THE SEAL

 

112.

The Seal shall not be affixed to any instrument except by the authority of a resolution of the Directors provided always that such authority may be given prior to or after the affixing of the Seal and if given after may be in general form confirming a number of affixings of the Seal. The Seal shall be affixed in the presence of a Director or a Secretary (or an assistant Secretary) or in the presence of any one or more Persons as the Directors may appoint for the purpose and every Person as aforesaid shall sign every instrument to which the Seal is so affixed in their presence.

 

113.

The Company may maintain a facsimile of the Seal in such countries or places as the Directors may appoint and such facsimile Seal shall not be affixed to any instrument except by the authority of a resolution of the Directors provided always that such authority may be given prior to or after the affixing of such facsimile Seal and if given after may be in general form confirming a number of affixings of such facsimile Seal. The facsimile Seal shall be affixed in the presence of such Person or Persons as the Directors shall for this purpose appoint and such Person or Persons as aforesaid shall sign every instrument to which the facsimile Seal is so affixed in their presence and such affixing of the facsimile Seal and signing as aforesaid shall have the same meaning and effect as if the Seal had been affixed in the presence of and the instrument signed by a Director or a Secretary (or an assistant Secretary) or in the presence of any one or more Persons as the Directors may appoint for the purpose.

 

23


114.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Secretary or any assistant Secretary shall have the authority to affix the Seal, or the facsimile Seal, to any instrument for the purposes of attesting authenticity of the matter contained therein but which does not create any obligation binding on the Company.

DISQUALIFICATION OF DIRECTORS

 

115.

The office of Director shall be vacated, if the Director:

 

  (a)

becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his or her creditors;

 

  (b)

dies or is found to be or becomes of unsound mind;

 

  (c)

resigns his or her office by notice in writing to the Company;

 

  (d)

prior to the closing of an initial Business Combination, is removed from office by Ordinary Resolution of the holders of the Class B Shares (only);

 

  (e)

following the closing of an initial Business Combination, is removed from office by Ordinary Resolution of all Shareholders entitled to vote; or

 

  (f)

is removed from office pursuant to any other provision of these Articles.

PROCEEDINGS OF DIRECTORS

 

116.

The Directors may meet together (either within or outside the Cayman Islands) for the dispatch of business, adjourn, and otherwise regulate their meetings and proceedings as they think fit. Questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a majority of votes. In case of an equality of votes the chairman shall have a second or casting vote. A Director may, and a Secretary or assistant Secretary on the requisition of a Director shall, at any time summon a meeting of the Directors.

 

117.

A Director may participate in any meeting of the Directors, or of any committee appointed by the Directors of which such Director is a member, by means of telephone or similar communication equipment by way of which all Persons participating in such meeting can communicate with each other and such participation shall be deemed to constitute presence in person at the meeting.

 

118.

The quorum necessary for the transaction of the business of the Directors may be fixed by the Directors, and unless so fixed, if there be two (2) or more Directors, the quorum shall be two (2), and if there be one Director, the quorum shall be one. A Director represented by an alternate Director at any meeting shall be deemed to be present for the purposes of determining whether or not a quorum is present.

 

119.

A Director who is in any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a contract or proposed contract with the Company shall declare the nature of his or her interest at a meeting of the Directors. A general notice given to the Directors by any Director to the

 

24


  effect that he or she is to be regarded as interested in any contract or other arrangement which may thereafter be made with that company or firm shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of interest in regard to any contract so made. A Director may vote in respect of any contract or proposed contract or arrangement notwithstanding that he may be interested therein and if he does so his or her vote shall be counted and he may be counted in the quorum at any meeting of the Directors at which any such contract or proposed contract or arrangement shall come before the meeting for consideration.

 

120.

A Director may hold any other office or place of profit under the Company (other than the office of auditor) in conjunction with his or her office of Director for such period and on such terms (as to remuneration and otherwise) as the Directors may determine and no Director or intending Director shall be disqualified by his or her office from contracting with the Company either with regard to his or her tenure of any such other office or place of profit or as vendor, purchaser or otherwise, nor shall any such contract or arrangement entered into by or on behalf of the Company in which any Director is in any way interested, be liable to be avoided, nor shall any Director so contracting or being so interested be liable to account to the Company for any profit realised by any such contract or arrangement by reason of such Director holding that office or of the fiduciary relation thereby established. A Director, notwithstanding his or her interest, may be counted in the quorum present at any meeting of the Directors whereat he or she or any other Director is appointed to hold any such office or place of profit under the Company or whereat the terms of any such appointment are arranged and he or she may vote on any such appointment or arrangement.

 

121.

Any Director may act by himself or herself or his or her firm in a professional capacity for the Company, and he or she or his or her firm shall be entitled to remuneration for professional services as if he or she were not a Director; provided that nothing herein contained shall authorise a Director or his or her firm to act as auditor to the Company.

 

122.

The Directors shall cause minutes to be made in books or loose-leaf folders provided for the purpose of recording:

 

  (a)

all appointments of Officers made by the Directors;

 

  (b)

the names of the Directors present at each meeting of the Directors and of any committee of the Directors; and

 

  (c)

all resolutions and proceedings at all meetings of the Company, and of the Directors and of committees of Directors.

 

123.

When the chairman of a meeting of the Directors signs the minutes of such meeting the same shall be deemed to have been duly held notwithstanding that all the Directors have not actually come together or that there may have been a technical defect in the proceedings.

 

124.

A resolution in writing signed by all the Directors or all the members of a committee of Directors entitled to receive notice of a meeting of Directors or committee of Directors, as the case may be (an alternate Director, subject as provided otherwise in the terms of

 

25


  appointment of the alternate Director, being entitled to sign such a resolution on behalf of his or her appointer), shall be as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a duly called and constituted meeting of Directors or committee of Directors, as the case may be. When signed a resolution may consist of several documents each signed by one or more of the Directors or his or her duly appointed alternate.

 

125.

The continuing Directors may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their body but if and for so long as their number is reduced below the number fixed by or pursuant to these Articles as the necessary quorum of Directors, the continuing Directors may act for the purpose of increasing the number, or of summoning a general meeting of the Company, but for no other purpose.

 

126.

The Directors may elect a chairman of their meetings and determine the period for which he or she is to hold office but if no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting, the Directors present may choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.

 

127.

Subject to any regulations imposed on it by the Directors, a committee appointed by the Directors may elect a chairman of its meetings. If no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting, the committee members present may choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.

 

128.

A committee appointed by the Directors may meet and adjourn as it thinks proper. Subject to any regulations imposed on it by the Directors, questions arising at any meeting shall be determined by a majority of votes of the committee members present and in case of an equality of votes the chairman shall have a second or casting vote.

 

129.

All acts done by any meeting of the Directors or of a committee of Directors, or by any Person acting as a Director, shall notwithstanding that it be afterwards discovered that there was some defect in the appointment of any such Director or Person acting as aforesaid, or that they or any of them were disqualified, be as valid as if every such Person had been duly appointed and was qualified to be a Director.

DIVIDENDS

 

130.

Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Shares, or as otherwise provided for in the Companies Act and these Articles, the Directors may from time to time declare dividends (including interim dividends) and other distributions on Shares in issue and authorise payment of the same out of the funds of the Company lawfully available therefor.

 

131.

Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Shares, the Company by Ordinary Resolution may declare dividends, but no dividend shall exceed the amount recommended by the Directors.

 

26


132.

The Directors may determine, before recommending or declaring any dividend, to set aside out of the funds legally available for distribution such sums as they think proper as a reserve or reserves which shall be applicable for meeting contingencies, or for equalising dividends or for any other purpose to which those funds may be properly applied and pending such application may, at the determination of the Directors, either be employed in the business of the Company or be invested in such investments as the Directors may from time to time think fit.

 

133.

Any dividend may be paid in any manner as the Directors may determine. If paid by cheque it will be sent through the post to the registered address of the Shareholder or Person entitled thereto, or in the case of joint holders, to any one of such joint holders at his or her registered address or to such Person and such address as the Shareholder or Person entitled, or such joint holders as the case may be, may direct. Every such cheque shall be made payable to the order of the Person to whom it is sent or to the order of such other Person as the Shareholder or Person entitled, or such joint holders as the case may be, may direct.

 

134.

The Directors when paying dividends to the Shareholders in accordance with the foregoing provisions of these Articles may make such payment either in cash or in specie and may determine the extent to which amounts may be withheld therefrom (including, without limitation, any taxes, fees, expenses or other liabilities for which a Shareholder (or the Company, as a result of any action or inaction of the Shareholder) is liable).

 

135.

Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Shares, all dividends shall be declared and paid according to the amounts paid up on the Shares, but if and for so long as nothing is paid up on any of the Shares dividends may be declared and paid according to the par value of the Shares.

 

136.

If several Persons are registered as joint holders of any Share, any of them may give effectual receipts for any dividend or other moneys payable on or in respect of the Share.

 

137.

No dividend shall bear interest against the Company.

ACCOUNTS, AUDIT AND ANNUAL RETURN AND DECLARATION

 

138.

The books of account relating to the Company’s affairs shall be kept in such manner as may be determined from time to time by the Directors.

 

139.

The books of account shall be kept at the Office, or at such other place or places as the Directors think fit, and shall always be open to the inspection of the Directors.

 

140.

The Directors may from time to time determine whether and to what extent and at what times and places and under what conditions or regulations the accounts and books of the Company or any of them shall be open to the inspection of Shareholders not being Directors, and no Shareholder (not being a Director) shall have any right of inspecting any account or book or document of the Company except as conferred by law or authorised by the Directors or by Ordinary Resolution.

 

27


141.

The accounts relating to the Company’s affairs shall only be audited if the Directors so determine, in which case the financial year end and the accounting principles will be determined by the Directors. The financial year of the Company shall end on 31 December of each year or such other date as the Directors may determine.

 

142.

Without prejudice to the freedom of the Directors to establish any other committee, if the Shares are listed or quoted on the Designated Stock Exchange, and if required by the Designated Stock Exchange, the Directors shall establish and maintain an Audit Committee as a committee of the board of Directors and shall adopt a formal written Audit Committee charter and review and assess the adequacy of the formal written charter on an annual basis. The composition and responsibilities of the Audit Committee shall comply with the rules and regulations of the SEC and the Designated Stock Exchange. The Audit Committee shall meet at least once every financial quarter, or more frequently as circumstances dictate.

 

143.

The Directors in each year shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, an annual return and declaration setting forth the particulars required by the Companies Act and deliver a copy thereof to the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands.

CAPITALISATION OF RESERVES

 

144.

Subject to the Companies Act and these Articles, the Directors may:

 

  (a)

resolve to capitalise an amount standing to the credit of reserves (including a Share Premium Account, capital redemption reserve and profit and loss account), whether or not available for distribution;

 

  (b)

appropriate the sum resolved to be capitalised to the Shareholders in proportion to the nominal amount of Shares (whether or not fully paid) held by them respectively and apply that sum on their behalf in or towards:

 

  (i)

paying up the amounts (if any) for the time being unpaid on Shares held by them respectively, or

 

  (ii)

paying up in full unissued Shares or debentures of a nominal amount equal to that sum, and allot the Shares or debentures, credited as fully paid, to the Shareholders (or as they may direct) in those proportions, or partly in one way and partly in the other, but the Share Premium Account, the capital redemption reserve and profits which are not available for distribution may, for the purposes of this Article, only be applied in paying up unissued Shares to be allotted to Shareholders credited as fully paid;

 

  (c)

make any arrangements they think fit to resolve a difficulty arising in the distribution of a capitalised reserve and in particular, without limitation, where Shares or debentures become distributable in fractions the Directors may deal with the fractions as they think fit;

 

28


  (d)

authorise a Person to enter (on behalf of all the Shareholders concerned) into an agreement with the Company providing for either:

 

  (i)

the allotment to the Shareholders respectively, credited as fully paid, of Shares or debentures to which they may be entitled on the capitalisation, or

 

  (ii)

the payment by the Company on behalf of the Shareholders (by the application of their respective proportions of the reserves resolved to be capitalised) of the amounts or part of the amounts remaining unpaid on their existing Shares, and any such agreement made under this authority being effective and binding on all those Shareholders; and

 

  (e)

generally do all acts and things required to give effect to any of the actions contemplated by this Article.

SHARE PREMIUM ACCOUNT

 

145.

The Directors shall in accordance with the Companies Act establish a Share Premium Account and shall carry to the credit of such account from time to time a sum equal to the amount or value of the premium paid on the issue of any Share.

 

146.

There shall be debited to any Share Premium Account on the redemption or purchase of a Share the difference between the nominal value of such Share and the redemption or purchase price provided always that at the determination of the Directors such sum may be paid out of the profits of the Company or, if permitted by the Companies Act, out of capital.

NOTICES

 

147.

Any notice or document may be served by the Company or by the Person entitled to give notice to any Shareholder either personally, or by posting it airmail or air courier service in a prepaid letter addressed to such Shareholder at his or her address as appearing in the Register, or by electronic mail, or by facsimile should the Directors deem it appropriate. Notice may also be served by electronic communication in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or by placing it on the Company’s website. In the case of joint holders of a Share, all notices shall be given to that one of the joint holders whose name stands first in the Register in respect of the joint holding, and notice so given shall be sufficient notice to all the joint holders.

 

148.

Any Shareholder present, either personally or by proxy, at any meeting of the Company shall for all purposes be deemed to have received due notice of such meeting and, where requisite, of the purposes for which such meeting was convened.

 

29


149.

Any notice or other document, if served by:

 

  (b)

post, shall be deemed to have been served five clear days after the time when the letter containing the same is posted;

 

  (c)

facsimile, shall be deemed to have been served upon production by the transmitting facsimile machine of a report confirming transmission of the facsimile in full to the facsimile number of the recipient;

 

  (d)

recognised courier service, shall be deemed to have been served 48 hours after the time when the letter containing the same is delivered to the courier service;

 

  (e)

electronic mail or other electronic communication (such as transmission to any number, address or internet website (including the website of the SEC) or other electronic delivery methods as otherwise decided and approved by the Directors), shall be deemed to have been served immediately upon the time of the transmission by electronic mail or approved electronic communication, and it shall not be necessary for the receipt of the e-mail to be acknowledged by the recipient; or

 

  (f)

placing it on the Company’s website; service of the notice shall be deemed to have been effected one hour after the notice or document was placed on the Company’s website.

In proving service by post or courier service it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter containing the notice or documents was properly addressed and duly posted or delivered to the courier service.

 

150.

Any notice or document delivered or sent in accordance with the terms of these Articles shall notwithstanding that such Shareholder be then dead or bankrupt, and whether or not the Company has notice of his or her death or bankruptcy, be deemed to have been duly served in respect of any Share registered in the name of such Shareholder as sole or joint holder, unless his or her name shall at the time of the service of the notice or document, have been removed from the Register as the holder of the Share, and such service shall for all purposes be deemed a sufficient service of such notice or document on all Persons interested (whether jointly with or as claiming through or under him or her) in the Share.

 

151.

Notice of every general meeting of the Company shall be given to:

 

  (g)

all Shareholders holding Shares with the right to receive notice and who have supplied to the Company an address for the giving of notices to them; and

 

  (h)

every Person entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Shareholder, who but for his or her death or bankruptcy would be entitled to receive notice of the meeting.

No other Person shall be entitled to receive notices of general meetings.

 

30


INDEMNITY

 

152.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, every Director (including for the purposes of this Article any alternate Director appointed pursuant to the provisions of these Articles), Secretary, assistant Secretary, or other Officer (but not including the Company’s auditors) and the personal representatives of the same (each an “Indemnified Person”) shall be indemnified and secured harmless out of the assets and funds of the Company against all actions or proceedings whether threatened, pending or completed (a “Proceeding”), costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by such Indemnified Person, other than by reason of such Indemnified Person’s own willful default, willful neglect, actual fraud or the consequences of committing a crime as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, (i) in or about the conduct of the Company’s business or affairs (including as a result of any mistake of judgment), (ii) arising as a consequence of such Indemnified Person becoming aware of any business opportunity and failing to present such business opportunity to the Company or otherwise taking any of the actions or omitting to take any of the actions permitted by the Articles under the heading “Business Opportunities”, (iii) in the execution or discharge of his or her duties, powers, authorities or discretions, or (iv) in respect of any actions or activities undertaken by an Indemnified Person provided for and in accordance with the provisions set out above (inclusive) including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by such Indemnified Person in defending or otherwise being involved in, (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil proceedings concerning the Company or its affairs in any court whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere. Each Member agrees to waive any claim or right of action he or she might have, whether individually or by or in the right of the Company, against any Director on account of any action taken by such Director, or the failure of such Director to take any action in the performance of his or her duties with or for the Company; provided that such waiver shall not extend to any matter in respect of any willful default, willful neglect, actual fraud or the consequences of committing a crime which may attach to such Director.

 

153.

No Indemnified Person shall be liable:

 

  (i)

for the acts, receipts, neglects, defaults or omissions of any other Director or Officer or agent of the Company; or

 

  (j)

for any loss on account of defect of title to any property of the Company; or

 

  (k)

on account of the insufficiency of any security in or upon which any money of the Company shall be invested; or

 

  (l)

for any loss incurred through any bank, broker or other similar Person; or

 

  (m)

for any loss occasioned by any negligence, default, breach of duty, breach of trust, error of judgement or oversight on such Indemnified Person’s part; or

 

  (n)

for any liability, obligation or duty to the Company that may arise as a consequence of such Indemnified Person becoming aware of any business opportunity and failing to present such business opportunity to the Company or otherwise taking any of the actions or omitting to take any of the actions permitted by the Articles under the heading “Business Opportunities”; or

 

31


  (o)

for any loss, damage or misfortune whatsoever which may happen in or arise from the execution or discharge of the duties, powers, authorities, or discretions of such Indemnified Person’s office or in relation thereto;

unless the same shall happen through such Indemnified Person’s own willful default, willful neglect, actual fraud or the consequences of committing a crime as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.

 

154.

The Company will pay the expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an Indemnified Person in defending any Proceeding in advance of its final disposition, provided, however, that, to the extent required by applicable law, such payment of expenses in advance of the final disposition of the Proceeding shall be made only upon receipt of an undertaking by the Indemnified Person to repay all amounts advanced if it should be ultimately determined that the Indemnified Person is not entitled to be indemnified under these Articles or otherwise.

 

155.

The Directors, on behalf of the Company, may purchase and maintain insurance for the benefit of any Director or officer of the Company against any liability which, by virtue of any rule of law, would otherwise attach to such person in respect of any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust of which such person may be guilty in relation to the Company

 

156.

The rights to indemnification and advancement of expenses conferred on any Indemnified Person as set out above will not be exclusive of any other rights that any Indemnified Person may have or hereafter acquire. The rights to indemnification and advancement of expenses set out above will be contract rights and such rights will continue as to an Indemnified Person who has ceased to be a Director or officer and shall inure to the benefit of his or her heirs, executors and administrators.

NON-RECOGNITION OF TRUSTS

 

157.

Subject to the proviso hereto, no Person shall be recognised by the Company as holding any Share upon any trust and the Company shall not, unless required by law, be bound by or be compelled in any way to recognise (even when having notice thereof) any equitable, contingent, future or partial interest in any Share or (except only as otherwise provided by these Articles or as the Companies Act requires) any other right in respect of any Share except an absolute right to the entirety thereof in each Shareholder registered in the Register, provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall be entitled to recognise any such interests as shall be determined by the Directors.

BUSINESS COMBINATION REQUIREMENTS

 

158.

Notwithstanding any other provision of the Articles, the Articles under this heading “Business Combination Requirements” shall apply during the period commencing upon the adoption of the Articles and terminating upon the first to occur of the consummation of

 

32


  any Business Combination and the distribution of the Trust Fund pursuant to Article 166. In the event of a conflict between the Articles under this heading “Business Combination Requirements” and any other Articles, the provisions of the Articles under this heading “Business Combination Requirements” shall prevail.

 

159.

Article 166(b) may not be amended prior to the consummation of a Business Combination without a Special Resolution.

 

160.

Prior to the consummation of any Business Combination, the Company shall either:

 

  (a)

submit such Business Combination to its Members for approval; or

 

  (b)

provide Members with the opportunity to have their Shares repurchased by means of a tender offer for a per-Share repurchase price payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Fund, calculated as of two (2) business days prior to the consummation of a Business Combination, including interest earned on the Trust Fund and not previously released to the Company to fund Regulatory Withdrawals and/or to pay income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of Public Shares then in issue, provided that the Company shall not repurchase Public Shares in an amount that would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than US$5,000,001.

 

161.

If the Company initiates any tender offer in accordance with Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act in connection with a Business Combination, it shall file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about such Business Combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act.

 

162.

If, alternatively, the Company holds a Member vote to approve a proposed Business Combination, the Company will conduct any compulsory redemption in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act and not pursuant to the tender offer rules and file proxy materials with the SEC.

 

163.

At a general meeting called for the purposes of approving a Business Combination pursuant to these Articles:

 

  (a)

one or more Shareholders holding at least one-third of the paid up voting share capital of the Company present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote at that meeting shall form a quorum; and

 

  (b)

in the event that a majority of the Shares voted (including all of the Founders Shares voted) are voted for the approval of a Business Combination, the Company shall be authorised to consummate a Business Combination.

 

164.

Where such redemptions in connection with an initial Business Combination are not conducted via the tender offer rules pursuant to Article 161, any Member holding Public Shares who is not a Founder, officer or Director may, contemporaneously with any vote

 

33


  on a Business Combination, elect to have their Public Shares redeemed for cash (the “IPO Redemption”), provided that no such Member acting together with any affiliate of his or any other person with whom he or she is acting in concert or as a partnership, syndicate, or other group for the purposes of acquiring, holding, or disposing of Shares may exercise this redemption right with respect to more than twenty percent (20%) of the Public Shares without the prior consent of the Directors, and provided further that any holder that holds Public Shares beneficially through a nominee must identify itself to the Company in connection with any redemption election in order to validly redeem such Public Shares. In connection with any vote held to approve a proposed Business Combination, holders of Public Shares seeking to exercise their redemption rights will be required to either tender their certificates (if any) to the Company’s transfer agent or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, in each case up to two (2) business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve a Business Combination. If so demanded, the Company shall pay any such redeeming Member, regardless of whether he or she is voting for or against such proposed Business Combination, a per-Share redemption price payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Fund calculated as of two (2) business days prior to the consummation of a Business Combination, including interest earned on the Trust Fund and not previously released to the Company to fund Regulatory Withdrawals and/or to pay income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of Public Shares then in issue (such redemption price being referred to herein as the “Redemption Price”).

 

165.

The Redemption Price shall be paid promptly following the consummation of the relevant Business Combination. If the proposed Business Combination is not approved or completed for any reason then such redemptions shall be cancelled and share certificates (if any) returned to the relevant Members as appropriate.

 

166.

(a) In the event that either the Company does not consummate a Business Combination within the Completion Window, or such later time as the Members of the Company may approve in accordance with these Articles or a resolution of the Company’s Members is passed pursuant to the Companies Act to commence the voluntary liquidation of the Company prior to the consummation of a Business Combination for any reason, the Company shall: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten (10) business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem the Public Shares, at a per-Share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Fund, including interest earned on the Trust Fund and not previously released to the Company to fund Regulatory Withdrawals and/or to pay income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of Public Shares then in issue, which redemption will completely extinguish public Members’ rights as Members (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining Members and the Directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of sub-articles (ii) and (iii), to its obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law.

 

34


(b) If any amendment is made to Article 166(a) that would affect the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company has not consummated an initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, or any amendment is made with respect to any other provisions of these Articles relating to the rights of holders of Class A Shares or pre-initial business combination activity, each holder of Public Shares who is not a Founder, officer or Director shall be provided with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares upon the approval of any such amendment at a per-Share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Fund, including interest earned on the Trust Fund and not previously released to the Company to fund Regulatory Withdrawals and/or to pay the Company’s income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of Public Shares then in issue.

 

167.

Except for the withdrawal of interest to pay income taxes and for Regulatory Withdrawals, if any, none of the funds held in the Trust Fund shall be released from the Trust Fund until the earlier of an IPO Redemption pursuant to Article 164, a repurchase of Shares by means of a tender offer pursuant to Article 160(b), a distribution of the Trust Fund pursuant to Article 166(a) or an amendment under Article 166(b). In no other circumstance shall a holder of Public Shares have any right or interest of any kind in the Trust Fund.

 

168.

After the issue of Public Shares, and prior to the consummation of a Business Combination, the Directors shall not issue additional Shares or any other securities that would entitle the holders thereof to: (a) receive funds from the Trust Fund; or (b) vote on any Business Combination or any other proposal presented to the Shareholders prior to or in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.

 

169.

The Company must complete one or more Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Fund (net of amounts previously disbursed to the Company’s management for working capital purposes and excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in the Trust Fund and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Fund) at the time of the Company’s signing of a definitive agreement in connection with a Business Combination. An initial Business Combination must not be effectuated solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

 

170.

Any payment made to members of the Audit Committee (if one exists) shall require the review and approval of the Directors, with any Director interested in such payment abstaining from such review and approval.

 

171.

A Director may vote in respect of any Business Combination in which such Director has a conflict of interest with respect to the evaluation of such Business Combination. Such Director must disclose such interest or conflict to the other Directors. A resolution of the Directors to approve a Business Combination will only be validly passed if approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Directors.

 

35


172.

The Audit Committee shall monitor compliance with the terms of the IPO and, if any non-compliance is identified, the Audit Committee shall be charged with the responsibility to take all action necessary to rectify such non-compliance or otherwise cause compliance with the terms of the IPO.

 

173.

