As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 12, 2020.
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
_________________
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
_________________
Panacea Acquisition Corp.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
_________________
Delaware |
6770 |
85-0862255 |
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(State or other jurisdiction of
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(Primary Standard Industrial
|
(I.R.S. Employer
|
_______________________________
357 Tehama Street
Floor 3
San Francisco, CA 94103
Telephone: (415) 966-0807
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
_________________
Oleg Nodelman
Chief Executive Officer
Panacea Acquisition Corp.
357 Tehama Street
Floor 3
San Francisco, CA 94103
Telephone: (415) 966-0807
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
_________________
Copies to:
Gregg A. Noel, Esq.
|
Alan I. Annex, Esq.
|
_______________________________
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 |
£ |
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Non-accelerated filer |
S |
Smaller reporting company |
S |
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Emerging growth company |
S |
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 Security Being Registered |
Amount
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Proposed
|
Proposed
|
Amount of
|
||||||||
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, and a fraction of one redeemable warrant(2) |
14,375,000 Units |
$ |
10.00 |
$ |
143,750,000 |
$ |
18,658.75 |
|
||||
Shares of Class A common stock included as
|
14,375,000 Shares |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
(5) |
||||
Redeemable warrants included as part of the units(3)(4) |
4,791,667 Warrants |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
(5) |
||||
Total |
|
$ |
143,750,000 |
$ |
18,658.75 |
|
____________
(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act.
(2) Includes 1,875,000 units, which may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day over-allotment option granted to the underwriters.
(3) Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act, there are also being registered an indeterminable number of additional securities as may be issued to prevent dilution resulting from stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions.
(4) Maximum number of shares of Class A common stock and redeemable warrants, as applicable, included in the units described above, including those that may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriters described above.
(5) No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g) under the Securities Act.
The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this 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 JUNE 12, 2020
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
$125,000,000
Panacea Acquisition Corp.
12,500,000 Units
_________________
Panacea Acquisition Corp. is a newly incorporated blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or geographic location (subject to certain limitations described in this prospectus), we intend to focus our search for a target business operating in the biotechnology sector.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of our Class A common stock and one-third of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus, and 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, and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. Subject to the terms and conditions described in this prospectus, we may redeem the warrants once the warrants become exercisable. We have also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,875,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of our Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price described herein, payable in cash, subject to the limitations described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price described herein, payable in cash, subject to applicable law and as further described herein.
Our sponsor, EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC (an affiliate of EcoR1 Capital, LLC), and Cowen Investments II LLC (an affiliate of one of the underwriters of this offering) have committed to purchase an aggregate of 450,000 units (or 487,500 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $10.00 per unit ($4,500,000 in the aggregate, or $4,875,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. We refer to our sponsor and Cowen Investments collectively as our “founders” throughout this prospectus. Each private placement unit consists of one share of our Class A common stock and one-third of one warrant.
Funds affiliated with EcoR1 Capital, LLC will enter into a forward purchase agreement with us that will provide for the purchase by such funds of an aggregate of 2,500,000 shares of Class A common stock and 833,333 redeemable warrants, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000,000, or $10.00 per one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one redeemable warrant, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The obligations under the forward purchase agreement will not depend on whether any shares of Class A common stock are redeemed by our public stockholders. The shares of Class A common stock and redeemable warrants issuable pursuant to the forward purchase agreement will be identical to the shares of Class A common stock and redeemable warrants included in the units being sold in this offering, respectively, except that the holders thereof will have certain registration rights, as described herein.
As of the date of this prospectus, our initial stockholders hold 3,593,750 shares of our Class B common stock (up to 468,750 of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised). The shares of our Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to elect all of our directors and may remove members of our board of directors for any reason. On any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, holders of our Class B common stock and holders of our Class A common stock will vote together as a single class, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our units, Class A common stock or warrants. We intend to apply to list our units on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, under the symbol “PANA.U” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on the NYSE. The Class A common stock and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day), unless Cowen and Company, LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to certain conditions. Once the securities constituting the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on the NYSE under the symbols “PANA” and “PANA WS,” respectively.
We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves risks. Please see “Risk Factors” on page 31. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
Price to Public |
Underwriting
|
Proceeds, before
|
|||||||
Per Share |
$ |
10.00 |
$ |
0.20 |
$ |
9.80 |
|||
Total |
$ |
125,000,000 |
$ |
2,500,000 |
$ |
122,500,000 |
____________
(1) Needham & Company, LLC will receive a fee of $100,000 from the total underwriting discount in consideration for its services and expenses incurred as a “qualified independent underwriter.” See also “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)” for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriters.
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement units described in this prospectus, $125.0 million, or $143.75 million 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 at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. Delivery of the units will be made on or about , 2020.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Book-Running Manager
Cowen
The date of this prospectus is , 2020
We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus. We and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the units offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 |
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31 |
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61 |
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62 |
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66 |
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67 |
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69 |
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS |
70 |
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76 |
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103 |
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113 |
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116 |
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119 |
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135 |
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142 |
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149 |
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149 |
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149 |
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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 ™ 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
This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.
Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus or the context otherwise requires, references to:
• “amended and restated certificate of incorporation” are to our certificate of incorporation to be in effect upon the completion of this offering;
• “common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock;
• “Cowen Investments” are to Cowen Investments II LLC, an affiliate of one of the underwriters of this offering;
• “directors” are to our current directors and our director nominees named in this prospectus;
• “equity-linked securities” are to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for shares of our Class A common stock issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt;
• “forward purchase agreement” are to the agreement providing for the sale of 2,500,000 forward purchase shares and 833,333 forward purchase warrants to forward purchase investors in a private placement that will close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination;
• “forward purchase investors” are to the funds affiliated with EcoR1 Capital, LLC that are party to the forward purchase agreement;
• “forward purchase shares” are to the 2,500,000 shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the forward purchase investors pursuant to the forward purchase agreement;
• “forward purchase securities” are to the forward purchase shares and forward purchase warrants;
• “forward purchase warrants” are to the 833,333 redeemable warrants to be issued to the forward purchase investors pursuant to the forward purchase agreement;
• “founder shares” are to shares of our Class B common stock and the shares of our Class A common stock issued upon the conversion thereof;
• “initial stockholders” are to our sponsor, Cowen Investments and the other holders of our founder shares prior to this offering (if any);
• “management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors;
• “Panacea,” “we,” “us,” “our” or the “company” are to Panacea Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation;
• “private placement shares” are to the shares of Class A common stock sold as part of the private placement units;
• “private placement units” are to the units issued to our founders in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering;
• “private placement warrants” are to the warrants sold as part of the private placement units;
• “public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);
• “public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our founders, officers and directors to the extent our founders, officers or directors purchase public shares, provided that each of their status as a “public stockholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares;
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• “public warrants” are to (1) our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market) and (2) any warrants included in the private placement units or units issued upon conversion of working capital loans that are sold to third parties that are not the founders or their respective permitted transferees; and
• “sponsor” are to EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and an affiliate of EcoR1 Capital, LLC and Oleg Nodelman.
Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option and the forfeiture by our founders of 468,750 founder shares.
Introduction
We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated in April 2020 as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities as well as activities related to this offering. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.
While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or geographical location, we intend to capitalize on our management team’s background and experience to identify promising opportunities in the biotechnology sector.
In addition, we believe our ability to complete our initial business combination will be enhanced by our having entered into the forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investors will agree to purchase an aggregate of 2,500,000 forward purchase shares and 833,333 forward purchase warrants, at a purchase price of $25,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination.
Our Sponsor and Competitive Advantages
Our sponsor is an affiliate of EcoR1 Capital, LLC (“EcoR1”), an investment firm with over $1.8 billion in regulatory assets under management as of January 1, 2020. EcoR1 was established in March 2013 by Oleg Nodelman and is focused on therapeutic companies within the biotechnology sector.
EcoR1’s investment activity includes public and private biotechnology companies spanning all stages of research and development, from approval by the Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) to commercialization, for companies based in the U.S. as well as other developed global territories. Investments are primarily made through equity and equity-related securities.
EcoR1 has expansive knowledge of the biotechnology sector as well as a proprietary network consisting of deep relationships with clinicians, scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, bankers and other key players in the industry. This allows EcoR1 to find and identify compelling targets whose risk/reward profiles are asymmetrically skewed to the upside. EcoR1 makes a detailed assessment of the financial and scientific viability of each investment opportunity with a discerning eye. This proprietary process includes an assessment of the intrinsic value, market needs, financial stability and management team talent. EcoR1 is also experienced in providing hands-on, operational guidance as companies navigate the various challenges inherent with drug discovery and development.
EcoR1 was established in March 2013 with $13 million in invested capital from Oleg Nodelman and fellow colleagues in the biotechnology sector. The firm has grown to over $1.8 billion in regulatory assets under management as of January 1, 2020 through partner referrals, word of mouth and organic growth. EcoR1’s current investor base includes foundations, endowments, families and reputable investors in the biotechnology sector. Mr. Nodelman and EcoR1 employees remain one of the largest group of investors in the funds, providing strong alignment with outside capital. The funds have liquidity parameters that allow the firm to partner with thoughtful,
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long-term investors and provide alignment between the companies they invest in and the duration of the capital. EcoR1’s flagship fund has been closed to new institutional investors since mid-2017, and to date over half of the firm’s assets have been generated through performance. As of May 1, 2020, EcoR1 generated cumulative and annualized returns of 700% and 34%, respectively.
Since 2013, EcoR1 has spoken with and evaluated over 1,000 private companies, investing in 47 companies in various financing rounds totaling $3.9 billion. As of April 30, 2020, out of the 47 private investments, 25 companies have gone public and three companies have been acquired.
Our independent directors have extensive experience in clinical medicine, development and regulatory, operational and management leadership within academia as well as the healthcare and financial industry. All of our independent directors have led or been a part of leadership teams in biotechnology companies that have together generated over $10 billion in value for investors and helped develop over 25 FDA approved drugs for patients. We believe that their breadth of experience will bolster our ability to thoroughly evaluate prospective candidates and successfully execute our initial business combination. Following the completion of our initial business combination, we believe our independent directors will fortify our ongoing operations by providing sound and experienced counsel on potential future acquisitions, divestitures, corporate strategy and human resources.
We believe the experience of our team, strengthened by their industry network and our experienced board of directors, will enhance our management team’s ability to source viable prospective target businesses, capitalize them and ensure public-market readiness. We believe that our management team is equipped with the knowledge, experience, capital and human resources to pursue unique opportunities that will offer attractive risk-adjusted returns.
Our Management Team and Board of Directors
Oleg Nodelman has been our Chief Executive officer since our inception in April 2020 and is our Chairman Nominee. Mr. Nodelman has been the Portfolio Manager of EcoR1, a biotech-focused investment advisory firm that invests in companies at all stages of research and development, since he founded it in 2013. With nearly 20 years of experience in biotech investing, Mr. Nodelman has expertise in all aspects of investment management and deep roots in the biotech and scientific communities. Before founding EcoR1, Mr. Nodelman was an analyst and portfolio manager from 2001 to 2012 at Biotechnology Value Fund (“BVF”). Prior to BVF, Mr. Nodelman worked in strategic consulting and organizational management at Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman). He currently serves as a Board Member for Prothena (Nasdaq: PRTA), a clinical-stage neuroscience company focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies. Mr. Nodelman has a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service with a concentration in Science and Technology from Georgetown University.
Scott Perlen has been our Chief Financial Officer since our inception in April 2020. Mr. Perlen has been the Chief Financial Officer of EcoR1 since joining the firm in 2019. He oversees accounting and finance for EcoR1 and its investment funds as well as the funds’ day to day trade operations. Prior to joining EcoR1 in 2019, Mr. Perlen served as Chief Financial Officer for seven years at Sheffield Asset Management, LLC (“Sheffield”), a Chicago-based investment firm. Prior to Sheffield, Mr. Perlen was a Vice President at Grosvenor Capital Management, LP (“Grosvenor”), a global leader in the alternative asset industry. During his seven years at Grosvenor, Mr. Perlen managed a group dedicated to providing outsourced CFO functionality to a number of investment firm managers and also assisted in performing operational due diligence reviews on underlying investment firms. Prior to joining Grosvenor in 2005, Mr. Perlen was an Assistant Vice President at Bank of America, focusing on operational risk and accounting for the bank’s derivatives business. From 1997 to 2002, Mr. Perlen managed the operations and fund accounting at Sunrise Capital Partners, LLC, a San Diego-based investment firm. Mr. Perlen received his Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1997.
Scott Platshon has been our Chief Operating Officer since our inception in April 2020. Mr. Platshon joined EcoR1 in 2015 where he currently serves as a Principal and is responsible for due diligence and analysis of biotechnology companies for value-oriented investment opportunities. Mr. Platshon previously worked at Aquilo Partners, a boutique life sciences investment bank. Mr. Platshon holds a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering from Stanford University.
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Caroline Stout has been our Chief Investment Officer since our inception in April 2020. Ms. Stout joined EcoR1 in 2014 where she currently serves as a Principal. At EcoR1, she has led several of the firm’s investments in the biotechnology sector. Ms. Stout previously worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at Credit Suisse in New York. She has experience working on a range of transactions in the healthcare and biotechnology sectors, including leveraged buyouts, initial public offerings and follow-on equity raises. Ms. Stout graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, a Pre-Medical concentration, and Cognitive Science minor.
Daniel Bradbury has agreed to serve on our board of directors following the completion of this offering. Since January 2020, Mr. Bradbury has served as Executive Chairman of Equillium, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQ) (“Equillium”), a biopharmaceutical company that develops products to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory disorders with high unmet medical need and which he co-founded. Mr. Bradbury served as Chairman of Equillium, Inc. from March 2018 through December 2019. Mr. Bradbury also previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Equillium, Inc., from June 2018 through December 2019 and as President of Equillium, Inc. from March 2017 until June 2018. He has also served as the Managing Member of BioBrit, LLC, a life sciences consulting and investment firm, since 2012. Prior to co-founding Equillium, he served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Amylin Pharmaceuticals (“Amylin”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on metabolic diseases. During his 18-year tenure at Amylin, the company launched three first-in-class medicines, including the first once-a-week therapy to treat diabetes, and was listed on the Nasdaq 100. He served as Amylin’s Chief Executive Officer from March 2007 until its acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in August 2012 for $7 billion. Before joining Amylin, Mr. Bradbury worked in marketing and sales for 10 years at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. He serves on the board of directors of Intercept Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ICPT), Castle Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSTL), and a number of private companies and philanthropic organizations. Mr. Bradbury received a Bachelor of Pharmacy from Nottingham University and a Diploma in Management Studies from Harrow and Ealing Colleges of Higher Education in the United Kingdom.
Graham Cooper has agreed to serve on our board of directors following the completion of this offering. Mr. Cooper is a member of the boards of directors of Unity Biotechnology (Nasdaq: UBX), Kezar Life Sciences (Nasdaq: KZR), Beam Therapeutics (Nasdaq: BEAM) and Applied Molecular Transport (private). Mr. Cooper also previously served as a member of the board of directors of Celladon Corporation, which merged with Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: EIGR) in 2016. From March 2018 until May 2019, Mr. Cooper served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (“Assembly”). Prior to joining Assembly, he was Chief Financial Officer of Receptos, Inc., from 2013 until its sale in 2015 to Celgene for $7.8 billion. In 2012, Mr. Cooper was the Chief Financial Officer of Geron Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company focused on cancer therapies. From 2006 until 2011, Mr. Cooper served as Chief Financial Officer of Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on obesity therapies. From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Cooper held positions of increasing responsibility including Director, Health Care Investment Banking, at Deutsche Bank Securities, where he was responsible for executing and managing a wide variety of financing and merger and acquisition transactions in the life sciences field. From 1992 to 1995, he worked as an accountant at Deloitte & Touche, where he earned his C.P.A. Mr. Cooper holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Faheem Hasnain has agreed to serve on our board of directors following the completion of this offering. In 2015, Mr. Hasnain co-founded Gossamer Bio (Nasdaq: GOSS), a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on discovering, acquiring, developing and commercializing therapeutics in the disease areas of immunology, inflammation and oncology, and served as its Chief Executive Officer through July 2018, at which time he became Gossamer Bio’s Executive Chairman. Since 2019, Mr. Hasnain has served as non-executive Chairman of Gossamer Bio. Prior to Gossamer Bio, Mr. Hasnain served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Receptos, Inc. (“Receptos”) from November 2010 until the company’s acquisition by Celgene Corporation in August 2015 for $7.8 billion. Prior to joining Receptos, Mr. Hasnain was the President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of Facet Biotech Corporation, a biology driven antibody company with a focus in multiple sclerosis and oncology. He held that position from December 2008 until the company’s acquisition by Abbott Laboratories in April 2010 for over $700 million. Previously, Mr. Hasnain was President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of PDL BioPharma, Inc. from October 2008 until Facet Biotech was spun off from PDL BioPharma in December 2008. From October 2004 to September 2008, Mr. Hasnain served at Biogen Idec Inc., a biotechnology company
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specializing in neurological disorders, autoimmune disorders and cancer, most recently as Executive Vice President in charge of the oncology/rheumatology strategic business unit. Prior to Biogen Idec, Mr. Hasnain held roles at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he was President of the Oncology Therapeutics Network, and at GlaxoSmithKline and its predecessor organizations, the latter for 14 years. He has been Chairman of the Board of Sente, Inc. since 2008, Chairman of the Board of Tocagen Inc. (Nasdaq: TOCA) since November 2014, Lead Independent Director of Kura Oncology (Nasdaq: KURA) since 2015, Chairman of the Board of Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRTX) since February 2019 and a member of the Board of Overseers of Scripps Research Institute since 2018. He previously served as Chairman of the Board of Ambit Biosciences Corporation and served as a member of the Board of Directors of Tercica, Inc., Aragon Pharmaceuticals, Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Vital Therapies, Inc. Mr. Hasnain received a B.H.K. and B.Ed. from the University of Windsor Ontario in Canada.
Sarah Marriott has served as our Secretary and on our board of directors since our inception in April 2020. Ms. Marriott joined EcoR1 in 2014 and is the firm’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, where she is responsible for operational, regulatory and compliance issues. Ms. Marriott has experience working across the diverse areas of civil and criminal litigation. Prior to EcoR1, she served as a Deputy District Attorney in Solano County, California. Prior to serving as a prosecutor, Ms. Marriott practiced at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in San Francisco, where she handled commercial litigation matters. Ms. Marriott previously completed a clerkship on the federal Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Ms. Marriott holds a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College.
Shalini Sharp has agreed to serve on our board of directors following the completion of this offering. Ms. Sharp is currently the Chief Financial Officer at Ultragenyx (Nasdaq: RARE), which she joined in May 2012. She is responsible for leading the corporate finance, strategy, and information technology functions and is a member of the company’s executive leadership team. Ms. Sharp is a member of the Board of Directors of Neurocrine Biosciences (Nasdaq: NBIX), a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company, Sutro Biopharma (Nasdaq: STRO), a drug discovery, development and manufacturing company focused on creating next-generation oncology therapeutics, and Precision Biosciences, a privately-held genome editing company. She is also a board member of TB Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and distribution of treatments for tuberculosis in the developing world. She previously served on the Board of Array Biopharma from 2017 until its sale to Pfizer in 2019. Prior to Ultragenyx, Ms. Sharp was Chief Financial Officer of Agenus Inc. (Nasdaq: AGEN) (“Agenus”), a biotechnology company focused on cancer immunotherapies from 2006 to 2012 and served on the Board of Agenus from 2012 to 2018. She joined Agenus in 2003 and held increasing roles of responsibility spanning strategic planning, corporate development, investor relations, corporate finance and business development. Prior to Agenus, Ms. Sharp held similar roles at Elan Pharmaceuticals from 1998 to 2003, including serving as chief of staff to the Chairman of the Board of Directors during that company’s restructuring. Ms. Sharp was also a management consultant at McKinsey & Company as well as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, specializing in pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Ms. Sharp holds both a B.A., magna cum laude, and M.B.A., from Harvard University.
Industry Opportunity
Over the last decade, biotechnology companies have experienced a period of unprecedented innovation driven, in part, by a surge of novel therapeutic modalities. From EcoR1’s launch in early 2013 through 2019, the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index has appreciated over 160%, just outpacing the strong period of growth of the S&P 500 at 125%. This continued growth has largely been driven by fundamental innovation that has advanced clinical practice and made a difference in the lives of patients. Since 2013, over 280 novel chemical entities have been approved by the FDA, some of which include the first time a treatment has been available for a particular disease or disorder. As larger pharmaceutical companies have shed their internal research and development programs, smaller biotechnology companies continue to be a key driver of innovation and new drug development for the industry. In 2019, 28 biopharma companies were acquired by large pharma or big biotech for a total value of nearly $200 billion, up from $140 billion in 2018. In 2019, the global biotechnology market represented approximately $588 billion in revenue and is estimated to grow 5% per annum to $749 billion in 2024. Disease evolves, and as such, we believe that continued innovation and the introduction of new therapies will be the underlying driver of growth for the overall biotechnology sector.
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We believe that life sciences companies, at a certain stage in their development, will see material benefits from being publicly traded, including greater access to capital, more liquid securities and increased awareness. The U.S. public markets provide access to the largest global pool of institutional capital, funding innovation and ultimately new medicines for patients. In 2019, over $25 billion was raised in the U.S. public equity markets for biotechnology companies, including more than $5.8 billion in initial public offerings.
Despite this initial public offering (“IPO”) activity, the amount raised by biotechnology companies in IPOs has been a fraction of the amount raised in the private market recently. Compared to the more than $33 billion raised in over 330 IPOs by the biotechnology sector since 2013, there has been more than $80 billion raised in private offerings during the same period. As of December 2019, there were approximately 6,300 biotechnology companies globally, only 815 of which are currently publicly traded on a major U.S. stock exchange. Since 2013, over 1,400 biotechnology companies have obtained seed capital and/or Series A financing.
Our management team believes that the perceived complexity of the healthcare industry acts as a barrier to entry, requiring investors to have significant sector-specific knowledge and expertise to identify and appropriately analyze investment opportunities. Technical and scientific knowledge, an understanding of the reimbursement environment and regulatory landscape, complex valuation methodologies, specialized accounting treatments, and regulatory and political considerations may deter competition from generalist firms. We believe there is an opportunity to offer outstanding risk-adjusted returns to stockholders by building companies that possess misunderstood assets and provide growth opportunities that will benefit by capitalization and leadership from industry veterans.
EcoR1’s proprietary, process driven approach is built on a value philosophy that attempts to manage risk in the volatile biotechnology sector. Our management team will focus on finding companies with hidden value overlooked by the market and typical value-based diligence. This includes human capital in addition to deep scientific and financial analysis. EcoR1 is agnostic to stage of development for its portfolio companies and investment decisions are driven by fundamental analysis of the business and scientific merits of each opportunity.
Acquisition Strategy
Our acquisition strategy is to identify and acquire an untapped opportunity within the biotechnology sector and build a public company. We believe our management team is well positioned to identify unique opportunities in our targeted sector based on their strong networks and experience and our core investment philosophy of identifying companies that are downside protected with outsized potential upside. Our selection process will leverage the relationships of our management team with industry captains, key opinion leaders, respected peers, and our management team’s network of investment banking executives, attorneys, and accountants. We also believe that EcoR1’s reputation, experience and track record of making investments in the biotechnology space will make us a preferred partner for these potential targets.
Investment Criteria
Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following criteria to evaluate prospective target businesses. We may however, decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria. We intend to seek to acquire one or more businesses that we believe:
• Have a risk/reward profile that is skewed to the upside. As is core to our basic investment approach, we intend to seek target businesses that have an asymmetric risk/reward profile, significant competitive advantages and underexploited expansion opportunities that can benefit from access to additional capital as well as our industry relationships and expertise.
• Have a strong management team in place. We will seek to identify businesses with strong and experienced public-ready management teams, either in the form of entrepreneurs with whom we have worked in the past or seasoned industry veterans who have the experience and track record of value creation for their stockholders.
• Possess innovative and quality science. While science is not the first place we begin our diligence, an important element in our process is to evaluate the quality of the science and understand a business’s unique value and ability to address an unmet need in the marketplace.
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• Have multiple avenues for growth opportunities. We intend to seek target businesses that have multiple shots on goal. Outside of the lead asset that may hold the underwritten downside protection, we are looking for businesses that have other areas for potential growth in their pipeline that are not necessarily reflected in the value assigned to them at acquisition, but provide multiple “ways to win.”
• Exhibit unrecognized value or other characteristics that we believe have been misunderstood by the market. We seek to find value where others do not typically look. In conjunction with our core strategy, we will seek target businesses that exhibit value or other characteristics that we believe have been overlooked, misunderstood, or “left for dead” by the marketplace based on our business-specific analyses and due diligence. For a potential target business, this process may include, among other things, a review and analysis of the business’s capital structure, potential for future earnings, preclinical or clinical data, potential for operational improvements, corporate governance, customers, existing or potential partnerships with larger pharma companies, and the industry and trends. We intend to leverage the operational experience and disciplined investment approach of our team to identify opportunities to unlock value that our experience in complex situations allows us to pursue.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general criteria as well as other considerations, factors, criteria and guidelines that our management may deem relevant.
Our 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 and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information that will be made available to us.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own our securities following this offering, and accordingly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors are from time to time made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue, for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with us.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated
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certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Initial Business Combination
The NYSE rules require that an initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. 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. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own or acquire shares will own or acquire 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target, or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In such cases, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired by us is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
Prior to the 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (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.
Emerging Growth Company Status and Other Information
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
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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 common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter; and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
Our executive offices are located at 357 Tehama Street, Floor 3, San Francisco, CA 94103 and our telephone number is (415) 966-0807. Upon completion of this offering, our corporate website address will be . 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 or the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. You should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to invest in our securities.
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The Offering
In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section below entitled “Risk Factors.”