The Company may enter into a Business Combination with a target business that is affiliated with the Sponsor, the Directors or Officers of the Company if such transaction were approved by a majority of the independent directors (as defined pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange) and the Directors that did not have an interest in such transaction. In the event the Company enters into a Business Combination with an entity that is affiliated with the Sponsor, Officers or Directors, the Company, or a committee of independent directors (as defined pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Designated Stock Exchange), will obtain an opinion that the initial Business Combination is fair to the Company from a financial point of view from either an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. or an independent accounting firm.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

 

174.

In recognition and anticipation of the facts that: (a) directors, managers, officers, members, partners, managing members, employees and/or agents of one or more members of the Investor Group (each of the foregoing, an “Investor Group Related Person”) may serve as Directors and/or Officers of the Company; and (b) the Investor Group engages, and may continue to engage in the same or similar activities or related lines of business as those in which the Company, directly or indirectly, may engage and/or other business activities that overlap with or compete with those in which the Company, directly or indirectly, may engage, the provisions of Articles 175 to 179 are set forth to regulate and define the conduct of certain affairs of the Company as they may involve the Members and the Investor Group Related Persons, and the powers, rights, duties and liabilities of the Company and its Officers, Directors and Members in connection therewith.

 

175.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Investor Group and the Investor Group Related Persons shall have no duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as the Company.

 

176.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Company renounces any interest or expectancy of the Company in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for either the Investor Group or the Investor Group Related Persons, on the one hand, and the Company, on the other.

 

177.

Except to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Investor Group and the Investor Group Related Persons shall have no duty to communicate or offer any such corporate opportunity to the Company and shall not be liable to the Company or its Members for breach of any fiduciary duty as a Member, Director and/or officer of the Company solely by reason of the fact that such party pursues or acquires such corporate opportunity for itself, himself or herself, directs such corporate

 

36


  opportunity to another person, or does not communicate information regarding such corporate opportunity to the Company, unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such Investor Group Related Person in their capacity as a Director or officer of the Company and the opportunity is one that the Company is legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for the Company to pursue, and to the extent the Director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to the Company without violating another legal obligation.

 

178.

Except as provided elsewhere in these Articles, the Company hereby renounces any interest or expectancy of the Company in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for both the Company and the Investor Group, about which a Director and/or officer of the Company who is also an Investor Group Related Person acquires knowledge.

 

179.

To the extent a court might hold that the conduct of any activity related to a corporate opportunity that is renounced in this Article to be a breach of duty to the Company or its Members, the Company and (if applicable) each Member hereby waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all claims and causes of action that the Company may have for such activities described in Articles 174 to 178 above. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the provisions of Articles 174 to 178 apply equally to activities conducted in the future and that have been conducted in the past.

WINDING UP

 

180.

If the Company shall be wound up the liquidator shall apply the assets of the Company in such manner and order as he or she thinks fit in satisfaction of creditors’ claims.

 

181.

If the Company shall be wound up, the liquidator may, with the sanction of an Ordinary Resolution divide amongst the Shareholders in specie or kind the whole or any part of the assets of the Company (whether they shall consist of property of the same kind or not) and may, for such purpose set such value as he or she deems fair upon any property to be divided as aforesaid and may determine how such division shall be carried out as between the Shareholders or different Classes. The liquidator may, with the like sanction, vest the whole or any part of such assets in trustees upon such trusts for the benefit of the Shareholders as the liquidator, with the like sanction shall think fit, but so that no Shareholder shall be compelled to accept any assets whereon there is any liability.

AMENDMENT OF ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

 

182.

Subject to the Companies Act and the rights attaching to the various Classes, the Company may at any time and from time to time by Special Resolution alter or amend these Articles in whole or in part.

CLOSING OF REGISTER OR FIXING RECORD DATE

 

183.

For the purpose of determining those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at any meeting of Shareholders or any adjournment thereof, or those Shareholders that are entitled to receive payment of any dividend, or in order to make a

 

37


  determination as to who is a Shareholder for any other purpose, the Directors may, by any means in accordance with the requirements of the Designated Stock Exchange, provide that the Register shall be closed for transfers for a stated period which shall not exceed in any case forty (40) days. If the Register shall be so closed for the purpose of determining those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Shareholders the Register shall be so closed for at least ten (10) days immediately preceding such meeting and the record date for such determination shall be the date of the closure of the Register.

 

184.

In lieu of or apart from closing the Register, the Directors may fix in advance a date as the record date for any such determination of those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of the Shareholders and for the purpose of determining those Shareholders that are entitled to receive payment of any dividend the Directors may, at or within ninety (90) days prior to the date of declaration of such dividend, fix a subsequent date as the record date for such determination.

 

185.

If the Register is not so closed and no record date is fixed for the determination of those Shareholders entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Shareholders or those Shareholders that are entitled to receive payment of a dividend, the date on which notice of the meeting is posted or the date on which the resolution of the Directors declaring such dividend is adopted, as the case may be, shall be the record date for such determination of Shareholders. When a determination of those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Shareholders has been made as provided in this Article, such determination shall apply to any adjournment thereof.

REGISTRATION BY WAY OF CONTINUATION

 

186.

The Company may by Special Resolution resolve to be registered by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands or such other jurisdiction in which it is for the time being incorporated, registered or existing. In furtherance of a resolution adopted pursuant to this Article, the Directors may cause an application to be made to the Registrar of Companies to deregister the Company in the Cayman Islands or such other jurisdiction in which it is for the time being incorporated, registered or existing and may cause all such further steps as they consider appropriate to be taken to effect the transfer by way of continuation of the Company.

 

187.

Prior to an initial Business Combination, and subject to the terms of any Preference Shares, only holders of Class B Shares will have the right to vote to continue the Company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands in accordance with Article 186 (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organisational documents of the Company in such other jurisdiction).

MERGERS AND CONSOLIDATION

 

188.

The Company may merge or consolidate in accordance with the Companies Act.

 

189.

To the extent required by the Companies Act, the Company may by Special Resolution resolve to merge or consolidate the Company.

 

38


DISCLOSURE

 

190.

The Directors, or any authorised service providers (including the Officers, the Secretary and the registered office agent of the Company), shall be entitled to disclose to any regulatory or judicial authority, or to any stock exchange on which the Shares may from time to time be listed, any information regarding the affairs of the Company including, without limitation, information contained in the Register and books of the Company.

 

39

Exhibit 4.2

SPECIMEN CLASS A ORDINARY SHARE CERTIFICATE

 

NUMBER C–[ ]

   SHARES

SEE REVERSE FOR CERTAIN DEFINITIONS

   CUSIP [ ]

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

CLASS A ORDINARY SHARES

THIS CERTIFIES THAT [                ] is the owner of fully paid and non-assessable Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share (the “Class A Ordinary Shares”), of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), subject to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as the same may be further amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time and transferable on the books of the Company in person or by duly authorized attorney upon surrender of this certificate properly endorsed.

The Company will be forced to redeem all of its Class A Ordinary Shares if it is unable to complete a business combination within the period set forth in the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as the same may be further amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, all as more fully described in the Company’s final prospectus for its initial public offering, dated [                ], 2021.

This certificate is not valid unless countersigned by the transfer agent and registered by the registrar of the Company.

This certificate shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York.

Witness the facsimile signatures of its duly authorized officers.

 

By:   

 

Chief Executive Officer

                                               

 

Transfer Agent


WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

The Company will furnish without charge to each shareholder who so requests a statement of the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of shares or series thereof of the Company and the qualifications, limitations, or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights.

This certificate and the Class A Ordinary Shares represented thereby are issued and shall be held subject to all of the provisions of the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as the same may be further amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, and resolutions of the board of directors of the Company providing for the issue of the Class A Ordinary Shares (copies of which may be obtained from the Company), to all of which the holder of this certificate by acceptance hereof assents. The following abbreviations, when used in the inscription on the face of this certificate, shall be construed as though they were written out in full according to applicable laws or regulations:

 

TEN
COM
      as tenants in common    UNIF GIFT MIN ACT       Custodian
               (Cust)                (Minor)
TEN
ENT
      as tenants by the entireties          under Uniform Gifts to Minors Act
JT TEN       as joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common                                      (State)

Additional abbreviations may also be used though not in the above list.

For value received, hereby sells, assigns and transfers unto

(PLEASE INSERT SOCIAL SECURITY OR OTHER IDENTIFYING NUMBER(S) OF ASSIGNEE(S))

(PLEASE PRINT OR TYPEWRITE NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES), INCLUDING ZIP CODE, OF

ASSIGNEE(S))

The Class A Ordinary Shares are represented by this certificate, and does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint Attorney to transfer the Class A Ordinary Shares on the books of the within named Company with full power of substitution in the premises.

 

Dated:                         Notice: The signature(s) to this assignment must correspond with the name as written upon the face of the certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatever.


Signature(s) Guaranteed:

 

 

THE SIGNATURE(S) MUST BE GUARANTEED BY AN ELIGIBLE GUARANTOR INSTITUTION (BANKS, STOCKBROKERS, SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS AND CREDIT UNIONS WITH MEMBERSHIP IN AN APPROVED SIGNATURE GUARANTEE MEDALLION PROGRAM, PURSUANT TO S.E.C. RULE 17Ad-15 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED (OR ANY SUCCESSOR RULE).

As more fully described in, and subject to the terms and conditions described in, the Company’s final prospectus for its initial public offering, dated [                ], 2021, the holder(s) of this certificate shall be entitled to receive a pro rata portion of certain funds held in the trust account established in connection with the Company’s initial public offering only in the event that (i) the Company redeems the Class A Ordinary Shares sold in its initial public offering and liquidates because it does not consummate an initial business combination within the period of time set forth in the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, (ii) the Company redeems the Class A Ordinary Shares sold in its initial public offering in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of the Class A Ordinary Shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with the Company’s initial business combination or to redeem one hundred percent (100%) of the Class A Ordinary Shares if the Company does not complete its initial business combination within the time period set forth therein or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of the Class A Ordinary Shares, or (iii) if the holder(s) seek(s) to redeem for cash his, her or its respective Class A Ordinary Shares in connection with a tender offer (or proxy solicitation, solely in the event the Company seeks shareholder approval of the proposed initial business combination) setting forth the details of a proposed initial business combination. In no other circumstances shall the holder(s) have any right or interest of any kind in or to the trust account.

Exhibit 4.3

SPECIMEN WARRANT CERTIFICATE

[FACE]

 

NUMBER W–[    ]

   CUSIP [ ]

Warrants

THIS WARRANT SHALL BE VOID IF NOT EXERCISED PRIOR TO

THE EXPIRATION OF THE EXERCISE PERIOD PROVIDED FOR

IN THE WARRANT AGREEMENT DESCRIBED BELOW

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

Incorporated Under the Laws of the Cayman Islands

Warrant Certificate

THIS WARRANT CERTIFICATE CERTIFIES THAT [                    ], or registered assigns, is the registered holder of [                    ] warrant(s) evidenced hereby (the “Warrants” and, each, a “Warrant”) to purchase Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value per share (“Ordinary Shares”), of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder, upon exercise during the period set forth in the Warrant Agreement referred to below, to receive from the Company that number of fully paid and non-assessable Ordinary Shares as set forth below, at the exercise price (the “Warrant Price”) as determined pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, payable in lawful money of the United States of America (or through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement) upon surrender of this Warrant Certificate and payment of the Warrant Price at the office or agency of the Warrant Agent referred to below, subject to the conditions set forth herein and in the Warrant Agreement. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Warrant Certificate shall have the respective meanings given to them in the Warrant Agreement.

Each whole Warrant is initially exercisable for one fully paid and non-assessable Ordinary Share. Fractional shares shall not be issued upon exercise of any Warrant. If, upon the exercise of the Warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in an Ordinary Share, the Company shall, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Ordinary Shares to be issued to the holder of the Warrants. The number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.

The initial Warrant Price per one Ordinary Share for any Warrant is equal to $11.50 per Ordinary Share. The Warrant Price is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.

Subject to the conditions set forth in the Warrant Agreement, the Warrants may be exercised only during the Exercise Period and to the extent not exercised by the end of the Exercise Period, the Warrants shall become void. The Warrants may be redeemed, subject to certain conditions, as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.

Reference is hereby made to the provisions of this Warrant Certificate set forth on the reverse hereof and such further provisions shall for all purposes have the same effect as though fully set forth at this place.

This Warrant Certificate shall not be valid unless countersigned by the Warrant Agent.

This Warrant Certificate shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of New York.

*    *    *    *    *


WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:
CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY,
as Warrant Agent
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:


[REVERSE]

The Warrants evidenced by this Warrant Certificate are part of a duly authorized issue of Warrants entitling the holder on exercise to receive [     ] Ordinary Shares and are issued or to be issued pursuant to the [Public] [Private] Warrant Agreement, dated as of [], 2021 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Warrant Agreement”), duly executed and delivered by the Company to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York limited purpose trust company, as warrant agent (in such capacity, the “Warrant Agent”), which Warrant Agreement is hereby incorporated by reference in and made a part of this instrument and is hereby referred to for a description of the rights, limitation of rights, obligations, duties and immunities thereunder of the Warrant Agent, the Company and the holders (the words “holders” or “holder” meaning the Registered Holders or Registered Holder, respectively) of the Warrants. A copy of the Warrant Agreement may be obtained by the holder hereof upon written request to the Company. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Warrant Certificate shall have the respective meanings given to them in the Warrant Agreement.

Warrants may be exercised at any time during the Exercise Period set forth in the Warrant Agreement. The holder of the Warrants evidenced by this Warrant Certificate may exercise them by surrendering this Warrant Certificate, with the form of Election to Purchase set forth hereon properly completed and executed, together with payment of the Warrant Price as specified in the Warrant Agreement (or through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement) at the principal corporate trust office of the Warrant Agent. In the event that upon any exercise of Warrants evidenced hereby the number of Warrants exercised shall be less than the total number of Warrants evidenced hereby, there shall be issued to the holder hereof or his, her or its assignee, a new Warrant Certificate evidencing the number of Warrants not exercised.

Notwithstanding anything else in this Warrant Certificate or the Warrant Agreement, no Warrant may be exercised unless at the time of exercise (a)(i) a registration statement covering the issuance of the Ordinary Shares to be issued upon exercise is effective under the Securities Act and (ii) a prospectus thereunder relating to the Ordinary Shares is current, or (b) the Ordinary Shares to be issued upon exercise may be issued pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act, including through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement.

The Warrant Agreement provides that, upon the occurrence of certain events, the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants and the Warrant Price set forth on the face hereof may, subject to certain conditions, be adjusted. If, upon exercise of a Warrant, the holder thereof would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in an Ordinary Share, the Company shall, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of Ordinary Shares to be issued to the holder of the Warrant.

This Warrant Certificate, when surrendered at the principal corporate trust office of the Warrant Agent by the Registered Holder thereof in person or by legal representative or attorney duly authorized in writing, may be exchanged, in the manner and subject to the limitations provided in the Warrant Agreement, but without payment of any service charge, for another Warrant Certificate or Warrant Certificates of like tenor evidencing in the aggregate a like number of Warrants.

Upon due presentation for registration of transfer of this Warrant Certificate at the office of the Warrant Agent, a new Warrant Certificate or Warrant Certificates of like tenor and evidencing in the aggregate a like number of Warrants shall be issued to the transferee(s) in exchange for this Warrant Certificate, subject to the limitations provided in the Warrant Agreement, without charge except for any tax or other governmental charge imposed in connection therewith.

The Company and the Warrant Agent may deem and treat the Registered Holder(s) hereof as the absolute owner(s) of this Warrant Certificate (notwithstanding any notation of ownership or other writing hereon made by anyone), for the purpose of any exercise hereof and any distribution to the holder(s) hereof and for all other purposes, and neither the Company nor the Warrant Agent shall be affected by any notice to the contrary. Neither the Warrants nor this Warrant Certificate entitles any holder hereof to any rights of a shareholder of the Company.


ELECTION TO PURCHASE

(To Be Executed Upon Exercise of Warrant)

The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise the right, represented by this Warrant Certificate, to receive [                    ] Ordinary Shares and herewith tenders payment for such Ordinary Shares to the order of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”) in the amount of $[                    ] in accordance with the terms hereof. The undersigned requests that the register of members of the Company be updated to reflect the issuance of such Ordinary Shares and a certificate for such Ordinary Shares be registered in the name of [                    ], whose address is [                    ], and that such Ordinary Shares be delivered to [                    ], whose address is [                    ]. If said number of Ordinary Shares is less than all of the Ordinary Shares purchasable hereunder, the undersigned requests that a new Warrant Certificate representing the remaining balance of such Ordinary Shares be registered in the name of [                    ], whose address is [                    ] and that such Warrant Certificate be delivered to [                    ], whose address is [                    ].

In the event that the Warrant is to be exercised on a “cashless” basis pursuant to subsection 3.3.1(b) of the Warrant Agreement, the number of Ordinary Shares that this Warrant is exercisable for shall be determined in accordance with subsection 3.3.1(b) of the Warrant Agreement.

[In the event that the Warrant is to be exercised on a “cashless basis” pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Warrant Agreement, the number of Ordinary Shares that this Warrant is exercisable for shall be determined in accordance with Section 7.4 of the Warrant Agreement.]1

In the event that the Warrant may be exercised, to the extent allowed by the Warrant Agreement, through cashless exercise, (i) the number of Ordinary Shares that this Warrant is exercisable for shall be determined in accordance with the relevant section of the Warrant Agreement which allows for such cashless exercise and (ii) the holder hereof shall complete the following: The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise the right, represented by this Warrant Certificate, through the cashless exercise provisions of the Warrant Agreement, to receive Ordinary Shares. If said number of Ordinary Shares is less than all of the Ordinary Shares purchasable hereunder (after giving effect to the cashless exercise), the undersigned requests that a new Warrant Certificate representing the remaining balance of such Ordinary Shares be registered in the name of [                    ], whose address is [                    ] and that such Warrant Certificate be delivered to [                    ], whose address is [                     ].

[Signature Page Follows]

Date: [                    ], 20[ ]

 

(Signature)
(Address)
(Tax Identification Number)

Signature(s) Guaranteed:

 

 

THE SIGNATURE(S) MUST BE GUARANTEED BY AN ELIGIBLE GUARANTOR INSTITUTION (BANKS, STOCKBROKERS, SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS AND CREDIT UNIONS WITH MEMBERSHIP IN AN APPROVED SIGNATURE GUARANTEE MEDALLION PROGRAM, PURSUANT TO S.E.C. RULE 17Ad-15 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED (OR ANY SUCCESSOR RULE).

 

1 

To be included for the Warrants included as part of the Units only.

Exhibit 4.4

FORM OF PUBLIC WARRANT AGREEMENT

THIS PUBLIC WARRANT AGREEMENT, dated as of [                    ], 2021 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, this “Agreement”), is by and between Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York limited purpose trust company, as warrant agent (in such capacity, the “Warrant Agent”).

WHEREAS, the Company is engaged in an initial public offering (the “Offering”) of units of the Company’s equity securities, each such unit comprised of one Class A ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (“Ordinary Shares”), and one-third of one redeemable Warrant (as defined below) (the “Units”) and, in connection therewith, has determined to issue and deliver up to 7,666,667 redeemable warrants (including up to 1,000,000 redeemable warrants subject to the Over-Allotment Option (as defined below)) to public investors in the Offering (the “Warrants”);

WHEREAS, each whole Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Ordinary Share for $11.50 per whole share, subject to adjustment as described herein;

WHEREAS, the Company has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 333-254842 and a prospectus (the “Prospectus”), for the registration, under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), of the Units, the Public Warrants and the Ordinary Shares included in the Units;

WHEREAS, the Company desires the Warrant Agent to act on behalf of the Company, and the Warrant Agent is willing to so act, in connection with the issuance, registration, transfer, exchange, redemption and exercise of the Warrants;

WHEREAS, the Company desires to provide for the form and provisions of the Warrants, the terms upon which they shall be issued and exercised, and the respective rights, limitation of rights and immunities of the Company, the Warrant Agent and the holders of the Warrants; and

WHEREAS, all acts and things have been done and performed which are necessary to make the Warrants, when executed on behalf of the Company and countersigned by or on behalf of the Warrant Agent (if a physical certificate is issued), as provided herein, the valid, binding and legal obligations of the Company, and to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual agreements herein contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:

1. Appointment of Warrant Agent. The Company hereby appoints the Warrant Agent to act as agent for the Company for the Warrants, and the Warrant Agent hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the same in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.


2. Warrants.

2.1. Form of Warrant. Each Warrant shall initially be issued in registered form only.

2.2. Effect of Countersignature. If a physical certificate is issued, unless and until countersigned by the Warrant Agent pursuant to this Agreement, a certificated Warrant shall be invalid and of no effect and may not be exercised by the holder thereof.

2.3. Registration.

2.3.1. Warrant Register. The Warrant Agent shall maintain books (the “Warrant Register”) for the registration of the initial issuance of the Warrants and the registration of transfer of the Warrants. Upon the initial issuance of the Warrants in book-entry form, the Warrant Agent shall issue and register the Warrants in the names of the respective holders thereof in such denominations and otherwise in accordance with instructions delivered to the Warrant Agent by the Company. Ownership of beneficial interests in the Warrants shall be shown on, and the transfer of such ownership shall be effected through, records maintained by institutions that have accounts with The Depository Trust Company (the “Depository”) (such institution, with respect to a Warrant in its account, a “Participant”).

If the Depository subsequently ceases to make its book-entry settlement system available for the Warrants, the Company may instruct the Warrant Agent regarding making other arrangements for book-entry settlement. In the event that the Warrants are not eligible for, or it is no longer necessary to have the Warrants available in, book-entry form, the Warrant Agent shall provide written instructions to the Depository to deliver to the Warrant Agent for cancellation each book-entry Warrant, and the Company shall instruct the Warrant Agent to deliver to the Depository definitive certificates in physical form evidencing such Warrants (“Definitive Warrant Certificates”) which shall be in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A.

Physical certificates, if issued, shall be signed by, or bear the facsimile signature of, the Chairman of the board of directors of the Company (the “Board”), Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel, Secretary or other principal officer of the Company. In the event the person whose facsimile signature has been placed upon any Warrant shall have ceased to serve in the capacity in which such person signed the Warrant before the Warrant is issued, it may be issued with the same effect as if he or she had not ceased to be such at the date of issuance.

2.3.2. Registered Holder. Prior to due presentment for registration of transfer of any Warrant, the Company and the Warrant Agent may deem and treat the person in whose name such Warrant is registered in the Warrant Register (the “Registered Holder”) as the absolute owner of such Warrant and of each Warrant represented thereby (notwithstanding any notation of ownership or other writing on any physical certificate made by anyone other than the Company or the Warrant Agent) for the purpose of any exercise thereof and for all other purposes, and neither the Company nor the Warrant Agent shall be affected by any notice to the contrary.

 

2


2.4. Detachability of Warrants. The Ordinary Shares and the Warrants comprising the Units shall begin separate trading on the fifty-second (52nd) day following the date of the Prospectus or, if such fifty-second (52nd) day is not on a day, other than a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday, on which banks in New York City are generally open for normal business (a “Business Day”), then on the immediately succeeding Business Day following such date, or earlier (the “Detachment Date”) with the consent of Evercore Group L.L.C. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, but in no event shall the Ordinary Shares and the Public Warrants comprising the Units be separately traded until (A) the Company has filed (i) a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Commission containing an audited balance sheet reflecting the receipt by the Company of the gross proceeds of the Offering, including the proceeds then received by the Company from the exercise by the underwriters of their right to purchase additional Units in the Offering (the “Over-Allotment Option”), if the Over-Allotment Option is exercised prior to the filing of the Current Report on Form 8-K and (ii) a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ Over-Allotment Option, if the Over-Allotment Option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, and (B) the Company issues a press release announcing when such separate trading shall begin.

2.5. No Fractional Warrants Other Than As Part of the Units. The Company shall not issue fractional Warrants other than as part of the Units. If, upon the detachment of the Warrants from the Units or otherwise, a holder of the Warrants would be entitled to receive a fractional Warrant, the Company shall round down to the nearest whole number the number of the Warrants to be issued to such holder.

3. Terms and Exercise of Warrants.

3.1. Warrant Price. Each whole Warrant shall entitle the Registered Holder thereof, subject to the provisions of such Warrant and this Agreement, to purchase from the Company the number of Ordinary Shares stated therein, at the price of $11.50 per Ordinary Share, subject to the adjustments provided in Section 4 and in the penultimate sentence of this Section 3.1. The term “Warrant Price,” as used in this Agreement, shall mean the price per Ordinary Share (including in cash or by payment for the Warrants pursuant to a “cashless exercise,” to the extent permitted hereunder) at which Ordinary Shares may be purchased at the time a Warrant is exercised. The Company in its sole discretion may lower the Warrant Price at any time prior to the Expiration Date (as defined below) for a period of not less than fifteen (15) Business Days (unless otherwise required by the Commission, any national securities exchange on which the Warrants are listed or applicable law); provided, however, that the Company shall provide at least three (3) Business Days’ prior written notice of such reduction to Registered Holders of the Warrants; provided, further, that any such reduction shall be identical among all of the Warrants. The term “Business Day” means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday, on which banks in New York City are generally open for normal business.

3.2. Duration of Warrants. A Warrant may be exercised only during the period (the “Exercise Period”) (A) commencing on the later of (i) the date that is thirty (30) days after the first date on which the Company completes a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (a “Business Combination”), and (ii) the date that is twelve (12) months from the date of the closing of the Offering and (B) terminating at the earliest to occur of (x) 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the date that is five (5) years after the date on which the Company completes its initial Business Combination, (y) the liquidation of the Company in accordance with the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (as amended, supplemented or

 

3


otherwise modified from time to time, the “Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association”), if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination, and (z) 5:00 p.m., New York city time, on the Redemption Date (as defined below) as provided in Section 6.2 (the “Expiration Date”); provided, however, that the exercise of any Warrant shall be subject to the satisfaction of any applicable conditions, as set forth in subsection 3.3.2, with respect to an effective registration statement or a valid exemption therefrom being available. Except with respect to the right to receive the Redemption Price (as defined below) in the event of a redemption (as set forth in Section 6), each Warrant not exercised on or before the Expiration Date shall become void, and all rights thereunder and all rights in respect thereof under this Agreement shall cease at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date. The Company in its sole discretion may extend the duration of the Warrants by delaying the Expiration Date; provided, however, that the Company shall provide at least twenty (20) days prior written notice of any such extension to Registered Holders of the Warrants; provided, further, that any such extension shall be identical in duration among all of the Warrants.

3.3. Exercise of Warrants.

3.3.1. Payment. Subject to the provisions of the Warrant and this Agreement, a Warrant may be exercised by the Registered Holder thereof by delivering to the Warrant Agent at its corporate trust department (i) the Definitive Warrant Certificate evidencing the Warrants to be exercised or, in the case of a Warrant represented by a book-entry, the Warrants to be exercised (the “Book-Entry Warrants”) on the records of the Depository to an account of the Warrant Agent at the Depository designated for such purposes in writing by the Warrant Agent to the Depository from time to time, (ii) an election to purchase (“Election to Purchase”) any Ordinary Shares pursuant to the exercise of a Warrant, properly completed and executed by the Registered Holder on the reverse of the Definitive Warrant Certificate or, in the case of a Book-Entry Warrant, properly delivered by the Participant in accordance with the Depository’s procedures, and (iii) the payment in full of the Warrant Price for each Ordinary Share as to which the Warrant is exercised and any and all applicable taxes due in connection with the exercise of the Warrant, the exchange of the Warrant for the Ordinary Shares and the issuance of such Ordinary Shares, as follows:

(a) in lawful money of the United States, in good certified check or good bank draft payable to the order of the Warrant Agent;

(b) in the event of a redemption pursuant to Section 6.1 in which the Company elects to require holders of the Warrants to exercise the Warrants on a “cashless basis,” by surrendering the Warrants for that number of the Ordinary Shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of the Ordinary Shares underlying the Warrants, multiplied by the excess of the Fair Market Value (as defined in this subsection 3.3.1(b)) of the Ordinary Shares over the Warrant Price by (y) the Fair Market Value. Solely for purposes of this subsection 3.3.1(b), the “Fair Market Value” shall mean the volume-weighted average last reported sale price of the Ordinary Shares for the ten (10) trading days ending on the third (3rd) trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the Warrants pursuant to Section 6.2;

(c) as provided in Section 7.4.

 

4


3.3.2. Issuance of Ordinary Shares on Exercise. As soon as practicable after the exercise of any Warrant and the clearance of the funds in payment of the Warrant Price (if payment is pursuant to subsection 3.3.1(a)), the Company shall issue to the Registered Holder of such Warrant a book-entry position or certificate, as applicable, for the number of Ordinary Shares to which he, she or it is entitled, registered in such name or names as may be directed by him, her or it on the register of members of the Company and, if such Warrant shall not have been exercised in full, a new book-entry position or countersigned Warrant, as applicable, for the number of Ordinary Shares as to which such Warrant shall not have been exercised. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be obligated to deliver any Ordinary Shares pursuant to the exercise of a Warrant and shall have no obligation to settle such Warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Ordinary Shares underlying the Warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current or a valid exemption from registration is available. No Warrant shall be exercisable and the Company shall not be obligated to issue Ordinary Shares upon exercise of a Warrant unless the Ordinary Shares issuable upon such Warrant exercise have been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt from registration or qualification under the securities laws of the state of residence of the Registered Holder of the Warrants. The Company may require holders of the Warrants to settle the Warrants on a “cashless basis” pursuant to Section 7.4.2. If, by reason of any exercise of Warrants on a “cashless basis,” the holder of any Warrant would be entitled, upon the exercise of such Warrant, to receive a fractional interest in an Ordinary Share, the Company shall round down to the nearest whole number the number of the Ordinary Shares to be issued to such holder.

3.3.3. Valid Issuance. All Ordinary Shares issued upon the proper exercise of a Warrant in conformity with this Agreement and the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, and upon registration in the Register of Members of the Company, shall be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

3.3.4. Date of Issuance. Each person in whose name any book-entry position or certificate, as applicable, for Ordinary Shares is issued and who is registered in the register of members of the Company shall for all purposes be deemed to have become the holder of record of such Ordinary Shares on the date on which the Warrant, or book-entry position representing such Warrant, was surrendered and payment of the Warrant Price was made, irrespective of the date of delivery of such certificate in the case of a certificated Warrant, except that, if the date of such surrender and payment is a date when the register of members of the Company or book-entry system of the Warrant Agent are closed, such person shall be deemed to have become the holder of such Ordinary Shares at the close of business on the next succeeding date on which the share transfer books or book-entry system of the Warrant Agent are open.

3.3.5. Maximum Percentage. A holder of a Warrant may notify the Company in writing in the event it elects to be subject to the provisions contained in this subsection 3.3.5; provided, however, that no holder of a Warrant shall be subject to this subsection 3.3.5 unless he, she or it makes such election. If the election is made by a holder, the Warrant Agent shall not effect the exercise of the holder’s Warrant, and such holder shall not have the right to exercise such Warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the Warrant Agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) (the “Maximum Percentage”) of the Ordinary Shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise. For purposes of the

 

5


foregoing sentence, the aggregate number of Ordinary Shares beneficially owned by such person and its affiliates shall include the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrant with respect to which the determination of such sentence is being made, but shall exclude Ordinary Shares that would be issuable upon (x) exercise of the remaining, unexercised portion of the Warrant beneficially owned by such person and its affiliates and (y) exercise or conversion of the unexercised or unconverted portion of any other securities of the Company beneficially owned by such person and its affiliates (including, without limitation, any convertible notes or convertible preferred shares or warrants) subject to a limitation on conversion or exercise analogous to the limitation contained herein. Except as set forth in the preceding sentence, for purposes of this paragraph, beneficial ownership shall be calculated in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). For purposes of the Warrant, in determining the number of outstanding Ordinary Shares, the holder may rely on the number of outstanding Ordinary Shares as reflected in (1) the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, Current Report on Form 8-K or other public filing with the Commission as the case may be, (2) a more recent public announcement by the Company or (3) any other notice by the Company or Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as transfer agent (in such capacity, the “Transfer Agent”), setting forth the number of Ordinary Shares outstanding. For any reason at any time, upon the written request of the holder of the Warrant, the Company shall, within two (2) Business Days, confirm orally and in writing to such holder the number of Ordinary Shares then issued and outstanding. In any case, the number of issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares shall be determined after giving effect to the conversion or exercise of equity securities of the Company by the holder and its affiliates since the date as of which such number of issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares was reported. By written notice to the Company, the holder of a Warrant may from time to time increase or decrease the Maximum Percentage applicable to such holder to any other percentage specified in such notice; provided, however, that any such increase shall not be effective until the sixty-first (61st) day after such notice is delivered to the Company.

4. Adjustments.

4.1. Capitalizations.

4.1.1. Sub-Divisions. If after the date hereof, and subject to the provisions of Section 4.6, the number of issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares is increased by a capitalization, share dividend or a sub-division of Ordinary Shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such share capitalization, sub-division or similar event, the number of Ordinary Shares issuable on exercise of each Warrant shall be increased in proportion to such increase in the issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares. A rights offering made to all or substantially all holders of the Ordinary Shares entitling holders to purchase the Ordinary Shares at a price less than the Historical Fair Market Value (as defined below) shall be deemed a capitalization of a number of Ordinary Shares equal to the product of (i) the number of Ordinary Shares actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for the Ordinary Shares) multiplied by (ii) one (1) minus the quotient of (x) the price per Ordinary Share paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the Historical Fair Market Value. For purposes of this subsection 4.1.1, (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Ordinary Shares, in determining the price payable for Ordinary Shares, there shall be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as

 

6


well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) “Historical Fair Market Value” means the volume weighted average price of the Ordinary Shares during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first (1st) date on which the Ordinary Shares trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights. No Ordinary Shares shall be issued at less than their par value.

4.1.2. Extraordinary Dividends. If the Company, at any time while the Warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pays a dividend or makes a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to all or substantially all of the holders of the Ordinary Shares on account of such Ordinary Shares (or other securities into which the Warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described in subsection 4.1.1, (b) Ordinary Cash Dividends (as defined below), (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of the Ordinary Shares in connection with a proposed initial Business Combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of the Ordinary Shares in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of Ordinary Shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination or to redeem one-hundred percent (100%) of the Company’s public shares if it does not complete its initial Business Combination within the time period required by the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of Ordinary Shares or (e) in connection with the redemption of the Ordinary Shares included in the Units sold in the Offering upon the failure of the Company to complete its initial Business Combination and any subsequent distribution of its assets upon its liquidation (any such non-excluded event being referred to herein as an “Extraordinary Dividend”), then the Warrant Price shall be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such Extraordinary Dividend, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value (as determined by the Board in good faith) of any securities or other assets paid on each Ordinary Share in respect of such Extraordinary Dividend. For purposes of this subsection 4.1.2, “Ordinary Cash Dividends” means any cash dividend or cash distribution which, when combined on a per share basis, with the per share amounts of all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the Ordinary Shares during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution to the extent it does not exceed $0.50 (which amount shall be adjusted to appropriately reflect any of the events referred to in other subsections of this Section 4 and excluding cash dividends or cash distributions that resulted in an adjustment to the Warrant Price or to the number of Ordinary Shares issuable on exercise of each Warrant).

4.2. Aggregation of Shares. If after the date hereof, and subject to the provisions of Section 4.6, the number of issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division or reclassification of the Ordinary Shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division, reclassification or similar event, the number of the Ordinary Shares issuable on exercise of each Warrant shall be decreased in proportion to such decrease in issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares.

 

7


4.3. Adjustments in Warrant Price. Whenever the number of the Ordinary Shares purchasable upon the exercise of the Warrants is adjusted, as provided in subsection 4.1.1 or Section 4.2, the Warrant Price shall be adjusted (to the nearest cent) by multiplying such Warrant Price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which shall be the number of the Ordinary Shares purchasable upon the exercise of the Warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which shall be the number of the Ordinary Shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.

4.4. Replacement of Securities upon Reorganization, etc. In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Ordinary Shares (other than a change under subsections 4.1.1 or 4.1.2 or Section 4.2 or that solely affects the par value of such Ordinary Shares), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another entity or conversion of the Company into another type of entity (other than a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing entity and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Ordinary Shares), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of the Company as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which the Company is dissolved, the holders of the Warrants shall thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the Warrants and in lieu of the Ordinary Shares of the Company immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of the Ordinary Shares or stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the Warrants would have received if such holder had exercised his, her or its Warrant(s) immediately prior to such event (the “Alternative Issuance”); provided, however, that: (i) if the holders of the Ordinary Shares were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such consolidation or merger, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets constituting the Alternative Issuance for which each Warrant shall become exercisable shall be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by the holders of the Ordinary Shares in such consolidation or merger that affirmatively make such election; (ii) if a tender, exchange or redemption offer shall have been made to and accepted by the holders of the Ordinary Shares (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by the Company in connection with redemption rights held by shareholders of the Company as provided for in the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association or as a result of the redemption of the Ordinary Shares by the Company if a proposed initial Business Combination is presented to the shareholders of the Company for approval) under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) securities representing more than 50% of the aggregate voting power, including the power to vote on the election of directors of the Company, of the issued and outstanding equity securities of the Company, and (for the avoidance of doubt) such tender offer results in a change of control of the Company, the holder of a Warrant shall be entitled to receive as the Alternative Issuance, the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a shareholder if such Warrant holder had exercised the Warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the Ordinary Shares held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer, subject to adjustments (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in this Section 4; and (iii) if less than seventy percent (70%) of the consideration receivable by the holders of the Ordinary Shares in the applicable event is payable in the form of

 

8


Ordinary Shares in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the Registered Holder properly exercises the Warrant within thirty (30) days following the public disclosure of the consummation of such applicable event by the Company pursuant to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission, the Warrant Price shall be reduced by an amount (in dollars) equal to the difference, if positive, of (i) the Warrant Price in effect prior to such reduction minus (ii) (A) the Per Share Consideration (as defined below) minus (B) the Black-Scholes Warrant Value (as defined below) (which amount determined under this clause (ii) shall not be less than zero). The “Black-Scholes Warrant Value” means the value of a Warrant immediately prior to the consummation of the applicable event based on the Black-Scholes model as calculated by an accounting, appraisal, investment banking firm or consultant of nationally recognized standing that is, in the good faith judgment of the Board, qualified to make such calculation. “Per Share Consideration” means (i) if the consideration paid to holders of the Ordinary Shares consists exclusively of cash, the amount of such cash per Ordinary Share, and (ii) in all other cases, the volume weighted average price of the Ordinary Shares as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the effective date of the applicable event. If any reclassification or reorganization also results in a change in the Ordinary Shares covered by subsection 4.1.1, then such adjustment shall be made pursuant to subsection 4.1.1 or Sections 4.2, 4.3 and this Section 4.4. The provisions of this Section 4.4 shall similarly apply to successive reclassifications, reorganizations, mergers or consolidations, sales or other transfers. In no event will the Warrant Price be reduced to less than the par value per share issuable upon exercise of the Warrant.

4.5. Notices of Changes in Warrant. Upon every adjustment of the Warrant Price or the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant, the Company shall give written notice thereof to the Warrant Agent, which notice shall state the Warrant Price resulting from such adjustment and the increase or decrease, if any, in the number of Ordinary Shares purchasable at such price upon the exercise of a Warrant, setting forth in reasonable detail the method of calculation and the facts upon which such calculation is based; provided, however, that no adjustment to the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant shall be required until cumulative adjustments amount to one percent (1%) or more of the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant as last adjusted; provided, further, that any such adjustments that are not made are carried forward and taken into account in any subsequent adjustment. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all such carried forward adjustments shall be made (i) in connection with any subsequent adjustment that (taken together with such carried forward adjustments) would result in a change of at least one percent (1%) in the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant and (ii) on the exercise date of any Warrant. Upon the occurrence of any event specified in Sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 , 4.4 or 4.5 in connection with which any adjustment is made to the Warrant Price or the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant, the Company shall give written notice of the occurrence of such event to each holder of a Warrant, at the last address set forth for such holder in the Warrant Register, of the record date or the effective date of the event. Failure to give such notice, or any defect therein, shall not affect the legality or validity of such event.

 

9


4.6. No Fractional Shares. Notwithstanding any provision contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the Company shall not issue fractional Ordinary Shares upon the exercise of Warrants. If, by reason of any adjustment made pursuant to this Section 4, the holder of any Warrant would be entitled, upon the exercise of such Warrant, to receive a fractional interest in an Ordinary Share, the Company shall, upon such exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Ordinary Shares to be issued to such holder.

4.7. Form of Warrant. The form of Warrant need not be changed because of any adjustment pursuant to this Section 4, and Warrants issued after such adjustment may state the same Warrant Price and the same number of Ordinary Shares as is stated in the Warrants initially issued pursuant to this Agreement; provided, however, that the Company may at any time in its sole discretion make any change in the form of Warrant that the Company may deem appropriate and that does not affect the substance thereof, and any Warrant thereafter issued or countersigned, whether in exchange or substitution for an outstanding Warrant or otherwise, may be in the form as so changed.

4.8. No Adjustment. For the avoidance of doubt, no adjustment shall be made to the terms of the Warrants solely as a result of an adjustment to the conversion ratio of the Class B Ordinary Shares into Ordinary Shares or the conversion of the Class B Ordinary Shares into Ordinary Shares, in each case, pursuant to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.

5. Transfer and Exchange of Warrants.

5.1. Registration of Transfer. The Warrant Agent shall register the transfer, from time to time, of any outstanding Warrant upon the Warrant Register, upon surrender of such Warrant for transfer, properly endorsed with signatures properly guaranteed and accompanied by appropriate instructions for transfer. Upon any such transfer, a new Warrant representing an equal aggregate number of Warrants shall be issued and the old Warrant shall be cancelled by the Warrant Agent. In the case of certificated Warrants, the Warrants so cancelled shall be delivered by the Warrant Agent to the Company from time to time upon request.

5.2. Procedure for Surrender of Warrants. Warrants may be surrendered to the Warrant Agent, together with a written request for exchange or transfer, and thereupon the Warrant Agent shall issue in exchange therefor one or more new Warrants as requested by the Registered Holder of the Warrants so surrendered, representing an equal aggregate number of Warrants; provided, however, that, except as otherwise provided herein or with respect to any Book-Entry Warrant, each Book-Entry Warrant may be transferred only in whole and only to the Depository, to another nominee of the Depository, to a successor depository or to a nominee of a successor depository; provided, further, that, in the event that a Warrant surrendered for transfer bears a restrictive legend, the Warrant Agent shall not cancel such Warrant and issue new Warrants in exchange therefor until the Warrant Agent has received an opinion of counsel for the Company stating that such transfer may be made and indicating whether the new Warrants must also bear a restrictive legend.

5.3. Fractional Warrants. The Warrant Agent shall not be required to effect any registration of transfer or exchange of the Warrants which would result in the issuance of a warrant certificate or book-entry position for a fraction of a warrant, except as part of the Units.

 

10


5.4. Service Charges. No service charge shall be made for any exchange or registration of transfer of Warrants.

5.5. Warrant Execution and Countersignature. The Warrant Agent is hereby authorized to countersign and to deliver, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, the Warrants required to be issued pursuant to the provisions of this Section 5, and the Company, whenever required by the Warrant Agent, shall supply the Warrant Agent with Warrants duly executed on behalf of the Company for such purpose.

5.6. Transfer of Warrants. Prior to the Detachment Date, the Warrants may be transferred or exchanged only together with the Unit in which such Warrant is included, and only for the purpose of effecting, or in conjunction with, a transfer or exchange of such Unit. Furthermore, each transfer of a Unit on the register relating to such Units shall operate also to transfer the Warrants included in such Unit. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this Section 5.6 shall have no effect on any transfer of Warrants on and after the Detachment Date.

6. Redemption of Warrants.

6.1. Redemption of Warrants for Cash. Not less than all of the outstanding Warrants may be redeemed for cash, at the option of the Company, at any time during the Exercise Period, at the office of the Warrant Agent, upon notice to the Registered Holders of the Warrants, as described in Section 6.2, at a Redemption Price of $0.01 per Warrant; provided, however, that (i) the last reported sale price of the Ordinary Shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (subject to adjustment in compliance with Section 4) for any ten (10) trading days within the twenty (20) trading day period ending on the third (3rd) trading day prior to the date on which notice of such redemption is given; and provided, further that (ii) there is an effective registration statement covering the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants, and a current prospectus relating thereto, available throughout the 30-Day Redemption Period (as defined in Section 6.2) or the Company has elected to require the exercise of the Warrants on a “cashless basis” pursuant to Section 3.3.1 and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act.

6.2. Date Fixed for, and Notice of, Redemption; Redemption Price. In the event that the Company elects to redeem the Warrants pursuant to Section 6.1, the Company shall fix a date for the redemption (the “Redemption Date”). Notice of redemption shall be mailed by first class mail, postage prepaid, by the Company not less than thirty (30) days prior to the Redemption Date (the “30-Day Redemption Period”) to the Registered Holders of the Warrants to be redeemed at their last addresses as they shall appear on the registration books. Any notice mailed in the manner herein provided shall be conclusively presumed to have been duly given whether or not the Registered Holder received such notice. As used in this Agreement, “Redemption Price” shall mean the price per Warrant at which any Warrants are redeemed pursuant to Section 6.1.

6.3. Exercise After Notice of Redemption. The Warrants may be exercised, for cash (or on a “cashless basis” pursuant to subsection 3.3.1, if applicable) at any time after notice of redemption shall have been given by the Company pursuant to Section 6.2 and prior to the Redemption Date. In the event that the Company determines to require all holders of the Warrants to exercise their Warrants on a “cashless basis” pursuant to subsection 3.3.1, the notice of redemption shall contain instructions on how to calculate the number of the Ordinary Shares to be received upon exercise of the Warrants. On and after the Redemption Date, the record holder of the Warrants shall have no further rights except to receive, upon surrender of the Warrants, the Redemption Price.

 

11


7. Other Provisions Relating to Rights of Holders of Warrants.

7.1. No Rights as Shareholder. A Warrant does not entitle the Registered Holder thereof to any of the rights of a shareholder of the Company, including, without limitation, the right to receive dividends, or other distributions, exercise any preemptive rights to vote or to consent or to receive notice as shareholders in respect of the meetings of shareholders or the appointment of directors of the Company or any other matter.

7.2. Lost, Stolen, Mutilated or Destroyed Warrants. If any Warrant is lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed, the Company and the Warrant Agent may on such terms as to indemnity or otherwise as they may in their discretion impose (which shall, in the case of a mutilated Warrant, include the surrender thereof), issue a new Warrant of like denomination, tenor and date as the Warrant so lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed. Any such new Warrant shall constitute a substitute contractual obligation of the Company, whether or not the allegedly lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed Warrant shall be at any time enforceable by anyone.

7.3. Reservation of Ordinary Shares. The Company shall at all times reserve and keep available a number of its authorized but unissued Ordinary Shares that shall be sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding Warrants issued pursuant to this Agreement.

7.4. Registration of Ordinary Shares; Cashless Exercise at Company’s Option.

7.4.1. Registration of the Ordinary Shares. The Company agrees that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than twenty (20) Business Days after the closing of its initial Business Combination, it shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the Commission a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, or a new registration statement, registering, under the Securities Act, the issuance of the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within sixty (60) Business Days following the closing of its initial Business Combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such post-effective amendment or registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration or redemption of the Warrants in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. If any such post-effective amendment or registration statement has not been declared effective by the sixtieth (60th) Business Day following the closing of the Business Combination, holders of the Warrants shall have the right, during the period beginning on the sixty-first (61st) Business Day after the closing of the Business Combination and ending upon such post-effective amendment or registration statement being declared effective by the Commission, and during any other period when the Company shall fail to have maintained an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants, to exercise such Warrants on a “cashless basis,” by exchanging the Warrants (in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption) for that number of Ordinary Shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Ordinary Shares underlying the Warrants, multiplied by the excess of the Fair Market Value (as defined below) less the Warrant Price by (y) the Fair Market Value. Solely

 

12


for purposes of this subsection 7.4.1, and subsection 7.4.2, subject to subsection 7.4.3Fair Market Value” shall mean the volume-weighted average last reported sale price of the Ordinary Shares as reported for the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the date that notice of exercise is received by the Warrant Agent from the holder of such Warrants or its securities broker or intermediary. The date that notice of “cashless exercise” is received by the Warrant Agent shall be conclusively determined by the Warrant Agent. In connection with the “cashless exercise” of a Warrant, the Company shall, upon request, provide the Warrant Agent with an opinion of counsel for the Company (which shall be an outside law firm with securities law experience) stating that (i) the exercise of the Warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with this subsection 7.4.1 is not required to be registered under the Securities Act and (ii) the Ordinary Shares issued upon such exercise shall be freely tradable under United States federal securities laws by anyone who is not an affiliate (as such term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act) of the Company and, accordingly, shall not be required to bear a restrictive legend. Except as provided in subsection 7.4.2, for the avoidance of doubt, unless and until all of the Warrants have been exercised or have expired, the Company shall continue to be obligated to comply with its registration obligations under the first three sentences of this subsection 7.4.1.

7.4.2. Cashless Exercise at Company’s Option. If the Ordinary Shares are at the time of any exercise of a Warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, (i) require holders of Warrants who exercise Warrants to exercise such Warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act as described in subsection 7.4.1 and (ii) in the event the Company so elects, the Company shall (x) not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants, notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, and (y) use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify for sale the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.

7.4.3. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if at any time pursuant to this Agreement the Warrants may be exercised on a “ cashless basis” pursuant to both (i) subsection 3.3.1(b) and (ii) this Section 7.4, exercise of the Warrants must be completed pursuant to subsection 3.3.1(b).

8. Concerning the Warrant Agent and Other Matters.

8.1. Payment of Taxes. The Company shall from time to time promptly pay all taxes and charges that may be imposed upon the Company or the Warrant Agent in respect of the issuance or delivery of Ordinary Shares upon the exercise of the Warrants, but the Company shall not be obligated to pay any transfer taxes in respect of the Warrants or such Ordinary Shares.

8.2. Resignation, Consolidation, or Merger of Warrant Agent.

 

13


8.2.1. Appointment of Successor Warrant Agent. The Warrant Agent, or any successor to it hereafter appointed, may resign its duties and be discharged from all further duties and liabilities hereunder after giving sixty (60) days’ notice in writing to the Company. If the office of the Warrant Agent becomes vacant by resignation or incapacity to act or otherwise, the Company shall appoint in writing a successor Warrant Agent in place of the Warrant Agent. If the Company shall fail to make such appointment within a period of thirty (30) days after it has been notified in writing of such resignation or incapacity by the Warrant Agent or by the holder of a Warrant (who shall, with such notice, submit his, her or its Warrant for inspection by the Company), then the holder of any Warrant may apply to the Supreme Court of the State of New York for the County of New York for the appointment of a successor Warrant Agent at the Company’s cost. Any successor Warrant Agent, whether appointed by the Company or by such court, shall be a corporation or other entity organized and existing under the laws of the State of New York, in good standing and having its principal office in the United States of America, and authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trust powers and subject to supervision or examination by federal or state authority. After appointment, any successor Warrant Agent shall be vested with all the authority, powers, rights, immunities, duties and obligations of its predecessor Warrant Agent with like effect as if originally named as Warrant Agent hereunder, without any further act or deed; but if for any reason it becomes necessary or appropriate, the predecessor Warrant Agent shall execute and deliver, at the expense of the Company, an instrument transferring to such successor Warrant Agent all the authority, powers, and rights of such predecessor Warrant Agent hereunder; and upon request of any successor Warrant Agent the Company shall make, execute, acknowledge and deliver any and all instruments in writing for more fully and effectually vesting in and confirming to such successor Warrant Agent all such authority, powers, rights, immunities, duties and obligations.