Securities offered |
12,500,000 units (or 14,375,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of: |
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• one share of Class A common stock; and • one-third of one redeemable warrant to purchase one share of Class A common stock. |
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NYSE symbols |
Units: “PANA.U” |
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Class A Common Stock: “PANA” |
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Warrants: “PANA WS” |
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Trading commencement and separation of Class A common stock and warrants |
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Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination. |
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Separate trading of the Class A common stock and warrants is prohibited until
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Units: |
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Number outstanding before this offering |
0 |
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Number outstanding after this offering and the sale of private placement units |
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Common stock: |
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Number outstanding before this offering |
3,593,750(2)(3) |
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Number outstanding after this offering and the sale of private placement units |
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Warrants: |
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Number of warrants to be outstanding before this offering |
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Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering |
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Exercisability |
Each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A common stock, subject to adjustment as provided herein, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. |
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We structured each unit offered in this offering to contain one-third of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A common stock, as compared to units issued by some other similar blank check companies which contain whole warrants exercisable for one whole share, in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of our initial business combination as compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. |
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Exercise price |
$11.50 per share of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment as described herein. |
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In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our founders or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our founders or their affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “newly issued price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and |
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(1) Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and includes, accordingly, an aggregate of 450,000 private placement units sold concurrently with closing of this offering, with each private placement unit consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one warrant.
(2) Consists solely of founder shares and includes up to 468,750 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our founders depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
(3) Founder shares are classified as shares of Class B common stock, which shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.”
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the newly issued price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the newly issued price. |
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Exercise period |
The warrants will become exercisable on the later of: |
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• 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; and |
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• 12 months from the closing of this offering; |
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provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement). |
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We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC, and within 60 business days following our initial business combination to have declared effective, a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed; provided that, if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. |
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The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation; provided, however, that the warrants included in the private placement units issued to Cowen Investments will not be exercisable more than five years after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(f)(2)(G)(i). On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account. |
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Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 |
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• in whole and not in part; |
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• at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
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• upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, which we refer to as the 30-day redemption period; and |
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• if, and only if, there is an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating thereto available throughout the 30-day period after written notice of redemption is given. |
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The “fair market value” of our Class A common stock shall mean the average last reported sale price of our Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in many other blank check offerings. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment). |
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No fractional shares of Class A common stock will be issued upon redemption. If, upon redemption, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the holder. Please see “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants” for additional information. |
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Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to Class A common stock shall include a security other than Class A common stock into which the Class A common stock has been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination. |
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Forward Purchase Agreement |
Prior to this offering, we will enter into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investors will agree to subscribe for an aggregate of 2,500,000 forward purchase shares and 833,333 forward purchase warrants, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000,000, or $10.00 per forward purchase share and one-third of one forward purchase warrant, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The forward purchase shares and the forward purchase warrants will be identical to the public shares and public warrants, respectively, except that the holders thereof will have certain registration rights, as described below. The forward purchase agreement and the registration rights agreement whose terms are incorporated therein also will provide that the forward purchase investors are entitled to registration rights with respect to the forward purchase securities and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the forward purchase warrants. Please see “Description of Securities — Registration Rights” for additional information. The proceeds from the sale of the forward purchase securities may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-business combination company. These purchases will be required to be made regardless of whether any shares of Class A common stock are redeemed by our public stockholders and are intended to provide us with a minimum funding level for our initial business combination. The forward purchase securities will be issued only in connection with the closing of the initial business combination. |
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Election and removal of directors; voting rights |
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Founder shares |
In May 2020, our founders purchased an aggregate of 3,593,750 founder shares for a capital contribution of $25,000. Our sponsor and Cowen Investments purchased 2,875,000 and 718,750 of the founder shares, respectively. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our founders, we had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per-share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to us by the number of founder shares issued. In May 2020, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of our independent director nominees at their original purchase price. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of the outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units). Up to 468,750 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our founders depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. If the over-allotment option is not fully exercised, our sponsor may forfeit up to 375,000 founder shares and Cowen Investments may forfeit up to 93,750 founder shares. |
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The founder shares are identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: |
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• prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the Class B common stock have the right to vote on the election of directors and holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove members of our board of directors for any reason; |
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• our initial stockholders, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive: (1) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (2) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement shares and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate |
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of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and private placement shares they hold if we fail to 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 stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (an “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 submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares and private placement shares, we would need 4,462,501, or 35.7% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 443,751, or 3.6% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 12,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction, in order to have such initial business combination approved; |
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• the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; |
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• the founder shares are automatically convertible into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and |
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• the holders of the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. |
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The founder shares purchased by Cowen Investments are deemed underwriters’ compensation by FINRA pursuant to Rule 5110 of the FINRA Manual. |
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Private placement units |
Our founders have committed to purchase an aggregate of 450,000 (or 487,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit ($4,500,000 in the aggregate or $4,875,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Among the private placement units, 360,000 units (or 390,000 units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by our sponsor and/or its designees and 90,000 units (or 97,500 units if the |
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over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by Cowen Investments and/or its designees. A portion of the purchase price of the private placement units will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or following any Extension Period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement units held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the warrants included in the private placement units will expire worthless. The private placement units are identical to the public units, except that the private placement units (including the underlying securities) are subject to certain transfer restrictions and the holders thereof are entitled to certain registration rights, as described herein, and the underlying warrants: (1) will not be redeemable by us; (2) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (3) with respect to private placement warrants held by Cowen Investments, will not be exercisable more than five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(f)(2)(G)(i). If the warrants included in the private placement units are held by holders other than the founders or their respective permitted transferees, then the warrants included in the private placement units will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the public units. |
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The private placement units purchased by Cowen Investments or its affiliates are deemed underwriters’ compensation by FINRA pursuant to Rule 5110 of the FINRA Manual. |
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Transfer restrictions on private placement units and underlying securities |
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Transfer restrictions on founder shares |
Our initial stockholders, officers and directors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any founder shares held by them until the earlier to occur of: (1) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (2) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property or (y) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination (except as described herein under “Principal Stockholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Units”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares. |
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Conflicts of interest |
Cowen Investments, which beneficially owns more than 10% of our outstanding common stock prior to the consummation of this offering, is an affiliate of Cowen and Company, LLC, an underwriter in this offering. As a result, Cowen and Company, LLC is deemed to have a “conflict of interest” within the meaning of Rule 5121 of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“Rule 5121”). Accordingly, this offering is being made in compliance with the applicable provisions of FINRA Rule 5121. FINRA Rule 5121 prohibits Cowen and Company, LLC from making sales to discretionary accounts without the prior written approval of the account holder and requires that a “qualified independent underwriter,” as defined in FINRA Rule 5121, participate in the preparation of the registration statement and exercise its usual standards of due diligence with respect thereto. Needham & Company, LLC is acting as a “qualified independent underwriter” for this offering. Needham & Company, LLC will receive a fee of $100,000 from the total underwriting discount in consideration for its services and expenses incurred as a “qualified independent underwriter.” We have agreed to indemnify Needham & Company, LLC against certain liabilities incurred in connection with acting as a “qualified independent underwriter,” including liabilities under the Securities Act. Please see “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)” for more information. |
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Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights |
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Proceeds to be held in trust account |
The rules of the NYSE provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement units be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement units described in this prospectus, $125.0 million ($10.00 per unit), or $143.75 million ($10.00 per unit) if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, will be deposited into a segregated U.S.-based trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $2.0 million will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries. |
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Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (1) the completion of our initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions 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 stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of all of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public stockholders. |
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Anticipated expenses and funding
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• the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $1,100,000 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, members of our management team or any of their respective affiliates or other third parties, although they are under no obligation or other duty to loan funds to, or invest in, us, and provided that 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. If we complete our initial business combination, we expect to 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 to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender at the time of the business combination. The units would be identical to the private placement units issued to our founders. |
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Conditions to completing our initial business combination |
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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. We will complete our initial business combination only 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. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. If less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired by us is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test, provided that in the event that our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. |
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Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities |
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or intentions to engage in such purchases or other transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such purchases or other transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or public warrants in such transactions. Such persons will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Please see “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how such persons will determine from which stockholders to enter into transactions with. |
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We will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to: (1) refrain from purchasing securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information; and (2) clear all trades with our legal counsel prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary. |
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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. Our founders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will be restricted from making purchases if such purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. |
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We expect that 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. |
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The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination 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 transactions 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 shares of Class A common stock or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. |
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Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination |
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Manner of conducting redemptions |
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either: (1) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination; or (2) by means of a tender offer. Except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would typically require stockholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other reasons. |
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If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation: |
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• conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and |
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• file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
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Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act. |
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In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target). |
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If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will: |
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• conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and |
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• file proxy materials with the SEC. |
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We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least 10 days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any stockholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our NYSE listing or Exchange Act registration. |
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If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders, officers and directors will count towards this quorum and have agreed to vote any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. We expect that at the time of any stockholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 22.2% of our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote thereon. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares and private placement shares, we would need 4,462,501, or 35.7% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 443,751, or 3.6% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 12,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction, in order to have such initial business combination approved. These quorum and voting thresholds and agreements may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. |
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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (1) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination on such terms or redeem any shares, all shares of common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target). |
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Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights |
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Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold stockholder vote |
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Redemption rights in connection with proposed amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation |
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which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement shares and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares and private placement shares. |
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Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination |
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Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination |
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stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such period. |
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Our initial stockholders, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and private placement shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our founders or any of our officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates then hold any public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame to complete our initial business combination. |
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Our founders, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions 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 stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. |
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Limited payments to insiders |
There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our founders, officers or directors or our or any of their respective 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 units held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination: |
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• repayment of an aggregate of up to $300,000 in loans made to us by our founders to cover offering-related and organizational expenses; |
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• payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of a total of $10,000 per month, for up to 24 months, for office space, administrative and support services; |
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• reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; |
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• payment to Cowen and Company, LLC of its underwriting discount, Marketing Fee, fees for any financial advisory, placement agency or other similar investment banking services Cowen and Company, LLC may provide to our company in the future, and reimbursement of Cowen and Company, LLC for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by it in connection with the performance of such services; and |
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• repayment of loans which may be made by our founders, an affiliate of our founders or our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. |
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These payments may be funded using the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units not held in the trust account or, upon completion of the initial business combination, from any amounts remaining from the proceeds of the trust account released to us in connection therewith. |
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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 respective affiliates. |
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Audit Committee |
Prior to the effectiveness of this registration statement, we will have established and will maintain an audit committee to, among other things, monitor compliance with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. Please see “Management — Committees of the Board of Directors — Audit Committee” for additional information. |
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Conflicts of Interest |
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. For more information, see the section |
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entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue. |
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Indemnity |
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below: (1) $10.00 per public share; or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor, which is a newly formed entity, has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations. |
Risks
We are a newly incorporated 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. Please see “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419” for additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus.
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An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
We are a newly 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 newly incorporated company with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Past performance by members of our management team and their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, members of our management team and their respective affiliates, including EcoR1, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance, including related to acquisitions, of members of our management team and their respective affiliates, including EcoR1, is not a guarantee either: (1) that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (2) of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s or their affiliates’ performance, including that of EcoR1, as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. An investment in us is not an investment in EcoR1 or any of its funds.
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, the NYSE rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a stockholder meeting but would still require us to obtain stockholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares, we would seek stockholder approval of such business combination. However, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our outstanding public shares do not approve of the business combination we consummate. Please see “Proposed Business — Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our founders, officers and directors have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Our initial stockholders, officers and directors have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares and private placement shares, we would need 4,462,501, or 35.7% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 443,751, or 3.6% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 12,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to
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be voted in favor of a transaction, in order to have such initial business combination approved. We expect that our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 22.2% of our outstanding shares of common stock at the time of any such stockholder vote. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees agreed to vote their founder shares and private placement shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public stockholders.
In evaluating a prospective target business for our initial business combination, our management will rely on the availability of all of the funds from the sale of the forward purchase securities to be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the initial business combination. If the sale of some or all of the forward purchase securities fails to close, for any reason, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination.
We will enter into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investors will agree to purchase forward purchase securities for $25,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with our initial business combination. The funds from the sale of forward purchase securities may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-transaction company. The obligations under the forward purchase agreement will not depend on whether any public stockholders elect to redeem their shares and will provide us with a minimum funding level for the initial business combination.
If the sale of some or all of the forward purchase securities does not close for any reason, including by reason of the failure by the forward purchase investors to fund the purchase price for their forward purchase securities, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination. Additionally, the forward purchase investors’ obligations to purchase the forward purchase securities will be subject to termination prior to the closing of the sale of the forward purchase securities by mutual written consent of the company and the forward purchase investors. The forward purchase investors’ obligations to purchase its forward purchase securities will be subject to fulfillment of customary closing conditions. In the event of any such failure to fund by the forward purchase investors, any obligation is so terminated or any such closing condition is not satisfied and not waived by the forward purchase investors, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of such business combination.
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. Additionally, since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination. Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, 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 stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our public stockholders 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 stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. In no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 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 (including, potentially, with the same target). Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
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The ability of our public stockholders 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 stockholders may exercise their redemption rights and, therefore, we will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our public stockholders 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 stock.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful increases. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your stock in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the end of the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our founders, officers and directors have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. 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 outbreak of COVID-19 continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors
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and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. It may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this ‘‘Risk Factors’’ section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border transactions.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period or during any Extension Period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than $10.00 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. Please see “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our founders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may enter into certain transactions, including purchasing shares or warrants from the public, which may influence the outcome of our proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our founders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation or other duty to do so. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such public stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our founders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling public stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with 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 founders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their 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, such persons have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. Please see “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how such persons will determine from which stockholders to enter into transactions with. The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination 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 transactions 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 common stock or warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
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If a stockholder 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 tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. For example, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer or proxy materials documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. Please see “Proposed Business — Tendering stock certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights.”
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) the completion of our initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions 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 stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of all of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if we have not completed an initial business combination within the required time period for any reason, compliance with Delaware law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing stockholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our trust account. In that case, public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond the end of such period before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in or to the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
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 common stock and warrants on or promptly after their date of separation. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the NYSE listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. In general, we must maintain a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public stockholders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE. For instance, in order for our Class A common stock to be listed upon the consummation of our initial business combination, at such time, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our global market capitalization would be required to be at least $200,000,000, the aggregate market value of publicly-held shares would be required to be at least $100,000,000 and we would be required to have at least 400 round lot holders. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
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If the NYSE delists any of our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list such securities on another national securities exchange, we expect such securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
• a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
• reduced liquidity for our securities;
• a determination that our Class A common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;
• a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
• a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on the NYSE, our units, Class A common stock and warrants will qualify as covered securities under such statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of 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 such statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units 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 U.S. securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement units and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet of our company 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 our initial business combination. Please see “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419” for a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419.
If we seek stockholder 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 stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from 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, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not restrict our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess
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Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their stock, 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 will be numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. Our founders or any of its affiliates may make additional investments in us, although our founders and its affiliates have no obligation or other duty to do so. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders 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 target businesses. Any of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating and completing an initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. Please see “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
If the funds not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of this offering, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of this offering, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering and potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.
We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of this offering; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay 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 in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a prospective target business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust
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account and our warrants will expire worthless. Please see “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain such loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, only approximately $1,100,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $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. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their respective affiliates is under any obligation or other duty to loan funds to, or invest in, us in such circumstances. Any such loans may be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In such case, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. Please see “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to subsequently take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders 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 stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (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 stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the
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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. 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 we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors.
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below: (1) $10.00 per public share; or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor, which is a newly formed entity, has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Our sponsor may not have sufficient funds available to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations, and therefore, no funds are currently set aside to cover any such 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 stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of: (1) $10.00 per public share; or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in certain instances. For example, the cost of such legal action may be deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or the independent directors may determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
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If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover 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 stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our public stockholders in connection with our liquidation would be reduced.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, 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 exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. 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
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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: (i) the completion of our primary business objective, which is a business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions 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 stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) absent a business combination, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to consummate our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. Please see “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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.
Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the 24th month from the closing of this offering (or the end of any Extension Period) in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
Because we do not intend to comply with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching
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for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, consultants, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial business combination and you will not be entitled to any of the corporate protections provided by such a meeting.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial business combination (unless required by the NYSE) and thus may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting of stockholders be held for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with a company’s bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to our consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL. Until we hold an annual meeting of stockholders, public stockholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management. In addition, prior to our business combination (a) as holders of our Class A common stock, our public stockholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of our directors and (b) holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove a member of our board of directors for any reason.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, 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 shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed 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, and within 60 business days following our initial business combination to have declared effective, a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, in which case, the number of Class A ordinary shares that you will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum amount of shares equal to 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment). However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue
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sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws 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 shares of Class A common stock 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 founders and their permitted transferees (which may include our directors and officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the shares of Class A common stock underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying shares of Class A common stock. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying shares of Class A common stock for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem warrants even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees and the forward purchase investors 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 common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of this offering, at or after the time of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their founder shares after those shares convert to shares of our Class A common stock. In addition, (1) our founders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the private placement units, the private placement shares, the private placement warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, (2) holders of units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register the resale of such units, the shares of Class A common stock and warrants included in such units and the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants included in such units and (3) the forward purchase investors can demand we register the resale of the forward purchase securities and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the forward purchase 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 common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to complete. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the securities described above are registered for resale.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating target businesses in a particular industry, sector or geographic area 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 seek to complete a business combination with an operating company in any industry, sector or geographic area. However, we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to
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be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may seek acquisition opportunities in acquisition targets that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
Although we expect to focus our search for a target business in the biotechnology sector, we will consider a business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if such business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. 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 relevant to such acquisition. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders 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 stockholders 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 stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include 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 officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. 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.
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We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm regarding fairness. 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 a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We may issue additional shares of Class A common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions described herein. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of up to 500,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share and 5,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 482,733,333 and 16,875,000 (assuming in each case, that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option) authorized but unissued shares of Class A and Class B common stock available, respectively, for issuance, which amount takes into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not upon the conversion of the Class B common stock or any securities issuable pursuant to the forward purchase agreement (including shares issuable upon exercise of forward purchase warrants). Shares of Class B common stock are automatically convertible into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein. Immediately after this offering, there will be no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock, and may issue shares of preferred stock, in order to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock to redeem the warrants as described in “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” or upon conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions described herein. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation on any initial business combination or any amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock, including pursuant to the forward purchase agreement:
• may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock;
• may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
• could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors;
• may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;
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• may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. Please see “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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 responsibilities. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our 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/or 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. Please see “Management — Directors, Director Nominees and Executive Officers” for a discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs.
We are dependent upon our officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, we do not currently expect that any of them will do so. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our
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assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
In addition, the officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may cause our key personnel to have conflicts of interest in determining whether to proceed with a particular business combination. However, we do not expect that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination, as we do not expect that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. 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 acquisition in a timely manner or at all.
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Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity or other transaction 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. Our sponsor and officers and directors are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business. We do not have employment contracts with our officers and directors that will limit their ability to work at other businesses.
As described in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Please see “Management — Directors, Director Nominees and Executive Officers,” “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” for a discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and potential conflicts of interest.
Our officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our founders, directors or officers. We do not 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. Additionally, the forward purchase investors are affiliates of our sponsor.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our founders, officers or directors which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our founders, officers and directors with other businesses, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with or competitive with our founders, officers and directors, and their respective affiliates. Our directors also serve as officers and/or board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our founders, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business — Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
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Moreover, we may, at our option, pursue an affiliated joint acquisition opportunity with our founders or their respective affiliates or with other entities to which an officer or director has a fiduciary, contractual or other obligation or duty. 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 future issuance of securities to any such parties, which may give rise to certain conflicts of interest.
Since our initial stockholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to any public shares they may hold), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
In May 2020, our founders purchased an aggregate of 3,593,750 founder shares for a capital contribution of $25,000. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares of common stock upon the completion of this offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units). In May 2020, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of our independent director nominees at their original purchase price. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of the outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units). The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.
In addition, our founders have committed to purchase an aggregate of 450,000 (or 487,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement units for a purchase price of $4,500,000 (or $4,875,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $10.00 per unit, that will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination.
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 deadline for completing our initial business combination nears.
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 stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We 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 common stock;
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• using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
• limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
• increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
• limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units and forward purchase securities, 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 materially negatively impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement units and the sale of forward purchase securities for a purchase price of $25,000,000 will provide us with $146,725,000 assuming no redemptions (or $164,818,750 assuming no redemptions if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), after payment of the Marketing Fee of $4,375,000 (or $5,031,250 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), that we may use to complete our initial business combination, after estimated offering expenses of $900,000 (and prior to any post-IPO working capital expenses).
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
• solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or
• dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
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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 required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own or acquire shares will own less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target 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-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target, or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In such cases, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our founders, officers, directors, advisors or any of their respective affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all shares of common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target).
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In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments, including our warrant agreement, in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that some of our stockholders or warrant holders may not support.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified 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. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination. To the extent any such amendment would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.
Certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of at least 65% of our outstanding common stock, 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 certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by holders of a certain percentage of the company’s stockholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by holders holding between 90% and 100% of the company’s public shares. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions (other than amendments relating to the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval by holders of a majority of at least 90% of the outstanding shares of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting) related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our outstanding common stock, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our outstanding common stock. Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders, and, prior to our initial business combination, the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock is required to approve the election or removal of directors. We may not issue additional securities that can vote pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation on any initial business combination or any amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our initial stockholders, who will beneficially own 22.2% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which will govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete our initial business combination with which you do not agree.
Our founders, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions 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 stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount
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then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our founders, officers and directors. Our public stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our founders, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our public stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
Certain agreements related to this offering may be amended without stockholder approval.
Certain agreements, including the letter agreement among us and our founders, officers and directors, the registration rights agreement among us and our initial stockholders, and the forward purchase agreement, may be amended without stockholder approval. These agreements contain various provisions, including transfer restrictions on our founder shares and private placement units and the securities included therein, that our public stockholders might deem to be material. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, 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 stockholders, 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 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 units and forward purchase securities will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any 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 units and forward purchase securities prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. None of our founders or their affiliates are obligated to provide, or seek, any such financing or, except as expressly set forth herein, to provide any other services to us. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. Other than in connection with the forward purchase agreement, none of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our initial stockholders will control the election of our board of directors until consummation of our initial business combination and will hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they will elect all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of this offering, our initial stockholders will own 22.2% of our outstanding common stock (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of our board of directors for any reason. Holders of our public shares will have no right to vote on the election of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only
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be amended by holders of a majority of at least 90% of the outstanding shares of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the election of directors prior to our initial business combination.
Neither our initial stockholders 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 common stock. In addition, as a result of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring a stockholder vote. The forward purchase securities will not be issued until completion of our initial business combination and, accordingly, will not be included in any stockholder vote until such time. Please see “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities.”
Our founders made a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.007 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class A common stock.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the common stock and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our founders acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public stockholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 87.40% (or $8.74 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $1.26 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B common stock result in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public stockholders seek redemptions from the trust. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A common stock.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the warrants could be converted into cash or stock, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 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 warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock (at a ratio different than initially provided), shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant if, among other things, the last reported sales price of our Class A
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common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the public warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to: (1) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so; (2) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (3) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
In addition, we have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants commencing ninety days after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant if, among other things, the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their warrants for cash or on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares of Class A common stock determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined below) except as otherwise described in “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants.” The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.
None of the warrants underlying the private placement units will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our founders or their permitted transferees.
Our public warrants, founder shares and private placement units (including the securities contained therein) may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 4,166,667 shares of our Class A common stock (or up to 4,791,667 shares of our Class A common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at a price of $11.50 per whole share (subject to adjustment as provided herein), 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, as part of the private placement units, (1) an aggregate of 150,000 (or 162,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein, and (2) an aggregate of 450,000 (or 487,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement shares. Our initial stockholders currently hold 3,593,750 founder shares (up to 468,750 of which are subject to forfeiture by our founders depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised). The founder shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our founders, an affiliate of our founders or certain of our officers and directors make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into units, at the price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such units would be identical to the private placement units.
To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate our initial business combination, including the forward purchase securities, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants or conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the Class A common stock issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our public warrants, founder shares, private placement units (including the securities included therein) and forward purchase securities may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
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Because each unit offered in this offering contains one-third of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit offered in this offering contains one-third of one redeemable warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of Class A common stock and one whole warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-third of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike most blank check companies, if (x) we issue additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our founders or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our founders or their affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “newly issued price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the newly issued price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the newly issued price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriters with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A common stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
• the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies;
• prior offerings of those companies;
• our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values;
• a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions;
• our capital structure;
• an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying suitable business combination opportunities;
• general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and
• other factors as were deemed relevant.
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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. Stockholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions, 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 stockholders 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 financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
We are an emerging growth company 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 stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of any second quarter of a fiscal year, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the end of such fiscal year. 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 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
57
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 common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. 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.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an 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, 2021. 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, will 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 certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include staggered board of directors, the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, and the fact that prior to the completion of our initial business combination only holders of our shares of Class B common stock, which are held by our initial stockholders, are entitled to vote on the election of directors, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will designate the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company or our company’s directors, officers or other employees.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for any (1) derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our company, (2) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, employee or agent of our company to our company or our stockholders, or any claim for aiding and abetting any such alleged breach, (3) action asserting a claim against our company or any director or officer of our company arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our bylaws, or (4) action
58
asserting a claim against us or any director or officer of our company governed by the internal affairs doctrine except for, as to each of (1) through (4) above, any claim (a) as to which the Court of Chancery determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination) or (b) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this paragraph will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or otherwise arising under federal securities laws, 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 shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If any action the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions is filed in a court other than a court located within the State of Delaware (a “foreign action”) in the name of any stockholder, such stockholder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of Delaware 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 stockholder in any such enforcement action by service upon such stockholder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such stockholder.