8.2.2. Notice of Successor Warrant Agent. In the event a successor Warrant Agent shall be appointed, the Company shall give notice thereof to the predecessor Warrant Agent and the Transfer Agent for the Ordinary Shares not later than the effective date of any such appointment.

8.2.3. Merger or Consolidation of Warrant Agent. Any entity into which the Warrant Agent may be merged or with which it may be consolidated or any entity resulting from any merger or consolidation to which the Warrant Agent shall be a party shall be the successor Warrant Agent under this Agreement without any further act.

8.3. Fees and Expenses of Warrant Agent.

8.3.1. Remuneration. The Company agrees to pay the Warrant Agent reasonable remuneration for its services as such Warrant Agent hereunder and shall, pursuant to its obligations under this Agreement, reimburse the Warrant Agent upon demand for all expenditures that the Warrant Agent may reasonably incur in the execution of its duties hereunder.

8.3.2. Further Assurances. The Company agrees to perform, execute, acknowledge, and deliver or cause to be performed, executed, acknowledged and delivered all such further and other acts, instruments, and assurances as may reasonably be required by the Warrant Agent for the carrying out or performing of the provisions of this Agreement.

8.4. Liability of Warrant Agent.

 

14


8.4.1. Reliance on Company Statement. Whenever in the performance of its duties under this Agreement, the Warrant Agent shall deem it necessary or desirable that any fact or matter be proved or established by the Company prior to taking or suffering any action hereunder, such fact or matter (unless other evidence in respect thereof be herein specifically prescribed) may be deemed to be conclusively proved and established by a statement signed by the Chief Executive Officer, the President, the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, the General Counsel, the Secretary or the Chairman of the Board of the Company and delivered to the Warrant Agent. The Warrant Agent may rely upon such statement for any action taken or suffered in good faith by it pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement.

8.4.2. Indemnity. The Warrant Agent shall be liable hereunder only for its own, or its representatives’, gross negligence, willful misconduct, fraud, bad faith or material breach of this Agreement. The Company agrees to indemnify the Warrant Agent and save it harmless against any and all liabilities, including judgments, out-of-pocket costs and reasonable outside counsel fees, for anything done or omitted by the Warrant Agent in the execution of this Agreement, except as a result of the Warrant Agent’s or its representatives’ gross negligence, willful misconduct, fraud, bad faith or material breach of this Agreement.

8.4.3. Exclusions. The Warrant Agent shall have no responsibility with respect to the validity of this Agreement or with respect to the validity or execution of any Warrant (except its countersignature thereof). The Warrant Agent shall not be responsible for any breach by the Company of any covenant or condition contained in this Agreement or in any Warrant. The Warrant Agent shall not be responsible to make any adjustments required under the provisions of Section 4 or responsible for the manner, method, or amount of any such adjustment or the ascertaining of the existence of facts that would require any such adjustment; nor shall it by any act hereunder be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to the authorization or reservation of any Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Warrant or as to whether any Ordinary Shares shall, upon registration in the Register of Members of the Company, be valid and fully paid and non-assessable.

8.5. Acceptance of Agency. The Warrant Agent hereby accepts the agency established by this Agreement and agrees to perform the same upon the terms and conditions herein set forth and among other things, shall account promptly to the Company with respect to Warrants exercised and concurrently account for, and pay to the Company, all monies received by the Warrant Agent for the purchase of Ordinary Shares through the exercise of the Warrants.

8.6. Waiver. The Warrant Agent has no right of set-off or any other right, title, interest or claim of any kind (“Claim”) in, or to any distribution of, the Trust Account (as defined in that certain Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated as of the date hereof, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee thereunder) and hereby agrees not to seek recourse, reimbursement, payment or satisfaction for any Claim against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever. The Warrant Agent hereby waives any and all Claims against the Trust Account and any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account.

9. Miscellaneous Provisions.

9.1. Successors. All the covenants and provisions of this Agreement by or for the benefit of the Company or the Warrant Agent shall bind and inure to the benefit of their respective successors and assigns.

 

15


9.2. Notices. Any notice, statement or demand authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Warrant Agent or by the holder of any Warrant to or on the Company shall be sufficiently given when so delivered if by hand or overnight delivery or if sent by certified mail or private courier service within five (5) days after deposit of such notice, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in writing by the Company with the Warrant Agent), as follows:

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

535 Ramona Street, Suite #8

Palo Alto, CA 94301

Attention: Daniel V. Leff, Chief Executive Officer

with a copy to:

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

1285 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10019

Attention: Raphael M. Russo

Any notice, statement or demand authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the holder of any Warrant or by the Company to or on the Warrant Agent shall be sufficiently given when so delivered if by hand or overnight delivery or if sent by certified mail or private courier service within five (5) days after deposit of such notice, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in writing by the Warrant Agent with the Company), as follows:

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company

One State Street, 30th Floor

New York, New York 10004

Attention: Compliance Department

in each case, with a copy to:

Evercore Group L.L.C.

55 East 52nd Street, Ste 35

New York, New York 10055

Attention: Kenneth Masotti

9.3. Applicable Law and Exclusive Forum. The validity, interpretation, and performance of this Agreement and of the Warrants shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the State of New York. Subject to applicable law, the Company hereby agrees that any action, proceeding or claim against it arising out of or relating in any way to this Agreement shall be brought and enforced in the courts of the City of New York, County of New York, State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and irrevocably submits to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. The Company hereby waives any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this paragraph will not apply to suits brought to enforce (i) any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder for which Section 27 of the Exchange Act

 

16


creates exclusive federal jurisdiction, (ii) with respect to suits brought in federal district courts of the United States, any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder for which Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts or (iii) any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.

Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in the Warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in this Section 9.3. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope of the forum provisions above, is filed in a court other than a court located within the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of the Warrants, such holder of the Warrants shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.

9.4. Persons Having Rights under this Agreement. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to confer upon, or give to, any person, corporation or other entity other than the parties hereto and the Registered Holders of the Warrants any right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this Agreement or of any covenant, condition, stipulation, promise or agreement hereof. All covenants, conditions, stipulations, promises and agreements contained in this Agreement shall be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the parties hereto and their successors and assigns and of the Registered Holders of the Warrants.

9.5. Examination of the Warrant Agreement. A copy of this Agreement shall be available at all reasonable times at the office of the Warrant Agent in the United States of America, for inspection by the Registered Holder of any Warrant. The Warrant Agent may require any such holder to submit such holder’s Warrant for inspection by the Warrant Agent.

9.6. Counterparts; Electronic Signatures. This Agreement may be executed in any number of original or facsimile counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument. A signature to this Agreement transmitted electronically shall have the same authority, effect and enforceability as an original signature.

9.7. Effect of Headings. The section headings herein are for convenience only and are not part of this Agreement and shall not affect the interpretation thereof.

9.8. Amendments. This Agreement may be amended by the parties hereto without the consent of any Registered Holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or to correct any mistake or defective provision contained herein, including to conform the provisions hereof to the description of the terms of the Warrants and this Agreement set forth in the Prospectus, (ii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under this Agreement as the parties may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem shall not adversely affect the rights of the Registered Holders or (iii) to provide for the delivery of an Alternative Issuance

 

17


pursuant to Section 4.5. All other modifications or amendments, including any modification or amendment to increase the Warrant Price or shorten the Exercise Period, shall require the vote or written consent of the Registered Holders of fifty percent (50%) of the then-outstanding Warrants. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may lower the Warrant Price or extend the duration of the Exercise Period pursuant to Sections 3.1 and 3.2, respectively, without the consent of the Registered Holders.

9.9. Severability. This Agreement shall be deemed severable, and the invalidity or unenforceability of any term or provision hereof shall not affect the validity or enforceability of this Agreement or of any other term or provision hereof. Furthermore, in lieu of any such invalid or unenforceable term or provision, the parties hereto intend that there shall be added as a part of this Agreement a provision as similar in terms to such invalid or unenforceable provision as may be possible and be valid and enforceable.

[Signature Page Follows]

 

18


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER &
TRUST COMPANY,
as Warrant Agent
By:  

                             

  Name:
  Title:
WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION
CORP. 1
By:  

 

  Name: Daniel V. Leff
  Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

[Signature Page to Public Warrant Agreement—Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1]


EXHIBIT A

SPECIMEN WARRANT CERTIFICATE

[FACE]

 

NUMBER W–[ ]    CUSIP [ ]

Warrants

THIS WARRANT SHALL BE VOID IF NOT EXERCISED PRIOR TO

THE EXPIRATION OF THE EXERCISE PERIOD PROVIDED FOR

IN THE WARRANT AGREEMENT DESCRIBED BELOW

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

Incorporated Under the Laws of the Cayman Islands

Warrant Certificate

THIS WARRANT CERTIFICATE CERTIFIES THAT [                    ], or registered assigns, is the registered holder of [                    ] warrant(s) evidenced hereby (the “Warrants” and, each, a “Warrant”) to purchase Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value per share (“Ordinary Shares”), of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder, upon exercise during the period set forth in the Warrant Agreement referred to below, to receive from the Company that number of fully paid and non-assessable Ordinary Shares as set forth below, at the exercise price (the “Warrant Price”) as determined pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, payable in lawful money of the United States of America (or through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement) upon surrender of this Warrant Certificate and payment of the Warrant Price at the office or agency of the Warrant Agent referred to below, subject to the conditions set forth herein and in the Warrant Agreement. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Warrant Certificate shall have the respective meanings given to them in the Warrant Agreement.

Each whole Warrant is initially exercisable for one fully paid and non-assessable Ordinary Share. Fractional shares shall not be issued upon exercise of any Warrant. If, upon the exercise of the Warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in an Ordinary Share, the Company shall, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Ordinary Shares to be issued to the holder of the Warrants. The number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.

The initial Warrant Price per one Ordinary Share for any Warrant is equal to $11.50 per Ordinary Share. The Warrant Price is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.

Subject to the conditions set forth in the Warrant Agreement, the Warrants may be exercised only during the Exercise Period and to the extent not exercised by the end of the Exercise Period, the Warrants shall become void. The Warrants may be redeemed, subject to certain conditions, as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.

 

A-1


Reference is hereby made to the provisions of this Warrant Certificate set forth on the reverse hereof and such further provisions shall for all purposes have the same effect as though fully set forth at this place.

This Warrant Certificate shall not be valid unless countersigned by the Warrant Agent.

This Warrant Certificate shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of New York.

*****

 

A-2


WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION
CORP. 1
By:  

                             

  Name:
  Title:
CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER &

TRUST COMPANY,

as Warrant Agent

By:  

                 

  Name:
  Title:

 

A-3


[REVERSE]

The Warrants evidenced by this Warrant Certificate are part of a duly authorized issue of Warrants entitling the holder on exercise to receive [                    ] Ordinary Shares and are issued or to be issued pursuant to the Public Warrant Agreement, dated as of [                    ], 2021 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Warrant Agreement”), duly executed and delivered by the Company to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York limited purpose trust company, as warrant agent (in such capacity; the “Warrant Agent”), which Warrant Agreement is hereby incorporated by reference in and made a part of this instrument and is hereby referred to for a description of the rights, limitation of rights, obligations, duties and immunities thereunder of the Warrant Agent, the Company and the holders (the words “holders” or “holder” meaning the Registered Holders or Registered Holder, respectively) of the Warrants. A copy of the Warrant Agreement may be obtained by the holder hereof upon written request to the Company. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Warrant Certificate shall have the respective meanings given to them in the Warrant Agreement.

Warrants may be exercised at any time during the Exercise Period set forth in the Warrant Agreement. The holder of the Warrants evidenced by this Warrant Certificate may exercise them by surrendering this Warrant Certificate, with the form of Election to Purchase set forth hereon properly completed and executed, together with payment of the Warrant Price as specified in the Warrant Agreement (or through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement) at the principal corporate trust office of the Warrant Agent. In the event that upon any exercise of Warrants evidenced hereby the number of Warrants exercised shall be less than the total number of Warrants evidenced hereby, there shall be issued to the holder hereof or his, her or its assignee, a new Warrant Certificate evidencing the number of Warrants not exercised.

Notwithstanding anything else in this Warrant Certificate or the Warrant Agreement, no Warrant may be exercised unless at the time of exercise (a) (i) a registration statement covering the issuance of the Ordinary Shares to be issued upon exercise is effective under the Securities Act and (ii) a prospectus thereunder relating to the Ordinary Shares is current, or (b) the Ordinary Shares to be issued upon exercise may be issued pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act, including through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement.

The Warrant Agreement provides that, upon the occurrence of certain events, the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants and the Warrant Price set forth on the face hereof may, subject to certain conditions, be adjusted. If, upon exercise of a Warrant, the holder thereof would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in an Ordinary Share, the Company shall, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of Ordinary Shares to be issued to the holder of the Warrant.

This Warrant Certificate, when surrendered at the principal corporate trust office of the Warrant Agent by the Registered Holder thereof in person or by legal representative or attorney duly authorized in writing, may be exchanged, in the manner and subject to the limitations provided in the Warrant Agreement, but without payment of any service charge, for another Warrant Certificate or Warrant Certificates of like tenor evidencing in the aggregate a like number of Warrants.

 

A-4


Upon due presentation for registration of transfer of this Warrant Certificate at the office of the Warrant Agent, a new Warrant Certificate or Warrant Certificates of like tenor and evidencing in the aggregate a like number of Warrants shall be issued to the transferee(s) in exchange for this Warrant Certificate, subject to the limitations provided in the Warrant Agreement, without charge except for any tax or other governmental charge imposed in connection therewith.

The Company and the Warrant Agent may deem and treat the Registered Holder(s) hereof as the absolute owner(s) of this Warrant Certificate (notwithstanding any notation of ownership or other writing hereon made by anyone), for the purpose of any exercise hereof and any distribution to the holder(s) hereof and for all other purposes, and neither the Company nor the Warrant Agent shall be affected by any notice to the contrary. Neither the Warrants nor this Warrant Certificate entitles any holder hereof to any rights of a shareholder of the Company.

 

A-5


ELECTION TO PURCHASE

(To Be Executed Upon Exercise of Warrant)

The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise the right, represented by this Warrant Certificate, to receive [                ] Ordinary Shares and herewith tenders payment for such Ordinary Shares to the order of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”) in the amount of $[                ] in accordance with the terms hereof. The undersigned requests that the register of members of the Company be updated to reflect the issuance of such Ordinary Shares and a certificate for such Ordinary Shares be registered in the name of [                ], whose address is [                ], and that such Ordinary Shares be delivered to [                ], whose address is [                ]. If said number of Ordinary Shares is less than all of the Ordinary Shares purchasable hereunder, the undersigned requests that a new Warrant Certificate representing the remaining balance of such Ordinary Shares be registered in the name of [                ], whose address is [                ] and that such Warrant Certificate be delivered to [                ], whose address is [                ].

In the event that the Warrant is to be exercised on a “cashless” basis pursuant to subsection 3.3.1(b) of the Warrant Agreement, the number of Ordinary Shares that this Warrant is exercisable for shall be determined in accordance with subsection 3.3.1(b) of the Warrant Agreement.

In the event that the Warrant is to be exercised on a “cashless basis” pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Warrant Agreement, the number of Ordinary Shares that this Warrant is exercisable for shall be determined in accordance with Section 7.4 of the Warrant Agreement.

In the event that the Warrant may be exercised, to the extent allowed by the Warrant Agreement, through cashless exercise, (i) the number of Ordinary Shares that this Warrant is exercisable for shall be determined in accordance with the relevant section of the Warrant Agreement which allows for such cashless exercise and (ii) the holder hereof shall complete the following: The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise the right, represented by this Warrant Certificate, through the cashless exercise provisions of the Warrant Agreement, to receive Ordinary Shares. If said number of Ordinary Shares is less than all of the Ordinary Shares purchasable hereunder (after giving effect to the cashless exercise), the undersigned requests that a new Warrant Certificate representing the remaining balance of such Ordinary Shares be

registered in the name of [                ], whose address is [                ] and that such Warrant Certificate be delivered to [                ], whose address is [                ].

[Signature Page Follows]

 

A-6


Date: [                 ], 20[         ]

(Signature)

(Address)

(Tax Identification Number)

Signature(s) Guaranteed:

______________________________________

 

THE SIGNATURE(S) MUST BE GUARANTEED BY AN ELIGIBLE GUARANTOR INSTITUTION (BANKS, STOCKBROKERS, SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS AND CREDIT UNIONS WITH MEMBERSHIP IN AN APPROVED SIGNATURE GUARANTEE MEDALLION PROGRAM, PURSUANT TO S.E.C. RULE 17Ad-15 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED (OR ANY SUCCESSOR RULE).

 

A-7

Exhibit 4.5

FORM OF PRIVATE WARRANT AGREEMENT

THIS PRIVATE WARRANT AGREEMENT, dated as of [                ], 2021 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, this “Agreement”), is by and between Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York limited purpose trust company, as warrant agent (in such capacity, the “Warrant Agent”).

WHEREAS, on [                ], 2021, the Company entered into that certain Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement with WCAC1 Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”), pursuant to which the Sponsor will purchase an aggregate of 4,666,667 warrants (or up to 5,066,667 warrants if the underwriters in the Offering (as defined below) exercise their over-allotment option in full) simultaneously with the closing of the Offering (and the closing of the over-allotment option, if applicable), bearing the legend set forth in Exhibit A hereto (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a purchase price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant;

WHEREAS, in order to finance the Company’s transaction costs in connection with an intended initial merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination, involving the Company and one or more businesses (a “Business Combination”), the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan to the Company funds as the Company may require, of which up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into up to an additional 1,333,333 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant (the “Working Capital Warrants” and, together with the Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants, the “Warrants”);

WHEREAS, the Company is engaged in an initial public offering (the “Offering”) of units of the Company’s equity securities, each such unit comprised of one Class A ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share ( “Ordinary Shares”), and one-third of one redeemable warrant (the “Units”) and, in connection therewith, has determined to issue and deliver up to 7,666,667 redeemable warrants (including up to 1,000,000 redeemable warrants subject to the over-allotment option) to public investors in the Offering;

WHEREAS, the Company has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-254842) and a prospectus (the “Prospectus”), for the registration, under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), of the issuance of the Units and the warrants and the Ordinary Shares included in the Units and the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants included in the Units;

WHEREAS, the Company desires the Warrant Agent to act on behalf of the Company, and the Warrant Agent is willing to so act, in connection with the issuance, registration, transfer, exchange and exercise of the Warrants;

WHEREAS, the Company desires to provide for the form and provisions of the Warrants, the terms upon which they shall be issued and exercised, and the respective rights, limitation of rights and immunities of the Company, the Warrant Agent and the holders of the Warrants; and


WHEREAS, all acts and things have been done and performed which are necessary to make the Warrants, when executed on behalf of the Company and countersigned by or on behalf of the Warrant Agent (if a physical certificate is issued), as provided herein, the valid, binding and legal obligations of the Company, and to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual agreements herein contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:

1. Appointment of Warrant Agent. The Company hereby appoints the Warrant Agent to act as agent for the Company for the Warrants, and the Warrant Agent hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the same in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.

2. Warrants.

2.1. Form of Warrant. Each Warrant shall initially be issued in registered form only.

2.2. Effect of Countersignature. If a physical certificate is issued, unless and until countersigned by the Warrant Agent pursuant to this Agreement, a certificated Warrant shall be invalid and of no effect and may not be exercised by the holder thereof.

2.3. Registration.

2.3.1. Warrant Register. The Warrant Agent shall maintain books (the “Warrant Register”) for the registration of the initial issuance of the Warrants and the registration of transfer of the Warrants. Upon the initial issuance of the Warrants in book-entry form, the Warrant Agent shall issue and register the Warrants in the names of the respective holders thereof in such denominations and otherwise in accordance with instructions delivered to the Warrant Agent by the Company. If requested, the Registered Holder (as defined below) shall be issued a definitive certificate in physical form evidencing such Warrants which shall be in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B (the “Definitive Warrant Certificate”).

Physical certificates, if issued, shall be signed by, or bear the facsimile signature of, the Chairman of the board of directors of the Company (the “Board”), Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel, Secretary or other principal officer of the Company. In the event the person whose facsimile signature has been placed upon any Warrant shall have ceased to serve in the capacity in which such person signed the Warrant before the Warrant is issued, it may be issued with the same effect as if he or she had not ceased to be such at the date of issuance.

2.3.2. Registered Holder. Prior to due presentment for registration of transfer of any Warrant, the Company and the Warrant Agent may deem and treat the person in whose name such Warrant is registered in the Warrant Register (the “Registered Holder”) as the absolute owner of such Warrant and of each Warrant represented thereby (notwithstanding any notation of ownership or other writing on any physical certificate made by anyone other than the Company or the Warrant Agent) for the purpose of any exercise thereof and for all other purposes, and neither the Company nor the Warrant Agent shall be affected by any notice to the contrary.

 

2


3. Terms and Exercise of Warrants.

3.1. Warrant Price. Each whole Warrant shall entitle the Registered Holder thereof, subject to the provisions of such Warrant and this Agreement, to purchase from the Company the number of Ordinary Shares stated therein, at the price of $11.50 per Ordinary Share, subject to the adjustments provided in Section 4 and in the penultimate sentence of this Section 3.1. The term “Warrant Price,” as used in this Agreement, shall mean the price per Ordinary Share (including in cash or by payment for the Warrants pursuant to a “cashless exercise,” to the extent permitted hereunder) at which Ordinary Shares may be purchased at the time a Warrant is exercised. The Company in its sole discretion may lower the Warrant Price at any time prior to the Expiration Date (as defined below) for a period of not less than fifteen (15) Business Days (unless otherwise required by the Commission, any national securities exchange on which the Warrants are listed or applicable law); provided, however, that the Company shall provide at least three (3) Business Days’ prior written notice of such reduction to Registered Holders of the Warrants; provided, further, that any such reduction shall be identical among all of the Warrants. The term “Business Day” means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday, on which banks in New York City are generally open for normal business.

3.2. Duration of Warrants. A Warrant may be exercised only during the period (the “Exercise Period”) (A) commencing on the later of (i) the date that is thirty (30) days after the first date on which the Company completes a Business Combination, and (ii) the date that is twelve (12) months from the date of the closing of the Offering and (B) terminating at the earliest to occur of (x) 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the date that is five (5) years after the date on which the Company completes its initial Business Combination and (y) the liquidation of the Company in accordance with the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association”), if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination (the “Expiration Date”); provided, however, that the exercise of any Warrant shall be subject to the satisfaction of any applicable conditions, as set forth in subsection 3.3.2, with respect to an effective registration statement or a valid exemption therefrom being available. Each Warrant not exercised on or before the Expiration Date shall become void, and all rights thereunder and all rights in respect thereof under this Agreement shall cease at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date. The Company in its sole discretion may extend the duration of the Warrants by delaying the Expiration Date; provided, however, that the Company shall provide at least twenty (20) days prior written notice of any such extension to Registered Holders of the Warrants; provided, further, that any such extension shall be identical in duration among all of the Warrants.

3.3. Exercise of Warrants.

3.3.1. Payment. Subject to the provisions of the Warrant and this Agreement, a Warrant may be exercised by the Registered Holder thereof by delivering to the Warrant Agent at its corporate trust department (i) the Definitive Warrant Certificate evidencing the Warrants to be exercised or, in the case of a Warrant represented by a book-entry, the Warrants to be exercised (the “Book-Entry Warrants”) on the records of The Depository Trust Company (the “Depository”) to an account of the Warrant Agent at the Depository designated for such purposes in writing by the Warrant Agent to the Depository from time to time, (ii) an election to purchase (“Election to

 

3


Purchase”) any Ordinary Shares pursuant to the exercise of a Warrant, properly completed and executed by the Registered Holder on the reverse of the Definitive Warrant Certificate or, in the case of a Book-Entry Warrant, properly delivered by the institutions that have accounts with the Depository in accordance with the Depository’s procedures, and (iii) the payment in full of the Warrant Price for each Ordinary Share as to which the Warrant is exercised and any and all applicable taxes due in connection with the exercise of the Warrant, the exchange of the Warrant for the Ordinary Shares and the issuance of such Ordinary Shares, as follows:

(a) in lawful money of the United States, in good certified check or good bank draft payable to the order of the Warrant Agent;

(b) by surrendering the Warrants for that number of the Ordinary Shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of the Ordinary Shares underlying the Warrants, multiplied by the excess of the Sponsor Fair Market Value (as defined in this subsection 3.3.1(b)) of the Ordinary Shares over the Warrant Price by (y) the Sponsor Fair Market Value. Solely for purposes of this subsection 3.3.1(b), the “Sponsor Fair Market Value” shall mean the volume-weighted average last reported sale price of the Ordinary Shares for the ten (10) trading days ending on the third (3rd) trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise of the Private Placement Warrant or Working Capital Warrant is sent to the Warrant Agent;

(c) as provided in Section 6.4.