This forum selection clause may discourage claims or limit stockholders’ ability to submit claims in a judicial forum that they find favorable and may result in additional costs for a stockholder seeking to bring a claim. While we believe the risk of a court declining to enforce this forum selection clause is low, if a court were to determine the forum selection clause to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs in conjunction with our efforts to resolve the dispute in an alternative jurisdiction, which could have a negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
If our management team pursues a 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 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 our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign market, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
• costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets;
• rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;
• complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
• laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
• tariffs and trade barriers;
• regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
• longer payment cycles;
• changes in local regulations as part of a response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak;
• tax consequences;
• currency fluctuations and exchange controls;
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• rates of inflation;
• challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
• cultural and language differences;
• employment regulations;
• crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;
• deterioration of political relations with the United States;
• obligatory military service by personnel; 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 combination or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with U.S. 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, any or all of our management could resign from their positions as officers of the post-business combination company, and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination could remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with U.S. securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with U.S. 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.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some statements contained in this prospectus are forward-looking in nature. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:
• our ability to 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;
• the proceeds of the forward purchase securities being available to us;
• our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;
• our pool of prospective target businesses and the biotechnology sector;
• our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the recent 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.
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We are offering 12,500,000 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 units will be used as set forth in the following table.
Without
|
Option to
|
|||||||
Gross proceeds |
|
|
|
|
||||
Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1) |
$ |
125,000,000 |
|
$ |
143,750,000 |
|
||
Gross proceeds from private placement units offered in the private placement |
|
4,500,000 |
|
|
4,875,000 |
|
||
Total gross proceeds |
$ |
129,500,000 |
|
$ |
148,625,000 |
|
||
Estimated offering expenses(2) |
|
|
|
|
||||
Underwriting commissions(3)(4) |
$ |
2,500,000 |
|
$ |
2,875,000 |
|
||
Legal fees and expenses |
|
250,000 |
|
|
250,000 |
|
||
Printing and engraving expenses |
|
30,000 |
|
|
30,000 |
|
||
Accounting fees and expenses |
|
50,000 |
|
|
50,000 |
|
||
SEC/FINRA Expenses |
|
40,722 |
|
|
40,722 |
|
||
Travel and road show |
|
50,000 |
|
|
50,000 |
|
||
Directors and officers insurance premiums |
|
200,000 |
|
|
200,000 |
|
||
NYSE listing and filing fees |
|
85,000 |
|
|
85,000 |
|
||
Miscellaneous expenses(5) |
|
194,278 |
|
|
194,278 |
|
||
Total estimated offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) |
|
900,000 |
|
|
900,000 |
|
||
Proceeds after estimated offering expenses |
$ |
126,100,000 |
|
$ |
144,850,000 |
|
||
Held in trust account(4) |
$ |
125,000,000 |
|
$ |
143,750,000 |
|
||
% of public offering size |
|
100 |
% |
|
100 |
% |
||
Not held in trust account |
$ |
1,100,000 |
|
$ |
1,100,000 |
|
The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,100,000 of estimated net proceeds not held in the trust account.(6)
Amount |
% of Total |
|||||
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combination(7) |
$ |
360,000 |
32.7 |
% |
||
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations |
|
125,000 |
11.4 |
|
||
Payment for office space, administrative and support services |
|
240,000 |
21.8 |
|
||
NYSE continued listing fees |
|
85,000 |
7.7 |
|
||
Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses (including franchise taxes net of anticipated interest income) |
|
290,000 |
26.4 |
|
||
Total |
$ |
1,100,000 |
100.0 |
% |
____________
(1) Includes amounts payable to public stockholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination.
(2) A portion of the offering expenses will be paid from the proceeds of loans from our founders of $300,000 as described in this prospectus. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $900,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. These expenses are estimated only. 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) Includes a $100,000 fee payable to Needham & Company, LLC in consideration for its services and expenses incurred as a “qualified independent underwriter.”
(4) On the completion of our initial business combination, all amounts held in the trust account will be disbursed directly by the trustee or released to us to pay amounts due to any public stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights 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, including the Marketing Fee of $4,375,000 (or $5,031,250 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).
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(5) Includes organizational and administrative expenses and may include amounts related to above-listed expenses in the event actual amounts exceed estimates.
(6) These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring a business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify a business combination target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses. The amount in the table above does not include interest available to us from the trust account. Based on current interest rates, we would expect approximately $625,000 to be available to us annually from interest earned on the funds held in the trust account; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. This estimate assumes an interest rate of 0.5% per annum based upon current yields of securities in which the trust account may be invested. In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our founders, an affiliate of our founders or 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 to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private placement units issued to our founders. 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 business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our founders, an affiliate of our founders or our officers and directors, if any, as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
(7) Includes estimated amounts that may also be used in connection with our initial business combination to fund a “no shop” provision and commitment fees for financing.
The rules of the NYSE provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement units be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, $125,000,000 (or $143,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will, upon the consummation of this offering, be placed in a U.S. based trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Based on current interest rates, we estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $625,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.5% per year. We will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the trust account, except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (1) the completion of our initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions 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 stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of all of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Based on current interest rates, we expect that interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay taxes.
The net proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt 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 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 businesses 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.
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We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective acquisition, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their respective affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation or other duty to loan funds to, or invest in, us.
We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Prior to the commencement of this offering, our founders agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering, our sponsor up to $240,000 and Cowen Investments up to $60,000. As of May 7, 2020, there were no amounts outstanding under such promissory notes. Subsequent to May 7, 2020, we drew down $80,000 under the promissory notes to be used as a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2020 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $900,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account.
In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our founders, an affiliate of our founders or 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 to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private placement units issued to our founders. The terms of such loans by our founders, an affiliate of our founders or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our founders, an affiliate of our founders or our officers and directors, if any, as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
Prior to this offering, we will enter into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investors will agree to subscribe for an aggregate of 2,500,000 forward purchase shares and 833,333 forward purchase warrants, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000,000, or $10.00 per forward purchase share and one-third of one forward purchase warrant, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The forward purchase shares and the forward purchase warrants will be identical to the public shares and public warrants, respectively, except that the holders thereof will have certain registration rights, as described below.
The forward purchase agreement and the registration rights agreement whose terms are incorporated therein also will provide that the forward purchase investors are entitled to registration rights with respect to the forward purchase securities and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the forward purchase warrants. Please see “Description of Securities —Registration Rights” for additional information.
The proceeds from the sale of the forward purchase securities may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-transaction company. These purchases will be required to be made regardless of whether any shares of Class A common stock are redeemed by our public stockholders and are intended to provide us with minimum funding level for our initial business combination. The forward purchase securities will be issued only in connection with the closing of the initial business combination.
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If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our founders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may also purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Please see “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how such persons will determine from which stockholders to seek to acquire shares. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. However, such persons have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If such persons engage in such transactions, they will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.
We may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions and the agreement for our initial business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with the redemption of our public shares or the business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target).
A public stockholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) the completion of our initial business combination and then, only in connection with those public shares that such stockholder has properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described in this prospectus; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions 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 stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of all of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any rights of proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants.
Our initial stockholders, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive (1) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (2) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement shares and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. In addition, our initial stockholders, officers and directors have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and private placement shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our founders or any of our officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates then hold any public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame to complete our initial business combination.
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We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of this offering, in which case we will effect a stock dividend or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in an amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock upon the consummation of this offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units). Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
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The difference between the public offering price per share of Class A common stock, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement units, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public stockholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of Class A common stock which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock.
At May 7, 2020, our net tangible book value was $(72,115), or approximately $(0.02) per share of Class B common stock. After giving effect to the sale of 12,500,000 shares of Class A common stock included in the units we are offering by this prospectus, the sale of the private placement units and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at May 7, 2020 would have been $5,000,010 or $1.26 per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of the approximately 12,112,399 shares of Class A common stock that may be redeemed for cash in connection with our initial business combination and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) of $1.28 per share to our initial stockholders as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution of $8.74 per share or 87.4% to our public stockholders not exercising their redemption rights. The dilution to new investors if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full would be an immediate dilution of $8.88 per share or 88.8%.
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public stockholders on a per share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement units:
Public offering price |
|
|
$ |
10.00 |
|
|||
Net tangible book value before this offering |
$ |
(0.02 |
) |
|
|
|||
Increase attributable to public stockholders |
|
1.28 |
|
|
|
|||
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement units |
|
|
|
1.26 |
|
|||
Dilution to public stockholders |
|
|
|
8.74 |
|
|||
Percentage of dilution to new investors |
|
|
|
87.4 |
% |
For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) by $121,123,990 because holders of up to approximately 96.9% 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, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of shares of Class A common stock sold in this offering.
The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial stockholders and the public stockholders:
Shares Purchased |
Total Consideration |
Average
|
||||||||||||
Number |
Percentage |
Amount |
Percentage |
|||||||||||
Initial Stockholders(1)(2) |
3,125,000 |
19.44 |
% |
$ |
25,000 |
0.02 |
% |
$ |
0.008 |
|||||
Private Placement Stockholders |
450,000 |
2.80 |
% |
|
4,500,000 |
3.47 |
% |
$ |
10.00 |
|||||
Public Stockholders |
12,500,000 |
77.76 |
% |
|
125,000,000 |
96.51 |
% |
$ |
10.00 |
|||||
16,075,000 |
100.0 |
% |
$ |
129,525,000 |
100.0 |
% |
|
____________
(1) Assumes the full forfeiture of 468,750 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our founders depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
(2) Assumes conversion of Class B common stock into Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis. The dilution to public stockholders would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B common stock result in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon such conversion.
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The pro forma net tangible book value per share as of May 7, 2020 giving effect to the offering is calculated as follows:
Numerator: |
|
|
||
Net tangible book value before this offering |
$ |
(72,115 |
) |
|
Proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement units, net of expenses |
|
126,100,000 |
|
|
Offering costs accrued for and paid in advance, excluded from net tangible book value before this offering |
|
96,115 |
|
|
Less: amount of Class A common stock subject to redemption to maintain net tangible
|
|
(121,123,990 |
) |
|
$ |
5,000,010 |
|
||
Denominator: |
|
|
||
Shares of Class B common stock outstanding prior to this offering |
|
3,593,750 |
|
|
Shares forfeited if over-allotment option is not exercised |
|
(468,750 |
) |
|
Shares of Class A common stock included in the units offered |
|
12,500,000 |
|
|
Shares of Class A common stock included in the private placement |
|
450,000 |
|
|
Less: shares subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets of $5,000,001 |
|
(12,112,399 |
) |
|
|
3,962,601 |
|
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The following table sets forth our capitalization at May 7, 2020 and as adjusted to give effect to the filing of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the sale of our 12,500,000 units in this offering for $125,000,000 (or $10.00 per unit) and the sale of 450,000 private placement units for $4,500,000 (or $10.00 per unit) and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities (and excludes gross proceeds from the sale of forward purchase securities that may close substantially simultaneously with the closing of our initial business combination):
May 7, 2020 |
||||||||
Actual(1) |
As Adjusted(2) |
|||||||
Class A common stock, subject to redemption(3) |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
121,123,990 |
|
||
Stockholders’ equity (deficit): |
|
|
|
|
||||
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized (actual); 5,000,000 shares authorized (as adjusted); no shares issued or outstanding (actual and as adjusted) |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||
Common Stock |
|
|
|
|
||||
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 75,000,000 shares authorized (actual); 500,000,000 shares authorized (as adjusted); no shares issued or outstanding (actual); 837,601 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 12,112,399 shares subject to redemption) (as adjusted) |
|
— |
|
|
84 |
|
||
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, 10,000,000 shares authorized (actual); 20,000,000 shares authorized (as adjusted); 3,593,750(4) shares issued and outstanding (actual); 3,125,000 shares issued and outstanding (as adjusted) |
|
359 |
|
|
312 |
|
||
Additional paid-in capital(5) |
|
24,641 |
|
|
5,000,614 |
|
||
Accumulated deficit |
|
(1,000 |
) |
|
(1,000 |
) |
||
Total stockholders’ equity |
|
24,000 |
|
|
5,000,010 |
|
||
Total capitalization |
$ |
24,000 |
|
$ |
126,124,000 |
|
____________
(1) Our founders have agreed to loan us $300,000 under unsecured promissory notes to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering, which loans are due at the earlier of December 31, 2020 and the closing of this offering. As of May 7, 2020, there were no amounts outstanding under such promissory notes. Subsequent to May 7, 2020, we drew down $80,000 under the promissory notes to be used as a portion of the expenses of this offering.
(2) Assumes the full forfeiture of 468,750 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our founders depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
(3) Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), subject to the limitations described herein whereby our net tangible assets will be maintained at a minimum of $5,000,001 and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed business combination.
(4) Actual share amount is prior to any forfeiture of founder shares by our founders and the “as adjusted” share amount assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
(5) The “as adjusted” additional paid-in capital calculation is equal to the “as adjusted” total stockholders’ equity of $5,000,010, less common stock (par value) of $396, less the accumulated deficit of $1,000.
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units and the forward purchase securities, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.
The issuance of additional shares of our stock in a business combination, including pursuant to the forward purchase agreement:
• may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock;
• may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
• could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors;
• may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;
• may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants; and
• may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.
Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant indebtedness, it could result in:
• default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
• acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
• our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;
• our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;
• our inability to pay dividends on our common stock;
• using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
• limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
• increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
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• limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, as of May 7, 2020, we had no cash and working capital deficit of $72,115. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. 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 in the form of specified U.S. government treasury bills or specified money market funds after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through receipt of a $25,000 capital contribution from our founders in exchange for the issuance of the founder shares and up to $300,000 in loans from our founders under unsecured promissory notes. We estimate that the net proceeds from: (1) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $900,000 and underwriting commissions of $2,500,000 ($2,875,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full); and (2) the sale of the private placement units for a purchase price of $4,500,000 (or $4,875,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $126,100,000 (or $144,850,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $125,000,000 (or $143,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be deposited into the trust account. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries. The remaining $1,100,000 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) and the proceeds from the sale of the forward purchase securities, to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes. Delaware franchise tax is based on our authorized shares or on our assumed par and non-par capital, whichever yields a lower result. Under the authorized shares method, each share is taxed at a graduated rate based on the number of authorized shares with a maximum aggregate tax of $200,000 per year. Under the assumed par value capital method, Delaware taxes each $1,000,000 of assumed par value capital at the rate of $350; where assumed par value would be (1) our total gross assets following this offering, divided by (2) our total issued shares of common stock following this offering, multiplied by (3) the number of our authorized shares following this offering. Based on the number of shares of our common stock authorized and outstanding and our estimated total gross proceeds after the completion of this offering, our annual franchise tax obligation is expected to be capped at the maximum amount of annual franchise taxes payable by us as a Delaware corporation of $200,000. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We expect the only taxes payable by us out of the funds in the trust account will be income and franchise taxes. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our taxes. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
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Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us an estimated $1,100,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, structure, negotiate and complete a business combination, and to pay taxes to the extent the interest earned on the trust account is not sufficient to pay our taxes.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our founders, an affiliate of our founders or 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 $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private placement units issued to our founders. The terms of such loans by our founders, an affiliate of our founders or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our founders, an affiliate of our founders or our officers and directors, if any, as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $360,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combinations; $125,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $85,000 for the NYSE continued listing fees; $240,000 for office space, administrative and support services; and approximately $290,000 for working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses (including franchise taxes net of anticipated interest income).
These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination.
Controls and Procedures
We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control reporting requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. 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, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we intend to take
72
advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor has our independent registered public accounting firm tested our systems of 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 we may work with the target 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 an independent auditor to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent auditors 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 units held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Review
As of May 7, 2020, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus as we have not conducted any operations to date.
Related Party Transactions
In May 2020, our founders purchased an aggregate of 3,593,750 founder shares for a capital contribution of $25,000. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares of common stock upon the completion of this offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units). The per-share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to us by the number of founder shares issued. In May 2020, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of our independent director nominees at their original purchase price. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B
73
common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units). Up to 468,750 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our founders depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. Our founders do not intend to purchase any units in this offering.
We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will also pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Our founders, officers and directors or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or any of their respective affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Prior to the commencement of this offering, our founders agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering, our sponsor up to $240,000 and Cowen Investments up to $60,000. As of May 7, 2020, there were no amounts outstanding under such promissory notes. Subsequent to May 7, 2020, we drew down $80,000 under the promissory notes to be used as a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2020 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $900,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account.
In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our founders, an affiliate of our founders or 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 $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private placement units issued to our founders. The terms of such loans by our founders, an affiliate of our founders or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our founders, an affiliate of our founders or our officers and directors, if any, as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
Our founders have committed to purchase an aggregate of 450,000 (or 487,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit ($4,500,000 in the aggregate or $4,875,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Among the private placement units, 360,000 units (or 390,000 units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by our sponsor and/or its designees and 90,000 units (or 97,500 units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by Cowen Investments and/or its designees. Each private placement unit consists of one share of our Class A common stock and one-third of one warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The private placement units are identical to the units sold in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our founders or their permitted transferees, the private placement units (including the underlying securities) are subject to certain transfer restrictions (as described in more detail under “Principal Stockholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Units”) and the holders thereof are entitled to certain registration rights (as described in more detail under “Principal Stockholders — Registration Rights”), and the underlying warrants: (1) will not be redeemable by us; (2) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (3) with respect to private placement warrants held by Cowen Investments, will not be exercisable more than five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(f)(2)(G)(i).
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Prior to this offering, we will enter into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investors, which are funds affiliated with our sponsor, will agree to subscribe for an aggregate of 2,500,000 forward purchase shares and 833,333 forward purchase warrants, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000,000, or $10.00 per forward purchase share and one-third of one forward purchase warrant, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. If the sale of the forward purchase securities fails to close, for any reason, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination. The forward purchase shares and the forward purchase warrants will be identical to the public shares and public warrants, respectively, except that the holders thereof will have certain registration rights, as described below.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement that we will enter into with our initial stockholders and forward purchase investors on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. Our initial stockholders, forward purchase investors and holders of warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Cowen Investments may not exercise its demand and “piggyback” registration rights after five and seven years, respectively, after the effective date of the registration statement. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements of which this prospectus forms a part and may not exercise its demand rights on more than one occasion. Please see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
We will also pay to Cowen and Company, LLC, one of the underwriters of this offering and an affiliate of one of our founders, an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit purchased by it in this offering. We have also engaged Cowen and Company, LLC as an advisor in connection with our business combination, pursuant to the Business Combination Marketing Agreement described under “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest) — Business Combination Marketing Agreement.” We will pay Cowen and Company, LLC the Marketing Fee for such services upon the consummation of our initial business combination in an amount equal to, in the aggregate, 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering, including any proceeds from the full or partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. As a result, Cowen and Company, LLC will not be entitled to such fee unless we consummate our initial business combination.
JOBS Act
On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company”, we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things: (1) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; (2) 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; (3) 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 (4) disclose certain executive compensation-related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of this offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
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We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated in April 2020 as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities as well as activities related to this offering. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.
While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or geographical location, we intend to capitalize on our management team’s background and experience to identify promising opportunities in the biotechnology sector.
In addition, we believe our ability to complete our initial business combination will be enhanced by our having entered into the forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investors will agree to purchase an aggregate of 2,500,000 forward purchase shares and 833,333 forward purchase warrants, at a purchase price of $25,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination.
Our Sponsor and Competitive Advantages
Our sponsor is an affiliate of EcoR1, an investment firm with over $1.8 billion in regulatory assets under management as of January 1, 2020. EcoR1 was established in March 2013 by our chief executive officer, Oleg Nodelman, and is focused on therapeutic companies within the biotechnology sector.
EcoR1’s investment activity includes public and private biotechnology companies spanning all stages of research and development, from approval by the FDA to commercialization, for companies based in the U.S. as well as other developed global territories. Investments are primarily made through equity and equity-related securities.
EcoR1 has expansive knowledge of the biotechnology sector as well as a proprietary network consisting of deep relationships with clinicians, scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, bankers and other key players in the industry. This allows EcoR1 to find and identify compelling targets whose risk/reward profiles are asymmetrically skewed to the upside. EcoR1 makes a detailed assessment of the financial and scientific viability of each investment opportunity with a discerning eye. This proprietary process includes an assessment of the intrinsic value, market needs, financial stability and management team talent. EcoR1 is also experienced in providing hands-on, operational guidance as companies navigate the various challenges inherent with drug discovery and development.
EcoR1 was established in March 2013 with $13 million in invested capital from our chief executive officer, Oleg Nodelman, and fellow colleagues in the biotechnology sector. The firm has grown to over $1.8 billion in regulatory assets under management as of January 1, 2020 through partner referrals, word of mouth and organic growth. EcoR1’s current investor base includes foundations, endowments, families and reputable investors in the biotechnology sector. Mr. Nodelman and EcoR1 employees remain one of the largest group of investors in the funds, providing strong alignment with outside capital. The funds have liquidity parameters that allow the firm to partner with thoughtful, long-term investors and provide alignment between the companies they invest in and the duration of the capital. EcoR1’s flagship fund has been closed to new institutional investors since mid-2017, and to date over half of the firm’s assets have been generated through performance. As of May 1, 2020, EcoR1 generated cumulative and annualized returns of 700% and 34%, respectively.
Since 2013, EcoR1 has spoken with and evaluated over 1,000 private companies, investing in 47 companies in various financing rounds totaling $3.9 billion. As of April 30, 2020, out of the 47 private investments, 25 companies have gone public and three companies have been acquired.
Our independent directors have extensive experience in clinical medicine, development and regulatory, operational and management leadership within academia as well as the healthcare and financial industry. All of our independent directors have led or been a part of leadership teams in biotechnology companies that have together generated over $10 billion in value for investors and helped develop over 25 FDA approved drugs for patients. We believe that their breadth of experience will bolster our ability to thoroughly evaluate prospective candidates and successfully execute our initial business combination. Following the completion of our initial business combination, we believe our independent directors will fortify our ongoing operations by providing sound and experienced counsel on potential future acquisitions, divestitures, corporate strategy and human resources.
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We believe the experience of our team, strengthened by their industry network and our experienced board of directors, will enhance our management team’s ability to source viable prospective target businesses, capitalize them and ensure public-market readiness. We believe that our management team is equipped with the knowledge, experience, capital and human resources to pursue unique opportunities that will offer attractive risk-adjusted returns.
Our Management Team and Board of Directors
Oleg Nodelman has been our Chief Executive officer since our inception in April 2020 and is our Chairman Nominee. Mr. Nodelman has been the Portfolio Manager of EcoR1, a biotech-focused investment advisory firm that invests in companies at all stages of research and development, since he founded it in 2013. With nearly 20 years of experience in biotech investing, Mr. Nodelman has expertise in all aspects of investment management and deep roots in the biotech and scientific communities. Before founding EcoR1, Mr. Nodelman was an analyst and portfolio manager from 2001 to 2012 at Biotechnology Value Fund. Prior to BVF, Mr. Nodelman worked in strategic consulting and organizational management at Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman). He currently serves as a Board Member for Prothena (Nasdaq: PRTA), a clinical-stage neuroscience company focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies. Mr. Nodelman has a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service with a concentration in Science and Technology from Georgetown University.
Scott Perlen has been our Chief Financial Officer since our inception in April 2020. Mr. Perlen has been the Chief Financial Officer of EcoR1 since joining the firm in 2019. He oversees accounting and finance for EcoR1 and its investment funds as well as the funds’ day to day trade operations. Prior to joining EcoR1 in 2019, Mr. Perlen served as Chief Financial Officer for seven years at Sheffield Asset Management, LLC, a Chicago-based investment firm. Prior to Sheffield, Mr. Perlen was a Vice President at Grosvenor Capital Management, LP, a global leader in the alternative asset industry. During his seven years at Grosvenor, Mr. Perlen managed a group dedicated to providing outsourced CFO functionality to a number of investment firm managers and also assisted in performing operational due diligence reviews on underlying investment firms. Prior to joining Grosvenor in 2005, Mr. Perlen was an Assistant Vice President at Bank of America, focusing on operational risk and accounting for the bank’s derivatives business. From 1997 to 2002, Mr. Perlen managed the operations and fund accounting at Sunrise Capital Partners, LLC, a San Diego-based investment firm. Mr. Perlen received his Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1997.
Scott Platshon has been our Chief Operating Officer since our inception in April 2020. Mr. Platshon joined EcoR1 in 2015 where he currently serves as a Principal and is responsible for due diligence and analysis of biotechnology companies for value-oriented investment opportunities. Mr. Platshon previously worked at Aquilo Partners, a boutique life sciences investment bank. Mr. Platshon holds a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering from Stanford University.
Caroline Stout has been our Chief Investment Officer since our inception in April 2020. Ms. Stout joined EcoR1 in 2014 where she currently serves as a Principal. At EcoR1, she has led several of the firm’s investments in the biotechnology sector. Ms. Stout previously worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at Credit Suisse in New York. She has experience working on a range of transactions in the healthcare and biotechnology sectors, including leveraged buyouts, initial public offerings and follow-on equity raises. Ms. Stout graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, a Pre-Medical concentration, and Cognitive Science minor.