3.3.2. Issuance of Ordinary Shares on Exercise. As soon as practicable after the exercise of any Warrant and the clearance of the funds in payment of the Warrant Price (if payment is pursuant to subsection 3.3.1(a)), the Company shall issue to the Registered Holder of such Warrant a book-entry position or certificate, as applicable, for the number of Ordinary Shares to which he, she or it is entitled, registered in such name or names as may be directed by him, her or it on the register of members of the Company and, if such Warrant shall not have been exercised in full, a new book-entry position or countersigned Warrant, as applicable, for the number of Ordinary Shares as to which such Warrant shall not have been exercised. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be obligated to deliver any Ordinary Shares pursuant to the exercise of a Warrant and shall have no obligation to settle such Warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Ordinary Shares underlying the Warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current or a valid exemption from registration is available. No Warrant shall be exercisable and the Company shall not be obligated to issue Ordinary Shares upon exercise of a Warrant unless the Ordinary Shares issuable upon such Warrant exercise have been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt from registration or qualification under the securities laws of the state of residence of the Registered Holder of the Warrants. If, by reason of any exercise of Warrants on a “cashless basis,” the holder of any Warrant would be entitled, upon the exercise of such Warrant, to receive a fractional interest in an Ordinary Share, the Company shall round down to the nearest whole number the number of the Ordinary Shares to be issued to such holder.

 

4


3.3.3. Valid Issuance. All Ordinary Shares issued upon the proper exercise of a Warrant in conformity with this Agreement and the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, and upon registration in the Register of Members of the Company, shall be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

3.3.4. Date of Issuance. Each person in whose name any book-entry position or certificate, as applicable, for Ordinary Shares is issued and who is registered in the register of members of the Company shall for all purposes be deemed to have become the holder of record of such Ordinary Shares on the date on which the Warrant, or book-entry position representing such Warrant, was surrendered and payment of the Warrant Price was made, irrespective of the date of delivery of such certificate in the case of a certificated Warrant, except that, if the date of such surrender and payment is a date when the register of members of the Company or book-entry system of the Warrant Agent are closed, such person shall be deemed to have become the holder of such Ordinary Shares at the close of business on the next succeeding date on which the share transfer books or book-entry system of the Warrant Agent are open.

3.3.5. Maximum Percentage. A holder of a Warrant may notify the Company in writing in the event it elects to be subject to the provisions contained in this subsection 3.3.5; provided, however, that no holder of a Warrant shall be subject to this subsection 3.3.5 unless he, she or it makes such election. If the election is made by a holder, the Warrant Agent shall not effect the exercise of the holder’s Warrant, and such holder shall not have the right to exercise such Warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the Warrant Agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) (the “Maximum Percentage”) of the Ordinary Shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise. For purposes of the foregoing sentence, the aggregate number of Ordinary Shares beneficially owned by such person and its affiliates shall include the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrant with respect to which the determination of such sentence is being made, but shall exclude Ordinary Shares that would be issuable upon (x) exercise of the remaining, unexercised portion of the Warrant beneficially owned by such person and its affiliates and (y) exercise or conversion of the unexercised or unconverted portion of any other securities of the Company beneficially owned by such person and its affiliates (including, without limitation, any convertible notes or convertible preferred shares or warrants) subject to a limitation on conversion or exercise analogous to the limitation contained herein. Except as set forth in the preceding sentence, for purposes of this paragraph, beneficial ownership shall be calculated in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). For purposes of the Warrant, in determining the number of outstanding Ordinary Shares, the holder may rely on the number of outstanding Ordinary Shares as reflected in (1) the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, Current Report on Form 8-K or other public filing with the Commission as the case may be, (2) a more recent public announcement by the Company or (3) any other notice by the Company or Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as transfer agent (in such capacity, the “Transfer Agent”), setting forth the number of Ordinary Shares outstanding. For any reason at any time, upon the written request of the holder of the Warrant, the Company shall, within two (2) Business Days, confirm orally and in writing to such holder the number of Ordinary Shares then issued and outstanding. In any case, the number of issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares shall be determined after giving effect to the conversion or exercise of equity securities of the Company by the holder and its affiliates since the date as of which such number of issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares was reported. By written notice to the Company, the holder of a Warrant may from time to time increase or decrease the Maximum Percentage applicable to such holder to any other percentage specified in such notice; provided, however, that any such increase shall not be effective until the sixty-first (61st) day after such notice is delivered to the Company.

 

5


4. Adjustments.

4.1. Capitalizations.

4.1.1. Sub-Divisions. If after the date hereof, and subject to the provisions of Section 4.6, the number of issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares is increased by a capitalization, share dividend or a sub-division of Ordinary Shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such share capitalization, sub-division or similar event, the number of Ordinary Shares issuable on exercise of each Warrant shall be increased in proportion to such increase in the issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares. A rights offering made to all or substantially all holders of the Ordinary Shares entitling holders to purchase the Ordinary Shares at a price less than the Historical Fair Market Value (as defined below) shall be deemed a capitalization of a number of Ordinary Shares equal to the product of (i) the number of Ordinary Shares actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for the Ordinary Shares) multiplied by (ii) one (1) minus the quotient of (x) the price per Ordinary Share paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the Historical Fair Market Value. For purposes of this subsection 4.1.1, (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Ordinary Shares, in determining the price payable for Ordinary Shares, there shall be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) “Historical Fair Market Value” means the volume-weighted average price of the Ordinary Shares during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first (1st) date on which the Ordinary Shares trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights. No Ordinary Shares shall be issued at less than their par value.

4.1.2. Extraordinary Dividends. If the Company, at any time while the Warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pays a dividend or makes a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to all or substantially all of the holders of the Ordinary Shares on account of such Ordinary Shares (or other securities into which the Warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described in subsection 4.1.1, (b) Ordinary Cash Dividends (as defined below), (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of the Ordinary Shares in connection with a proposed initial Business Combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of the Ordinary Shares in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of Ordinary Shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination or to redeem one-hundred percent (100%) of the Company’s public shares if it does not complete its initial Business Combination within the time period required by the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of Ordinary Shares or (e) in connection with the redemption of the Ordinary Shares included in the Units sold in the Offering upon the failure of the Company to complete its initial Business Combination and any subsequent distribution of its assets upon its liquidation (any such non-excluded event being referred to herein as an “Extraordinary Dividend”), then the Warrant Price shall be decreased, effective immediately

 

6


after the effective date of such Extraordinary Dividend, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value (as determined by the Board in good faith) of any securities or other assets paid on each Ordinary Share in respect of such Extraordinary Dividend. For purposes of this subsection 4.1.2, “Ordinary Cash Dividends” means any cash dividend or cash distribution which, when combined on a per share basis, with the per share amounts of all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the Ordinary Shares during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution to the extent it does not exceed $0.50 (which amount shall be adjusted to appropriately reflect any of the events referred to in other subsections of this Section 4 and excluding cash dividends or cash distributions that resulted in an adjustment to the Warrant Price or to the number of Ordinary Shares issuable on exercise of each Warrant).

4.2. Aggregation of Shares. If after the date hereof, and subject to the provisions of Section 4.6, the number of issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division or reclassification of the Ordinary Shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division, reclassification or similar event, the number of the Ordinary Shares issuable on exercise of each Warrant shall be decreased in proportion to such decrease in issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares.

4.3. Adjustments in Warrant Price. Whenever the number of the Ordinary Shares purchasable upon the exercise of the Warrants is adjusted, as provided in subsection 4.1.1 or Section 4.2, the Warrant Price shall be adjusted (to the nearest cent) by multiplying such Warrant Price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which shall be the number of the Ordinary Shares purchasable upon the exercise of the Warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which shall be the number of the Ordinary Shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.

4.4. Replacement of Securities upon Reorganization, etc. In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Ordinary Shares (other than a change under subsections 4.1.1 or 4.1.2 or Section 4.2 or that solely affects the par value of such Ordinary Shares), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another entity or conversion of the Company into another type of entity (other than a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing entity and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Ordinary Shares), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of the Company as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which the Company is dissolved, the holders of the Warrants shall thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the Warrants and in lieu of the Ordinary Shares of the Company immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of the Ordinary Shares or stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the Warrants would have received if such holder had exercised his, her or its Warrant(s) immediately prior to such event (the “Alternative Issuance”); provided, however, that: (i) if the holders of the Ordinary Shares were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such consolidation or merger, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets constituting the Alternative Issuance for which each Warrant shall become exercisable shall be

 

7


deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by the holders of the Ordinary Shares in such consolidation or merger that affirmatively make such election; (ii) if a tender, exchange or redemption offer shall have been made to and accepted by the holders of the Ordinary Shares (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by the Company in connection with redemption rights held by shareholders of the Company as provided for in the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association or as a result of the redemption of the Ordinary Shares by the Company if a proposed initial Business Combination is presented to the shareholders of the Company for approval) under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) securities representing more than 50% of the aggregate voting power, including the power to vote on the election of directors of the Company, of the issued and outstanding equity securities of the Company, and (for the avoidance of doubt) such tender offer results in a change of control of the Company, the holder of a Warrant shall be entitled to receive as the Alternative Issuance, the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a shareholder if such Warrant holder had exercised the Warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the Ordinary Shares held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer, subject to adjustments (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in this Section 4; and (iii) if less than seventy percent (70%) of the consideration receivable by the holders of the Ordinary Shares in the applicable event is payable in the form of Ordinary Shares in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the Registered Holder properly exercises the Warrant within thirty (30) days following the public disclosure of the consummation of such applicable event by the Company pursuant to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission, the Warrant Price shall be reduced by an amount (in dollars) equal to the difference, if positive, of (i) the Warrant Price in effect prior to such reduction minus (ii) (A) the Per Share Consideration (as defined below) minus (B) the Black-Scholes Warrant Value (as defined below) (which amount determined under this clause (ii) shall not be less than zero). The “Black-Scholes Warrant Value” means the value of a Warrant immediately prior to the consummation of the applicable event based on the Black-Scholes model as calculated by an accounting, appraisal, investment banking firm or consultant of nationally recognized standing that is, in the good faith judgment of the Board, qualified to make such calculation. “Per Share Consideration” means (i) if the consideration paid to holders of the Ordinary Shares consists exclusively of cash, the amount of such cash per Ordinary Share, and (ii) in all other cases, the volume weighted average price of the Ordinary Shares as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the effective date of the applicable event.. If any reclassification or reorganization also results in a change in the Ordinary Shares covered by subsection 4.1.1, then such adjustment shall be made pursuant to subsection 4.1.1 or Sections 4.2, 4.3 and this Section 4.4. The provisions of this Section 4.4 shall similarly apply to successive reclassifications, reorganizations, mergers or consolidations, sales or other transfers. In no event will the Warrant Price be reduced to less than the par value per share issuable upon exercise of the Warrant.

 

8


4.5. Notices of Changes in Warrant. Upon every adjustment of the Warrant Price or the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant, the Company shall give written notice thereof to the Warrant Agent, which notice shall state the Warrant Price resulting from such adjustment and the increase or decrease, if any, in the number of Ordinary Shares purchasable at such price upon the exercise of a Warrant, setting forth in reasonable detail the method of calculation and the facts upon which such calculation is based; provided, however, that no adjustment to the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant shall be required until cumulative adjustments amount to one percent (1%) or more of the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant as last adjusted; provided, further, that any such adjustments that are not made are carried forward and taken into account in any subsequent adjustment. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all such carried forward adjustments shall be made (i) in connection with any subsequent adjustment that (taken together with such carried forward adjustments) would result in a change of at least one percent (1%) in the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant and (ii) on the exercise date of any Warrant. Upon the occurrence of any event specified in Sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 , 4.4 or 4.5 in connection with which any adjustment is made to the Warrant Price or the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant, the Company shall give written notice of the occurrence of such event to each holder of a Warrant, at the last address set forth for such holder in the Warrant Register, of the record date or the effective date of the event. Failure to give such notice, or any defect therein, shall not affect the legality or validity of such event.

4.6. No Fractional Shares. Notwithstanding any provision contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the Company shall not issue fractional Ordinary Shares upon the exercise of Warrants. If, by reason of any adjustment made pursuant to this Section 4, the holder of any Warrant would be entitled, upon the exercise of such Warrant, to receive a fractional interest in an Ordinary Share, the Company shall, upon such exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Ordinary Shares to be issued to such holder.

4.7. Form of Warrant. The form of Warrant need not be changed because of any adjustment pursuant to this Section 4, and Warrants issued after such adjustment may state the same Warrant Price and the same number of Ordinary Shares as is stated in the Warrants initially issued pursuant to this Agreement; provided, however, that the Company may at any time in its sole discretion make any change in the form of Warrant that the Company may deem appropriate and that does not affect the substance thereof, and any Warrant thereafter issued or countersigned, whether in exchange or substitution for an outstanding Warrant or otherwise, may be in the form as so changed.

4.8. No Adjustment. For the avoidance of doubt, no adjustment shall be made to the terms of the Warrants solely as a result of an adjustment to the conversion ratio of the Class B Ordinary Shares into Ordinary Shares or the conversion of the Class B Ordinary Shares into Ordinary Shares, in each case, pursuant to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.

5. Transfer and Exchange of Warrants.

 

9


5.1. Registration of Transfer. The Warrant Agent shall register the transfer, from time to time, of any outstanding Warrant upon the Warrant Register, upon surrender of such Warrant for transfer, properly endorsed with signatures properly guaranteed and accompanied by appropriate instructions for transfer. Upon any such transfer, a new Warrant representing an equal aggregate number of Warrants shall be issued and the old Warrant shall be cancelled by the Warrant Agent. In the case of certificated Warrants, the Warrants so cancelled shall be delivered by the Warrant Agent to the Company from time to time upon request.

5.2. Procedure for Surrender of Warrants. Warrants may be surrendered to the Warrant Agent, together with a written request for exchange or transfer, and thereupon the Warrant Agent shall issue in exchange therefor one or more new Warrants as requested by the Registered Holder of the Warrants so surrendered, representing an equal aggregate number of Warrants; provided, however, that, except as otherwise provided herein or with respect to any Book-Entry Warrant, each Book-Entry Warrant may be transferred only in whole and only to the Depository, to another nominee of the Depository, to a successor depository or to a nominee of a successor depository; provided, further, that, in the event that a Warrant surrendered for transfer bears a restrictive legend, the Warrant Agent shall not cancel such Warrant and issue new Warrants in exchange therefor until the Warrant Agent has received an opinion of counsel for the Company stating that such transfer may be made and indicating whether the new Warrants must also bear a restrictive legend.

5.3. Fractional Warrants. The Warrant Agent shall not be required to effect any registration of transfer or exchange of the Warrants which would result in the issuance of a warrant certificate or book-entry position for a fraction of a warrant.

5.4. Service Charges. No service charge shall be made for any exchange or registration of transfer of Warrants.

5.5. Warrant Execution and Countersignature. The Warrant Agent is hereby authorized to countersign and to deliver, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, the Warrants required to be issued pursuant to the provisions of this Section 5, and the Company, whenever required by the Warrant Agent, shall supply the Warrant Agent with Warrants duly executed on behalf of the Company for such purpose.

6. Other Provisions Relating to Rights of Holders of Warrants.

6.1. No Rights as Shareholder. A Warrant does not entitle the Registered Holder thereof to any of the rights of a shareholder of the Company, including, without limitation, the right to receive dividends, or other distributions, exercise any preemptive rights to vote or to consent or to receive notice as shareholders in respect of the meetings of shareholders or the appointment of directors of the Company or any other matter.

6.2. Lost, Stolen, Mutilated or Destroyed Warrants. If any Warrant is lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed, the Company and the Warrant Agent may on such terms as to indemnity or otherwise as they may in their discretion impose (which shall, in the case of a mutilated Warrant, include the surrender thereof), issue a new Warrant of like denomination, tenor and date as the Warrant so lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed. Any such new Warrant shall constitute a substitute contractual obligation of the Company, whether or not the allegedly lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed Warrant shall be at any time enforceable by anyone.

 

10


6.3. Reservation of Ordinary Shares. The Company shall at all times reserve and keep available a number of its authorized but unissued Ordinary Shares that shall be sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding Warrants issued pursuant to this Agreement.

7. Concerning the Warrant Agent and Other Matters.

7.1. Payment of Taxes. The Company shall from time to time promptly pay all taxes and charges that may be imposed upon the Company or the Warrant Agent in respect of the issuance or delivery of Ordinary Shares upon the exercise of the Warrants, but the Company shall not be obligated to pay any transfer taxes in respect of the Warrants or such Ordinary Shares.

7.2. Resignation, Consolidation, or Merger of Warrant Agent.

7.2.1. Appointment of Successor Warrant Agent. The Warrant Agent, or any successor to it hereafter appointed, may resign its duties and be discharged from all further duties and liabilities hereunder after giving sixty (60) days’ notice in writing to the Company. If the office of the Warrant Agent becomes vacant by resignation or incapacity to act or otherwise, the Company shall appoint in writing a successor Warrant Agent in place of the Warrant Agent. If the Company shall fail to make such appointment within a period of thirty (30) days after it has been notified in writing of such resignation or incapacity by the Warrant Agent or by the holder of a Warrant (who shall, with such notice, submit his, her or its Warrant for inspection by the Company), then the holder of any Warrant may apply to the Supreme Court of the State of New York for the County of New York for the appointment of a successor Warrant Agent at the Company’s cost. Any successor Warrant Agent, whether appointed by the Company or by such court, shall be a corporation or other entity organized and existing under the laws of the State of New York, in good standing and having its principal office in the United States of America, and authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trust powers and subject to supervision or examination by federal or state authority. After appointment, any successor Warrant Agent shall be vested with all the authority, powers, rights, immunities, duties and obligations of its predecessor Warrant Agent with like effect as if originally named as Warrant Agent hereunder, without any further act or deed; but if for any reason it becomes necessary or appropriate, the predecessor Warrant Agent shall execute and deliver, at the expense of the Company, an instrument transferring to such successor Warrant Agent all the authority, powers, and rights of such predecessor Warrant Agent hereunder; and upon request of any successor Warrant Agent the Company shall make, execute, acknowledge and deliver any and all instruments in writing for more fully and effectually vesting in and confirming to such successor Warrant Agent all such authority, powers, rights, immunities, duties and obligations.

7.2.2. Notice of Successor Warrant Agent. In the event a successor Warrant Agent shall be appointed, the Company shall give notice thereof to the predecessor Warrant Agent and the Transfer Agent for the Ordinary Shares not later than the effective date of any such appointment.

7.2.3. Merger or Consolidation of Warrant Agent. Any entity into which the Warrant Agent may be merged or with which it may be consolidated or any entity resulting from any merger or consolidation to which the Warrant Agent shall be a party shall be the successor Warrant Agent under this Agreement without any further act.

 

11


7.3. Fees and Expenses of Warrant Agent.

7.3.1. Remuneration. The Company agrees to pay the Warrant Agent reasonable remuneration for its services as such Warrant Agent hereunder and shall, pursuant to its obligations under this Agreement, reimburse the Warrant Agent upon demand for all expenditures that the Warrant Agent may reasonably incur in the execution of its duties hereunder.

7.3.2. Further Assurances. The Company agrees to perform, execute, acknowledge, and deliver or cause to be performed, executed, acknowledged and delivered all such further and other acts, instruments, and assurances as may reasonably be required by the Warrant Agent for the carrying out or performing of the provisions of this Agreement.

7.4. Liability of Warrant Agent.

7.4.1. Reliance on Company Statement. Whenever in the performance of its duties under this Agreement, the Warrant Agent shall deem it necessary or desirable that any fact or matter be proved or established by the Company prior to taking or suffering any action hereunder, such fact or matter (unless other evidence in respect thereof be herein specifically prescribed) may be deemed to be conclusively proved and established by a statement signed by the Chief Executive Officer, the President, the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, the General Counsel, the Secretary or the Chairman of the Board of the Company and delivered to the Warrant Agent. The Warrant Agent may rely upon such statement for any action taken or suffered in good faith by it pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement.

7.4.2. Indemnity. The Warrant Agent shall be liable hereunder only for its own, or its representatives’, gross negligence, willful misconduct, fraud, bad faith or material breach of this Agreement. The Company agrees to indemnify the Warrant Agent and save it harmless against any and all liabilities, including judgments, out-of-pocket costs and reasonable outside counsel fees, for anything done or omitted by the Warrant Agent in the execution of this Agreement, except as a result of the Warrant Agent’s or its representatives’ gross negligence, willful misconduct, fraud, bad faith or material breach of this Agreement.

7.4.3. Exclusions. The Warrant Agent shall have no responsibility with respect to the validity of this Agreement or with respect to the validity or execution of any Warrant (except its countersignature thereof). The Warrant Agent shall not be responsible for any breach by the Company of any covenant or condition contained in this Agreement or in any Warrant. The Warrant Agent shall not be responsible to make any adjustments required under the provisions of Section 4 or responsible for the manner, method, or amount of any such adjustment or the ascertaining of the existence of facts that would require any such adjustment; nor shall it by any act hereunder be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to the authorization or reservation of any Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Warrant or as to whether any Ordinary Shares shall, upon registration in the Register of Members of the Company, be valid and fully paid and non-assessable.

7.5. Acceptance of Agency. The Warrant Agent hereby accepts the agency established by this Agreement and agrees to perform the same upon the terms and conditions herein set forth and among other things, shall account promptly to the Company with respect to Warrants exercised and concurrently account for, and pay to the Company, all monies received by the Warrant Agent for the purchase of Ordinary Shares through the exercise of the Warrants.

 

12


7.6. Waiver. The Warrant Agent has no right of set-off or any other right, title, interest or claim of any kind (“Claim”) in, or to any distribution of, the Trust Account (as defined in that certain Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated as of the date hereof, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee thereunder) and hereby agrees not to seek recourse, reimbursement, payment or satisfaction for any Claim against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever. The Warrant Agent hereby waives any and all Claims against the Trust Account and any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account.

8. Miscellaneous Provisions.

8.1. Successors. All the covenants and provisions of this Agreement by or for the benefit of the Company or the Warrant Agent shall bind and inure to the benefit of their respective successors and assigns.

8.2. Notices. Any notice, statement or demand authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Warrant Agent or by the holder of any Warrant to or on the Company shall be sufficiently given when so delivered if by hand or overnight delivery or if sent by certified mail or private courier service within five (5) days after deposit of such notice, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in writing by the Company with the Warrant Agent), as follows:

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

535 Ramona Street, Suite #8

Palo Alto, CA 94301

Attention: Daniel V. Leff, Chief Executive Officer

with a copy to:

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

1285 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10019

Attention: Raphael M. Russo

Any notice, statement or demand authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the holder of any Warrant or by the Company to or on the Warrant Agent shall be sufficiently given when so delivered if by hand or overnight delivery or if sent by certified mail or private courier service within five (5) days after deposit of such notice, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in writing by the Warrant Agent with the Company), as follows:

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company

One State Street, 30th Floor

New York, New York 10004

Attention: Compliance Department

 

13


in each case, with a copy to:

Evercore Group L.L.C.

55 East 52nd Street, Ste 35

New York, New York 10055

Attention: Kenneth Masotti

8.3. Applicable Law and Exclusive Forum. The validity, interpretation, and performance of this Agreement and of the Warrants shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the State of New York. Subject to applicable law, the Company hereby agrees that any action, proceeding or claim against it arising out of or relating in any way to this Agreement shall be brought and enforced in the courts of the City of New York, County of New York, State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and irrevocably submits to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. The Company hereby waives any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this paragraph will not apply to suits brought to enforce (i) any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder for which Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction, (ii) with respect to suits brought in federal district courts of the United States, any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder for which Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts or (iii) any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.

Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in the Warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in this Section 8.3. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope of the forum provisions above, is filed in a court other than a court located within the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of the Warrants, such holder of the Warrants shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.

8.4. Persons Having Rights under this Agreement. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to confer upon, or give to, any person, corporation or other entity other than the parties hereto and the Registered Holders of the Warrants any right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this Agreement or of any covenant, condition, stipulation, promise or agreement hereof. All covenants, conditions, stipulations, promises and agreements contained in this Agreement shall be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the parties hereto and their successors and assigns and of the Registered Holders of the Warrants.

 

14


8.5. Examination of the Warrant Agreement. A copy of this Agreement shall be available at all reasonable times at the office of the Warrant Agent in the United States of America, for inspection by the Registered Holder of any Warrant. The Warrant Agent may require any such holder to submit such holder’s Warrant for inspection by the Warrant Agent.

8.6. Counterparts; Electronic Signatures. This Agreement may be executed in any number of original or facsimile counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument. A signature to this Agreement transmitted electronically shall have the same authority, effect and enforceability as an original signature.

8.7. Effect of Headings. The section headings herein are for convenience only and are not part of this Agreement and shall not affect the interpretation thereof.

8.8. Amendments. This Agreement may be amended by the parties hereto without the consent of any Registered Holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or to correct any mistake or defective provision contained herein, including to conform the provisions hereof to the description of the terms of the Warrants and this Agreement set forth in the Prospectus, (ii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under this Agreement as the parties may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem shall not adversely affect the rights of the Registered Holders or (iii) to provide for the delivery of an Alternative Issuance pursuant to Section 4.5. All other modifications or amendments, including any modification or amendment to increase the Warrant Price or shorten the Exercise Period, shall require the vote or written consent of the Registered Holders of fifty percent (50%) of the then-outstanding Warrants. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may lower the Warrant Price or extend the duration of the Exercise Period pursuant to Sections 3.1 and 3.2, respectively, without the consent of the Registered Holders.

8.9. Severability. This Agreement shall be deemed severable, and the invalidity or unenforceability of any term or provision hereof shall not affect the validity or enforceability of this Agreement or of any other term or provision hereof. Furthermore, in lieu of any such invalid or unenforceable term or provision, the parties hereto intend that there shall be added as a part of this Agreement a provision as similar in terms to such invalid or unenforceable provision as may be possible and be valid and enforceable.