Daniel Bradbury has agreed to serve on our board of directors following the completion of this offering. Since January 2020, Mr. Bradbury has served as Executive Chairman of Equillium, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQ), a biopharmaceutical company that develops products to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory disorders with high unmet medical need and which he co-founded. Mr. Bradbury served as Chairman of Equillium, Inc. from March 2018 through December 2019. Mr. Bradbury also previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Equillium, Inc., from June 2018 through December 2019 and as President of Equillium, Inc. from March 2017 until June 2018. He has also served as the Managing Member of BioBrit, LLC, a life sciences consulting and investment firm, since 2012. Prior to co-founding Equillium, he served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on metabolic diseases. During his 18-year tenure at Amylin, the company launched three first-in-class medicines, including the first once-a-week therapy to treat diabetes, and was listed on the Nasdaq 100. He served as Amylin’s Chief Executive Officer from March 2007 until its acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in August 2012 for $7 billion. Before joining Amylin, Mr. Bradbury worked in marketing and sales for 10 years at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. He serves on the board of directors
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of Intercept Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ICPT), Castle Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSTL), and a number of private companies and philanthropic organizations. Mr. Bradbury received a Bachelor of Pharmacy from Nottingham University and a Diploma in Management Studies from Harrow and Ealing Colleges of Higher Education in the United Kingdom.
Graham Cooper has agreed to serve on our board of directors following the completion of this offering. Mr. Cooper is a member of the boards of directors of Unity Biotechnology (Nasdaq: UBX), Kezar Life Sciences (Nasdaq: KZR), Beam Therapeutics (Nasdaq: BEAM) and Applied Molecular Transport (private). Mr. Cooper also previously served as a member of the board of directors of Celladon Corporation, which merged with Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: EIGR) in 2016. From March 2018 until May 2019, Mr. Cooper served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Assembly Biosciences, Inc.. Prior to joining Assembly, he was Chief Financial Officer of Receptos, Inc., from 2013 until its sale in 2015 to Celgene for $7.8 billion. In 2012, Mr. Cooper was the Chief Financial Officer of Geron Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company focused on cancer therapies. From 2006 until 2011, Mr. Cooper served as Chief Financial Officer of Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on obesity therapies. From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Cooper held positions of increasing responsibility including Director, Health Care Investment Banking, at Deutsche Bank Securities, where he was responsible for executing and managing a wide variety of financing and merger and acquisition transactions in the life sciences field. From 1992 to 1995, he worked as an accountant at Deloitte & Touche, where he earned his C.P.A. Mr. Cooper holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Faheem Hasnain has agreed to serve on our board of directors following the completion of this offering. In 2015, Mr. Hasnain co-founded Gossamer Bio (Nasdaq: GOSS), a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on discovering, acquiring, developing and commercializing therapeutics in the disease areas of immunology, inflammation and oncology, and served as its Chief Executive Officer through July 2018, at which time he became Gossamer Bio’s Executive Chairman. Since 2019, Mr. Hasnain has served as non-executive Chairman of Gossamer Bio. Prior to Gossamer Bio, Mr. Hasnain served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Receptos, Inc. from November 2010 until the company’s acquisition by Celgene Corporation in August 2015 for $7.8 billion. Prior to joining Receptos, Mr. Hasnain was the President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of Facet Biotech Corporation, a biology driven antibody company with a focus in multiple sclerosis and oncology. He held that position from December 2008 until the company’s acquisition by Abbott Laboratories in April 2010 for over $700 million. Previously, Mr. Hasnain was President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of PDL BioPharma, Inc. from October 2008 until Facet Biotech was spun off from PDL BioPharma in December 2008. From October 2004 to September 2008, Mr. Hasnain served at Biogen Idec Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in neurological disorders, autoimmune disorders and cancer, most recently as Executive Vice President in charge of the oncology/rheumatology strategic business unit. Prior to Biogen Idec, Mr. Hasnain held roles at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he was President of the Oncology Therapeutics Network, and at GlaxoSmithKline and its predecessor organizations, the latter for 14 years. He has been Chairman of the Board of Sente, Inc. since 2008, Chairman of the Board of Tocagen Inc. (Nasdaq: TOCA) since November 2014, Lead Independent Director of Kura Oncology (Nasdaq: KURA) since 2015, Chairman of the Board of Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRTX) since February 2019 and a member of the Board of Overseers of Scripps Research Institute since 2018. He previously served as Chairman of the Board of Ambit Biosciences Corporation and served as a member of the Board of Directors of Tercica, Inc., Aragon Pharmaceuticals, Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Vital Therapies, Inc. Mr. Hasnain received a B.H.K. and B.Ed. from the University of Windsor Ontario in Canada.
Sarah Marriott has served as our Secretary and on our board of directors since our inception in April 2020. Ms. Marriott joined EcoR1 in 2014 and is the firm’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, where she is responsible for operational, regulatory and compliance issues. Ms. Marriott has experience working across the diverse areas of civil and criminal litigation. Prior to EcoR1, she served as a Deputy District Attorney in Solano County, California. Prior to serving as a prosecutor, Ms. Marriott practiced at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in San Francisco, where she handled commercial litigation matters. Ms. Marriott previously completed a clerkship on the federal Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Ms. Marriott holds a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College.
Shalini Sharp has agreed to serve on our board of directors following the completion of this offering. Ms. Sharp is currently the Chief Financial Officer at Ultragenyx (Nasdaq: RARE), which she joined in May 2012. She is responsible for leading the corporate finance, strategy, and information technology functions and is a member of the company’s executive leadership team. Ms. Sharp is a member of the Board of Directors of Neurocrine
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Biosciences (Nasdaq: NBIX), a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company, Sutro Biopharma (Nasdaq: STRO), a drug discovery, development and manufacturing company focused on creating next-generation oncology therapeutics, and Precision Biosciences, a privately-held genome editing company. She is also a board member of TB Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and distribution of treatments for tuberculosis in the developing world. She previously served on the Board of Array Biopharma from 2017 until its sale to Pfizer in 2019. Prior to Ultragenyx, Ms. Sharp was Chief Financial Officer of Agenus Inc. (Nasdaq: AGEN), a biotechnology company focused on cancer immunotherapies from 2006 to 2012 and served on the Board of Agenus from 2012 to 2018. She joined Agenus in 2003 and held increasing roles of responsibility spanning strategic planning, corporate development, investor relations, corporate finance and business development. Prior to Agenus, Ms. Sharp held similar roles at Elan Pharmaceuticals from 1998 to 2003, including serving as chief of staff to the Chairman of the Board of Directors during that company’s restructuring. Ms. Sharp was also a management consultant at McKinsey & Company as well as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, specializing in pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Ms. Sharp holds both a B.A., magna cum laude, and M.B.A., from Harvard University.
Industry Opportunity
Over the last decade, biotechnology companies have experienced a period of unprecedented innovation driven, in part, by a surge of novel therapeutic modalities. From EcoR1’s launch in early 2013 through 2019, the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index has appreciated over 160%, just outpacing the strong period of growth of the S&P 500 at 125%. This continued growth has largely been driven by fundamental innovation that has advanced clinical practice and made a difference in the lives of patients. Since 2013, over 280 novel chemical entities have been approved by the FDA, some of which include the first time a treatment has been available for a particular disease or disorder. As larger pharmaceutical companies have shed their internal research and development programs, smaller biotechnology companies continue to be a key driver of innovation and new drug development for the industry. In 2019, 28 biopharma companies were acquired by large pharma or big biotech for a total value of nearly $200 billion, up from $140 billion in 2018. In 2019, the global biotechnology market represented approximately $588 billion in revenue and is estimated to grow 5% per annum to $749 billion in 2024. Disease evolves, and as such, we believe that continued innovation and the introduction of new therapies will be the underlying driver of growth for the overall biotechnology sector.
We believe that life sciences companies, at a certain stage in their development, will see material benefits from being publicly traded, including greater access to capital, more liquid securities and increased awareness. The U.S. public markets provide access to the largest global pool of institutional capital, funding innovation and ultimately new medicines for patients. In 2019, over $25 billion was raised in the U.S. public equity markets for biotechnology companies, including more than $5.8 billion in IPOs.
Despite this IPO activity, the amount raised by biotechnology companies in IPOs has been a fraction of the amount raised in the private market recently. Compared to the more than $33 billion raised in over 330 IPOs by the biotechnology sector since 2013, there has been more than $80 billion raised in private offerings during the same period. As of December 2019, there were approximately 6,300 biotechnology companies globally, only 815 of which are currently publicly traded on a major U.S. stock exchange. Since 2013, over 1,400 biotechnology companies have obtained seed capital and/or Series A financing.
Our management team believes that the perceived complexity of the healthcare industry acts as a barrier to entry, requiring investors to have significant sector-specific knowledge and expertise to identify and appropriately analyze investment opportunities. Technical and scientific knowledge, an understanding of the reimbursement environment and regulatory landscape, complex valuation methodologies, specialized accounting treatments, and regulatory and political considerations may deter competition from generalist firms. We believe there is an opportunity to offer outstanding risk-adjusted returns to stockholders by building companies that possess misunderstood assets and provide growth opportunities that will benefit by capitalization and leadership from industry veterans.
EcoR1’s proprietary, process driven approach is built on a value philosophy that attempts to manage risk in the volatile biotechnology sector. Our management team will focus on finding companies with hidden value overlooked by the market and typical value-based diligence. This includes human capital in addition to deep scientific and financial analysis. EcoR1 is agnostic to stage of development for its portfolio companies and investment decisions are driven by fundamental analysis of the business and scientific merits of each opportunity.
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Acquisition Strategy
Our acquisition strategy is to identify and acquire an untapped opportunity within the biotechnology sector and build a public company. We believe our management team is well positioned to identify unique opportunities in our targeted sector based on their strong networks and experience and our core investment philosophy of identifying companies that are downside protected with outsized potential upside. Our selection process will leverage the relationships of our management team with industry captains, key opinion leaders, respected peers, and our management team’s network of investment banking executives, attorneys, and accountants. We also believe that EcoR1’s reputation, experience and track record of making investments in the biotechnology space will make us a preferred partner for these potential targets.
Investment Criteria
Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following criteria to evaluate prospective target businesses. We may however, decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria. We intend to seek to acquire one or more businesses that we believe:
• Have a risk/reward profile that is skewed to the upside. As is core to our basic investment approach, we intend to seek target businesses that have an asymmetric risk/reward profile, significant competitive advantages and underexploited expansion opportunities that can benefit from access to additional capital as well as our industry relationships and expertise.
• Have a strong management team in place. We will seek to identify businesses with strong and experienced public-ready management teams, either in the form of entrepreneurs with whom we have worked in the past or seasoned industry veterans who have the experience and track record of value creation for their stockholders.
• Possess innovative and quality science. While science is not the first place we begin our diligence, an important element in our process is to evaluate the quality of the science and understand a business’s unique value and ability to address an unmet need in the marketplace.
• Have multiple avenues for growth opportunities. We intend to seek target businesses that have multiple shots on goal. Outside of the lead asset that may hold the underwritten downside protection, we are looking for businesses that have other areas for potential growth in their pipeline that are not necessarily reflected in the value assigned to them at acquisition, but provide multiple “ways to win.”
• Exhibit unrecognized value or other characteristics that we believe have been misunderstood by the market. We seek to find value where others do not typically look. In conjunction with our core strategy, we will seek target businesses that exhibit value or other characteristics that we believe have been overlooked, misunderstood, or “left for dead” by the marketplace based on our business-specific analyses and due diligence. For a potential target business, this process may include, among other things, a review and analysis of the business’s capital structure, potential for future earnings, preclinical or clinical data, potential for operational improvements, corporate governance, customers, existing or potential partnerships with larger pharma companies, and the industry and trends. We intend to leverage the operational experience and disciplined investment approach of our team to identify opportunities to unlock value that our experience in complex situations allows us to pursue.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general criteria as well as other considerations, factors, criteria and guidelines that our management may deem relevant.
Our 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 and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which that be made available to us.
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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own our securities following this offering, and accordingly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors are from time to time made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue, for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with us.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Initial Business Combination
The NYSE rules require that an initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. 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. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own or acquire shares will own or acquire 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target, or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection
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with financing our initial business combination. In such cases, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired by us is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
Prior to the 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.
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 target businesses an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for shares of our stock or for a combination of shares of our stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests. It can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
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 common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter; and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
Financial Position
With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $146,725,000 (which includes the amount that may be received pursuant to the forward purchase agreement) assuming no redemptions (or $164,818,750 (which includes the amount that may be received pursuant to the forward purchase agreement) assuming no redemptions if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), after payment of the Marketing Fee of $4,375,000 (or $5,031,250 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in each case, after estimated offering expenses of $900,000 (and prior to any post-IPO working capital expenses), we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a
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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
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units and the forward purchase securities, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt 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 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 businesses or for working capital.
Our officers and directors are from time to time made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue, for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with us.
In addition to the forward purchase agreement, we may seek to raise additional funds in connection with the completion of our initial business combination through a private offering of equity securities or debt securities or loans, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offerings or loans rather than using the amounts held in the trust account.
In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by applicable law or we decide to do so for business or other reasons, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, other than the forward purchase agreement, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination
The NYSE rules require that an initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount). The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation or value of comparable businesses. If our board 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. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In any case, we will only complete an initial 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. If less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are
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owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired by us is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information that will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
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.
By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
• solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or
• dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
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. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is highly unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the post-business combination company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following our initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
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Stockholders may not have the ability to approve our initial business combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
Type of Transaction |
Whether
|
|
Purchase of assets |
No |
|
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company |
No |
|
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company |
No |
|
Merger of the company with a target |
Yes |
Under the NYSE’s listing rules, stockholder approval would typically be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
• we issue (other than in a public offering for cash) shares of common stock that will either (a) be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of common stock then outstanding or (b) have voting power equal to or in excess of 20% of the voting power then outstanding;
• any of our directors, officers or substantial security holders (as defined by the NYSE rules) has a 5% or greater interest, directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired and if the number of shares of common stock to be issued, or if the number of shares of common stock into which the securities may be convertible or exercisable, exceeds either (a) 1% of the number of shares of common stock or 1% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any of our directors and officers or (b) 5% of the number of shares of common stock or 5% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any substantial security holders; or
• the issuance or potential issuance will result in our undergoing a change of control.
The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which stockholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange rule will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and other reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
• the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine stockholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek stockholder 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 stockholder vote;
• the risk that the stockholders 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 stockholders.
Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities
In the event we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our founders, directors, officers, advisors or any of 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. There is no limit on the number of securities such persons may purchase. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to
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material nonpublic information), our founders, directors, officers, advisors or any of 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 purchases or other transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such purchases or other transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. Such persons will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. We will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to (1) refrain from purchasing securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (2) clear all trades with our legal counsel prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.
In the event that our founders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.
The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination 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 transactions 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 shares of Class A common stock or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our founders, officers, directors, advisors and/or any of their respective affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our founders, officers, directors, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders (in the case of public shares) following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our founders, officers, directors, advisors or any of their respective affiliates enter into a private transaction, they would identify and contact only potential selling or redeeming stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination. Such persons would select the stockholders from whom to acquire shares based on the number of shares available, the negotiated price per share and such other factors as any such person may deem relevant at the time of purchase. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Our founders, officers, directors, advisors or any of their respective affiliates 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 our founders, officers, directors and/or any of their respective affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will be restricted unless such purchases are made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and
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Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our founders, officers, directors and/or any of their respective affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of common stock if such purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.
Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. At completion of the business combination, we will be required to purchase any public shares properly delivered for redemption and not withdrawn. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial stockholders, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Manner of conducting redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination either: (1) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination; or (2) by means of a tender offer. Except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would typically require stockholder approval. If we structure a business combination transaction with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed business combination. We intend to conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other reasons.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
• conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and
• file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions or any greater net tangible
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asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target).
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
• conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and
• file proxy materials with the SEC.
We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least 10 days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any stockholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our NYSE listing or Exchange Act registration.
In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders, officers and directors will count towards this quorum and have agreed to vote any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds and agreements, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. In addition, our initial stockholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of a business combination.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (1) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all shares of common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target).
Limitation on redemption upon completion of our initial business combination if we seek stockholder approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert
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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. We believe the restriction described above will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our founders or their affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 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 or our founders or their affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ 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 stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
Tendering stock certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, rather than simply voting against the initial business combination at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a stockholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least 10 days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
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Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or two business days prior to the scheduled date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable (unless we elect to allow additional withdrawal rights). Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination until 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.
Redemption of public shares and liquidation if no initial business combination
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such period or during any Extension Period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period.
Our initial stockholders, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and private placement shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period. However, if our founders or any of our officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates then hold any public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame to complete our initial business combination.
Our founders, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions.
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 estimated $1,100,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
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If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account and any tax payments or expenses for the dissolution of the trust, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders 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 stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. Please see “Risk Factors — If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors described above. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (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 stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third 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 we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.00 per public share; or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor, which is a newly formed entity, has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below: (1) $10.00 per public share; or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that
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our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in certain instances. For example, the cost of such legal action may be deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or the independent directors may determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be substantially less than $10.00 per public share. Please see “Risk Factors — If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors described above.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (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 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 an estimated $1,100,000 from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $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.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the end of our acquisition period and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
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Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent ten years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (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.
As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below: (1) $10.00 per public share; or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board 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 stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. Please see “Risk Factors — If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover 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.”
A public stockholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) the completion of our initial business combination and then, only in connection with those public shares that such stockholder has properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described in this prospectus; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions 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 stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of all of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with our initial business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. Holders of warrants will not have any rights of proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants.
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Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the consummation of our initial business combination. If we seek to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions 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 stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such vote. Our initial stockholders, officers and directors have agreed to waive any redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in connection with any such amendment. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that:
• prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we shall either: (1) seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination at a meeting called for such purpose, in connection with which, stockholders may seek to redeem their shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable); or (2) provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to tender their shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a stockholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), in each case subject to the limitations described herein;
• we will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation and, solely if we seek stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination at a duly held stockholders meeting;
• if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law; and
• prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation on any initial business combination or any amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of holders of at least 65% of our outstanding common stock.
Additionally, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that, prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to vote on the election of directors and that holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended if approved by holders of a majority of at least 90% of the outstanding shares of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting.
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Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders.
Comparison of redemption or purchase prices in connection with our initial business combination and if we fail to complete our initial business combination
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.
Redemptions in Connection
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Other Permitted Purchases
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Redemptions if we
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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 stockholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. In either case, our public stockholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share), including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, 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 stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our founders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Such purchases will be restricted except 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. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. |
If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. |
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Redemptions in Connection
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Other Permitted Purchases
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Redemptions if we
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Impact to remaining stockholders |
The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining stockholders, who will bear the burden of the Marketing Fee and interest withdrawn in order to pay our taxes (to the extent not paid from amounts accrued as interest on the funds held in the trust account). |
If the permitted purchases described above are made, there will be no impact to our remaining stockholders 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 stockholders, who will be our only remaining stockholders after such redemptions. |
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 |
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Escrow of offering proceeds |
The rules of the NYSE provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement units be deposited in a trust account. $125,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. |
At least approximately $112,500,000 of the offering proceeds, representing the gross proceeds of this offering less allowable underwriting commissions, expenses and company deductions under Rule 419, would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. |
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Investment of net proceeds |
$125,000,000 of the net offering proceeds and the sale of the private placement units held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. |
Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. |
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Receipt of interest on escrowed funds |
Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to stockholders is reduced by: (1) any taxes paid or payable; and (2) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation. |
Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination. |
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Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
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Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business |
The NYSE rules require that an initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount). |
The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds. |
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Trading of securities issued |
The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A common stock and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Cowen and Company, LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. 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. |
No trading of the units or the underlying common stock and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. |
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Exercise of the warrants |
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. |
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Election to remain an investor |
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest, which interest shall be net of taxes payable, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by applicable law or stock exchange rules to hold a stockholder vote. If we are not required by applicable law or stock exchange rules and do not otherwise decide to hold a stockholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 stockholder vote, we will, like |
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 stockholder 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 stockholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain |
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Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
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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. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a stockholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least 10 days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting and, if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. |
investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued. |
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Business combination deadline |
If we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. |
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. |
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Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
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Release of funds |
Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (1) the completion of our initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions 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 stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of all of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. |
The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination and the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
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Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a stockholder vote |
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect Excess Shares (more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering), without our prior consent. Our public stockholders’ inability to redeem Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and they could suffer a material loss on their investment in us if they sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. |
Most blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of stockholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such stockholders in connection with an initial business combination. |
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Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
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Tendering stock certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights |
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. |
In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, holders could vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holders were seeking to exercise their redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholders to arrange for them to deliver their certificate to verify ownership. |
Competition
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire.
Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there will be numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. Our founders or any of its affiliates may make additional investments in us, although our founders have no obligation or other duty to do so. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders 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 target businesses. Any of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating and completing an initial business combination.
Facilities
We currently maintain our executive offices at 357 Tehama Street, Floor 3, San Francisco, CA 94103. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee that we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
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Employees
We currently have five officers and do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Members of our management team 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 that any such person will devote in any time period to our company will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We will register our units, Class A common stock and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accounting firm.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with PCAOB standards. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 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, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements 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 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 stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
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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 common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter; and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
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, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding in the 12 months preceding the date of this prospectus.
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Directors, Director Nominees and Executive Officers
Our directors, director nominees and officers are as follows:
Name |
Age |
Title |
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Oleg Nodelman |
43 |
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Nominee |
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Scott Perlen |
45 |
Chief Financial Officer |
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Scott Platshon |
28 |
Chief Operating Officer |
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Caroline Stout |
29 |
Chief Investment Officer |
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Sarah Marriott |
43 |
Secretary and Director |
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Daniel Bradbury |
59 |
Director Nominee |
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Graham Cooper |
50 |
Director Nominee |
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Faheem Hasnain |
62 |
Director Nominee |
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Shalini Sharp |
45 |
Director Nominee |
Oleg Nodelman has been our Chief Executive officer since our inception in April 2020 and is our Chairman Nominee. Mr. Nodelman has been the Portfolio Manager of EcoR1, a biotech-focused investment advisory firm that invests in companies at all stages of research and development, since he founded it in 2013. With nearly 20 years of experience in biotech investing, Mr. Nodelman has expertise in all aspects of investment management and deep roots in the biotech and scientific communities. Before founding EcoR1, Mr. Nodelman was an analyst and portfolio manager from 2001 to 2012 at Biotechnology Value Fund. Prior to BVF, Mr. Nodelman worked in strategic consulting and organizational management at Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman). He currently serves as a Board Member for Prothena (Nasdaq: PRTA), a clinical-stage neuroscience company focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies. Mr. Nodelman has a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service with a concentration in Science and Technology from Georgetown University. Mr. Nodelman is well qualified to serve as the Chairperson of our board of directors because of his experience serving on the boards of directors of public and private companies in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology sector, as well as his role as Founder and Portfolio Manager of EcoR1.
Scott Perlen has been our Chief Financial Officer since our inception in April 2020. Mr. Perlen has been the Chief Financial Officer of EcoR1 since joining the firm in 2019. He oversees accounting and finance for EcoR1 and its investment funds as well as the funds’ day to day trade operations. Prior to joining EcoR1 in 2019, Mr. Perlen served as Chief Financial Officer for seven years at Sheffield Asset Management, LLC, a Chicago-based investment firm. Prior to Sheffield, Mr. Perlen was a Vice President at Grosvenor Capital Management, LP, a global leader in the alternative asset industry. During his seven years at Grosvenor, Mr. Perlen managed a group dedicated to providing outsourced CFO functionality to a number of investment firm managers and also assisted in performing operational due diligence reviews on underlying investment firms. Prior to joining Grosvenor in 2005, Mr. Perlen was an Assistant Vice President at Bank of America, focusing on operational risk and accounting for the bank’s derivatives business. From 1997 to 2002, Mr. Perlen managed the operations and fund accounting at Sunrise Capital Partners, LLC, a San Diego-based investment firm. Mr. Perlen received his Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1997.
Scott Platshon has been our Chief Operating Officer since our inception in April 2020. Mr. Platshon joined EcoR1 in 2015 where he currently serves as a Principal and is responsible for due diligence and analysis of biotechnology companies for value-oriented investment opportunities. Mr. Platshon previously worked at Aquilo Partners, a boutique life sciences investment bank. Mr. Platshon holds a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering from Stanford University.
Caroline Stout has been our Chief Investment Officer since our inception in April 2020. Ms. Stout joined EcoR1 in 2014 where she currently serves as a Principal. At EcoR1, she has led several of the firm’s investments in the biotechnology sector. Ms. Stout previously worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at Credit Suisse in New York. She has experience working on a range of transactions in the healthcare and biotechnology sectors, including leveraged buyouts, initial public offerings and follow-on equity raises. Ms. Stout graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, a Pre-Medical concentration, and Cognitive Science minor.
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Daniel Bradbury has agreed to serve on our board of directors following the completion of this offering. Since January 2020, Mr. Bradbury has served as Executive Chairman of Equillium, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQ), a biopharmaceutical company that develops products to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory disorders with high unmet medical need and which he co-founded. Mr. Bradbury served as Chairman of Equillium, Inc. from March 2018 through December 2019. Mr. Bradbury also previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Equillium, Inc., from June 2018 through December 2019 and as President of Equillium, Inc. from March 2017 until June 2018. He has also served as the Managing Member of BioBrit, LLC, a life sciences consulting and investment firm, since 2012. Prior to co-founding Equillium, he served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on metabolic diseases. During his 18-year tenure at Amylin, the company launched three first-in-class medicines, including the first once-a-week therapy to treat diabetes, and was listed on the Nasdaq 100. He served as Amylin’s Chief Executive Officer from March 2007 until its acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in August 2012 for $7 billion. Before joining Amylin, Mr. Bradbury worked in marketing and sales for 10 years at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. He serves on the board of directors of Intercept Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ICPT), Castle Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSTL), and a number of private companies and philanthropic organizations. Mr. Bradbury received a Bachelor of Pharmacy from Nottingham University and a Diploma in Management Studies from Harrow and Ealing Colleges of Higher Education in the United Kingdom. Mr. Bradbury is well qualified to serve on our board of directors because he has extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, has demonstrated leadership and operational skills and possesses significant research, development and commercialization expertise, as well as public company board experience.
Graham Cooper has agreed to serve on our board of directors following the completion of this offering. Mr. Cooper is a member of the boards of directors of Unity Biotechnology (Nasdaq: UBX), Kezar Life Sciences (Nasdaq: KZR), Beam Therapeutics (Nasdaq: BEAM) and Applied Molecular Transport (private). Mr. Cooper also previously served as a member of the board of directors of Celladon Corporation, which merged with Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: EIGR) in 2016. From March 2018 until May 2019, Mr. Cooper served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Assembly Biosciences, Inc. Prior to joining Assembly, he was Chief Financial Officer of Receptos, Inc., from 2013 until its sale in 2015 to Celgene for $7.8 billion. In 2012, Mr. Cooper was the Chief Financial Officer of Geron Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company focused on cancer therapies. From 2006 until 2011, Mr. Cooper served as Chief Financial Officer of Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on obesity therapies. From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Cooper held positions of increasing responsibility including Director, Health Care Investment Banking, at Deutsche Bank Securities, where he was responsible for executing and managing a wide variety of financing and merger and acquisition transactions in the life sciences field. From 1992 to 1995, he worked as an accountant at Deloitte & Touche, where he earned his C.P.A. Mr. Cooper holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Mr. Cooper is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his significant financial and accounting experience in the life sciences industry.
Faheem Hasnain has agreed to serve on our board of directors following the completion of this offering. In 2015, Mr. Hasnain co-founded Gossamer Bio (Nasdaq: GOSS), a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on discovering, acquiring, developing and commercializing therapeutics in the disease areas of immunology, inflammation and oncology, and served as its Chief Executive Officer through July 2018, at which time he became Gossamer Bio’s Executive Chairman. Since 2019, Mr. Hasnain has served as non-executive Chairman of Gossamer Bio. Prior to Gossamer Bio, Mr. Hasnain served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Receptos, Inc. from November 2010 until the company’s acquisition by Celgene Corporation in August 2015 for $7.8 billion. Prior to joining Receptos, Mr. Hasnain was the President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of Facet Biotech Corporation, a biology driven antibody company with a focus in multiple sclerosis and oncology. He held that position from December 2008 until the company’s acquisition by Abbott Laboratories in April 2010 for over $700 million. Previously, Mr. Hasnain was President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of PDL BioPharma, Inc. from October 2008 until Facet Biotech was spun off from PDL BioPharma in December 2008. From October 2004 to September 2008, Mr. Hasnain served at Biogen Idec Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in neurological disorders, autoimmune disorders and cancer, most recently as Executive Vice President in charge of the oncology/rheumatology strategic business unit. Prior to Biogen Idec, Mr. Hasnain held roles at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he was President of the Oncology Therapeutics Network, and at GlaxoSmithKline and its predecessor organizations, the latter for 14 years. He has been Chairman of the Board of Sente, Inc. since 2008, Chairman of the Board of Tocagen Inc. (Nasdaq: TOCA) since November 2014, Lead Independent Director of Kura Oncology (Nasdaq: KURA) since 2015, Chairman of the Board of Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRTX) since February
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2019 and a member of the Board of Overseers of Scripps Research Institute since 2018. He previously served as Chairman of the Board of Ambit Biosciences Corporation and served as a member of the Board of Directors of Tercica, Inc., Aragon Pharmaceuticals, Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Vital Therapies, Inc. Mr. Hasnain received a B.H.K. and B.Ed. from the University of Windsor Ontario in Canada. Mr. Hasnain is well qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his years of experience in drug discovery and development and as a biopharmaceutical executive and board member.
Sarah Marriott has served as our Secretary and on our board of directors since our inception in April 2020. Ms. Marriott joined EcoR1 in 2014 and is the firm’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, where she is responsible for operational, regulatory and compliance issues. Ms. Marriott has experience working across the diverse areas of civil and criminal litigation. Prior to EcoR1, she served as a Deputy District Attorney in Solano County, California. Prior to serving as a prosecutor, Ms. Marriott practiced at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in San Francisco, where she handled commercial litigation matters. Ms. Marriott previously completed a clerkship on the federal Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Ms. Marriott holds a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College. Ms. Marriott is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to her experience in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology sector, as well as her role as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of EcoR1.
Shalini Sharp has agreed to serve on our board of directors following the completion of this offering. Ms. Sharp is currently the Chief Financial Officer at Ultragenyx (Nasdaq: RARE), which she joined in May 2012. She is responsible for leading the corporate finance, strategy, and information technology functions and is a member of the company’s executive leadership team. Ms. Sharp is a member of the Board of Directors of Neurocrine Biosciences (Nasdaq: NBIX), a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company, Sutro Biopharma (Nasdaq: STRO), a drug discovery, development and manufacturing company focused on creating next-generation oncology therapeutics, and Precision Biosciences, a privately-held genome editing company. She is also a board member of TB Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and distribution of treatments for tuberculosis in the developing world. She previously served on the Board of Array Biopharma from 2017 until its sale to Pfizer in 2019. Prior to Ultragenyx, Ms. Sharp was Chief Financial Officer of Agenus Inc. (Nasdaq: AGEN), a biotechnology company focused on cancer immunotherapies from 2006 to 2012 and served on the Board of Agenus from 2012 to 2018. She joined Agenus in 2003 and held increasing roles of responsibility spanning strategic planning, corporate development, investor relations, corporate finance and business development. Prior to Agenus, Ms. Sharp held similar roles at Elan Pharmaceuticals from 1998 to 2003, including serving as chief of staff to the Chairman of the Board of Directors during that company’s restructuring. Ms. Sharp was also a management consultant at McKinsey & Company as well as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, specializing in pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Ms. Sharp holds both a B.A., magna cum laude, and M.B.A., from Harvard University. Ms. Sharp is well qualified to serve on our board of directors because of her 25 years in the life sciences industry, extensive experience as a chief financial officer of a public company, her financial acumen, and her management and leadership skills.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect that our board of directors will consist of six members. Our board of directors is divided into three classes, with only one class of directors being elected in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Daniel Bradbury and Graham Cooper, will expire at our first annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Faheem Hasnain and Shalini Sharp, will expire at our second annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Oleg Nodelman and Sarah Marriott, will expire at our third annual meeting of shareholders.
Prior to consummation of our initial business combination, holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to elect all of our directors and remove members of our board of directors for any reason. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to vote on the election of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended if approved by holders of a majority of at least 90% of the outstanding shares of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting. Approval of our initial business combination will require the affirmative vote of a majority of our board directors, which must include a majority of our independent directors. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the stockholders, prior to our initial
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business combination, any vacancies on our board of directors may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present and voting at the meeting of our board of directors that includes any directors representing our sponsor then on our board of directors, or by holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock.
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 bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws will provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman of the Board, a Chief Executive Officer, a Chief Financial Officer, a Secretary and such other officers (including without limitation, a President, Vice Presidents, Assistant Secretaries, and a Treasurer) as our board of directors from time to time may determine.
Director Independence
The rules of the NYSE require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our initial public offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person that, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect to have four “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE rules and applicable SEC rules prior to completion of this offering. Our board of directors has determined that each of Daniel Bradbury, Graham Cooper, Faheem Hasnain and Shalini Sharp is an independent director under applicable SEC and NYSE rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Executive Officer and Director Compensation
None of our officers or directors have received any compensation for services rendered to us. Our founders, officers, directors and their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or any of their respective affiliates.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other compensation from the combined company. All compensation will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time such materials are distributed, 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 officers after the completion of our initial business combination will be determined by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors.
We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, and we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination should be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Upon the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our board of directors will have three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee, each of which will be composed solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules, 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, and the rules of the NYSE require that the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee will operate under a charter that will be approved by our board of directors and will have the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee will be available on our website following the closing of this offering.
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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. The members of our audit committee will be Daniel Bradbury and Faheem Hasnain. Daniel Bradbury will serve as chairman of the audit committee. We expect our audit committee to have three “independent directors” within one year of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Daniel Bradbury qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
We will adopt an audit committee charter, which will detail the purpose and principal functions of the audit committee, including:
• assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent auditor’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent auditors;
• the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us;
• pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;
• reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence;
• setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent auditors;
• setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
• obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent auditors describing (1) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues;
• meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”;
• reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and
• reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.
Compensation Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a compensation committee of the board of directors. The members of our compensation committee will be Graham Cooper, Daniel Bradbury and Shalini Sharp. Graham Cooper will serve as chairman of the compensation committee.
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We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which will detail the purpose and responsibilities 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 making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive-compensation and equity-based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other 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 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, independent 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.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a nominating and corporate governance committee of the board of directors. The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee will be Graham Cooper, Faheem Hasnain and Shalini Sharp. Shalini Sharp will serve as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
We will adopt a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which will detail the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
• identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board, and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for election at the annual meeting of stockholders or to fill vacancies on the board of directors;
• developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines;
• coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and
• reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary.
The charter will also provide that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and will be directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.
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We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
Code of Ethics
Prior to the closing of this offering, we will adopt a code of ethics and business conduct (our “Code of Ethics”) applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our form of our Code of Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on our website. In addition, a copy of our 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. Please see “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”
Conflicts of Interest
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. 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.
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Our founders, officers and directors may become involved with subsequent special purpose acquisition companies similar to our company. Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
• None of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities.
• In the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. Please see “— Directors, Director Nominees and Executive Officers” for a description of our management’s other affiliations.
• We will enter into a forward purchase agreement with the forward purchase investors, who are affiliates of our sponsor.
• Our initial stockholders, officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our initial stockholders, officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and private placement shares held by them if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial stockholders or any of our officers, directors or affiliates acquire public shares in or after this offering,
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they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement units held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement units will expire worthless.
• With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our initial stockholders until the earlier of: (1) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (2) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) the date on which we consummate a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property and (y) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement units (including the underlying private placement warrants, the private placement shares and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our founders, officers and directors may directly or indirectly own our securities following this offering, our officers and directors 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 key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. 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 to proceed with a particular business combination.
• Our key personnel may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such key personnel was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
• the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity;
• the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and
• it would not be fair to the corporation and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation.
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors have similar legal obligations and duties relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Furthermore, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the doctrine of corporate opportunity will not apply with respect to any of our officers or directors in circumstances where the application of the doctrine would conflict with any fiduciary duties or contractual obligations they may have, and there will not be any expectancy that any of our directors or officers will offer any such corporate opportunity of which he or she may become aware to us. Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our officers, directors and director nominees currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may present a conflict of interest:
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Name of Individual |
Entity Name |
Entity’s Business |
Affiliation |
|||
Oleg Nodelman |
EcoR1 Capital, LLC(1) |
Investment Firm |
Portfolio Manager |
|||
Prothena |
Neuroscience Company |
Board Member |
||||
Scott Perlen |
EcoR1 Capital, LLC(1) |
Investment Firm |
Chief Financial Officer |
|||
Scott Platshon |
EcoR1 Capital, LLC(1) |
Investment Firm |
Principal |
|||
Caroline Stout |
EcoR1 Capital, LLC(1) |
Investment Firm |
Principal |
|||
Sarah Marriott |
EcoR1 Capital, LLC(1) |
Investment Firm |
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer |
|||
Daniel Bradbury |
Equillium, Inc. |
Biopharmaceutical Company |
Executive Chairman |
|||
BioBrit, LLC |
Investment Firm |
Managing Member |
||||
Intercept Pharmaceuticals |
Biopharmaceutical Company |
Board Member |
||||
Castle BioSciences, Inc. |
Dermatological Company |
Board Member |
||||
Graham Cooper |
Unity Biotechnology Services |
Biotechnology Company |
Board Member |
|||
Kezar Life Sciences |
Biotechnology Company |
Board Member |
||||
Beam Therapeutics |
Biotechnology Company |
Board Member |
||||
Applied Molecular Transport |
Biopharmaceutical Company |
Board Member |
||||
Faheem Hasnain |
Gossamer Bio |
Biopharmaceutical Company |
Co-Founder and Chairman |
|||
Sente, Inc. |
Dermatological Company |
Chairman |
||||
Tocagen Inc. |
Gene Therapy Company |
Chairman |
||||
Kura Oncology |
Biopharmaceutical Company |
Lead Independent Director |
||||
Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. |
Oncology Company |
Chairman |
||||
Scripps Research Institute |
Nonprofit Organization |
Member of Board of Overseers |
||||
Shalini Sharp |
Ultragenyx |
Biopharmaceutical Company |
Chief Financial Officer |
|||
Neurocrine Biosciences |
Biopharmaceutical Company |
Board Member |
||||
Sutro Biopharma |
Drug Discovery and Manufacturing Company |
Board Member |
||||
Precision Biosciences |
Life Sciences Company |
Board Member |
||||
TB Alliance |
Nonprofit Organization |
Board Member |
____________
(1) Includes EcoR1 Capital, LLC and its affiliates.
Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. 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.
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
In addition, our sponsor or any of its affiliates may make additional investments in the company in connection with the initial business combination, although, other than the forward purchase agreement, our sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation or current intention to do so. If our sponsor or any of its affiliates elects to make additional investments, such proposed investments could influence our sponsor’s motivation to complete an initial business combination.
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In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination, and our officers and directors have also agreed to vote public shares purchased by them (if any) during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our officers and directors will be indemnified by us to the fullest extent authorized by Delaware law, as it now exists or may in the future be amended. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our directors will not be personally liable for monetary damages to us or our stockholders for breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, except to the extent such exemption from liability or limitation thereof is not permitted by the DGCL.
We will enter into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also permit us to maintain insurance on behalf of any officer, director or employee for any liability arising out of his or her actions, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit such indemnification. We will obtain 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.
A stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against 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.
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.
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The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our common stock included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:
• each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock;
• each of our executive officers, directors and director nominees; and
• all our executive officers, directors and director nominees 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 shares of common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants because these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.
The post-offering ownership percentage column below assumes that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that our founders forfeit 468,750 founder shares and that there are 16,075,000 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding after this offering.
Prior to Offering Approximate |
Post-Offering Approximate |
|||||||||||
Number of
|
Percentage of
|
Number of
|
Percentage of
|
|||||||||
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) |
|
|
|
|
||||||||
EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC (our sponsor)(7) |
2,775,000 |
(2)(3) |
77.2 |
% |
2,760,000 |
(3)(4) |
17.2 |
% |
||||
Cowen Investments II LLC(8) |
718,750 |
(2)(3) |
20.0 |
% |
715,000 |
(3)(5) |
4.4 |
% |
||||
Oleg Nodelman(7) |
2,775,000 |
(2)(3) |
77.2 |
% |
2,760,000 |
(3)(4) |
|
|||||
Scott Perlen |
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
||||
Scott Platshon |
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
||||
Caroline Stout |
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
||||
Sarah Marriott |
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
||||
Daniel Bradbury |
25,000 |
(2)(3) |
* |
|
25,000 |
(2)(3) |
* |
|
||||
Graham Cooper |
25,000 |
(2)(3) |
* |
|
25,000 |
(2)(3) |
* |
|
||||
Faheem Hasnain |
25,000 |
(2)(3) |
* |
|
25,000 |
(2)(3) |
* |
|
||||
Shalini Sharp |
25,000 |
(2)(3) |
* |
|
25,000 |
(2)(3) |
* |
|
||||
All directors and executive officers as a group (nine individuals) |
2,875,000 |
(2)(3) |
80.0 |
% |
2,860,000 |
(3)(6) |
17.8 |
% |
____________
* Less than one percent.
(1) Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Panacea Acquisition Corp., 357 Tehama Street, Floor 3, San Francisco, CA 94103.
(2) Interests shown consist solely of shares of Class B common stock. Excludes forward purchase securities that will only be issued, if at all, at the time of our initial business combination.
(3) Shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities.”
(4) Interests shown consist of 2,400,000 shares of Class B common stock and 360,000 shares of Class A common stock included in the private placement units.
(5) Interests shown consist of 625,000 shares of Class B common stock and 90,000 shares of Class A common stock included in the private placement units.
(6) Interests shown consist of 2,500,000 shares of Class B common stock and 360,000 shares of Class A common stock included in the private placement units.
(7) EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of the Class B ordinary shares reported herein. The managing members of our sponsor are certain funds of EcoR1 that are limited partnerships, the general partners of which are controlled by Mr. Nodelman. As such, Mr. Nodelman may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the common stock held directly by our sponsor. Each of our independent directors is, directly or indirectly, a non-managing member of our sponsor.
(8) The business address is 599 Lexington Avenue, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10022.
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Upon the completion of this offering, our initial stockholders will beneficially own 22.2% of the then issued and outstanding shares of our common stock (assuming our initial stockholders do not purchase any units in this offering). As a result of holding substantially all of the founder shares, our founders, together, and our sponsor acting alone, will have the right, prior to our initial business combination, to elect all of our directors and remove any director for any reason. In addition, because of this ownership block, our initial stockholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units).
Our founders have committed to purchase an aggregate of 450,000 (or 487,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit ($4,500,000 in the aggregate or $4,875,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering.
Prior to this offering, we will enter into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investors will agree to subscribe for an aggregate of 2,500,000 forward purchase shares and 833,333 forward purchase warrants, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000,000, or $10.00 per forward purchase share and one-third of one forward purchase warrant, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. If the sale of the forward purchase securities fails to close, for any reason, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination.
Our sponsor is deemed to be our “promoter” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws. Please see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” for additional information regarding our relationships with our promoters.
Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Units
The founder shares and the private placement units (including the underlying private placement warrants, the private placement shares and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the letter agreement with us to be entered into by our initial stockholders. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (1) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property or (y) if the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, and (2) in the case of the private placement units (including the underlying private placement warrants, the private placement shares and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants), until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except in each case (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any members of our founders, or any affiliates of our founders, (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or 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 sales or transfers made in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (f) in the event of our liquidation prior to our completion of our initial business combination; (g) by virtue of the laws of Delaware or our sponsor’s limited liability company agreement, as amended, upon dissolution of our sponsor; or (h) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction which results in all of our public stockholders
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having the right to exchange their shares of Class A common stock 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 (e) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other applicable restrictions contained in the letter agreement.
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement units, private placement shares, private placement warrants, forward purchase securities and units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the shares and warrants included therein (and any shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants, forward purchase warrants or warrants included in the units issued upon conversion of working capital loans ) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering requiring us to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to shares of Class A common stock). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration 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 and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Cowen Investments may not exercise its demand or “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 its demand rights on more than one occasion. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
In May 2020, our founders purchased an aggregate of 3,593,750 founder shares for a capital contribution of $25,000. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares of common stock upon completion of this offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units). In May 2020, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of our independent director nominees at their original purchase price. Up to 468,750 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our founders depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
Our founders have committed to purchase an aggregate of 450,000 (or 487,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement units for a purchase price of $10.00 per unit in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. As such, our founders’ interest in this transaction is valued at between $4,500,000 and $4,875,000, depending on the number of private placement units purchased. Among the private placement units, 360,000 units (or 390,000 units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by our sponsor and/or its designees and 90,000 units (or 97,500 units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by Cowen Investments and/or its designees.
Prior to this offering, we will enter into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investors will agree to subscribe for an aggregate of 2,500,000 forward purchase shares and 833,333 forward purchase warrants, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000,000, or $10.00 per forward purchase share and one-third of one forward purchase warrant, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. If the sale of the forward purchase securities fails to close, for any reason, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination. The forward purchase shares and the forward purchase warrants will be identical to the public shares and public warrants, respectively, except that the holders thereof will have certain registration rights, as described below.
As described in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have other relevant fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties that may take priority over their duties to us.
We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will also pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. Accordingly, in the event the consummation of our initial business combination takes the maximum 24 months, an affiliate of our sponsor will be paid a total of $240,000 ($10,000 per month) for office space, administrative and support services and will be entitled to be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses.
Our founders, officers and directors or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or any of their respective affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Prior to the commencement of this offering, our founders agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering, our sponsor up to $240,000 and Cowen Investments up to $60,000. As of May 7, 2020, there were no amounts outstanding under such promissory notes. Subsequent to May 7, 2020, we drew down $80,000 under the promissory notes to be used as a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2020 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $900,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account.
In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our founders, an affiliate of our founders or 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
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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 $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private placement units issued to our founders. The terms of such loans by our founders, an affiliate of our founders or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our founders, an affiliate of our founders or our officers and directors, if any, as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us, if any, may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. 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 stockholder 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 officer and director compensation.
We have entered into a letter agreement with our initial stockholders, officers and directors pursuant to which (x) they have agreed to waive: (1) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, the private placement shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (2) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, the private placement shares and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and private placement shares they hold if we fail to complete our 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), and (y) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described under “Description of Securities — Founder Shares”
We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares, private placement units, the private placement shares, private placement warrants, forward purchase securities and units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the shares and warrants included therein (and any shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants, forward purchase warrants or warrants included in the units issued upon conversion of working capital loans), which is described under the heading “Principal Stockholders — Registration Rights.”
We will also pay to Cowen and Company, LLC, one of the underwriters of this offering and an affiliate of one of our founders, an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit purchased by it in this offering. We have also engaged Cowen and Company, LLC as an advisor in connection with our business combination, pursuant to the Business Combination Marketing Agreement described under “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest) — Business Combination Marketing Agreement.” We will pay Cowen and Company, LLC the Marketing Fee for such services upon the consummation of our initial business combination in an amount equal to, in the aggregate, 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering, including any proceeds from the full or partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. As a result, Cowen and Company, LLC will not be entitled to such fee unless we consummate our initial business combination.
Related Party Policy
We have not yet adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions. Accordingly, the transactions discussed above were not reviewed, approved or ratified in accordance with any such policy.
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Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt our Code of Ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board of directors) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our Code of Ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company. A form of the Code of Ethics that we plan to adopt prior to the consummation of this offering is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter that we will adopt prior to the consummation of this offering, will be responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. 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.
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, we have agreed not to consummate an initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our sponsor, officers or directors unless we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, have obtained an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our founders, officers or directors or our or any of their respective 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 units held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:
• repayment of an aggregate of up to $300,000 in loans made to us by our founders to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;
• payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of a total of $10,000 per month, for up to 24 months, for office space, administrative and support services;
• reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination;
• payment to Cowen and Company, LLC of its underwriting discount, Marketing Fee, fees for any financial advisory, placement agency or other similar investment banking services Cowen and Company, LLC may provide to our company in the future, and reimbursement of Cowen and Company, LLC for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by it in connection with the performance of such services; and
• repayment of loans which may be made by our founders, an affiliate of our founders or our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender.
These payments may be funded using the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units not held in the trust account or, upon completion of the initial business combination, from any amounts remaining from the proceeds of the trust account released to us in connection therewith.
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Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our authorized capital stock will consist of 500,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, and 5,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, $0.0001 par value. The following description summarizes the material terms of our capital stock. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units
Each unit offered in this offering has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of the company’s Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder.
The Class A common stock and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Cowen and Company, LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the shares of Class A common stock and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into shares of Class A common stock and warrants. Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination. No fractional 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 warrant.
In no event will the Class A common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet of our company reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K that includes this audited balance sheet 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.
Common Stock
Upon the closing of this offering, 16,075,000 shares of our common stock will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 468,750 founder shares by our founders), including:
• 12,500,000 shares of our Class A common stock underlying the units being offered in this offering;
• 450,000 shares of our Class A common stock underlying the private placement units; and
• 3,125,000 shares of Class B common stock held by our initial stockholders.
If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units).
Common stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders; provided that, prior to our initial business combination, holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to elect all of our directors and remove members of our board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended if approved by holders of a majority
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of at least 90% of the outstanding shares of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting. On any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, holders of our Class B common stock and holders of our Class A common stock will vote together as a single class, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule.
Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders, and, prior to our initial business combination, the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock is required to approve the election or removal of directors. Our board of directors will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the Class B common stock voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. Our stockholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Because our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of up to 500,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, 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 shares of Class A common stock which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our stockholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial owner must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Our initial stockholders, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Permitted transferees of our founders, officers or directors will be subject to the same obligations. Unlike many blank check companies that hold stockholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial business combinations and provide for related redemptions of public shares for cash upon completion of such initial business combinations even when a vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, if a stockholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 certificate of incorporation will 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 stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, or we decide to obtain stockholder 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 stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of
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shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. However, the participation of our founders, officers, directors, advisors or any of 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 stockholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. We intend to give not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds and agreements may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect Excess Shares (more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering), without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our public stockholders’ inability to redeem Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and they could suffer a material loss on their investment in us if they sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, such stockholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete the business combination. And, as a result, such stockholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our initial stockholders, officers and directors have agreed (and their permitted transferees, as applicable, will agree) to vote any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares and private placement shares, we would need 4,462,501, or 35.7% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 443,751, or 3.6% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 12,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction, in order to have such initial business combination approved. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our initial stockholders, officers and directors 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 and private placement shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our founders or any of our officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates then hold any public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame to complete our initial business combination.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our stockholders at such time will be 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 stock, if any, having preference over the
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common stock. Our stockholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock, except that we will provide our stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
Founder Shares
The founder shares are identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: (1) prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the Class B common stock have the right to vote on the election of directors and holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove members of our board of directors for any reason; (2) our initial stockholders, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive: (a) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (b) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement shares and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (c) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and private placement shares held by them if we fail to complete our 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); (3) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; (4) the founder shares are automatically convertible into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described herein; and (5) the holders of founder shares are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders, officers and directors have agreed (and their permitted transferees, as applicable, will agree) to vote any founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, other than the forward purchase securities, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon completion of this offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units) plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination (net of the number of shares of Class A common stock redeemed in connection with our initial business combination), excluding the forward purchase securities and any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination.
With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our founders, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination, (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property or (y) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination.
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Preferred Stock
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock and will provide that shares of preferred stock 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 stockholder approval, issue preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the common stock and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder 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 preferred stock outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any shares of preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No shares of preferred stock are being issued or registered in this offering.