[Signature Page Follows]

 

15


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY,

as Warrant Agent

By:                       
 

Name:

 

Title:

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1
By:                   
 

Name: Daniel V. Leff

 

Title: Chief Executive Officer

[Signature Page to Warrant Agreement — Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1]


EXHIBIT A

LEGEND

THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS, AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD, TRANSFERRED OR OTHERWISE DISPOSED OF UNLESS REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, AND ANY APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS OR AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE. IN ADDITION, SUBJECT TO ANY ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS ON TRANSFER DESCRIBED IN THE LETTER AGREEMENT (THE “ LETTER AGREEMENT”) BY AND AMONG GRAVITAS I (THE “ COMPANY”), GRAVITAS MANAGEMENT SPONSOR AND THE OTHER PARTIES THERETO, THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY MAY NOT BE SOLD OR TRANSFERRED PRIOR TO THE DATE THAT IS THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE DATE ON WHICH THE COMPANY COMPLETES ITS INITIAL BUSINESS COMBINATION (AS DEFINED IN THE RECITALS OF THE WARRANT AGREEMENT REFERRED TO HEREIN) EXCEPT TO A PERMITTED TRANSFEREE (AS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 5(c) OF THE LETTER AGREEMENT) WHO AGREES IN WRITING WITH THE COMPANY TO BE SUBJECT TO SUCH TRANSFER PROVISIONS.

THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY AND CLASS A ORDINARY SHARES OF THE COMPANY ISSUED UPON EXERCISE OF SUCH SECURITIES SHALL BE ENTITLED TO REGISTRATION RIGHTS UNDER A REGISTRATION AND SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS AGREEMENT TO BE EXECUTED BY THE COMPANY.

NO. [    ] WARRANT

 

A-1


EXHIBIT B

SPECIMEN WARRANT CERTIFICATE

[FACE]

 

NUMBER W–[ ]    CUSIP [ ]

Warrants

THIS WARRANT SHALL BE VOID IF NOT EXERCISED PRIOR TO

THE EXPIRATION OF THE EXERCISE PERIOD PROVIDED FOR

IN THE WARRANT AGREEMENT DESCRIBED BELOW

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

Incorporated Under the Laws of the Cayman Islands

Warrant Certificate

THIS WARRANT CERTIFICATE CERTIFIES THAT [                ], or registered assigns, is the registered holder of [                ] warrant(s) evidenced hereby (the “Warrants” and, each, a “Warrant”) to purchase Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value per share (“Ordinary Shares”), of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder, upon exercise during the period set forth in the Warrant Agreement referred to below, to receive from the Company that number of fully paid and non-assessable Ordinary Shares as set forth below, at the exercise price (the “Warrant Price”) as determined pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, payable in lawful money of the United States of America (or through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement) upon surrender of this Warrant Certificate and payment of the Warrant Price at the office or agency of the Warrant Agent referred to below, subject to the conditions set forth herein and in the Warrant Agreement. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Warrant Certificate shall have the respective meanings given to them in the Warrant Agreement.

Each whole Warrant is initially exercisable for one fully paid and non-assessable Ordinary Share. Fractional shares shall not be issued upon exercise of any Warrant. If, upon the exercise of the Warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in an Ordinary Share, the Company shall, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Ordinary Shares to be issued to the holder of the Warrants. The number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.

The initial Warrant Price per Ordinary Share for any Warrant is equal to $11.50 per Ordinary Share. The Warrant Price is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.

Subject to the conditions set forth in the Warrant Agreement, the Warrants may be exercised only during the Exercise Period and to the extent not exercised by the end of the Exercise Period, the Warrants shall become void. The Warrants may be redeemed, subject to certain conditions, as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.

 

A-1


Reference is hereby made to the provisions of this Warrant Certificate set forth on the reverse hereof and such further provisions shall for all purposes have the same effect as though fully set forth at this place.

This Warrant Certificate shall not be valid unless countersigned by the Warrant Agent.

This Warrant Certificate shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of New York.

* * * * *

 

A-2


WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1
By:                       
 

Name:

 

Title:

CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY,

as Warrant Agent

By:                       
 

Name:

 

Title:

 

A-3


[REVERSE]

The Warrants evidenced by this Warrant Certificate are part of a duly authorized issue of Warrants entitling the holder on exercise to receive [                ] Ordinary Shares and are issued or to be issued pursuant to the Private Warrant Agreement, dated as of [                ], 2021 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Warrant Agreement”), duly executed and delivered by the Company to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York limited purpose trust company, as warrant agent (the “Warrant Agent”), which Warrant Agreement is hereby incorporated by reference in and made a part of this instrument and is hereby referred to for a description of the rights, limitation of rights, obligations, duties and immunities thereunder of the Warrant Agent, the Company and the holders (the words “holders” or “holder” meaning the Registered Holders or Registered Holder, respectively) of the Warrants. A copy of the Warrant Agreement may be obtained by the holder hereof upon written request to the Company. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Warrant Certificate shall have the respective meanings given to them in the Warrant Agreement.

Warrants may be exercised at any time during the Exercise Period set forth in the Warrant Agreement. The holder of the Warrants evidenced by this Warrant Certificate may exercise them by surrendering this Warrant Certificate, with the form of Election to Purchase set forth hereon properly completed and executed, together with payment of the Warrant Price as specified in the Warrant Agreement (or through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement) at the principal corporate trust office of the Warrant Agent. In the event that upon any exercise of Warrants evidenced hereby the number of Warrants exercised shall be less than the total number of Warrants evidenced hereby, there shall be issued to the holder hereof or his, her or its assignee, a new Warrant Certificate evidencing the number of Warrants not exercised.

Notwithstanding anything else in this Warrant Certificate or the Warrant Agreement, no Warrant may be exercised unless at the time of exercise (a)(i) a registration statement covering the issuance of the Ordinary Shares to be issued upon exercise is effective under the Securities Act and (ii) a prospectus thereunder relating to the Ordinary Shares is current, or (b) the Ordinary Shares to be issued upon exercise may be issued pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act, including through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement.

The Warrant Agreement provides that, upon the occurrence of certain events, the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants and the Warrant Price set forth on the face hereof may, subject to certain conditions, be adjusted. If, upon exercise of a Warrant, the holder thereof would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in an Ordinary Share, the Company shall, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of Ordinary Shares to be issued to the holder of the Warrant.

This Warrant Certificate, when surrendered at the principal corporate trust office of the Warrant Agent by the Registered Holder thereof in person or by legal representative or attorney duly authorized in writing, may be exchanged, in the manner and subject to the limitations provided in the Warrant Agreement, but without payment of any service charge, for another Warrant Certificate or Warrant Certificates of like tenor evidencing in the aggregate a like number of Warrants.

 

A-4


Upon due presentation for registration of transfer of this Warrant Certificate at the office of the Warrant Agent, a new Warrant Certificate or Warrant Certificates of like tenor and evidencing in the aggregate a like number of Warrants shall be issued to the transferee(s) in exchange for this Warrant Certificate, subject to the limitations provided in the Warrant Agreement, without charge except for any tax or other governmental charge imposed in connection therewith.

The Company and the Warrant Agent may deem and treat the Registered Holder(s) hereof as the absolute owner(s) of this Warrant Certificate (notwithstanding any notation of ownership or other writing hereon made by anyone), for the purpose of any exercise hereof and any distribution to the holder(s) hereof and for all other purposes, and neither the Company nor the Warrant Agent shall be affected by any notice to the contrary. Neither the Warrants nor this Warrant Certificate entitles any holder hereof to any rights of a shareholder of the Company.

 

A-5


ELECTION TO PURCHASE

(To Be Executed Upon Exercise of Warrant)

The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise the right, represented by this Warrant Certificate, to receive [                ] Ordinary Shares and herewith tenders payment for such Ordinary Shares to the order of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”) in the amount of $[                ] in accordance with the terms hereof. The undersigned requests that the register of members of the Company be updated to reflect the issuance of such Ordinary Shares and a certificate for such Ordinary Shares be registered in the name of [                ], whose address is [                ], and that such Ordinary Shares be delivered to [                ], whose address is [                ]. If said number of Ordinary Shares is less than all of the Ordinary Shares purchasable hereunder, the undersigned requests that a new Warrant Certificate representing the remaining balance of such Ordinary Shares be registered in the name of [                ], whose address is [                ] and that such Warrant Certificate be delivered to [                ], whose address is [                ].

In the event that the Warrant is to be exercised on a “cashless basis” pursuant to subsection 3.3.1(b) of the Warrant Agreement, the number of Ordinary Shares that this Warrant is exercisable for shall be determined in accordance with subsection 3.3.1(b) of the Warrant Agreement.

In the event that the Warrant may be exercised, to the extent allowed by the Warrant Agreement, through cashless exercise, (i) the number of Ordinary Shares that this Warrant is exercisable for shall be determined in accordance with the relevant section of the Warrant Agreement which allows for such cashless exercise and (ii) the holder hereof shall complete the following: The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise the right, represented by this Warrant Certificate, through the cashless exercise provisions of the Warrant Agreement, to receive Ordinary Shares. If said number of Ordinary Shares is less than all of the Ordinary Shares purchasable hereunder (after giving effect to the cashless exercise), the undersigned requests that a new Warrant Certificate representing the remaining balance of such Ordinary Shares be registered in the name of [                ], whose address is [                ] and that such Warrant Certificate be delivered to [                ], whose address is [                ].

[Signature Page Follows]

 

A-6


Date: [                ], 2021

 

 

(Signature)

 

(Address)

 

(Tax Identification Number)

 

Signature(s) Guaranteed:

                 

THE SIGNATURE(S) MUST BE GUARANTEED BY AN ELIGIBLE GUARANTOR INSTITUTION (BANKS, STOCKBROKERS, SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS AND CREDIT UNIONS WITH MEMBERSHIP IN AN APPROVED SIGNATURE GUARANTEE MEDALLION PROGRAM, PURSUANT TO S.E.C. RULE 17Ad-15 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED (OR ANY SUCCESSOR RULE).

 

A-7

EXECUTION VERSION

Exhibit 5.1

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

1285 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10019-6064

July 30, 2021

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

535 Ramona Street, Suite #8

Palo Alto, CA 94301

Registration Statement on Form S-1

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as special counsel to Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1, a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated with limited liability (the “Company”), in connection with the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (the “Registration Statement”) of the Company, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “Rules”). You have asked us to furnish our opinion as to the legality of the securities being registered under the Registration Statement. The Registration Statement relates to the registration under the Act of (i) up to 23,000,000 units (the “Units”) of the Company that may be offered by the Company (including Units issuable by the Company upon exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), each such unit consisting of one Class A ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A Ordinary Shares”), and one-third of one redeemable warrant of the Company (each whole warrant, a “Public Warrant”) to purchase a Class A Ordinary Share and (ii) all Class A Ordinary Shares and all Public Warrants issued as part of the Units as specified in the Registration Statement.


In connection with the furnishing of this opinion, we have examined originals, or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of the following documents (collectively, the “Documents”):

1. the Registration Statement;

2. the form of the Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”), included as Exhibit 1.1 to the Registration Statement;

3. the Specimen Unit Certificate, included as Exhibit 4.1 to the Registration Statement;

4. the Specimen Class A Ordinary Share Certificate, included as Exhibit 4.2 to the Registration Statement;

5. the Specimen Warrant Certificate, included as Exhibit 4.3 to the Registration Statement; and

6. the form of the Public Warrant Agreement by and between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Warrant Agent”) and the Company, included as Exhibit 4.4 to the Registration Statement (the “Public Warrant Agreement”).

In addition, we have examined such other certificates, agreements and documents that we deemed relevant and necessary as a basis for the opinions expressed below. We have also relied upon the factual matters contained in the representations and warranties of the Company made in the Documents and upon certificates of public officials and the officers of the Company.


In our examination of the documents referred to above, we have assumed, without independent investigation, the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of all individuals who have executed any of the documents reviewed by us, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to the originals of all documents submitted to us as certified, photostatic, reproduced or conformed copies of valid existing agreements or other documents, the authenticity of all the latter documents and that the statements regarding matters of fact in the certificates, records, agreements, instruments and documents that we have examined are accurate and complete. We have also assumed, without independent investigation, (i) that the Company is validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization, (ii) that the Company has all necessary corporate power to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under the Units, the Public Warrants and the Public Warrant Agreement, (iii) that the execution, delivery and performance of the Units, the Public Warrants and the Public Warrant Agreement have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and do not violate the Company’s organizational documents or the laws of its jurisdiction of organization and (iv) the due execution and delivery of the Units, the Public Warrants and the Public Warrant Agreement by the Company.

Based upon the above, and subject to the stated assumptions, exceptions and qualifications, we are of the opinion that:

1. The Units, when duly issued, delivered and paid for as contemplated in the Registration Statement and in accordance with the terms of the Underwriting Agreement, and assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery thereof by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as transfer agent, will constitute the legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except that the enforceability of the Units may be subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent conveyance or transfer, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and possible judicial action giving effect to governmental actions relating to persons or transactions or foreign laws affecting creditors’ rights and subject to general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law).


2. The Public Warrants included in the Units, when the Units are duly issued, delivered and paid for as contemplated in the Registration Statement and in accordance with the terms of the Underwriting Agreement and the Public Warrant Agreement, and assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of the Public Warrants by the Warrant Agent, will constitute the legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except that (i) the enforceability of the Public Warrants may be subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent conveyance or transfer, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and possible judicial action giving effect to governmental actions relating to persons or transactions or foreign laws affecting creditors’ rights and subject to general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law) and (ii) we express no opinion as to the validity, legally binding effect or enforceability of any provision in the Public Warrant Agreement that requires or relates to adjustments to the conversion rate in an amount that a court would determine in the circumstances under applicable law to be commercially unreasonable or a penalty or forfeiture.

The opinions expressed above are limited to the laws of the State of New York. Our opinion is rendered only with respect to the laws, and the rules, regulations and orders under those laws, that are currently in effect.


We hereby consent to use of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the use of our name under the heading “Legal Matters” contained in the prospectus included in the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required by the Act or the Rules.

Very truly yours,

/s/ Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Exhibit 5.2

 

LOGO

 

July 30, 2021

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

c/o Walkers Corporate Limited

190 Elgin Avenue

George Town

Grand Cayman KY1-9008

Cayman Islands

Dear Addressees

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

We have been asked to provide this legal opinion to you with regard to the laws of the Cayman Islands in connection with the registration of an initial public offering Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”), of:

 

1.

up to 20,000,000 units (the “Units”), each Unit consisting of one Class A ordinary share in the capital of the Company, par value US$0.0001 (each such Class A ordinary share issued as part of the Units and the Over-Allotment Units (as defined below) and issued upon exercise of the Warrants (as defined below) included in the Units and the Over-Allotment Units an “Ordinary Share” and together, the “Ordinary Shares”), and one-third of one warrant to purchase one Ordinary Share (the “Warrants”);

 

2.

up to 3,000,000 units (the “Over-Allotment Units”), which may be issued upon exercise of an option granted to the underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any; and

 

3.

all Ordinary Shares and all Warrants issued as part of the Units and the Over-Allotment Units,

in each case under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and pursuant to the terms of the Registration Statement (as defined in Schedule 1).

For the purposes of giving this opinion, we have examined and relied solely upon the originals or copies of the documents listed in Schedule 1.

We are Cayman Islands Attorneys at Law and express no opinion as to any laws other than the laws of the Cayman Islands in force and as interpreted at the date of this opinion.

Based upon the foregoing examinations and the assumptions and qualifications set out below and having regard to legal considerations which we consider relevant, and under the laws of the Cayman Islands, as at the date hereof, we give the following opinions in relation to the matters set out below.


WALKERS    Page 2

 

1.

The Company is an exempted company duly incorporated with limited liability, validly existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands and in good standing with the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands (the “Registrar”).

 

2.

The Ordinary Shares, as contemplated by the Registration Statement, have been duly authorised by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and upon the issue of the Ordinary Shares (by the entry of the name of the registered owner thereof in the Register of Members of the Company confirming that such Ordinary Shares have been issued and credited as fully paid), delivery and payment therefor by the purchaser in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles (as defined in Schedule 1) and in the manner contemplated by the Registration Statement and the Underwriting Agreement (as defined in Schedule 1), the Ordinary Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable (meaning that no additional sums may be levied in respect of such Ordinary Shares on the holder thereof by the Company).

 

3.

The execution, delivery and performance of the Unit Certificate (as defined in Schedule 1) and the Warrant Documents will have been authorised by and on behalf of the Company and, once the Unit Certificate and the Warrant Documents have been executed and unconditionally delivered by the Company, such documents, will be duly executed and delivered on behalf of the Company and will constitute the legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable in accordance with their terms.

The foregoing opinions are given based on the following assumptions.

 

1.

The originals of all documents examined in connection with this opinion are authentic. The signatures, initials and seals on the Documents and Resolutions (each as defined in Schedule 1) are, or will be, genuine and are, or will be, those of a person or persons stated therein. All documents purporting to be sealed have been, or will be, so sealed. All copies are complete and conform to their originals. The Documents when executed will conform in every material respect to the latest drafts of the same produced to us prior to the date hereof and, where provided in successive drafts, have been marked up to indicate all changes to such Documents.

 

2.

The Memorandum and Articles will be the memorandum and articles of association of the Company in effect at the time of the issue of the Ordinary Shares.


WALKERS    Page 3

 

3.

We have relied upon the statements and representations of directors, officers and other representatives of the Company as to factual matters.

 

4.

The Company will receive consideration in money or money’s worth for each Ordinary Share offered by the Company when issued at the agreed issue price as per the terms of the Registration Statement, such price in any event not being less than the stated par or nominal value of each Ordinary Share.

 

5.

The preparation and filing of the Registration Statement has been duly authorised by or on behalf of the Company prior to the issue and sale of the Ordinary Shares.

 

6.

Each of the Documents will be duly authorised (other than by the Company with regard to the laws of the Cayman Islands), executed and delivered by or on behalf of all relevant parties prior to the issue and sale of the Ordinary Shares and will be legal, valid, binding and enforceable against all relevant parties in accordance with their terms under the laws of the State of New York and all other relevant laws (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands).

 

7.

The choice of New York law as the governing law of the Documents has been made in good faith and would be regarded as a valid and binding selection which will be upheld by the courts of the State of New York as a matter of New York law and all other relevant laws (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands).

 

8.

The power, authority and legal right of all parties under all relevant laws and regulations (other than the Company under the laws of the Cayman Islands) to enter into, execute and perform their respective obligations under the Documents.

 

9.

All preconditions to the obligations of the parties to the Underwriting Agreement, the Unit Certificate and the Warrant Documents will be satisfied or duly waived prior to the issue and sale of the Ordinary Shares and there will be no breach of the terms of the Underwriting Agreement, the Unit Certificate and the Warrant Documents.

The opinions expressed above are subject to the following qualifications:

 

1.

The term “enforceable” and its cognates as used in this opinion means that the obligations assumed by any party under the Documents are of a type which the courts of the Cayman Islands (the “Courts” and each a “Court”) enforce. This does not mean that those obligations will necessarily be enforced in all circumstances in accordance with their terms. In particular:

 

  (a)

enforcement of obligations and the priority of obligations may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, reorganisation, readjustment of debts or moratorium and other laws of general application relating to or affecting the rights of creditors or by prescription or lapse of time;

 

  (b)

enforcement may be limited by general principles of equity and, in particular, the availability of certain equitable remedies such as injunction or specific performance of an obligation may be limited where a Court considers damages to be an adequate remedy;


WALKERS    Page 4

 

  (c)

claims may become barred under statutes of limitation or may be or become subject to defences of set-off, counterclaim, estoppel and similar defences;

 

  (d)

where obligations are to be performed in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, they may not be enforceable in the Cayman Islands to the extent that performance would be illegal under the laws of, or contrary to the public policy of, that jurisdiction;

 

  (e)

a judgment of a Court may be required to be made in Cayman Islands dollars;

 

  (f)

to the extent that any provision of the Documents is adjudicated to be penal in nature, it will not be enforceable in the Courts; in particular, the enforceability of any provision of the Documents that is adjudicated to constitute a secondary obligation which imposes a detriment on the contract-breaker out of all proportion to any legitimate interest of the innocent party in the enforcement of the primary obligation may be limited;

 

  (g)

to the extent that the performance of any obligation arising under the Documents would be fraudulent or contrary to public policy, it will not be enforceable in the Courts;

 

  (h)

in the case of an insolvent liquidation of the Company, its liabilities are required to be translated into the functional currency of the Company (being the currency of the primary economic environment in which it operated as at the commencement of the liquidation) at the exchange rates prevailing on the date of commencement of the voluntary liquidation or the day on which the winding up order is made (as the case may be);

 

  (i)

a Court will not necessarily award costs in litigation in accordance with contractual provisions in this regard; and

 

  (j)

the effectiveness of terms in the Documents excusing any party from a liability or duty otherwise owed or indemnifying that party from the consequences of incurring such liability or breaching such duty shall be construed in accordance with, and shall be limited by, applicable law, including generally applicable rules and principles of common law and equity.

 

2.

Our opinion as to good standing is based solely upon receipt of the Certificate of Good Standing issued by the Registrar. The Company shall be deemed to be in good standing under section 200A of the Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands (the “Companies Act”) on the date of issue of the certificate if all fees and penalties under the Companies Act have been paid and the Registrar has no knowledge that the Company is in default under the Companies Act.

This opinion is limited to the matters referred to herein and shall not be construed as extending to any other matter or document not referred to herein. This opinion is given solely for your benefit and the benefit of your legal advisers acting in that capacity in relation to this transaction and may not be relied upon by any other person, other than persons entitled to rely upon it pursuant to the provisions of the Securities Act, without our prior written consent.


WALKERS    Page 5

 

This opinion shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the Cayman Islands.

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the references to our firm, as Cayman Islands counsel to the Company, in the Registration Statement.

Yours faithfully

/s/ Walkers

WALKERS


WALKERS    Page 6

 

SCHEDULE 1

LIST OF DOCUMENTS EXAMINED

 

1.

The Certificate of Incorporation dated 1 March 2021, Register of Directors and Register of Officers, in each case, of the Company, copies of which have been provided to us by its registered office in the Cayman Islands (together the “Company Records”), and a draft of the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company, filed as Exhibit 3.2 to the Registration Statement, to be in effect upon the consummation of the sale of the Ordinary Shares (the “Memorandum and Articles”).

 

2.

The Cayman Online Registry Information System (CORIS), the Cayman Islands’ General Registry’s online database, searched on 30 July 2021.

 

3.

The Register of Writs and other Originating Process of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands kept at the Clerk of Court’s Office, George Town, Grand Cayman, examined at 9.00 am on 30 July 2021.

 

4.

A copy of a Certificate of Good Standing dated 30 July 2021 in respect of the Company issued by the Registrar (the “Certificate of Good Standing”).

 

5.

A copy of executed written resolutions of the directors of the Company approving various matter, including the offering for sale of the Ordinary Shares dated 27 July 2021 (the “Resolutions”).

 

6.

Copies of the following documents (the “Documents”):

 

  (a)

the Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended, (Registration No. 333-254842) initially filed on 20 March 2021, amended by Amendment No. 1 and filed on 8 June 2021, and as further amended by Amendment No. 2 filed on 30 July 2021 by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission registering the Units, Ordinary Shares and Warrants under the Securities Act (as filed, the “Registration Statement”);

 

  (b)

a draft of the form of the warrant agreement to be entered into by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company as warrant agent and the warrant certificate constituting the Warrants (the “Warrant Documents”);

 

  (c)

a draft of the form of the unit certificate constituting the Units (the “Unit Certificate”); and

 

  (d)

a draft of the form of the underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) to be entered into between the Company and the underwriters listed therein.

Exhibit 10.1

FORM OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT TRUST AGREEMENT

THIS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT TRUST AGREEMENT is made effective as of [     ], 2021 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, this “Agreement”), by and between Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York limited purpose trust company (the “Trustee”).

WHEREAS, the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 333-254842 (the “Registration Statement”) and prospectus (the “Prospectus”) for the initial public offering (the “Offering”) of the Company’s units (the “Units”), each of which consists of one of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Ordinary Shares”), and one-third of one redeemable warrant, each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Ordinary Share, has been declared effective as of the date hereof by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission;

WHEREAS, the Company has entered into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with Evercore Group L.L.C. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, as representatives (the “Representatives”) of the several underwriters (the “Underwriters”) named therein;

WHEREAS, as described in the Prospectus, $[            ] of the gross proceeds of the Offering and sale of the Private Placement Warrants (as defined in the Underwriting Agreement) (or $[            ] if the Underwriter’s option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) will be delivered to the Trustee to be deposited and held in a segregated trust account located at all times in the United States (the “Trust Account”) for the benefit of the Company and the holders of the Ordinary Shares included in the Units issued in the Offering as hereinafter provided (the amount to be delivered to the Trustee (and any interest subsequently earned thereon) is referred to herein as the “Property,” the shareholders for whose benefit the Trustee shall hold the Property are referred to herein as the “Public Shareholders” and the Public Shareholders and the Company are referred to herein together as the “Beneficiaries”);

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, a portion of the Property equal to $[            ] (or $[            ] if the Underwriter’s option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) is attributable to deferred underwriting discounts and commissions that will be payable by the Company to the Underwriters upon the consummation of the Business Combination (as defined below) (the “Deferred Discount”); and

WHEREAS, the Company and the Trustee desire to enter into this Agreement to set forth the terms and conditions pursuant to which the Trustee shall hold the Property.