Warrants
Public Stockholders’ Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of 12 months from the closing of this offering and 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as described below. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation; provided, however, that the private placement warrants issued to Cowen Investments will not be exercisable more than five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(f)(2)(G)(i).
We will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock is available, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. 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. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the share of Class A common stock underlying such unit.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC, and within 60 business days following our initial business combination to have declared effective, a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A
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common stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361. The “fair market value” shall mean the volume weighted average price of the Class A common stock 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.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
• upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, or the 30-day redemption period, to each warrant holder; and
• if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.
If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem warrants even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.
We have established the $18.00 per share (as adjusted) redemption criteria discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A common stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00. Commencing ninety days after the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement units):
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.10 per warrant provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption and receive that number of shares of Class A common stock determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined below) except as otherwise described below;
• upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption;
• if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and
• if, and only if, there is an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating thereto available throughout the 30-day period after written notice of redemption is given.
The numbers in the table below represent the number of shares of Class A common stock that a warrant holder will receive upon cashless exercise in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, based on the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their warrants and such warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per warrant), determined based on the average of the last reported sales price for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on
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which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, and the number of months that the corresponding redemption date precedes the expiration date of the warrants, each as set forth in the table below.
Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to Class A common stock shall include a security other than Class A common stock into which the Class A common stock has been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination. The numbers in the tables below will not be adjusted solely as a result of us not being the surviving entity following our initial business combination.
The stock prices set forth in the column headings of the table below will be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant is adjusted as set forth in the first three paragraphs under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” below. The adjusted stock prices in the column headings will equal the stock prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant as so adjusted. The number of shares in the table below shall be adjusted in the same manner and at the same time as the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant.
Redemption Date (period to expiration of warrants) |
Fair Market Value of Class A Common Stock |
|||||||||||||||||
≤$10.00 |
$11.00 |
$12.00 |
$13.00 |
$14.00 |
$15.00 |
$16.00 |
$17.00 |
≥$18.00 |
||||||||||
57 months |
0.257 |
0.277 |
0.294 |
0.310 |
0.324 |
0.337 |
0.348 |
0.358 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
54 months |
0.252 |
0.272 |
0.291 |
0.307 |
0.322 |
0.335 |
0.347 |
0.357 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
51 months |
0.246 |
0.268 |
0.287 |
0.304 |
0.320 |
0.333 |
0.346 |
0.357 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
48 months |
0.241 |
0.263 |
0.283 |
0.301 |
0.317 |
0.332 |
0.344 |
0.356 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
45 months |
0.235 |
0.258 |
0.279 |
0.298 |
0.315 |
0.330 |
0.343 |
0.356 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
42 months |
0.228 |
0.252 |
0.274 |
0.294 |
0.312 |
0.328 |
0.342 |
0.355 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
39 months |
0.221 |
0.246 |
0.269 |
0.290 |
0.309 |
0.325 |
0.340 |
0.354 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
36 months |
0.213 |
0.239 |
0.263 |
0.285 |
0.305 |
0.323 |
0.339 |
0.353 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
33 months |
0.205 |
0.232 |
0.257 |
0.280 |
0.301 |
0.320 |
0.337 |
0.352 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
30 months |
0.196 |
0.224 |
0.250 |
0.274 |
0.297 |
0.316 |
0.335 |
0.351 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
27 months |
0.185 |
0.214 |
0.242 |
0.268 |
0.291 |
0.313 |
0.332 |
0.350 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
24 months |
0.173 |
0.204 |
0.233 |
0.260 |
0.285 |
0.308 |
0.329 |
0.348 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
21 months |
0.161 |
0.193 |
0.223 |
0.252 |
0.279 |
0.304 |
0.326 |
0.347 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
18 months |
0.146 |
0.179 |
0.211 |
0.242 |
0.271 |
0.298 |
0.322 |
0.345 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
15 months |
0.130 |
0.164 |
0.197 |
0.230 |
0.262 |
0.291 |
0.317 |
0.342 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
12 months |
0.111 |
0.146 |
0.181 |
0.216 |
0.250 |
0.282 |
0.312 |
0.339 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
9 months |
0.090 |
0.125 |
0.162 |
0.199 |
0.237 |
0.272 |
0.305 |
0.336 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
6 months |
0.065 |
0.099 |
0.137 |
0.178 |
0.219 |
0.259 |
0.296 |
0.331 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
3 months |
0.034 |
0.065 |
0.104 |
0.150 |
0.197 |
0.243 |
0.286 |
0.326 |
0.361 |
|||||||||
0 months |
— |
— |
0.042 |
0.115 |
0.179 |
0.233 |
0.281 |
0.323 |
0.361 |
The exact fair market value and redemption date may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the fair market value is between two values in the table or the redemption date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued for each warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365 or 366-day year, as applicable. For example, if the average last reported sale price of our Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading date prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $11 per share, and at such time there are 57 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.277 shares of Class A common stock for each whole warrant. For an example where the exact fair market value and redemption date are not as set forth in the table above, if the average last reported sale price of our Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading date prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $13.50 per share, and at such time there are 38 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.298 shares of Class A common stock for each whole warrant. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 shares of Class A
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common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment). Finally, as reflected in the table above, if the warrants are out of the money and about to expire, they cannot be exercised on a cashless basis in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, since they will not be exercisable for any shares of Class A common stock.
Any public warrants held by our officers or directors will be subject to this redemption feature, except that such officers and directors shall only receive “fair market value” for such public warrants if they exercise their public warrants in connection with such redemption (“fair market value” for such public warrants held by our officers or directors being defined as the last reported sale price of the public warrants on such redemption date).
This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in many other blank check offerings, which typically only provide for a redemption of warrants for cash (other than the private placement warrants) when the trading price for the Class A common stock exceeds $18.00 per share for a specified period of time. This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding warrants (other than the private placement warrant) to be redeemed when the Class A common stock is trading at or above $10.00 per share, which may be at a time when the trading price of our Class A common stock is below the exercise price of the warrants. We have established this redemption feature to provide us with the flexibility to redeem the warrants without the warrants having to reach the $18.00 per share threshold set forth above under “— Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00.” Holders choosing to exercise their warrants in connection with a redemption pursuant to this feature will, in effect, receive a number of shares for their warrants based on an option pricing model with a fixed volatility input as of the date of this prospectus. This redemption right provides us an additional mechanism by which to redeem all of the outstanding warrants, and therefore have certainty as to our capital structure as the warrants would no longer be outstanding and would have been exercised or redeemed, and we will effectively be required to pay the redemption price to warrant holders if we choose to exercise this redemption right and it will allow us to quickly proceed with a redemption of the warrants if we determine it is in our best interest to do so. As such, we would redeem the warrants in this manner when we believe it is in our best interest to update our capital structure to remove the warrants and pay the redemption price to the warrant holders.
As stated above, we can redeem the warrants when the Class A common stock is trading at a price starting at $10.00, which is below the exercise price of $11.50, because it will provide certainty with respect to our capital structure and cash position while providing warrant holders with the opportunity to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis for the applicable number of shares of Class A common stock. If we choose to redeem the warrants when the Class A common stock is trading at a price below the exercise price of the warrants, this could result in the warrant holders receiving fewer shares of Class A common stock than they would have received if they had chosen to wait to exercise their warrants for shares of Class A common stock if and when shares of Class A common stock were trading at a price higher than the exercise price of $11.50 per share.
No fractional shares of Class A common stock will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the holder. If, at the time of redemption, the warrants are exercisable for a security other than the shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the warrant agreement (for instance, if we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination), the warrants may be exercised for such security.
Redemption Procedures and Cashless Exercise. If we call the warrants for redemption as described above under “— Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00,” our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” (such option, the “Cashless Exercise Option”). In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361. The “fair market value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is sent to the warrant agent. If our management takes advantage of this Cashless Exercise Option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of shares
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of Class A common stock to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this Cashless Exercise Option feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial business combination. If we call our warrants for redemption and our management does not take advantage of this Cashless Exercise Option, our founders and their permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement units for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had management taken advantage of this Cashless Exercise Option, as described in more detail below.
A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the shares of Class A common stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
Anti-Dilution Adjustments. If the number of outstanding shares of Class A common stock is increased by a stock dividend payable in shares of Class A common stock, or by a split-up of shares of Class A common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such stock dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of Class A common stock. A rights offering to holders of Class A common stock entitling holders to purchase shares of Class A common stock at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a stock dividend of a number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the product of (1) the number of shares of Class A common stock 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 common stock) multiplied by (2) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of Class A common stock paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (1) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A common stock, in determining the price payable for Class A common stock, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (2) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of Class A common stock as reported during the ten trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of Class A common stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Class A common stock on account of such shares of Class A common stock (or other shares of our capital stock into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A common stock in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (I) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our Class A common stock if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (II) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, or (e) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share of Class A common stock in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse stock split or reclassification of shares of Class A common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse stock split, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of Class A common stock.
Whenever the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of Class A common stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.
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In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our founders or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our founders or their affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “newly issued price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the newly issued price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the newly issued price.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such shares of Class A common stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a merger or consolidation in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding shares of Class A common stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the shares of our Class A common stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of 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 their warrants immediately prior to such event. However, if such holders were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such merger or consolidation, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets for which each warrant will become exercisable will be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by such holders in such merger or consolidation that affirmatively make such election, and if a tender, exchange or redemption offer has been made to and accepted by such holders (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by the company in connection with redemption rights held by stockholders of the company as provided for in the company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation or as a result of the redemption of shares of Class A common stock by the company if a proposed initial business combination is presented to the stockholders of the company for approval) under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock, the holder of a warrant will be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a stockholder if such warrant holder had exercised the warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the Class A common stock 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 the warrant agreement. Additionally, if less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A common stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of Class A common stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the per share consideration minus Black-Scholes Warrant Value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a description of the terms
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and conditions applicable to the warrants. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants.
The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Class A common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of Class A common stock. After the issuance of shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.
Private Placement Units
The private placement units are identical to the units sold in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our founders or their permitted transferees, the private placement units (including the underlying securities) are subject to certain transfer restrictions (as described in more detail under “Principal Stockholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Units”) and the holders thereof are entitled to certain registration rights (as described in more detail under “Principal Stockholders — Registration Rights”), and the underlying warrants: (1) will not be redeemable by us; (2) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (3) with respect to private placement warrants held by Cowen Investments, will not be exercisable more than five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(f)(2)(G)(i). If the private placement units are held by holders other than our founders or their respective permitted transferees, the warrants underlying the private placement units will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise the underlying warrants on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “sponsor fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the sponsor fair market value. The “sponsor fair market value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our founders and their permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following a business combination. If they remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public stockholders who could exercise their warrants and sell the shares of Class A common stock received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our founders, an affiliate of our founders or 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 to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private placement units issued to our founders.
Forward Purchase Securities
Prior to this offering, we will enter into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investors, which are funds affiliated with our sponsor, will agree to subscribe for an aggregate of 2,500,000 forward purchase shares and 833,333 forward purchase warrants, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000,000, or $10.00 per forward purchase share and one-third of one forward purchase warrant, in a private placement to close
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substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. If the sale of the forward purchase securities fails to close, for any reason, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination. The forward purchase shares and the forward purchase warrants will be identical to the public shares and public warrants, respectively, except that the holders thereof will have certain registration rights, as described below.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of this offering, in which case we will effect a stock dividend with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units). Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our common stock 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 stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all liabilities, including judgments, costs and reasonable counsel fees that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith of the indemnified person or entity.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions (other than amendments relating to the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of holders of a majority of at least 90% of the outstanding shares of our common stock voting in a stockholder meeting) cannot be amended without the approval of the holders of at least 65% of our outstanding common stock. Our initial stockholders, who collectively will beneficially own 22.2% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming our initial stockholders do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders, and, prior to our initial business combination, the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock is required to approve the election or removal of directors. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that:
• if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law;
• prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to: (1) receive funds from the trust account; or (2) vote pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation on any initial business combination;
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• in the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view;
• if a stockholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by applicable law or stock exchange rules and we do not decide to hold a stockholder 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;
• our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount);
• if our stockholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions 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 stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of common stock 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares; and
• 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 certificate of incorporation will provide that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Delaware Law and our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
We will be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL regulating corporate takeovers upon completion of this offering. This statute prevents certain Delaware corporations, under certain circumstances, from engaging in a “business combination” with:
• a stockholder who owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock (otherwise known as an “interested stockholder”);
• an affiliate of an interested stockholder; or
• an associate of an interested stockholder, for three years following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder.
A “business combination” includes a merger or sale of more than 10% of our assets. However, the above provisions of Section 203 do not apply if:
• our board of directors approves the transaction that made the stockholder an “interested stockholder,” prior to the date of the transaction;
• after the completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, that stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, other than statutorily excluded shares of common stock; or
• on or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and authorized at a meeting of our stockholders, and not by written consent, by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder.
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Our authorized but unissued common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuances without stockholder 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 common stock and preferred stock 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 certificate of incorporation will provide that prior to our initial business combination, holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to elect all of our directors and may remove members of our board of directors for any reason. In addition, it will provide that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual stockholder meetings.
Exclusive Forum For Certain Lawsuits
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for any (1) derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our company, (2) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, employee or agent of our company to our company or our stockholders, or any claim for aiding and abetting any such alleged breach, (3) action asserting a claim against our company or any director, officer or employee of our company arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our bylaws, or (4) action asserting a claim against us or any director, officer or employee of our company governed by the internal affairs doctrine except for, as to each of (1) through (4) above, any claim (A) as to which the Court of Chancery determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination) or (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this paragraph will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or otherwise arising under federal securities laws, for which the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the sole and exclusive forum. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders. Furthermore, the enforceability of choice of forum provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that a court could find these types of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable.
Special Meeting of Stockholders
Our bylaws provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority vote of our board of directors, by our chief executive officer or by our chairman, if any.
Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations
Our bylaws will provide for advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder 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 stockholder will have to comply with advance notice requirements and provide us with certain information. Generally, to be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be received at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders. 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 bylaws will also specify requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. Our bylaws will allow the chairman of the meeting at a meeting of the stockholders 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.
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Securities Eligible for Future Sale
Immediately after this offering we will have 16,075,000 (or 18,456,250 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) shares of Class A common stock outstanding. Of these shares, the 12,500,000 shares (or 14,375,000 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the remaining 3,125,000 (or 3,593,750 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) founder shares and all 450,000 (or 487,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement units are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering, and are subject to transfer restrictions as set forth elsewhere in this prospectus.
Upon the closing of the sale of the forward purchase securities, all forward purchase shares and forward purchase warrants will be restricted securities under Rule 144. Otherwise, the forward purchase securities will not be subject to any transfer restrictions.
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that: (1) 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 (2) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock 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 shares of common stock then outstanding, which will equal 160,750 shares immediately after this offering (or 184,562 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full); or
• the average weekly reported trading volume of the common stock 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 a business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:
• the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company;
• the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act;
• the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Current Reports on Form 8-K; and
• at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.
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As a result, our initial stockholders will be able to sell their founder shares and our founders will be able to sell their private placement units, private placement shares or private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement units, private placement shares, private placement warrants, forward purchase securities and units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the shares and warrants included therein (and any shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants, forward purchase warrants or warrants included in the units issued upon conversion of working capital loans) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering requiring us to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to shares of Class A common stock). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration 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 and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Cowen Investments may not exercise its demand or “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 its demand rights on more than one occasion. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Listing of Securities
We intend to apply to list our units, Class A common stock and warrants on the NYSE under the symbols “PANA.U,” “PANA” and “PANA WS,” respectively. We expect that our units will be listed on the NYSE on or promptly after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Following the date the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the shares of our common stock and warrants will be listed separately and as a unit on the NYSE. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on the NYSE.
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UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following discussion is a summary of the U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the ownership and disposition of our units, Class A common stock and warrants, which we refer to collectively as our securities. This summary is based upon U.S. federal income tax law as of the date of this prospectus, which is subject to change or differing interpretations, possibly with retroactive effect. This summary does not discuss all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be important to particular investors in light of their individual circumstances, including investors subject to special tax rules (e.g., financial institutions, insurance companies, broker-dealers, tax-exempt organizations (including private foundations), taxpayers that have elected mark-to-market accounting, S corporations, regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, investors that will hold Class A common stock or warrants as part of a straddle, hedge, conversion, or other integrated transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or investors that have a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar), all of whom may be subject to tax rules that differ materially from those summarized below. In addition, this summary does not discuss other U.S. federal tax consequences (e.g., estate or gift tax), any state, local, or non-U.S. tax considerations or the Medicare tax or alternative minimum tax. In addition, this summary is limited to investors that will hold our securities as “capital assets” (generally, property held for investment) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, (the “Code”), and that acquired the securities pursuant to this offering (or, in the case of Class A common stock, upon exercise of warrants so acquired). No ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, (the “IRS”) has been or will be sought regarding any matter discussed herein. No assurance can be given that the IRS would not assert, or that a court would not sustain a position contrary to any of the tax aspects set forth below.
For purposes of this summary, a “U.S. Holder” is a beneficial holder of securities who or that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes is:
• an individual who is a United States citizen or resident of the United States;
• a corporation or other entity treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes created in, or organized under the law of, the United States or any state or political subdivision thereof;
• an estate the income of which is includible in gross income for United States federal income tax purposes regardless of its source; or
• a trust (A) the administration of which is subject to the primary supervision of a United States court and which has one or more United States persons (within the meaning of the Code) who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (B) that has in effect a valid election under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person.
A “non-U.S. Holder” is a beneficial holder of shares who or that is neither a U.S. Holder nor a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
If a partnership (including an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds our securities, the tax treatment of a partner, member or other beneficial owner in such partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner, member or other beneficial owner, the activities of the partnership and certain determinations made at the partner, member or other beneficial owner level. If you are a partner, member or other beneficial owner of a partnership holding our securities, you are urged to consult your tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our securities.
THIS DISCUSSION OF U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TAX ADVICE. WE URGE PROSPECTIVE HOLDERS TO CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS CONCERNING THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES TO THEM OF OWNING AND DISPOSING OF OUR SECURITIES, AS WELL AS THE APPLICATION OF ANY, STATE, LOCAL AND NON-U.S. INCOME, ESTATE AND OTHER TAX CONSIDERATIONS.
Personal Holding Company Status
We would be subject to a second level of U.S. federal income tax on a portion of our income if we are determined to be a personal holding company, or PHC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A U.S. corporation will generally be classified as a PHC for U.S. federal income tax purposes in a given taxable year if (1) at any time
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during the last half of such taxable year, five or fewer individuals (without regard to their citizenship or residency and including as individuals for this purpose certain entities such as certain tax-exempt organizations, pension funds, and charitable trusts) own or are deemed to own (pursuant to certain constructive ownership rules) more than 50% of the stock of the corporation by value and (2) at least 60% of the corporation’s adjusted ordinary gross income, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes, for such taxable year consists of PHC income (which includes, among other things, dividends, interest, certain royalties, annuities and, under certain circumstances, rents).
Depending on the date and size of our initial business combination, it is possible that at least 60% of our adjusted ordinary gross income may consist of PHC income as discussed above. In addition, depending on the concentration of our stock in the hands of individuals, including the members of our sponsor and certain tax-exempt organizations, pension funds, and charitable trusts, it is possible that more than 50% of our stock will be owned or deemed owned (pursuant to the constructive ownership rules) by five or fewer such persons during the last half of a taxable year. Thus, no assurance can be given that we will not become a PHC following this offering or in the future. If we are or were to become a PHC in a given taxable year, we would be subject to an additional PHC tax, currently 20%, on our undistributed PHC income, which generally includes our taxable income, subject to certain adjustments.
General Treatment of Units
There is no authority directly addressing the treatment, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, of instruments with terms substantially the same as the units and, therefore, their 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 share of our Class A common stock and one-third of one redeemable warrant to acquire one share of our Class A common stock. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner and, by purchasing a unit, you agree to adopt such treatment for tax purposes. Each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the share of Class A common stock and the warrant based on their respective relative fair market values. A holder’s initial tax basis in the Class A common stock and the warrant included in each unit should equal the portion of the purchase price of the unit allocated thereto. The separation of the Class A common stock and warrant constituting a unit should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
The foregoing treatment of the units and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there is no authority that directly addresses 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 advisors regarding the U.S. federal, state, local and any foreign tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit and its components). The following discussion is based on the assumption that the characterization of the Class A common stock and warrants and the allocation described above are respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holders
Taxation of Distributions
If we pay distributions in cash or other property (other than certain distributions of our stock or rights to acquire our stock) to U.S. Holders of shares of our Class A common stock, such distributions will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Distributions in excess of current and accumulated earnings and profits will constitute a return of capital that will be applied against and reduce (but not below zero) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in our Class A common stock. Any remaining excess will be treated as gain realized on the sale or other disposition of the Class A common stock and will be treated as described under “— U.S. Holders — Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock” below.
Dividends we pay to a U.S. Holder that is a taxable corporation generally will qualify for the dividends received deduction if the requisite holding period is satisfied. With certain exceptions (including dividends treated as investment income for purposes of investment interest deduction limitations), and provided certain holding period requirements are met, dividends we pay to a non-corporate U.S. Holder will generally constitute “qualified dividends” that will be subject to tax at the maximum tax rate accorded to long-term capital gains. It is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to the Class A common stock described in this prospectus may prevent a U.S. Holder from satisfying the applicable holding period requirements with respect to the dividends received deduction or the preferential tax rate on qualified dividend income, as the case may be.
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Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock
A U.S. Holder will recognize gain or loss on the sale, taxable exchange or other taxable disposition (which would include a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering) of our Class A common stock. Any such gain or loss will be capital gain or loss, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A common stock so disposed of exceeds one year. It is unclear, however, whether the redemption rights with respect to the Class A common stock described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. The amount of gain or loss recognized will generally be equal to the difference between (1) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the Class A common stock is held as part of a unit at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the Class A common stock based upon the then fair market values of the Class A common stock and the warrant included in the unit) and (2) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A common stock so disposed of. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A common stock will generally equal the U.S. Holder’s acquisition cost (that is, as discussed above, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to a share of Class A common stock or, as discussed below, the U.S. Holder’s initial basis for Class A common stock received upon exercise of a warrant) less any prior distributions treated as a return of capital. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
Redemption of Class A Common Stock
In the event that a U.S. Holder’s Class A common stock is redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under “Description of Securities — Common Stock” or if we purchase a U.S. Holder’s Class A common stock in an open market transaction (each of which we refer to as a “redemption”), the treatment of the transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as sale of the Class A common stock under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of Class A common stock under the tests described below, the tax consequences to the U.S. Holder will be the same as described under “— U.S. Holders — Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of Class A common stock, the U.S. Holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution, the tax consequences of which are described above under “— U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions”. Whether the redemption qualifies for sale treatment will depend primarily on the total number of shares of our stock treated as held by the U.S. Holder (including any stock constructively owned by the U.S. Holder as a result of owning warrants) both before and after the redemption. The redemption of Class A common stock will generally be treated as a sale of the Class A common stock (rather than as a corporate distribution) if the redemption (1) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. Holder, (2) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. Holder’s interest in us or (3) 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 stock actually owned by the U.S. Holder, but also shares of our stock that are constructively owned by it. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition to stock owned directly, stock 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 stock the U.S. Holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include common stock which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the warrants. A redemption of a U.S. Holder’s stock will be substantially disproportionate with respect to the U.S. Holder if the percentage of our outstanding voting stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of common stock is, among other requirements, less than 80% of the percentage of our outstanding voting stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately before the redemption. Prior to our initial business combination, the Class A common stock may not be treated as voting stock 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 (1) all of the shares of our stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed or (2) all of the shares of our stock 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 stock owned by certain family members and the U.S. Holder does not constructively own any other stock (including any stock constructively owned by the U.S. Holder as a result of owning warrants). The redemption of the Class A common stock will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if the redemption 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. The
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IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority stockholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” A U.S. Holder is urged to consult its tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption, including the application of the constructive ownership rules described above.
If none of the foregoing tests is satisfied, the redemption will be treated as a corporate distribution, the tax consequences of which are described under “— U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions,” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. Holder in the redeemed Class A common stock should be added to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its remaining stock, or, if it has none, to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its warrants or possibly in other stock constructively owned by it.
Exercise of a Warrant
Except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. Holder will not recognize gain or loss upon the exercise of a warrant. The U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the share of our Class A common stock received upon exercise of the warrant will generally be an amount equal to the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrant (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for a unit that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “— General Treatment of Units”) and the exercise price of such warrant. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A common stock received upon exercise of the warrant would commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant; however, in either case the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrants.
The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current tax law. A cashless exercise may be nontaxable, 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 common stock received would generally equal the holder’s tax basis in the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as not being a realization event, it is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A common stock would commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant. If, however, the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the Class A common stock would include the holding period of the warrant.
It is also possible that a cashless exercise could be treated in whole or in part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss is recognized. In such event, a U.S. Holder would be deemed to have surrendered a number of warrants having a value equal to the exercise price. The U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the Class A common stock represented by the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants deemed surrendered. In this case, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A common stock 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 ‘‘ — General Treatment of Units’’) and the exercise price of such warrants. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A common stock would commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant.
Due to the absence of authority on the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, including when a U.S. Holder’s holding period would commence with respect to the Class A common stock received, there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences and holding periods described above would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.
Sale, Exchange, Redemption or Expiration of a Warrant
Upon a sale, exchange (other than by exercise), redemption (other than a redemption for Class A common stock), or expiration of a warrant, a U.S. Holder will recognize taxable gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between (1) the amount realized upon such disposition or expiration (or, if the warrant is held as part of a unit at the time of the disposition of the unit, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the warrant based on the then fair market values of the warrant and the Class A common stock constituting such unit) and (2) the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrant (that is, the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for a unit that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “— General Treatment of Units”). Such gain or loss will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the warrant is held by the U.S. Holder for more than
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one year at the time of such disposition or expiration. If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to certain limitations.
If we give notice of an intention to redeem warrants for $0.10 as described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants,” and a U.S. Holder exercises its warrant on a cashless basis and receives the amount of Class A common stock as determined by reference to the table set forth thereunder, we intend to treat such exercise as a redemption of warrants for Class A common stock for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Such redemption should be treated as a “recapitalization” within the meaning of Section 368(a)(1)(E) of the Code. Accordingly, a U.S. Holder should not recognize any gain or loss on the redemption of warrants for shares of our Class A common stock. A U.S. Holder’s aggregate tax basis in the shares of Class A common stock received in the redemption generally should equal the U.S. Holder’s aggregate tax basis in the warrants redeemed and the holding period for the shares of Class A common stock received in redemption of the warrants should include the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the surrendered warrants. However, there is some uncertainty regarding this tax treatment and it is possible such a redemption could be treated in part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized in a manner similar to that discussed above for a cashless exercise of warrants or otherwise characterized. Accordingly, a U.S. Holder is urged to consult its tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of a redemption of warrants for shares of Class A common stock.
Possible Constructive Distributions
The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares of Class A common stock for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution is generally not a taxable event. Nevertheless, a U.S. Holder of warrants would be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the holder’s proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of shares of Class A common stock that would be obtained upon exercise) as a result of a distribution of cash to the holders of shares of our Class A common stock which is taxable to such U.S. Holders as described under “— U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions” above. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as described under that section in the same manner as if such U.S. Holder received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest.
Non-U.S. Holders
Taxation of Distributions
In general, any distributions (including constructive distributions) we make to a non-U.S. Holder of shares of our Class A common stock, 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, we will be required to withhold 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 the applicable withholding agent, including cash distributions on other property or sale proceeds from warrants or other property subsequently paid or credited to such 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 its shares of our Class A common stock and, 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 the Class A common stock, which will be treated as described under “— Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below. In addition, if we determine that we are classified as a “United States real property holding corporation” (see “— Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below), we will withhold 15% of any distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits.
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Dividends we pay 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 (or if a tax treaty applies are attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment or fixed base maintained by the non-U.S. Holder) will generally not be subject to U.S. withholding tax, provided such non-U.S. Holder complies with certain certification and disclosure requirements (usually by providing an IRS Form W-8ECI). Instead, such dividends will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax, net of certain deductions, at the same graduated individual or corporate rates applicable to U.S. Holders. If the non-U.S. Holder is a corporation, dividends that are effectively connected income may also be subject to a “branch profits tax” at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty).
Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant
The U.S. federal income tax treatment of a non-U.S. Holder’s exercise of a warrant or the lapse of a warrant held by a non-U.S. Holder generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the exercise or lapse of a warrant by a U.S. Holder, as described under “— U.S. Holders — Exercise of a Warrant” or “ U.S. Holders — Sale, Exchange, Redemption or Expiration of a Warrant” above, as applicable, although to the extent a cashless exercise results in a taxable exchange, the tax consequences to the non-U.S. Holder would be the same as those described below in “— Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants.”
Redemption of Warrants for Class A Common Stock
A redemption of warrants for Class A common stock described in this prospectus under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants” should be treated as a “recapitalization” within the meaning of Section 368(a)(1)(E) of the Code. Accordingly, you should not recognize any gain or loss on the redemption of warrants for shares of our Class A common stock. Your aggregate tax basis in the shares of Class A common stock received in the redemption should equal your aggregate tax basis in your warrants redeemed and your holding period for the shares of Class A common stock received in redemption of your warrants should include your holding period for your surrendered warrants.
Gain on Sale, Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants
A non-U.S. Holder will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax in respect of gain recognized on a sale, taxable exchange or other taxable disposition of our Class A common stock, which would include a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, or warrants (including an expiration or redemption of our warrants), in each case without regard to whether those securities were held as part of a unit, unless:
• the gain is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business by the non-U.S. Holder within the United States (and, if an applicable tax treaty so requires, is attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment or fixed base maintained by the non-U.S. Holder);
• the non-U.S. Holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition and certain other conditions are met; or
• we are or have been a “United States real property holding corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes at any time during the shorter of the five-year period ending on the date of disposition or the period that the non-U.S. Holder held our Class A common stock, and, in the case where shares of our Class A common stock are regularly traded on an established securities market, the non-U.S. Holder has owned, directly or constructively, more than 5% of our Class A common stock at any time within the shorter of the five-year period preceding the disposition or such non-U.S. Holder’s holding period for the shares of our Class A common stock. There can be no assurance that our Class A common stock will be treated as regularly traded on an established securities market for this purpose.
Gain described in the first bullet point above will be subject to tax at generally applicable U.S. federal income tax rates. Any gains described in the first bullet point above of a non-U.S. Holder that is a foreign corporation may also be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate (or lower applicable treaty rate). Gain described in the second bullet point above will generally be subject to a flat 30% U.S. federal income tax. Non-U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding possible eligibility for benefits under income tax treaties.
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If the third bullet point above applies to a non-U.S. Holder, gain recognized by such holder on the sale, exchange or other disposition of our Class A common stock or warrants will be subject to tax at generally applicable U.S. federal income tax rates. In addition, a buyer of our Class A common stock or warrants from such holder may be required to withhold U.S. income tax at a rate of 15% of the amount realized upon such disposition. We cannot determine whether we will be a United States real property holding corporation in the future until we complete an initial business combination. We will be classified as a United States 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. If we are or have been a “United States real property holding corporation” you are urged to consult your own tax advisors regarding the application of these rules.
Possible Constructive Distributions
The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares of Class A common stock for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution is generally not a taxable event. Nevertheless, a non-U.S. Holder of warrants would be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the holder’s proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of shares of Class A common stock that would be obtained upon exercise) as a result of a distribution of cash to the holders of shares of our Class A common stock which is taxable to such non-U.S. Holders as described under “— Non-U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions” above. A non-U.S. Holder would be subject to U.S. federal income tax withholding under that section in the same manner as if such non-U.S. Holder received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest without any corresponding receipt of cash.
Redemption of Class A Common Stock
The characterization for U.S. federal income tax purposes of the redemption of a non-U.S. Holder’s Class A common stock pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under “Description of Securities — Common Stock” will generally correspond to the U.S. federal income tax characterization of such a redemption of a U.S. Holder’s Class A common stock, as described under “— U.S. Holders — Redemption of Class A Common Stock” above, and the consequences of the redemption to the non-U.S. Holder will be as described above under “— Non-U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions” and “— Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants,” as applicable.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations and administrative guidance promulgated thereunder (commonly referred as the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” or “FATCA”) generally impose withholding at a rate of 30% in certain circumstances on dividends in respect of, and, after December 31, 2018, gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of, our securities which are held by or through certain foreign financial institutions (including investment funds), unless any such institution (1) enters into, and complies with, an agreement with the IRS to report, on an annual basis, information with respect to interests in, and accounts maintained by, the institution that are owned by certain U.S. persons and by certain non-U.S. entities that are wholly or partially owned by U.S. persons and to withhold on certain payments, or (2) if required under an intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country, reports such information to its local tax authority, which will exchange such information with the U.S. authorities. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country may modify these requirements. Accordingly, the entity through which our securities are held will affect the determination of whether such withholding is required. Similarly, dividends in respect of, and, after December 31, 2018, gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of, our securities held by an investor that is a non-financial non-U.S. entity that does not qualify under certain exceptions will generally be subject to withholding at a rate of 30%, unless such entity either (1) certifies to us or the applicable withholding agent that such entity does not have any “substantial United States owners” or (2) provides certain information regarding the entity’s “substantial United States owners,” which will in turn be provided to the U.S. Department of Treasury. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the possible implications of FATCA on their investment in our securities.
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UNDERWRITING (CONFLICTS OF INTEREST)
We are offering the units described in this prospectus through the underwriters named below. Cowen and Company, LLC is the representative for the underwriters and is acting as the sole book-running manager of the offering. We have entered into an underwriting agreement with the representative. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement, each of the underwriters has severally agreed to purchase from us, on a firm commitment basis, and we have agreed to sell to such underwriter, the number of units listed next to its name in the following table:
Underwriters |
Number of
|
|
Cowen and Company, LLC |
|
|
Total |
12,500,000 |
The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters are obligated to purchase all of the units in the offering if any are purchased, other than those units covered by the over-allotment option described below.
We have granted to the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase on a pro rata basis up to 1,875,000 additional units at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The option may be exercised only to cover any over-allotments of units.
The underwriters propose to offer the units initially at the public offering price on the cover page of this prospectus and to selling group members at that price less a selling concession of $ per unit. After the initial public offering the underwriters may change the public offering price and concession and discount to broker/dealers. The offering of the shares by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part.
The following table summarizes the compensation and estimated expenses we will pay:
Per Unit(1) |
Total(1) |
|||||||||||
Without
|
With
|
Without
|
With
|
|||||||||
Underwriting Discounts and Commissions paid by us |
$ |
0.20 |
$ |
0.20 |
$ |
2,500,000 |
$ |
2,875,000 |
____________
(1) Needham & Company, LLC will receive a fee of $100,000 from the total underwriting discount in consideration for its services and expenses incurred as a “qualified independent underwriter.”
We estimate that our out-of-pocket expenses for this offering will be approximately $900,000. We have agreed to pay for FINRA-related fees, not to exceed $35,000.
The representative has informed us that the underwriters do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.
We, our founders and our officers and directors have agreed that we and they will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or grant any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, without the prior written consent of Cowen and Company, LLC for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, any units, warrants, shares of common stock or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, shares of common stock or enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of any units, shares of common stock, warrants or any securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, shares of common stock owned, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of such securities, in cash or otherwise; provided, however, that we may (1) issue and sell the private placement units; (2) issue and sell the additional units to cover our underwriters’ over-allotment option (if any); (3) issue and sell the forward purchase securities; (4) 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, private placement units, the private placement shares, private placement warrants and units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the shares and warrants included therein (and any shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants, forward purchase warrants or warrants included in the units issued upon conversion of working capital loans); and (5) 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 current or future independent director of the company (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;
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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). Cowen and Company, LLC in its sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.
Our initial stockholders 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 our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property or (y) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination (except as described herein under “Principal Stockholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Units”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares.
The private placement units (including the underlying private placement warrants, the private placement shares and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described in this prospectus under “Principal Stockholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Units”).
We have agreed to indemnify the several underwriters against certain liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in that respect.
We expect our units to be listed on the NYSE, under the symbol “PANA.U” and, once the Class A common stock and warrants begin separate trading, to have our Class A common stock and warrants listed on the NYSE under the symbols “PANA” and “PANA WS,” respectively.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities.
The determination of our per unit offering price was more arbitrary than would typically be the case if we were an operating company. Among the factors considered in determining 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 common stock or warrants will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, Class A common stock or warrants will develop and continue after this offering.
In connection with this offering, the underwriters may engage in stabilizing transactions, over-allotment transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
• Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum.
• Over-allotment involves sales by the underwriters of units in excess of the number of units the underwriters are obligated to purchase, which creates a syndicate short position. The short position may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of units over-allotted by the underwriters is not greater than the number of units that they may purchase in the over-allotment option. In a naked short position, the number of units involved is greater than the number of units in the over-allotment option. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their over-allotment option and/or purchasing units in the open market.
• Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the units in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In determining the source of units to close out the short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the over-allotment option. If the underwriters sell more units than could be covered by the
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over-allotment option, a naked short position, the position can only be closed out by buying units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there could be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering.
• Penalty bids permit the representative to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the units originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions.
These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. As a result, the price of our units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. These transactions may be effected on the NYSE or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
Except as described under “— Business Combination Marketing Agreement,” we are not under any contractual obligation to engage the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so. However, the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future. If any of the underwriters provide services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with the underwriters and no fees for such services will be paid to the underwriters prior to the date that is 90 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering and we may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination.
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. The underwriters and their affiliates have engaged in, and may in the future engage in, investment banking and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates. 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, officers, directors and employees may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the web sites maintained by the underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering and the underwriters participating in this offering may distribute prospectuses electronically. The representative may agree to allocate a number of units to underwriters and selling group members for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriters and selling group members that will make internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.
The units are offered for sale in those jurisdictions in the United States, Europe, Asia and elsewhere where it is lawful to make such offers.
The underwriters have represented and agreed that it has not offered, sold or delivered and will not offer, sell or deliver any of the units directly or indirectly, or distribute this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, in or from any jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations thereof and that will not impose any obligations or other duties on us except as set forth in the underwriting agreement.
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Business Combination Marketing Agreement
We have engaged the underwriters as advisors in connection with our business combination to assist us in holding meetings with our stockholders to discuss the potential business combination and the target business’s attributes, introduce us to potential investors that are interested in purchasing our securities in connection with the potential business combination, assist us in obtaining stockholder approval for the business combination and assist us with our press releases and public filings in connection with the business combination. We will pay the underwriters the Marketing Fee for such services upon the consummation of our initial business combination in an amount equal to, in the aggregate, 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering, including any proceeds from the full or partial exercise of the over-allotment option.
Founder Shares and Private Placement Units
In May 2020, Cowen Investments purchased 718,750 founder shares. If the over-allotment option is not fully sold, Cowen Investments will forfeit up to 93,750 founder shares, such that Cowen Investments will hold 625,000 founder shares if the over-allotment option is not exercised. Cowen Investments (and/or its designee) has also committed to purchase from us 90,000 private placement units (or 97,500 private placement units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at $10.00 per unit for an aggregate purchase price of $900,000 (or $975,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised). The private placement units have terms and provisions that are identical to the units sold in this offering except as described under “Description of Securities — Private placement units,” including that, subject to certain exceptions, the private placement units will not be transferable, assignable or salable until after the completion of our initial business combination and that, the warrants underlying the private placement units held by Cowen Investments will not be exercisable more than five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(f)(2)(G)(i). The purchase of the private placement units will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. Such private placement units and founder shares will be considered underwriting compensation in connection with this offering. Such private placement units and founder shares will be subject to lock-up restrictions, as required by FINRA Rule 5110(g)(1) and may 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 effective economic disposition of such securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the date of effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or commencement of sales of the offering, except as provided in FINRA Rule 5110(g)(2).
Affiliations
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The underwriters and their affiliates may from time to time in the future engage with us and perform services for us or in the ordinary course of their business for which they will receive customary fees and expenses. In the ordinary course of their various 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 account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of us. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of these securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in these securities and instruments.
Except as described under “— Business Combination Marketing Agreement,” we are not under any contractual obligation to engage any of the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so. However, any of the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future. If any of the underwriters provide services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters and no fees for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters prior to the date that is 90 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriter’s compensation in connection with this offering and we may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination.
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Conflicts of Interest
Because Cowen Investments beneficially owns more than 10% of our outstanding common stock prior to the consummation of this offering, and it is an affiliate of Cowen and Company, LLC, an underwriter in this offering, Cowen and Company, LLC is deemed to have a “conflict of interest” within the meaning of Rule 5121 of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Accordingly, this offering is being made in compliance with the applicable provisions of FINRA Rule 5121. FINRA Rule 5121 prohibits Cowen and Company, LLC from making sales to discretionary accounts without the prior written approval of the account holder and requires that a “qualified independent underwriter,” as defined in FINRA Rule 5121, participate in the preparation of the registration statement and exercise its usual standards of due diligence with respect thereto. Needham & Company, LLC is acting as a “qualified independent underwriter” for this offering and is undertaking the legal responsibilities and liabilities of an underwriter under the Securities Act, which specifically include those inherent in Section 11 thereunder. Needham & Company, LLC will receive a fee of $100,000 from the total underwriting discount in consideration for its services and expenses incurred as a “qualified independent underwriter.” We have agreed to indemnify Needham & Company, LLC against certain liabilities incurred in connection with acting as a “qualified independent underwriter,” including liabilities under the Securities Act.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Canada
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 from, 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 for particulars 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 the European Economic Area
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area (each, a “Member State”) no units have been offered or will be offered pursuant to the offering to the public in that Member State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units which has been approved by the competent authority in that Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation), except that offers of units may be made to the public in that Member State at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Regulation:
(a) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Regulation;
(b) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in 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.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any units in any 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.
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This European Economic Area selling restriction is in addition to any other selling restrictions set out below.
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 Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong) 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 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” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Israel
This document does not constitute a prospectus under the Israeli Securities Law, 5728-1968 (the “Israel Securities Law”), and has not been filed with or approved by the Israel Securities Authority. In Israel, this prospectus is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, and any offer of the units is directed only at, (i) a limited number of persons in accordance with the Israeli Securities Law and (ii) investors listed in the first addendum (the “Addendum”), to the Israeli Securities Law, consisting primarily of joint investment in trust funds, provident funds, insurance companies, banks, portfolio managers, investment advisors, members of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, underwriters, venture capital funds, entities with equity in excess of NIS 50 million and “qualified individuals,” each as defined in the Addendum (as it may be amended from time to time), collectively referred to as qualified investors (in each case, purchasing for their own account or, where permitted under the Addendum, for the accounts of their clients who are investors listed in the Addendum). Qualified investors are required to submit written confirmation that they fall within the scope of the Addendum, are aware of the meaning of same and agree to it.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Japan
The units have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948, as amended) and, accordingly, will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan, or for the benefit of any Japanese Person or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to any Japanese Person, except in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines promulgated by relevant Japanese governmental or regulatory authorities in effect at the relevant time. For the purposes of this paragraph, “Japanese Person” shall mean any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.
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 under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), 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 compliance with conditions set forth in the SFA.
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Where the units are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:
• shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the shares pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except:
• to an institutional investor (for corporations, under Section 274 of the SFA) or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person pursuant to an offer that is made on terms that such shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or such rights and interest in that trust 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, and further for corporations, in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA;
• where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer; or
• where the transfer is by operation of law.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom
The underwriters have represented and agreed that:
(a) they have only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (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 company; and
(b) they have 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.
148
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Palo Alto, California, has passed upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus on behalf of us. Greenberg Traurig, LLP advised the underwriters in connection with the offering of the securities.
The balance sheet of Panacea Acquisition Corp. as of May 7, 2020 and the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from April 24, 2020 (inception) through May 7, 2020 appearing in this prospectus have been audited by WithumSmith+Brown, PC, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon, appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, and are included in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.
Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
149
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F-2 |
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F-3 |
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F-4 |
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F-5 |
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F-6 |
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F-7 – F-16 |
F-1
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of
Panacea Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Panacea Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of May 7, 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from April 24, 2020 (inception) through May 7, 2020, 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 May 7, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from April 24, 2020 (inception) through May 7, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “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 entity’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/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
New York, New York
June 12, 2020
F-2
PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEET
MAY 7, 2020
ASSETS |
|
|
||
Deferred offering costs |
$ |
96,115 |
|
|
Total Assets |
$ |
96,115 |
|
|
|
|
|||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY |
|
|
||
Current liabilities: |
|
|
||
Accrued expenses |
$ |
1,000 |
|
|
Accrued offering costs |
|
71,115 |
|
|
Total Current Liabilities |
|
72,115 |
|
|
|
|
|||
Commitments |
|
|
||
|
|
|||
Stockholders’ Equity |
|
|
||
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding |
|
— |
|
|
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 75,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding |
|
— |
|
|
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 3,593,750 shares issued and outstanding(1) |
|
359 |
|
|
Additional paid-in capital |
|
24,641 |
|
|
Accumulated deficit |
|
(1,000 |
) |
|
Total Stockholders’ Equity |
|
24,000 |
|
|
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity |
$ |
96,115 |
|
____________
(1) Includes up to 468,750 shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM APRIL 24, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH MAY 7, 2020
Formation costs |
$ |
(1,000 |
) |
|
Net Loss |
$ |
(1,000 |
) |
|
|
|
|||
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted(1) |
|
3,125,000 |
|
|
Basic and diluted net loss per share |
$ |
(0.00 |
) |
____________
(1) Excludes up to 468,750 shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
FOR THE PERIOD FROM APRIL 24, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH MAY 7, 2020
Class B
|
Additional Paid-In Capital |
Accumulated Deficit |
Total Stockholders’ Equity |
|||||||||||||
Shares |
Amount |
|||||||||||||||
Balance – April 24, 2020 (inception) |
— |
$ |
— |
$ |
— |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
|||||
Issuance of Class B common stock to initial stockholders(1) |
3,593,750 |
|
359 |
|
24,641 |
|
— |
|
|
25,000 |
|
|||||
Net loss |
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
(1,000 |
) |
|
(1,000 |
) |
|||||
Balance – May 7, 2020 |
3,593,750 |
$ |
359 |
$ |
24,641 |
$ |
(1,000 |
) |
$ |
24,000 |
|
____________
(1) Includes up to 468,750 shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM APRIL 24, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH MAY 7, 2020
Cash Flows from Operating Activities |
|
|
||
Net loss |
$ |
(1,000 |
) |
|
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
|
|
||
Accrued expenses |
|
1,000 |
|
|
Net cash used in operating activities |
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|||
Net Change in Cash |
|
— |
|
|
Cash – beginning of the period |
|
— |
|
|
Cash – end of the period |
$ |
— |
|
|
|
|
|||
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities: |
|
|
||
Offering costs included in accrued offering costs |
$ |
71,115 |
|
|
Deferred offering costs paid directly by initial stockholders in exchange for the issuance of Class B common stock |
$ |
25,000 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Description of Organization and Business Operations
Panacea Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on April 24, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (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 May 7, 2020, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from April 24, 2020 (inception) through May 7, 2020 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 the Proposed Public Offering of 12,500,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit (or 14,375,000 Units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), which is discussed in Note 3, and the sale of 450,000 units (each, a “Private Placement Unit” and collectively, the “Private Placement Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit in a private placement to EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”), and Cowen Investments II LLC, an affiliate of one of the underwriters ( “Cowen Investments”), 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 Units, 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) (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount). 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 Units, 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 Stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company. The Public Stockholders will be entitled to redeem their 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 Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”
F-7
PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Description of Organization and Business Operations (cont.)
The Company will only proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 following any related redemptions and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a stockholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), 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, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder 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 stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor, Cowen Investments and any other holders of the Company’s common stock prior to the Proposed Public Offering (the “initial stockholders”) have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5), Private Placement Shares (as defined in Note 4) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Public Offering in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each Public Stockholder 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.
If the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Certificate of Incorporation will provide that a Public Stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the 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 initial stockholders have agreed (a) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares, Private Placement Shares and Public Shares held by them in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (b) not to propose an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation (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 stockholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
The initial stockholders have agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares and Private Placement Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial stockholders acquire 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.
If the Company has not completed a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (as it may be extended, 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, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.
F-8
PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Description of Organization and Business Operations (cont.)
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 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 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.
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 (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
The Company does not have sufficient liquidity to meet its anticipated obligations over the next year from the date of issuance of these financial statements. In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15 , “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that the Company has access to funds from the Sponsor that are sufficient to fund the working capital needs of the Company until the earlier of the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering or one year from the date of issuance of these financial statements.
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 (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 stockholder 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.
F-9
PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (cont.)
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial 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 legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Public Offering and that will be charged to stockholders’ equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering. Should the Proposed Public Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under 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.
ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of May 7, 2020. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
The provision for income taxes was deemed to be de minimis for the period from April 24, 2020 (inception) through May 7, 2020.
Net Loss per Common Share
Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period, excluding shares of common stock subject to forfeiture by the initial stockholders. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 468,750 shares of Class B common stock that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriters (see Note 5). At May 7, 2020, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into shares of common stock 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.
F-10
PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (cont.)
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. At May 7, 2020, the Company has not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Note 3 — Public Offering
Pursuant to the Proposed Public Offering, the Company intends to offer for sale 12,500,000 Units (or 14,375,000 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 share of Class A common stock and one-third of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7).
Note 4 — Private Placement
The Sponsor and Cowen Investments have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 450,000 (or 487,500 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $4,500,000 (or $4,875,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. The Sponsor has agreed to purchase 360,000 (or 390,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) Private Placement Units and Cowen Investments has agreed to purchase 90,000 (or 97,500 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) Private Placement Units. Each Private Placement Unit will consist of one share of Class A common stock (“Private Placement Share” or, collectively, “Private Placement Shares”) and one-third of one warrant (each, a “Private Placement Warrant”). Each whole Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Units will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Public Offering to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Units will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law), and the Private Placement Units and all underlying securities will expire worthless.
Note 5 — Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On May 7, 2020, the Sponsor and Cowen Investments paid an aggregate of $25,000 to cover certain offering costs of the Company in consideration for 3,593,750 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”). The Founder Shares include an aggregate of up to 468,750 shares 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 shares after the Proposed Public Offering (not including the Private Placement Shares).
F-11
PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 5 — Related Party Transactions (cont.)
The initial stockholders have 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 common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Related Party Loans
In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor, Cowen Investments or an affiliate of the Sponsor or Cowen Investments, 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”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company may repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into units upon consummation of the Business Combination at a price of $10.00 per unit. The units would be identical to the Private Placement Units. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. As of May 7, 2020, there were no amounts outstanding under the Working Capital Loans.
Administrative Support Agreement
The Company will enter into an agreement, commencing on the first date the Company’s securities are first listed on the New York Stock Exchange through the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination and its liquidation, to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services.
Note 6 — Commitments
Risks and Uncertainties
Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry 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.
Registration Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Units, Private Placement Shares, Private Placement Warrants, certain forward purchase securities and units that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and the shares and warrants included therein (and any shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants, forward purchase warrants or warrants included in the units issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans) 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 common stock). The
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PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 6 — Commitments (cont.)
holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Cowen Investments may not exercise its demand or “piggyback” registration rights after five and seven years, respectively, after the effective date of the registration statement related to the Proposed Public Offering and may not exercise its demand rights on more than one occasion. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company will grant the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of Proposed Public Offering to purchase up to 1,875,000 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 $2,500,000 in the aggregate (or up to $2,875,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised in full), payable upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering.