NOW THEREFORE, IT IS AGREED:

1.    Agreements and Covenants of Trustee. The Trustee hereby agrees and covenants to:

(i)    Hold the Property in trust for the Beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of this Agreement in the Trust Account established by the Trustee in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (or at another U.S. chartered commercial bank with consolidated assets of $100 billion or more) in the United States, maintained by the Trustee and at a brokerage institution selected by the Trustee that is reasonably satisfactory to the Company;

(ii)    Manage, supervise and administer the Trust Account subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein;

(iii)    In a timely manner, upon the written instruction of the Company, invest and reinvest the Property only in United States government securities within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, having a maturity of 185 days or less, or in money market funds meeting the conditions of paragraphs (d)(1), (d)(2), (d)(3) and (d)(4) of Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (or any successor rule), which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by the Company; it being understood that the Trust Account will earn no interest while account funds are uninvested awaiting the Company’s instructions hereunder and the Trustee may earn bank credits or other consideration;

(iv)    Collect and receive, when due, all interest or other income arising from the Property, which shall become part of the “Property,” as such term is used herein;

(v)    Promptly notify the Company and the Representatives of all communications received by the Trustee with respect to any Property requiring action by the Company;

(vi)    Supply any necessary information or documents as may be requested by the Company (or its authorized agents) in connection with the Company’s preparation of the tax returns relating to assets held in the Trust Account;

(vii)    Participate in any plan or proceeding for protecting or enforcing any right or interest arising from the Property if, as and when instructed by the Company to do so;

(viii)    Render to the Company monthly written statements of the activities of, and amounts in, the Trust Account reflecting all receipts and disbursements of the Trust Account;

(ix)    Commence liquidation of the Trust Account only after and promptly after (x) receipt of, and only in accordance with, the terms of a letter from the Company (“Termination Letter”) in a form substantially similar to that attached hereto as either Exhibit A or Exhibit B, as applicable, signed on behalf of the Company by its Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or other authorized officer of the Company, and,

 

2


in the case of the Termination Letter attached hereto as Exhibit A, acknowledged and agreed to by the Representatives, and complete the liquidation of the Trust Account and distribute the Property in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), only as directed in the Termination Letter and the other documents referred to therein, or (y) upon the date which is the later of (1) twenty-four (24) months after the closing of the Offering and (2) such later date as may be approved by the Company’s shareholders in accordance with the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if a Termination Letter has not been received by the Trustee prior to such date, in which case the Trust Account shall be liquidated in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Termination Letter attached hereto as Exhibit B and the Property in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), shall be distributed to the Public Shareholders of record as of such date. It is acknowledged and agreed that there should be no reduction in the principal amount per share initially deposited in the Trust Account;

(x)    Upon written request from the Company, which may be given from time to time in a form substantially similar to that attached hereto as Exhibit C (a “Tax Payment Withdrawal Instruction”), withdraw from the Trust Account and distribute to the Company the amount of interest earned on the Property requested by the Company to cover any tax obligation owed by the Company as a result of assets of the Company or interest or other income earned on the Property, which amount shall be delivered directly to the Company by electronic funds transfer or other method of prompt payment, and the Company shall forward such payment to the relevant taxing authority, so long as there is no reduction in the principal amount per share initially deposited in the Trust Account; provided, however, that to the extent there is not sufficient cash in the Trust Account to pay such tax obligation, the Trustee shall liquidate such assets held in the Trust Account as shall be designated by the Company in writing to make such distribution (it being acknowledged and agreed that any such amount in excess of interest income earned on the Property shall not be payable from the Trust Account); provided, further, that, if the tax to be paid is a franchise tax, the written request by the Company to make such distribution shall be accompanied by a copy of the franchise tax bill from the relevant taxing authority for the Company. The written request of the Company referenced above shall constitute presumptive evidence that the Company is entitled to said funds, and the Trustee shall have no responsibility to look beyond said request;

(xi)    Upon written request from the Company, which may be given from time to time in a form substantially similar to that attached hereto as Exhibit D (a “Shareholder Redemption Withdrawal Instruction”), the Trustee shall distribute to the remitting brokers on behalf of Public Shareholders redeeming Ordinary Shares the amount required to pay redeemed Ordinary Shares from Public Shareholders pursuant to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; and

(xii)    Not make any withdrawals or distributions from the Trust Account other than pursuant to Section 1(ix), (x) or (xi) above.

 

3


2.    Agreements and Covenants of the Company. The Company hereby agrees and covenants to:

(i)    Give all instructions to the Trustee hereunder in writing, signed by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or other authorized officer of the Company. In addition, except with respect to its duties under Sections 1(ix), (x) or (xi), the Trustee shall be entitled to rely on, and shall be protected in relying on, any verbal or telephonic advice or instruction which it, in good faith and with reasonable care, believes to be given by any one of the persons authorized above to give written instructions, provided that the Company shall promptly confirm such instructions in writing;

(ii)    Subject to Section 4, hold the Trustee harmless and indemnify the Trustee from and against any and all expenses, including reasonable counsel fees and disbursements, or losses suffered by the Trustee in connection with any action taken by it hereunder and in connection with any action, suit or other proceeding brought against the Trustee involving any claim, or in connection with any claim or demand, which in any way arises out of or relates to this Agreement, the services of the Trustee hereunder, or the Property or any interest earned on the Property, except for expenses and losses resulting from the Trustee’s gross negligence, fraud or willful misconduct. Promptly after the receipt by the Trustee of notice of demand or claim or the commencement of any action, suit or proceeding, pursuant to which the Trustee intends to seek indemnification under this Section 2(ii), it shall notify the Company in writing of such claim (an “Indemnified Claim”). The Trustee shall have the right to conduct and manage the defense against such Indemnified Claim; provided, however, that the Trustee shall obtain the consent of the Company with respect to the selection of counsel, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. The Trustee may not agree to settle any Indemnified Claim without the prior written consent of the Company, which such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. The Company may participate in such action with its own counsel;

(iii)    Pay the Trustee the fees set forth on Schedule A hereto, including an initial acceptance fee, annual administration fee and transaction processing fee which fees shall be subject to modification by the parties from time to time. It is expressly understood that the Property shall not be used to pay such fees unless and until it is distributed to the Company pursuant to Sections 1(ix) through 1(xi). The Company shall pay the Trustee the initial acceptance fee and the first annual administration fee at the consummation of the Offering. The Company shall not be responsible for any other fees or charges of the Trustee except as set forth in this Section 2(iii) and as may be provided in Section 2(ii);

(iv)    In connection with any vote of the Company’s shareholders regarding a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination involving the Company and one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”), provide to the Trustee an affidavit or certificate of the inspector of elections for the general meeting verifying the vote of such shareholders regarding such Business Combination;

 

4


(v)    Provide the Representatives with a copy of any Termination Letter(s) and/or any other correspondence that is sent to the Trustee with respect to any proposed withdrawal from the Trust Account promptly after it issues the same;

(vi)    Unless otherwise agreed between the Company and the Representatives, ensure that any Instruction Letter (as defined in Exhibit A) delivered in connection with a Termination Letter in the form of Exhibit A expressly provides that the Deferred Discount is paid directly to the account or accounts directed by the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters prior to any transfer of the funds held in the Trust Account to the Company or any other person;

(vii)    Instruct the Trustee to make only those distributions that are permitted under this Agreement, and refrain from instructing the Trustee to make any distributions that are not permitted under this Agreement;

(viii)    If the Company seeks to amend any provisions of its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of the Ordinary Shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Ordinary Shares if the Company does not complete its initial Business Combination within the time period set forth therein or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of the Ordinary Shares (in each case, an “Amendment”), the Company will provide the Trustee with a letter (an “Amendment Notification Letter”) in the form of Exhibit D providing instructions for the distribution of funds to Public Shareholders who exercise their redemption option in connection with such Amendment; and

(ix)    Within five (5) business days after the Underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional units (or any unexercised portion thereof) or such option to purchase additional units expires, provide the Trustee with a notice in writing of the total amount of the Deferred Discount.

3.    Limitations of Liability. The Trustee shall have no responsibility or liability to:

(i)    Imply obligations, perform duties, inquire or otherwise be subject to the provisions of any agreement or document other than this Agreement and that which is expressly set forth herein;

(ii)    Take any action with respect to the Property, other than as directed in Section 1, and the Trustee shall have no liability to any third party except for liability arising out of the Trustee’s gross negligence, fraud or willful misconduct;

(iii)    Institute any proceeding for the collection of any principal and income arising from, or institute, appear in or defend any proceeding of any kind with respect to, any of the Property unless and until it shall have received instructions from the Company given as provided herein to do so and the Company shall have advanced or guaranteed to it funds sufficient to pay any expenses incident thereto;

 

5


(iv)    Change the investment of any Property, other than in compliance with Section 1;

(v)    Refund any depreciation in principal of any Property;

(vi)    Assume that the authority of any person designated by the Company to give instructions hereunder shall not be continuing unless provided otherwise in such designation, or unless the Company shall have delivered a written revocation of such authority to the Trustee;

(vii)    The other parties hereto or to anyone else for any action taken or omitted by it, or any action suffered by it to be taken or omitted, in good faith and in the Trustee’s best judgment, except for the Trustee’s gross negligence, fraud or willful misconduct. The Trustee may rely conclusively and shall be protected in acting upon any order, notice, demand, certificate, opinion or advice of counsel (including counsel chosen by the Trustee, which counsel may be the Company’s counsel), statement, instrument, report or other paper or document (not only as to its due execution and the validity and effectiveness of its provisions, but also as to the truth and acceptability of any information therein contained) which the Trustee believes, in good faith and with reasonable care, to be genuine and to be signed or presented by the proper person or persons. The Trustee shall not be bound by any notice or demand, or any waiver, modification, termination or rescission of this Agreement or any of the terms hereof, unless evidenced by a written instrument delivered to the Trustee, signed by the proper party or parties and, if the duties or rights of the Trustee are affected, unless it shall give its prior written consent thereto;

(viii)    Verify the accuracy of the information contained in the Registration Statement;

(ix)    Provide any assurance that any Business Combination entered into by the Company or any other action taken by the Company is as contemplated by the Registration Statement;

(x)    File information returns with respect to the Trust Account with any local, state or federal taxing authority or provide periodic written statements to the Company documenting the taxes payable by the Company, if any, relating to any interest income earned on the Property;

(xi)    Prepare, execute and file tax reports, income or other tax returns and pay any taxes with respect to any income generated by, and activities relating to, the Trust Account, regardless of whether such tax is payable by the Trust Account or the Company, including, but not limited to, tax obligations, except pursuant to Section 1(x); or

(xii)    Verify calculations, qualify or otherwise approve the Company’s written requests for distributions pursuant to Sections 1(ix), 1(x) or 1(xi).

4.    Trust Account Waiver. The Trustee has no right of set-off or any right, title, interest or claim of any kind (“Claim”) to, or to any monies in, the Trust Account and hereby irrevocably waives any Claim to, or to any monies in, the Trust Account that it may

 

6


have now or in the future. In the event the Trustee has any Claim against the Company under this Agreement, including, without limitation, under Section 2(ii) or Section 2(iii), the Trustee shall pursue such Claim solely against the Company and its assets outside the Trust Account and not against the Property or any monies in the Trust Account.

5.    Termination. This Agreement shall terminate as follows:

(i)    If the Trustee gives written notice to the Company that it desires to resign under this Agreement, the Company shall use its reasonable efforts to locate a successor trustee, pending which the Trustee shall continue to act in accordance with this Agreement. At such time that the Company notifies the Trustee that a successor trustee has been appointed and has agreed to become subject to the terms of this Agreement, the Trustee shall transfer the management of the Trust Account to the successor trustee, including but not limited to the transfer of copies of the reports and statements relating to the Trust Account, whereupon this Agreement shall terminate; provided, however, that, in the event that the Company does not locate a successor trustee within ninety (90) days of receipt of the resignation notice from the Trustee, the Trustee may submit an application to have the Property deposited with any court in the State of New York or with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and upon such deposit, the Trustee shall be immune from any liability whatsoever; or

(ii)    At such time that the Trustee has completed the liquidation of the Trust Account and its obligations in accordance with the provisions of Section 1(ix) and distributed the Property in accordance with the provisions of the Termination Letter, this Agreement shall terminate except with respect to Section 2(ii).

6.    Miscellaneous.

(i)    The Company and the Trustee each acknowledge that the Trustee shall follow the security procedures set forth below with respect to funds transferred from the Trust Account. The Company and the Trustee will each restrict access to confidential information relating to such security procedures to authorized persons. Each party must notify the other party immediately if it has reason to believe unauthorized persons may have obtained access to such confidential information, or of any change in its authorized personnel. In executing funds transfers, the Trustee shall rely upon all information supplied to it by the Company, including, account names, account numbers and all other identifying information relating to a Beneficiary, Beneficiary’s bank or intermediary bank. Except for any liability arising out of the Trustee’s gross negligence, fraud or willful misconduct, the Trustee shall not be liable for any loss, liability or expense resulting from any error in the information or transmission of the funds.

(ii)    This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. This Agreement may be executed in several original or facsimile counterparts, each one of which shall constitute an original, and together shall constitute but one instrument.

 

7


(iii)    This Agreement contains the entire agreement and understanding of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof. Except for Section 1(ix), 1(x) and 1(xi) (which sections may not be modified, amended or deleted without the affirmative vote of sixty-five percent (65%) of the then outstanding Ordinary Shares and Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company, voting together as a single class; provided, however, that no such amendment will affect any Public Shareholder who has properly elected to redeem his or her Ordinary Shares in connection with a shareholder vote to amend this Agreement to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide for the redemption of the Public Shares in connection with an initial Business Combination or an Amendment or to redeem 100% of its Ordinary Shares if the Company does not complete its initial Business Combination within the time frame specified in the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association), this Agreement or any provision hereof may only be changed, amended or modified (other than to correct a typographical error) by a writing signed by each of the parties hereto.

(iv)    The parties hereto consent to the jurisdiction and venue of any state or federal court located in the City of New York, State of New York, for purposes of resolving any disputes hereunder. AS TO ANY CLAIM, CROSS-CLAIM OR COUNTERCLAIM IN ANY WAY RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, EACH PARTY WAIVES THE RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY.

(v)    Any notice, consent or request to be given in connection with any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent by express mail or similar private courier service, by certified mail (return receipt requested), by hand delivery or by electronic mail:

if to the Trustee, to:

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company

1 State Street, 30th Floor

New York, New York 10004

Attention: Francis Wolf and Celeste Gonzalez

E-mail: fwolf@continentalstock.com

cgonzalez@continentalstock.com

if to the Company, to:

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

535 Ramona Street, Suite #8

Palo Alto, CA 94301

Attention: Daniel V. Leff, Chief Executive Officer

E-mail: daniel@waverleycapital.com

in each case, with copies to:

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

1285 Avenue of the Americas

 

8


New York, NY 10019

Attention: Raphael M. Russo

E-mail: rrusso@paulweiss.com

and

Evercore Group L.L.C.

55 East 52nd Street

New York, New York 10055

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

1585 Broadway

New York, New York 10036

and

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

One Bryant Park

Bank of America Tower

New York, NY 10036

Attention: Alice Hsu

E-mail: ahsu@akingump.com

(vi)    Each of the Company and the Trustee hereby represents that it has the full right and power and has been duly authorized to enter into this Agreement and to perform its respective obligations as contemplated hereunder. The Trustee acknowledges and agrees that it shall not make any claims or proceed against the Trust Account, including by way of set-off, and shall not be entitled to any funds in the Trust Account under any circumstance.

(vii)    This Agreement is the joint product of the Trustee and the Company and each provision hereof has been subject to the mutual consultation, negotiation and agreement of such parties and shall not be construed for or against any party hereto.

(viii)    This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of a signed counterpart of this Agreement by facsimile or electronic transmission shall constitute valid and sufficient delivery thereof.

(ix)    Each of the Company and the Trustee hereby acknowledges and agrees that each of the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters is a third-party beneficiary of this Agreement.

(x)    Except as specified herein, no party to this Agreement may assign its rights or delegate its obligations hereunder to any other person or entity.

[Signature Page Follows]

 

9


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have duly executed this Investment Management Trust Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY,
as Trustee
By:  

 

 

Name:

Title:

WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1
By:  

 

 

Name:

Title:

[Signature Page to Investment Management Trust Agreement—Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1]


SCHEDULE A

TRUSTEES FEES

 

Fee Item

 

Time and method of payment

 

Amount

Initial acceptance fee   Initial closing of the Offering by wire transfer   $3,500.00
Annual fee   First year, initial closing of the Offering by wire transfer; thereafter on the anniversary of the closing date of the Offering by wire transfer or check   $10,000.00
Transaction processing fee for disbursements to the Company pursuant to Sections 1(i), (j) and (k)   Billed by the Trustee to the Company pursuant to Section 1   $250.00
IPO Closing Fee   Initial closing of the Offering by wire transfer   $4,500.00
Paying Agent services as required pursuant to Sections 1(i) and (k)   Billed to the Company upon delivery of service pursuant to Sections 1(i) and (k)   Prevailing rates


EXHIBIT A

[Letterhead of the Company]

[Insert date]

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company

1 State Street, 30th Floor

New York, New York 10004

Attention: Francis Wolf and Celeste Gonzalez

Re:     Trust Account No. [    ] – Termination Letter

Dear Mr. Wolf and Ms. Gonzalez:

Pursuant to Section 1(ix) of the Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated as of [                    ], 2021 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Trust Agreement”), by and between Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”) and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Trustee”), this is to advise you that the Company has entered into an agreement with [insert name] (the “Target Business”) to consummate a business combination with Target Business (the “Business Combination”) on or about [insert date]. The Company shall notify you at least seventy-two (72) hours (or such shorter period as you may agree) in advance of the actual date of the consummation of the Business Combination (the “Consummation Date”). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Trust Agreement.

In accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement, we hereby authorize you to commence the liquidation of all of the assets of the Trust Account and to transfer the proceeds to the trust operating account at JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. to the effect that, on the Consummation Date, all of the funds held in the Trust Account will be immediately available for transfer to the account or accounts that the Company shall direct on the Consummation Date (including as directed to it by the Representatives with respect to the Deferred Discount). It is acknowledged and agreed that, while the funds are on deposit in the trust operating account at JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. awaiting distribution, the Company will not earn any interest or dividends.

On the Consummation Date, (i) counsel for the Company shall deliver to you written notification that the Business Combination has been consummated or will be consummated concurrently with your transfer of funds to the accounts as directed by the Company (the “Notification”) and (ii) the Company shall deliver to you (a) [an affidavit] [a certificate] of the Chief Executive Officer or the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, which verifies that the Business Combination has been approved by a vote of the Company’s shareholders, if a vote is held and (b) a joint written instruction signed by the Company and the Representatives with respect to the transfer of the funds held in the Trust Account, including payment of amounts owed to public shareholders who have properly exercised their redemption rights and payment of Deferred Discount to the account or accounts directed by the Representatives from the Trust Account (the “Instruction Letter”). You are hereby directed and authorized to transfer the funds held in the Trust


Account immediately upon your receipt of the Notification and the Instruction Letter, in accordance with the terms of the Instruction Letter. In the event that certain deposits held in the Trust Account may not be liquidated by the Consummation Date without penalty, you will notify the Company in writing of the same and the Company shall direct you as to whether such funds should remain in the Trust Account and be distributed after the Consummation Date to the Company. Upon the distribution of all the funds, net of any payments necessary for reasonable unreimbursed expenses related to liquidating the Trust Account, your obligations under the Trust Agreement shall be terminated.

In the event that the Business Combination is not consummated on the Consummation Date described in the notice thereof and the Company has not notified you on or before the original Consummation Date of a new Consummation Date, then upon receipt by the Trustee of written instructions from the Company, the funds held in the Trust Account shall be reinvested as provided in Section 1(iii) of the Trust Agreement on the business day immediately following the Consummation Date as set forth in such written instruction as soon thereafter as possible.

 

Very truly yours,
WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

By:

 

 

  Name:
  Title:

 

Agreed and acknowledged:

EVERCORE GROUP L.L.C.

By:

 

 

  Name:
  Title:

 

MORGAN STANLEY & CO. LLC

By:

 

 

  Name:
  Title:


EXHIBIT B

[Letterhead of Company]

[Insert date]

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company

1 State Street, 30th Floor

New York, New York 10004

Attention: Francis Wolf and Celeste Gonzalez

Re:     Trust Account No. [    ] – Termination Letter

Dear Mr. Wolf and Ms. Gonzalez:

Pursuant to Section 1(ix) of the Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated as of [                    ], 2021 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Trust Agreement”), by and between Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”) and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Trustee”), this is to advise you that the Company has been unable to effect a Business Combination with a Target Business within the time frame specified in the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as described in the Company’s Prospectus relating to the Offering. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Trust Agreement.

In accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement, we hereby authorize you to liquidate all of the assets in the Trust Account and to transfer the total proceeds into a segregated account held by you on behalf of the Beneficiaries to await distribution to the Public Shareholders. The Company has selected [insert completion deadline] as the effective date for the purpose of determining when the Public Shareholders will be entitled to receive their share of the liquidation proceeds. You agree to be the paying agent of record and, in your separate capacity as paying agent, agree to distribute said funds directly to the Public Shareholders in accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement and the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of the Company. Upon the distribution of all the funds, net of any payments necessary for reasonable unreimbursed expenses related to liquidating the Trust Account, your obligations under the Trust Agreement shall be terminated, except to the extent otherwise provided in Section 1(ix) of the Trust Agreement.

*    *    *    *    *


Very truly yours,
WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1

By:

 

 

 

Name:

Title:

 

cc:

Evercore Group L.L.C.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC


EXHIBIT C

[Letterhead of Company]

[Insert date]

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company

1 State Street, 30th Floor

New York, New York 10004

Attention: Francis Wolf and Celeste Gonzalez

Re:     Trust Account No. [    ] – Tax Payment Withdrawal Instruction

Dear Mr. Wolf and Ms. Gonzalez:

Pursuant to Section 1(x) of the Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated as of [     ], 2021 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Trust Agreement”), by and between Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”) and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Trustee”), the Company hereby requests that you deliver to the Company $[ ] of the interest income earned on the Property as of the date hereof. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Trust Agreement.

The Company needs such funds to pay for the tax obligations as set forth on the attached tax return or tax statement. In accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement, you are hereby directed and authorized to transfer (via wire transfer) such funds promptly upon your receipt of this letter to the Company’s operating account at:

[WIRE INSTRUCTION INFORMATION]

*    *    *    *    *

 

Very truly yours,
WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:

 

cc:

Evercore Group L.L.C.

    

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC


EXHIBIT D

[Letterhead of Company]

[Insert date]

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company

1 State Street, 30th Floor

New York, New York 10004

Attention: Francis Wolf and Celeste Gonzalez

Re:    Trust Account No. [    ] – Redemption Withdrawal Instruction

Dear Mr. Wolf and Ms. Gonzalez:

Pursuant to Section 1(xi) of the Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated as of [    ], 2021 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Trust Agreement”), by and between Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”) and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Trustee”), the Company hereby requests that you deliver to the Company $[ ] of the interest income earned on the Property as of the date hereof. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Trust Agreement.

The Company needs such funds to pay its Public Shareholders who have properly elected to have their Ordinary Shares redeemed by the Company in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of the Ordinary Shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Ordinary Shares if the Company does not complete its initial Business Combination within the time period set forth therein or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of the Ordinary Shares. As such. In accordance with the terms of the Trust Agreement, you are hereby directed and authorized to transfer (via wire transfer) such funds promptly upon your receipt of this letter to the Company’s operating trust account at:

[WIRE INSTRUCTION INFORMATION]

*    *    *    *    *


Very truly yours,
WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:

 

cc:

Evercore Group L.L.C.

    

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

Exhibit 10.3

FORM OF PRIVATE PLACEMENT WARRANTS PURCHASE AGREEMENT

THIS PRIVATE PLACEMENT WARRANTS PURCHASE AGREEMENT, dated as of [                     ], 2021 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, this “Agreement”), is entered into by and between Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), and WCAC1 Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Purchaser”).

WHEREAS, the Company intends to consummate an initial public offering of the Company’s units (the “Public Offering”), each unit consisting of one Class A ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (each, a “Share”), and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant, each whole warrant entitling the holder to purchase one Share at an exercise price of $11.50 per Share, as set forth in the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), File Number 333-254842 (the “Registration Statement”), under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

WHEREAS, the Purchaser has agreed to purchase an aggregate of [ ] warrants (or up to [ ] warrants if the underwriters in the Public Offering exercise their option to purchase additional units in full) (the “Private Placement Warrants”), each Private Placement Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one Share at an exercise price of $11.50 per Share, at a price of $1.50 per warrant, subject to adjustment.

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises contained in this Agreement and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties to this Agreement hereby, intending legally to be bound, agree as follows:

AGREEMENT

Section 1. Authorization, Purchase and Sale; Terms of the Private Placement Warrants.

A. Authorization of the Private Placement Warrants. The Company has duly authorized the issuance and sale of the Private Placement Warrants to the Purchaser.

B. Purchase and Sale of the Private Placement Warrants.

(i) On the date of the consummation of the Public Offering (the “IPO Closing Date”), the Company shall issue and sell to the Purchaser, and the Purchaser shall purchase from the Company, [ ] Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant for an aggregate purchase price of $[ ] (the “Purchase Price”). The Purchaser shall pay the Purchase Price in accordance with the Company’s wiring instructions by wire transfer of immediately available funds in the following amounts: (i) $[ ] to the Company at a financial institution to be chosen by the Company; and (ii) $[ ] to the trust account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as


trustee (the “Trust Account”), in each case, at least one (1) business day prior to the IPO Closing Date. On the IPO Closing Date, subject to the receipt of funds pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence, the Company shall, at its option, deliver a certificate evidencing the Private Placement Warrants purchased on such date duly registered in the Purchaser’s name to the Purchaser or effect such delivery in book-entry form.

(ii) On the date of the closing of the option to purchase additional units, if any, in connection with the Public Offering or on such earlier time and date as may be mutually agreed by the Purchaser and the Company (the “Option Closing Date” and, each Option Closing Date (if any) and the IPO Closing Date, a “Closing Date”), the Company shall issue and sell to the Purchaser, and the Purchaser shall purchase from the Company, up to [ ] Private Placement Warrants (or, to the extent the option to purchase additional units is not exercised in full, a lesser number of Private Placement Warrants in proportion to the portion of the option that is exercised) at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant for an aggregate purchase price of up to $[ ] (the “Option Purchase Price”). The Purchaser shall pay the Option Purchase Price in accordance with the Company’s wiring instructions by wire transfer of immediately available funds to the Trust Account at least one (1) business day prior to the Option Closing Date. On the Option Closing Date, subject to the receipt of funds pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence, the Company shall, at its option, deliver a certificate evidencing the Private Placement Warrants purchased on such date duly registered in the Purchaser’s name to the Purchaser or effect such delivery in book-entry form.

C. Terms of the Private Placement Warrants.

(i) Each Private Placement Warrant shall have the terms set forth in a Private Warrant Agreement to be entered into by the Company and a warrant agent on the IPO Closing Date in connection with the Public Offering (the “Private Warrant Agreement”).

(ii) On the IPO Closing Date, the Company and the Purchaser shall enter into a registration and shareholder rights agreement (the “Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company will grant certain registration rights to the Purchaser relating to the Private Placement Warrants and the Shares underlying the Private Placement Warrants.

Section 2. Representations and Warranties of the Company. As a material inducement to the Purchaser to enter into this Agreement and purchase the Private Placement Warrants, the Company hereby represents and warrants to the Purchaser (which representations and warranties shall survive each Closing Date) that:

A. Incorporation and Corporate Power. The Company is an exempted company duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the Cayman Islands and is qualified to do business in every jurisdiction in which the failure to so qualify would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, operating results or assets of the Company. The Company possesses all requisite corporate power and authority necessary to carry out the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Private Warrant Agreement.

 

2


B. Authorization; No Breach.

(i) The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Private Placement Warrants have been duly authorized by the Company as of each Closing Date. This Agreement constitutes the valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equitable principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or law). Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms of the Private Warrant Agreement and this Agreement, the Private Placement Warrants will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable in accordance with their terms.

(ii) The execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement and the Private Placement Warrants, the issuance and sale of the Private Placement Warrants, the issuance of the Shares upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and the fulfillment of and compliance with the respective terms hereof and thereof by the Company, do not and will not as of each Closing Date (a) conflict with or result in a breach of the terms, conditions or provisions of, (b) constitute a default under, (c) result in the creation of any lien, security interest, charge or encumbrance upon the Company’s share capital or assets under, (d) result in a violation of or (e) require any authorization, consent, approval, exemption or other action by or notice or declaration to, or filing with, any court or administrative or governmental body or agency pursuant to the memorandum and articles of association of the Company (in effect on the date hereof or as may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified prior to completion of the Public Offering) or any material law, statute, rule or regulation to which the Company is subject, or any agreement, order, judgment or decree to which the Company is subject, except for any filings required after the date hereof under federal or state securities laws.

C. Title to Securities. Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof and the Private Warrant Agreement and the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of the Company, and upon registration in the Company’s register of members, the Shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will be duly and validly issued as fully paid and non-assessable. On the date of issuance of the Private Placement Warrants, the Shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants shall have been reserved for issuance in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof and the Private Warrant Agreement, and upon registration in the Company’s register of members, the Purchaser will have good title to the Private Placement Warrants purchased by it and the Shares issuable upon exercise of such Private Placement Warrants, free and clear of all liens, claims and encumbrances of any kind, other than (i) transfer restrictions hereunder and under the other agreements contemplated hereby, (ii) transfer restrictions under federal and state securities laws and (iii) liens, claims or encumbrances imposed due to the actions of the Purchaser.

D. Governmental Consents. No permit, consent, approval or authorization of, or declaration to or filing with, any governmental authority is required in connection with the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement or the consummation by the Company of any other transactions contemplated hereby.

 

3


E. Regulation D Qualification. Neither the Company nor, to its actual knowledge, any of its affiliates, members, officers, directors or beneficial shareholders of 20% or more of its outstanding securities, has experienced a disqualifying event as enumerated pursuant to Rule 506(d) of Regulation D under the Securities Act.

Section 3. Representations and Warranties of the Purchaser. As a material inducement to the Company to enter into this Agreement and issue and sell the Private Placement Warrants to the Purchaser, the Purchaser hereby represents and warrants to the Company (which representations and warranties shall survive each Closing Date) that:

A. Organization and Requisite Authority. The Purchaser possesses all requisite power and authority necessary to carry out the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

B. Authorization; No Breach.

(i) This Agreement constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Purchaser, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equitable principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or law).

(ii) The execution and delivery by the Purchaser of this Agreement and the fulfillment of and compliance with the terms hereof by the Purchaser does not and shall not as of each Closing Date (a) conflict with or result in a breach by the Purchaser of the terms, conditions or provisions of, (b) constitute a default under, (c) result in the creation of any lien, security interest, charge or encumbrance upon the Purchaser’s equity or assets under, (d) result in a violation of or (e) require authorization, consent, approval, exemption or other action by or notice or declaration to, or filing with, any court or administrative or governmental body or agency pursuant to the Purchaser’s organizational documents in effect on the date hereof or as may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified prior to completion of the contemplated Public Offering, or any material law, statute, rule or regulation to which the Purchaser is subject, or any agreement, instrument, order, judgment or decree to which the Purchaser is subject, except for any filings required after the date hereof under federal or state securities laws.

C. Investment Representations.

(i) The Purchaser is acquiring the Private Placement Warrants and, upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants, the Shares issuable upon such exercise (collectively, the “Securities”) for its own account, for investment purposes only and not with a view towards, or for resale in connection with, any public sale or distribution thereof.

(ii) The Purchaser is an “accredited investor” as such term is defined in Rule 501(a)(3) of Regulation D and has not experienced a disqualifying event as enumerated pursuant to Rule 506(d) of Regulation D under the Securities Act.

(iii) The Purchaser understands that the Securities are being offered and will be sold to it in reliance on specific exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States federal and state securities laws and that the Company is relying upon the truth and accuracy of, and the Purchaser’s compliance with, the representations and warranties of the Purchaser set forth herein in order to determine the availability of such exemptions and the eligibility of the Purchaser to acquire such Securities.

 

4


(iv) The Purchaser did not decide to enter into this Agreement as a result of any general solicitation or general advertising within the meaning of Rule 502(c) under the Securities Act.

(v) The Purchaser has been furnished with all materials relating to the business, finances and operations of the Company and materials relating to the offer and sale of the Securities which have been requested by the Purchaser. The Purchaser has been afforded the opportunity to ask questions of the executive officers and directors of the Company. The Purchaser understands that its investment in the Securities involves a high degree of risk and has sought such accounting, legal and tax advice as it has considered necessary to make an informed investment decision with respect to the acquisition of the Securities.

(vi) The Purchaser understands that no United States federal or state agency or any other government or governmental agency has passed on or made any recommendation or endorsement of the Securities or the fairness or suitability of the investment in the Securities by the Purchaser nor have such authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the Securities.

(vii) The Purchaser understands that (a) the Securities have not been and are not being registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws, and may not be offered for sale, sold, assigned or transferred, unless (1) subsequently registered thereunder or (2) sold in reliance on an exemption therefrom, and (b) except as specifically set forth in the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, neither the Company nor any other person is under any obligation to register the Securities under the Securities Act or any state securities laws or to comply with the terms and conditions of any exemption thereunder. In this regard, the Purchaser understands that the SEC has taken the position that promoters or affiliates of a blank check company and their transferees, both before and after an initial business combination, are deemed to be “underwriters” under the Securities Act when reselling the securities of a blank check company. Based on that position, Rule 144 adopted pursuant to the Securities Act would not be available for resale transactions of the Securities despite technical compliance with the requirements of Rule 144 adopted pursuant to the Securities Act, and the Securities can be resold only through a registered offering or in reliance upon another exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

(viii) The Purchaser has such knowledge and experience in financial and business matters, knowledge of the high degree of risk associated with investments in the securities of companies in the development stage such as the Company, is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of an investment in the Securities and is able to bear the economic risk of an investment in the Securities in the amount contemplated hereunder for an indefinite period of time. The Purchaser has adequate means of providing for its current financial needs and contingencies and will have no current or anticipated future needs for liquidity which would be jeopardized by the investment in the Securities. The Purchaser can afford a complete loss of its investments in the Securities.

 

5


(ix) The Purchaser understands that the Private Placement Warrants shall bear the legend substantially in the form set forth in the Private Warrant Agreement.

Section 4. Conditions of the Purchaser’s Obligations. The obligations of the Purchaser to purchase and pay for the Private Placement Warrants are subject to the fulfillment, on or before each Closing Date, of each of the following conditions:

A. Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Company contained in Section 2 shall be true and correct at and as of such Closing Date as though then made.

B. Performance. The Company shall have performed and complied with all agreements, obligations and conditions contained in this Agreement that are required to be performed or complied with by the Company on or before such Closing Date.

C. No Injunction. No litigation, statute, rule, regulation, executive order, decree, ruling or injunction shall have been enacted, entered, promulgated or endorsed by or in any court or governmental authority of competent jurisdiction or any self-regulatory organization having authority over the matters contemplated hereby, which prohibits the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Private Warrant Agreement.

D. Private Warrant Agreement and Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement. The Company shall have entered into the Private Warrant Agreement and the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, in each case, on terms satisfactory to the Purchaser.

Section 5. Conditions of the Company’s Obligations. The obligations of the Company to the Purchaser under this Agreement are subject to the fulfillment, on or before each Closing Date, of each of the following conditions:

A. Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Purchaser contained in Section 3 shall be true and correct at and as of such Closing Date as though then made.

B. Performance. The Purchaser shall have performed and complied with all agreements, obligations and conditions contained in this Agreement that are required to be performed or complied with by the Purchaser on or before such Closing Date.

C. Corporate Consents. The Company shall have obtained the consent of the Company’s board of directors authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Private Warrant Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Private Placement Warrants hereunder.

D. No Injunction. No litigation, statute, rule, regulation, executive order, decree, ruling or injunction shall have been enacted, entered, promulgated or endorsed by or in any court or governmental authority of competent jurisdiction or any self-regulatory organization having authority over the matters contemplated hereby, which prohibits the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Private Warrant Agreement.

 

6


E. Private Warrant Agreement. The Company shall have entered into the Private Warrant Agreement.

Section 6. Miscellaneous.

A. Successors and Assigns. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all covenants and agreements contained in this Agreement by or on behalf of any of the parties hereto shall bind and inure to the benefit of the respective successors of the parties hereto whether so expressed or not. Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the contrary herein, the parties may not assign this Agreement, other than assignments by the Purchaser to affiliates thereof (including, without limitation one or more of its members).

B. Severability. Whenever possible, each provision of this Agreement shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Agreement is held to be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision shall be ineffective only to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of this Agreement.

C. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed simultaneously in two or more counterparts, none of which need contain the signatures of more than one party, but all such counterparts taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement. Signatures to this Agreement transmitted via facsimile or electronic mail shall be valid and effective to bind the party so signing.

D. Descriptive Headings; Interpretation. The descriptive headings of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and do not constitute a substantive part of this Agreement. The use of the word “including” in this Agreement shall be by way of example rather than by limitation.

E. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the State of New York and for all purposes shall be construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York.

F. Amendments. This Agreement may not be amended, modified or waived as to any particular provision, except by a written instrument executed by the parties hereto.

[Signature page follows]

 

7


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

COMPANY:
WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1
By:  

         

  Name: Alan Henricks
  Title: Chief Financial Officer
PURCHASER:
WCAC1 SPONSOR LLC
By:  

         

  Name: Daniel V. Leff
  Title: Member

[Signature Page to Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement—Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1]

Exhibit 10.7

[                 ], 2021

Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1

535 Ramona Street, Suite #8

Palo Alto, CA 94301

 

  Re:

Initial Public Offering

Ladies and Gentlemen:

This letter (this “Letter Agreement”) is being delivered to you in accordance with the underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) entered into by and among Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), Evercore Group L.L.C. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, as representatives (the “Representatives”) of the several underwriters (the “Underwriters”), relating to an underwritten initial public offering (the “Public Offering”) of [ ] of the Company’s units (including [ ] units that may be purchased pursuant to the Underwriters’ option to purchase additional units, the “Units”), each comprised of one of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Ordinary Shares”), and one-third of one redeemable public warrant (each whole public warrant, a “Public Warrant”). Each Public Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Ordinary Share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The Units will be sold in the Public Offering pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 and a prospectus (the “Prospectus”) filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”). Certain capitalized terms used herein are defined in Section 1.

In order to induce the Company and the Underwriters to enter into the Underwriting Agreement and to proceed with the Public Offering and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, WCAC1 Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”) and each of the undersigned (each, an “Insider” and, collectively, the “Insiders”) hereby agree with the Company as follows:

1. Definitions. As used herein, (i) “Business Combination” shall mean a merger, consolidation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, (ii) “Founder Shares” shall mean the [ ] Class B ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share, outstanding prior to the consummation of the Public Offering, (iii) “Private Placement Warrants” shall mean the warrants to purchase Ordinary Shares of the Company that will be acquired by the Sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $[ ] (or up to $[ ] if the Underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional units), or $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, in a private placement transaction that shall close simultaneously with the consummation of the Public Offering (including Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion thereof), (iv) “Public Shareholders” shall mean the holders of Ordinary Shares included in the Units issued in the Public Offering, (v) “Public Shares” shall mean Ordinary Shares included in the Units issued in the Public Offering, (vi) “Trust Account” shall mean the trust account into which a portion of the net proceeds of the Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants shall be deposited, (vii) “Transfer” shall mean the (a) sale of, offer to sell, contract or agreement to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant of any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of or agreement to dispose of, directly or indirectly, or establishment or increase


of a put equivalent position or liquidation with respect to or decrease of a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder with respect to, any security, (b) entry into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of any security, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of such securities, in cash or otherwise, or (c) public announcement of any intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (a) or (b), and (viii) “Charter” shall mean the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, as the same may be further amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.

2. Representations and Warranties.

(a) The Sponsor and each Insider, with respect to itself, herself or himself, as applicable, represent and warrant to the Company that it, she or he has the full right and power, without violating any agreement to which it, she or he is a party or by which it, she or he is bound (including, without limitation, any non-competition or non-solicitation agreement with any employer or former employer), to enter into this Letter Agreement and, as applicable, to serve as an officer of the Company or a director on the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”), and each Insider hereby consents to being named in the Prospectus, road show and any other materials as an officer or director of the Company, as applicable.

(b) Each Insider represents and warrants, with respect to itself, herself or himself, as applicable, that (i) such Insider’s biographical information furnished to the Company (including any such information included in the Prospectus) is true and accurate in all material respects and does not omit any material information with respect to such Insider’s background, (ii) such Insider’s questionnaire furnished to the Company is true and accurate in all material respects, (iii) such Insider is not subject to, or a respondent in, any legal action for, any injunction, cease-and-desist order or order or stipulation to desist or refrain from any act or practice relating to the offering of securities in any jurisdiction, (iv) such Insider has never been convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, any crime (x) involving fraud, (y) relating to any financial transaction or handling of funds of another person or (z) pertaining to any dealings in any securities and is not currently a defendant in any such criminal proceeding and (v) such Insider has never been suspended or expelled from membership in any securities or commodities exchange or association or had a securities or commodities license or registration denied, suspended or revoked.

3. Business Combination Vote. It is acknowledged and agreed that the Company shall not enter into a definitive agreement regarding a proposed Business Combination without the prior consent of the Sponsor. The Sponsor and each Insider, with respect to itself, herself or himself, as applicable, agrees that, if the Company seeks shareholder approval of a proposed initial Business Combination, then in connection with such proposed initial Business Combination, it, she or he, as applicable, shall vote all Founder Shares and any Public Shares held by it, her or him, as applicable, in favor of such proposed initial Business Combination (including any proposals recommended by the Board in connection with such Business Combination) and not redeem any Public Shares held by it, her or him, as applicable, in connection with such shareholder approval.

 

2


4. Failure to Consummate a Business Combination; Trust Account Waiver.

(a) The Sponsor and each Insider hereby agree, with respect to itself, herself or himself, as applicable, that, in the event that the Company fails to consummate its initial Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Charter, the Sponsor and each Insider shall take all reasonable steps to cause the Company to (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten (10) business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding Public Shares, which redemption shall completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and the Board, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. The Sponsor and each Insider agree not to propose any amendment to the Charter (i) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of the Public Shares the right to have their Public Shares redeemed in connection with an initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete an initial Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Charter or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of Public Shares, unless the Company provides its Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding Public Shares.

(b) The Sponsor and each Insider, with respect to itself, herself or himself, as applicable, acknowledge that it, she or he, as applicable, has no right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account or any other asset of the Company as a result of any liquidation of the Company with respect to the Founder Shares held by it, her or him, if any. The Sponsor and each Insider, with respect to itself, herself or himself, as applicable, hereby further waive, with respect to any Founder Shares and Public Shares held by it, her or him, as applicable, any redemption rights it, she or he may have in connection with a Business Combination, including, without limitation, any such rights available in the context of a shareholder vote to approve such Business Combination or a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Charter (i) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of the Public Shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with an initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete an initial Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Charter or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of Public Shares (although the Sponsor and the Insiders shall be entitled to liquidation rights with respect to any Public Shares they hold if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Charter).

 

3


5. Lock-Up; Transfer Restrictions.

(a) The Sponsor and each Insider, with respect to itself, herself or himself, as applicable, agree that it, she or he shall not Transfer any Founder Shares (the “Founder Shares Lock-Up”) until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of an initial Business Combination and (B) subsequent to an initial Business Combination, (x) if the closing price of the Ordinary Shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after such initial Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Ordinary Shares for cash, securities or other property (the “Founder Shares Lock-Up Period”).

(b) The Sponsor and each Insider, with respect to itself, herself or himself, as applicable, agree that it, she or he shall not effectuate any Transfer of Private Placement Warrants or Ordinary Shares underlying such Private Placement Warrants until thirty (30) days after the completion of an initial Business Combination.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions set forth in Sections 5(a) and (b), Transfers of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and Ordinary Shares underlying the Private Placement Warrants are permitted (a) to the Company’s officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of the Company’s officers or directors, any direct or indirect members or partners of the Sponsor or their respective affiliates, any affiliates of the Sponsor, including to funds affiliated with Waverley Capital, L.P. (“Waverley”), and to direct or indirect members or partners of funds affiliated with Waverley or any affiliates thereof, any employees of such affiliates or any funds or accounts advised by the Sponsor or its affiliates, (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of one of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization, (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual, (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order, (e) by private transfers or by other transfers made in connection with the consummation of a Business Combination at prices no greater than the price at which the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants or Ordinary Shares, as applicable, were originally purchased, (f) by virtue of the Sponsor’s organizational documents upon liquidation or dissolution of the Sponsor, (g) to the Company for no value for cancellation in connection with the consummation of a Business Combination, (h) in the event of the Company’s liquidation prior to the completion of a Business Combination or (i) in the event of completion of a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of the Company’s Public Shareholders having the right to exchange their Ordinary Shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination; provided, however, that, in the case of clauses (a) through (f), these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in this Letter Agreement.

 

4


(d) During the period commencing on the effective date of the Underwriting Agreement and ending 180 days after such date, the Sponsor and each Insider, with respect to itself, herself or himself, as applicable, agree that it, she or he shall not, without the prior written consent of the Representatives, Transfer any Units, Ordinary Shares, Public Warrants or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, Ordinary Shares held by it, her or him, as applicable, subject to certain exceptions enumerated in Section 5(h) of the Underwriting Agreement.

6. Remedies. The Sponsor and each Insider, with respect to itself, herself or himself, as applicable, hereby agree and acknowledge that (i) each of the Underwriters and the Company would be irreparably injured in the event of a breach by the Sponsor or such Insider of its, her or his obligations, as applicable under Sections 3, 4, 5, 7, 10 and 11, (ii) monetary damages may not be an adequate remedy for such breach and (iii) the non-breaching party shall be entitled to injunctive relief, in addition to any other remedy that such party may have in law or in equity, in the event of such breach.

7. Payments by the Company. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, none of the Sponsor, any director or officer of the Company or any of their respective affiliates shall receive from the Company any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation prior to, or in connection with, any services rendered in order to effectuate the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).

8. Director and Officer Liability Insurance. The Company shall maintain an insurance policy or policies providing directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, and the Insiders shall be covered by such policy or policies, in accordance with its or their terms, to the maximum extent of the coverage available for any of the Company’s directors or officers.

9. Termination. This Letter Agreement shall terminate on the earlier of (i) the expiration of the Founder Shares Lock-Up Period and (ii) the liquidation of the Company.

10. Indemnification. In the event of the liquidation of the Trust Account upon the failure of the Company to consummate its initial Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Charter, the Sponsor (the “Indemnitor”) agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever (including, but not limited to, any and all legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, whether pending or threatened) to which the Company may become subject as a result of any claim by (i) any third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company (except for the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm) or (ii)

 

5


any prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement (a “Target”); provided, however, that such indemnification of the Company by the Indemnitor (x) shall apply only to the extent necessary to ensure that such claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company or a Target do not reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account if less than $10.00 per Public Share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case, net of interest that may be withdrawn to pay the Company’s tax obligations, (y) shall not apply to any claims by a third party or a Target who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) and (z) shall not apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the Underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Indemnitor shall have the right to defend against any such claim with counsel of its choice reasonably satisfactory to the Company if, within 15 days following written receipt of notice of the claim to the Indemnitor, the Indemnitor notifies the Company in writing that it shall undertake such defense.

11. Forfeiture of Founder Shares. To the extent that the Underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional Units within 45 days from the date of the Prospectus in full (as further described in the Prospectus), the Sponsor agrees to automatically surrender to the Company for no consideration, for cancellation at no cost, an aggregate number of Founder Shares so that the number of Founder Shares will equal 20% of the sum of the total number of Ordinary Shares and Founder Shares outstanding at such time. The Sponsor and each Insider, with respect to itself, herself or himself, as applicable, further agree that, to the extent that the size of the Public Offering is increased or decreased, the Company will effect a share capitalization or a share repurchase, as applicable, with respect to the Founder Shares immediately prior to the consummation of the Public Offering in such amount as to maintain the number of Founder Shares at 20% of the sum of the total number of Ordinary Shares and Founder Shares outstanding at such time.

12. Entire Agreement. This Letter Agreement constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the parties hereto in respect of the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior understandings, agreements, or representations by or among the parties hereto, written or oral, to the extent they relate in any way to the subject matter hereof or the transactions contemplated hereby. This Letter Agreement may not be changed, amended, modified or waived (other than to correct a typographical error) as to any particular provision, except by a written instrument executed by all parties hereto.

13. Assignment. No party hereto may assign either this Letter Agreement or any of its rights, interests, or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the other parties. Any purported assignment in violation of this paragraph shall be void and ineffectual and shall not operate to transfer or assign any interest or title to the purported assignee. This Letter Agreement shall be binding on the Sponsor, each of the Insiders and each of their respective successors, heirs, personal representatives and permitted assigns and transferees.

14. Counterparts. This Letter Agreement may be executed in any number of original or facsimile counterparts, and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.

 

6


15. Effect of Headings. The paragraph headings herein are for convenience only and are not part of this Letter Agreement and shall not affect the interpretation thereof.

16. Severability. This Letter Agreement shall be deemed severable, and the invalidity or unenforceability of any term or provision hereof shall not affect the validity or enforceability of this Letter Agreement or of any other term or provision hereof. Furthermore, in lieu of any such invalid or unenforceable term or provision, the parties hereto intend that there shall be added as a part of this Letter Agreement a provision as similar in terms to such invalid or unenforceable provision as may be possible and be valid and enforceable.

17. Governing Law. This Letter Agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to conflicts of law principles that would result in the application of the substantive laws of another jurisdiction. The parties hereto (i) agree that any action, proceeding, claim or dispute arising out of, or relating in any way to, this Letter Agreement shall be brought and enforced in the courts of New York City, in the State of New York, and irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction and venue, which jurisdiction and venue shall be exclusive, and (ii) waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and venue or that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.

18. Notices. Any notice, consent or request to be given in connection with any of the terms or provisions of this Letter Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent by express mail or similar private courier service, by certified mail (return receipt requested), by hand delivery or facsimile or the electronic transmission.

[Signature Page Follows]

 

7


Sincerely,
WCWC1 SPONSOR LLC
By:  

         

  Name: Daniel V. Leff
  Title: Member

[Signature Page to Letter Agreement—Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1]


INSIDER:
By:  

         

  Name: [     ]

[Signature Page to Letter Agreement—Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1]


Acknowledged and Agreed:
WAVERLEY CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. 1
By:  

         

  Name: Alan Henricks
  Title: Chief Financial Officer

[Signature Page to Letter Agreement—Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1]

Exhibit 23.1

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM’S CONSENT

We consent to the inclusion in this Registration Statement of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 (the “Company”) on Amendment No. 2 to Form S-1 (File No. 333-254842) of our report dated March 29, 2021, except for Note 2, Note 4, Note 7, and Note 8, as to which the date is July 30, 2021, which includes an explanatory paragraph as to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, with respect to our audit of the financial statements of Waverley Capital Acquisition Corp. 1 as of March 6, 2021 and for the period from March 1, 2021 (inception) through March 6, 2021, which report appears in the Prospectus, which is part of this Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to our Firm under the heading “Experts” in such Prospectus.

/S/ MARCUM LLP

MARCUM LLP

Boston, MA

July 30, 2021