Business Combination Marketing Agreement
The Company has engaged the underwriters as an advisor in connection with a Business Combination to assist the Company in holding meetings with its stockholders to discuss the potential Business Combination and the target business’ attributes, introduce the Company to potential investors that are interested in purchasing the Company’s securities in connection with a Business Combination, assist the Company in obtaining stockholder approval for the Business Combination and assist the Company with its press releases and public filings in connection with the Business Combination. The Company will pay the underwriters a cash fee for such services upon the consummation of a Business Combination in an amount equal to, in the aggregate, 3.5% of the gross proceeds of Proposed Public Offering, including any proceeds from the full or partial exercise of the over-allotment option.
Note 7 — Stockholders’ Equity
Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock 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. At May 7, 2020, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 75,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At May 7, 2020, there were no shares of Class A common stock issued or outstanding.
Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class B common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At May 7, 2020, there were 3,593,750 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding, of which an aggregate of up to 468,750 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 shares of Class B common stock will equal 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock after the Proposed Public Offering (not including the Private Placement Shares).
Prior to the Company’s initial Business Combination, holders of the Class B common stock will have the right to elect all of the Company’s directors and remove members of the Company’s board of directors for any reason. On any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all other matters submitted to a vote of stockholders except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule.
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PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 7 — Stockholders’ Equity (cont.)
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock 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 shares of Class A common stock, 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, other than the forward purchase securities described in the prospectus, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the Private Placement Units) plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business Combination (net of the number of shares of Class A common stock redeemed in connection with a Business Combination), excluding forward purchase securities and any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in a Business Combination.
Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination and (b) 12 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock is available, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A common stock 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, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC, and within 60 business days following a Business Combination to have declared effective, a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. Notwithstanding the above, if the Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but 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.
Redemptions of warrants when the price of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 — Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants:
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
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PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 7 — Stockholders’ Equity (cont.)
• upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, or the 30-day redemption period, to each warrant holder; and
• if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.
If and when the 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.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 — Commencing ninety days after the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding Public Warrants:
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.10 per warrant provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption and receive that number of shares of Class A common stock determined based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of the Company’s Class A common stock;
• upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption;
• if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) on the trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders;
• if, and only if, there is an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating thereto is available throughout the 30-day period after the written notice of redemption is given.
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption as described above under “— Redemptions of warrants when the price of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00,” the Company’s management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuance of Class A common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the 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 warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of an initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors, and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or Cowen Investments or their affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or Cowen Investments or their affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of a Business Combination on the date of the completion of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete our initial
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PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 7 — Stockholders’ Equity (cont.)
business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
The Private Placement Warrants will be identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units being sold in the Proposed Public Offering, except that (1) the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions, (2) the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis, (3) the Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, (4) the holders of the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will have certain registration rights and (5) Private Placement Warrants held by Cowen Investments will not be exercisable more than five years from the effective date of the registration statement related to the Proposed Public Offering in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(f)(2)(G)(i). If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
Note 8 — Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after May 7, 2020, the balance sheet date, up to June 12, 2020, the date the audited financial statements were available to be issued. Other than as described below, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
On May 15, 2020, the Sponsor and Cowen Investments issued unsecured promissory notes to the Company (the “Promissory Notes”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. The Promissory Notes are non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2020 and the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering. In May 2020, the Company drew down $80,000 under the Promissory Notes.
In May 2020, the Sponsor transferred 25,000 Founder Shares to each of its director nominees, or an aggregate of 100,000 Founder Shares, at their original purchase price.
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Panacea Acquisition Corp.
Book-Running Manager
Cowen
Until , 2020, 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.
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 |
$ |
18,659 |
|
FINRA expenses |
|
22,063 |
|
Accounting fees and expenses |
|
50,000 |
|
Printing and engraving expenses |
|
30,000 |
|
Travel and road show expenses |
|
50,000 |
|
Directors and officers insurance premiums(1) |
|
200,000 |
|
Legal fees and expenses |
|
250,000 |
|
NYSE listing and filing fees |
|
85,000 |
|
Miscellaneous |
|
194,278 |
|
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.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that all of our directors, officers, employees and agents shall be entitled to be indemnified by us to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL. Section 145 of the DGCL concerning indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents is set forth below.
Section 145. Indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents; insurance.
(a) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that the person’s conduct was unlawful.
(b) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application
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that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.
(c) To the extent that a present or former director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith.
(d) Any indemnification under subsections (a) and (b) of this section (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the present or former director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because the person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Such determination shall be made, with respect to a person who is a director or officer at the time of such determination, (1) by a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (2) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum, or (3) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (4) by the stockholders.
(e) Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation as authorized in this section. Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by former officers and directors or other employees and agents may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the corporation deems appropriate.
(f) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, the other subsections of this section shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office. A right to indemnification or to advancement of expenses arising under a provision of the certificate of incorporation or a bylaw shall not be eliminated or impaired by an amendment to such provision after the occurrence of the act or omission that is the subject of the civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding for which indemnification or advancement of expenses is sought, unless the provision in effect at the time of such act or omission explicitly authorizes such elimination or impairment after such action or omission has occurred.
(g) A corporation shall have power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under this section.
(h) For purposes of this section, references to “the corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a merger or consolidation which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, and employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under this section with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.
(i) For purposes of this section, references to “other enterprises” shall include employee benefit plans; references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to any employee benefit plan; and references to “serving at the request of the corporation” shall include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director, officer, employee or
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agent with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interests of the corporation” as referred to in this section.
(j) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this section shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.
(k) The Court of Chancery is hereby vested with exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all actions for advancement of expenses or indemnification brought under this section or under any by law, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise. The Court of Chancery may summarily determine a corporation’s obligation to advance expenses (including attorneys’ fees).
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers, and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that, in the opinion of the SEC, 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 of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person in a successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, we will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to the court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
In accordance with Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, will provide that no director shall be personally liable to us or any of our stockholders for monetary damages resulting from breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, except to the extent such limitation on or exemption from liability is not permitted under the DGCL. The effect of this provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation is to eliminate our rights and those of our stockholders (through stockholders’ derivative suits on our behalf) to recover monetary damages against a director for breach of the fiduciary duty of care as a director, including breaches resulting from negligent or grossly negligent behavior, except, as restricted by Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL. However, this provision does not limit or eliminate our rights or the rights of any stockholder to seek non-monetary relief, such as an injunction or rescission, in the event of a breach of a director’s duty of care.
If the DGCL is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the liability of directors, then, in accordance with our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the liability of our directors to us or our stockholders will be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL, as so amended. Any repeal or amendment of provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation limiting or eliminating the liability of directors, whether by our stockholders or by changes in law, or the adoption of any other provisions inconsistent therewith, will (unless otherwise required by applicable law) be prospective only, except to the extent such amendment or change in law permits us to further limit or eliminate the liability of directors on a retroactive basis.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will also provide that we will, to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by applicable law, indemnify our current and former officers and directors, as well as those persons who, while directors or officers of our corporation, are or were serving as directors, officers, employees or agents of another entity, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan, in connection with any threatened, pending or completed proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, against all expense, liability and loss (including, without limitation, attorney’s fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes and penalties and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by any such person in connection with any such proceeding. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a person eligible for indemnification pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will be indemnified by us in connection with a proceeding initiated by such person only if such proceeding was authorized by our board of directors, except for proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification.
The right to indemnification which will be conferred by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation is a contract right that includes the right to be paid by us the expenses incurred in defending or otherwise participating in any proceeding referenced above in advance of its final disposition, provided, however, that if the
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DGCL requires, an advancement of expenses incurred by our officer or director (solely in the capacity as an officer or director of our corporation) will be made only upon delivery to us of an undertaking, by or on behalf of such officer or director, to repay all amounts so advanced if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or otherwise.
The rights to indemnification and advancement of expenses will not be deemed exclusive of any other rights which any person covered by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may have or hereafter acquire under law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our bylaws, an agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise.
Any repeal or amendment of provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation affecting indemnification rights, whether by our stockholders or by changes in law, or the adoption of any other provisions inconsistent therewith, will (unless otherwise required by applicable law) be prospective only, except to the extent such amendment or change in law permits us to provide broader indemnification rights on a retroactive basis, and will not in any way diminish or adversely affect any right or protection existing at the time of such repeal or amendment or adoption of such inconsistent provision with respect to any act or omission occurring prior to such repeal or amendment or adoption of such inconsistent provision. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will also permit us, to the extent and in the manner authorized or permitted by law, to indemnify and to advance expenses to persons other that those specifically covered by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our bylaws, which we intend to adopt immediately prior to the closing of this offering, include the provisions relating to advancement of expenses and indemnification rights consistent with those which will be set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. In addition, our bylaws provide for a right of indemnity to bring a suit in the event a claim for indemnification or advancement of expenses is not paid in full by us within a specified period of time. Our bylaws also permit us to purchase and maintain insurance, at our expense, to protect us and/or any director, officer, employee or agent of our corporation or another entity, trust or other enterprise against any expense, liability or loss, whether or not we would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the DGCL.
Any repeal or amendment of provisions of our bylaws affecting indemnification rights, whether by our board of directors, stockholders or by changes in applicable law, or the adoption of any other provisions inconsistent therewith, will (unless otherwise required by applicable law) be prospective only, except to the extent such amendment or change in law permits us to provide broader indemnification rights on a retroactive basis, and will not in any way diminish or adversely affect any right or protection existing thereunder with respect to any act or omission occurring prior to such repeal or amendment or adoption of such inconsistent provision.
We will enter into indemnification agreements with each of our officers and directors a form of which is to be filed as an exhibit to this Registration Statement. These agreements will require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service to us, and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified.
Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement to be filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration Statement, we have agreed to indemnify the underwriters and the underwriters have agreed to indemnify us against certain civil liabilities that may be incurred in connection with this offering, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act.
Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
In May 2020, our founders purchased an aggregate of 3,593,750 founder shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000. Our sponsor and Cowen Investments purchased 2,875,000 and 718,750 of the founder shares, respectively. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares of common stock upon completion of this offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units). In May 2020, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of our independent director nominees at their original purchase price. 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. Each of our founders and independent director nominees is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D.
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In addition, our founders have committed to purchase from us an aggregate of 450,000 (or 487,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement units at $10.00 per unit (for an aggregate purchase price of $4,500,000 or $4,875,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the completion of our initial public offering. Any such issuances 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) Exhibits. The following exhibits are being filed herewith:
Exhibit |
Description |
|
1.1* |
Form of Underwriting Agreement |
|
1.2* |
Form of Business Combination Marketing Agreement |
|
3.1 |
||
3.2* |
Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation |
|
3.3 |
||
4.1* |
Specimen Unit Certificate |
|
4.2* |
Specimen Class A Common Stock Certificate |
|
4.3* |
Specimen Warrant Certificate (included in Exhibit 4.4) |
|
4.4* |
Form of Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant |
|
5.1* |
Form of Opinion of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP |
|
10.1 |
Promissory Note, dated May 15, 2020 issued to EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC |
|
10.2 |
Promissory Note, dated May 15, 2020 issued to Cowen Investments II LLC |
|
10.3* |
Form of Letter Agreement among the Registrant and the Registrant’s officers and directors, EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC and Cowen Investments II LLC |
|
10.4* |
Form of Investment Management Trust Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant |
|
10.5* |
Form of Registration Rights Agreement between the Registrant, EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC, Cowen Investments II LLC and certain security holders and certain other security holders |
|
10.6 |
||
10.7 |
||
10.8* |
Form of Unit Subscription Agreement between the Registrant and EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC |
|
10.9* |
Form of Unit Subscription Agreement between the Registrant and Cowen Investments II LLC |
|
10.10* |
Form of Indemnity Agreement |
|
10.11* |
Form of Administrative Services Agreement, by and between the Registrant and EcoR1 Capital, LLC |
|
10.12* |
||
14* |
Form of Code of Ethics and Business Conduct |
|
23.1 |
||
23.2* |
Consent of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1) |
|
24 |
Power of Attorney (included on signature page of this Registration Statement) |
|
99.1* |
Consent of Oleg Nodelman |
|
99.2* |
Consent of Daniel Bradbury |
|
99.3* |
Consent of Graham Cooper |
|
99.4* |
Consent of Faheem Hasnain |
|
99.5* |
Consent of Shalini Sharp |
____________
* To be filed by amendment.
(b) Financial Statements. See page F-1 for an index to the financial statements and schedules included in the registration statement.
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Item 17. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
(b) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, 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 Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(c) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, 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, 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.
(3) For the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser, if the registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.
(4) For the purpose of determining liability of a registrant under the Securities Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of an undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by an undersigned registrant;
(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of San Francisco, State of California on the 12th day of June 2020.
PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP. |
||||
By: |
/s/ Oleg Nodelman |
|||
Name: |
Oleg Nodelman |
|||
Title: |
Chief Executive Officer |
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each of the undersigned constitutes and appoints each of Oleg Nodelman and Scott Perlen, each acting alone, their true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person and in their name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this Registration Statement on Form S-1 (including all pre-effective and post-effective amendments and registration statements filed pursuant to Rule 462 under the Securities Act of 1933), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, 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, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature |
Title |
Date |
||
/s/ Oleg Nodelman |
Chief Executive Officer |
June 12, 2020 |
||
Oleg Nodelman |
(Principal Executive Officer) |
|||
/s/ Scott Perlen |
Chief Financial Officer |
June 12, 2020 |
||
Scott Perlen |
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
|||
/s/ Sarah Marriott |
Secretary and Board Member |
June 12, 2020 |
||
Sarah Marriott |
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Exhibit 3.1
CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
OF
PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP.
The undersigned, for the purposes of forming a corporation under the laws of the State of Delaware, does make, file and record this Certificate of Incorporation, and does hereby certify as follows:
FIRST. The name of the corporation is Panacea Acquisition Corp. (the “Corporation”).
SECOND. The address of the Corporation’s registered office in the State of Delaware is 251 Little Falls Drive, Wilmington, County of New Castle, Delaware 19808. The name of its registered agent at such address is Corporation Service Company.
THIRD. The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as amended from time to time (the “DGCL”).
FOURTH. The total number of shares of all classes of capital stock, each with a par value of $0.0001 per share, which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is 86,000,000, of which (a) 85,000,000 shares shall be common stock, including (i) 75,000,000 shares of Class A common stock (the “Class A Common Stock”), (ii) 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock (the “Class B Common Stock”, and together with the Class A Common Stock, the “Common Stock”) and (b) 1,000,000 shares shall be preferred stock (the “Preferred Stock”).
A. Preferred Stock. The Board of Directors is expressly granted authority to issue shares of the Preferred Stock, in one or more series, and to fix for each such series such voting powers, full or limited, and such designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and such qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof as shall be stated and expressed in the resolution or resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors providing for the issue of such series (a “Preferred Stock Designation”) and as may be permitted by the DGCL. The number of authorized shares of Preferred Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of the capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class, without a separate vote of the holders of the Preferred Stock, or any series thereof, unless a vote of any such holders is required pursuant to any Preferred Stock Designation.
B. Common Stock.
(i) Except as otherwise required by law or as otherwise provided in any Preferred Stock Designation, the holders of the Common Stock shall exclusively possess all voting power.
(ii) The holders of shares of Common Stock shall be entitled to one vote for each such share on each matter properly submitted to the stockholders on which the holders of the Common Stock are entitled to vote.
(iii) Shares of Class B Common Stock are convertible into shares of Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis (the “Initial Conversion Ratio”) and shall automatically convert into Class A Common Stock at the time of the closing of the Business Combination (as defined below).
(iv) Notwithstanding the Initial Conversion Ratio, in the case that additional shares of Class A Common Stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in the Corporation’s initial public offering, all issued and outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock shall automatically convert into shares of Class A Common Stock at the time of the closing of the Corporation’s initial merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”) at a ratio for which:
(x) | the numerator shall be equal to the sum of (A) 25% of all shares of Class A Common Stock issued or issuable (upon the conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or otherwise) by the Corporation, related to or in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination (excluding any securities issued or issuable to any seller in the Business Combination) plus (B) the number of shares of Class B Common Stock issued and outstanding prior to the closing of the Business Combination; and |
(y) | the denominator shall be the number of shares of Class B Common Stock issued and outstanding prior to the closing of the Business Combination. |
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in no event may the Class B Common Stock convert into Class A Common Stock at a ratio that is less than one-for-one.
The foregoing conversion ratio shall be adjusted to account for any subdivision (by stock split, subdivision, exchange, stock dividend, reclassification, recapitalization or otherwise) or combination (by reverse stock split, exchange, reclassification, recapitalization or otherwise) or similar reclassification or recapitalization of the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock into a greater or lesser number of shares occurring after the original filing of this Certificate without a proportionate and corresponding subdivision, combination or similar reclassification or recapitalization of the outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock.
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Each share of Class B Common Stock shall convert into its pro rata number of shares of Class A Common Stock pursuant to this Section B of Article Fourth. The pro rata share for each stockholder of Class B Common Stock will be determined as follows: Each share of Class B Common Stock shall convert into such number of shares of Class A Common Stock as is equal to the product of one (1) multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the total number of shares of Class A Common Stock into which all of the issued and outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock shall be converted pursuant to this Article, and the denominator of which shall be the total number of issued and outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock at the time of conversion.
FIFTH. The name and mailing address of the sole incorporator of the Corporation are as follows:
Deborah Reusch
P.O. Box 636
Wilmington, DE 19899
SIXTH. The following provisions are inserted for the management of the business and for the conduct of the affairs of the Corporation, and for further definition, limitation and regulation of the powers of the Corporation and of its directors and stockholders:
A. The number of directors of the Corporation shall be as from time to time fixed by, or in the manner provided in, the by-laws of the Corporation. Election of directors need not be by ballot unless the by-laws of the Corporation so provide.
B. The Board of Directors shall have the power, without the assent or vote of the stockholders, to make, alter, amend, change, add to or repeal the by-laws of the Corporation.
C. The directors in their discretion may submit any contract or act for approval or ratification at any annual meeting of the stockholders or at any meeting of the stockholders called for the purpose of considering any such act or contract, and any contract or act that shall be approved or be ratified by the vote of the holders of a majority of the stock of the Corporation which is represented in person or by proxy at such meeting and entitled to vote thereat (provided that a lawful quorum of stockholders be there represented in person or by proxy) shall be as valid and binding upon the Corporation and upon all the stockholders as though it had been approved or ratified by every stockholder of the Corporation, whether or not the contract or act would otherwise be open to legal attack because of directors’ interests, or for any other reason.
D. In addition to the powers and authorities hereinbefore or by statute expressly conferred upon them, the directors are hereby empowered to exercise all such powers and do all such acts and things as may be exercised or done by the Corporation; subject, nevertheless, to the provisions of the statutes of Delaware, of this Certificate of Incorporation, and to any by-laws from time to time made by the stockholders; provided, however, that no by-law so made shall invalidate any prior act of the directors which would have been valid if such by-law had not been made.
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SEVENTH. A. A director of the Corporation shall not be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty by such director as a director, except for liability (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the DGCL, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. If the DGCL is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as so amended. Any repeal or modification of this Section A of Article Seventh by the stockholders of the Corporation shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation with respect to events occurring prior to the time of such repeal or modification.
B. The Corporation, to the full extent permitted by Section 145 of the DGCL, as amended from time to time, shall indemnify all persons whom it may indemnify pursuant thereto. Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative action, suit or proceeding for which such officer or director may be entitled to indemnification hereunder shall be paid by the Corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that he is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation as authorized hereby.
EIGHTH. Whenever a compromise or arrangement is proposed between this Corporation and its creditors or any class of them and/or between this Corporation and its stockholders or any class of them, any court of equitable jurisdiction within the State of Delaware may, on the application in a summary way of this Corporation or of any creditor or stockholder thereof or on the application of any receiver or receivers appointed for this Corporation under Section 291 of Title 8 of the Delaware Code or on the application of trustees in dissolution or of any receiver or receivers appointed for this Corporation under Section 279 of Title 8 of the Delaware Code order a meeting of the creditors or class of creditors, and/or of the stockholders or class of stockholders of this Corporation, as the case may be, to be summoned in such manner as the said court directs. If a majority in number representing three-fourths in value of the creditors or class of creditors, and/or of the stockholders or class of stockholders of this Corporation, as the case may be, agree to any compromise or arrangement and to any reorganization of this Corporation as a consequence of such compromise or arrangement, the said compromise or arrangement and the said reorganization shall, if sanctioned by the court to which the said application has been made, be binding on all the creditors or class of creditors, and/or on all the stockholders or class of stockholders, of this Corporation, as the case may be, and also on this Corporation.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned incorporator has executed this Certificate of Incorporation this 24th day of April, 2020.
/s/ Deborah Reusch | |
Deborah Reusch | |
Sole Incorporator |
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Exhibit 3.3
BYLAWS
OF
PANACEA ACQUISITION CORP. (THE “CORPORATION”)
ARTICLE I
OFFICES
Section 1.1. Registered Office. The registered office of the Corporation within the State of Delaware shall be located at either (a) the principal place of business of the Corporation in the State of Delaware or (b) the office of the corporation or individual acting as the Corporation’s registered agent in Delaware.
Section 1.2. Additional Offices. The Corporation may, in addition to its registered office in the State of Delaware, have such other offices and places of business, both within and outside the State of Delaware, as the Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “Board”) may from time to time determine or as the business and affairs of the Corporation may require.
ARTICLE II
STOCKHOLDERS MEETINGS
Section 2.1. Annual Meetings. The annual meeting of stockholders shall be held at such place and time and on such date as shall be determined by the Board and stated in the notice of the meeting, provided that the Board may in its sole discretion determine that the meeting shall not be held at any place, but may instead be held solely by means of remote communication pursuant to Section 9.5(a). At each annual meeting, the stockholders entitled to vote on such matters shall elect those directors of the Corporation to fill any term of a directorship that expires on the date of such annual meeting and may transact any other business as may properly be brought before the meeting.
Section 2.2. Special Meetings. Subject to the rights of the holders of any outstanding series of the preferred stock of the Corporation (“Preferred Stock”), and to the requirements of applicable law, special meetings of stockholders, for any purpose or purposes, may be called only by the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, or the Board pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the Board. Special meetings of stockholders shall be held at such place and time and on such date as shall be determined by the Board and stated in the Corporation’s notice of the meeting, provided that the Board may in its sole discretion determine that the meeting shall not be held at any place, but may instead be held solely by means of remote communication pursuant to Section 9.5(a).
Section 2.3. Notices. Notice of each stockholders meeting stating the place, if any, date, and time of the meeting, and the means of remote communication, if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such meeting, shall be given in the manner permitted by Section 9.3 to each stockholder entitled to vote thereat by the Corporation not less than 10 nor more than 60 days before the date of the meeting. If said notice is for a stockholders meeting other than an annual meeting, it shall in addition state the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called, and the business transacted at such meeting shall be limited to the matters so stated in the Corporation’s notice of meeting (or any supplement thereto). Any meeting of stockholders as to which notice has been given may be postponed, and any special meeting of stockholders as to which notice has been given may be cancelled, by the Board upon public announcement (as defined in Section 2.7(c)) given before the date previously scheduled for such meeting.
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Section 2.4. Quorum. Except as otherwise provided by applicable law, the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation, as the same may be amended or restated from time to time (the “Certificate of Incorporation”) or these Bylaws, the presence, in person or by proxy, at a stockholders meeting of the holders of shares of outstanding capital stock of the Corporation representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote at such meeting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at such meeting, except that when specified business is to be voted on by a class or series of stock voting as a class, the holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of the outstanding shares of such class or series shall constitute a quorum of such class or series for the transaction of such business. If a quorum shall not be present or represented by proxy at any meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation, the chairman of the meeting may adjourn the meeting from time to time in the manner provided in Section 2.6 until a quorum shall attend. The stockholders present at a duly convened meeting may continue to transact business until adjournment, notwithstanding the withdrawal of enough stockholders to leave less than a quorum. Shares of its own stock belonging to the Corporation or to another corporation, if a majority of the voting power of the shares entitled to vote in the election of directors of such other corporation is held, directly or indirectly, by the Corporation, shall neither be entitled to vote nor be counted for quorum purposes; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not limit the right of the Corporation or any such other corporation to vote shares held by it in a fiduciary capacity.
Section 2.5. Voting of Shares.
(a) Voting Lists. The Secretary shall prepare, or shall cause the officer or agent who has charge of the stock ledger of the Corporation to prepare, at least 10 days before every meeting of stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders of record entitled to vote at such meeting and showing the address and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder. Nothing contained in this Section 2.5(a) shall require the Corporation to include electronic mail addresses or other electronic contact information on such list. Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting, during ordinary business hours for a period of at least 10 days prior to the meeting: (i) on a reasonably accessible electronic network, provided that the information required to gain access to such list is provided with the notice of the meeting, or (ii) during ordinary business hours, at the principal place of business of the Corporation. In the event that the Corporation determines to make the list available on an electronic network, the Corporation may take reasonable steps to ensure that such information is available only to stockholders of the Corporation. If the meeting is to be held at a place, then the list shall be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting during the whole time thereof, and may be inspected by any stockholder who is present. If a meeting of stockholders is to be held solely by means of remote communication as permitted by Section 9.5(a), the list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder during the whole time of the meeting on a reasonably accessible electronic network, and the information required to access such list shall be provided with the notice of meeting. The stock ledger shall be the only evidence as to who are the stockholders entitled to examine the list required by this Section 2.5(a) or to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of stockholders.
(b) Manner of Voting. At any stockholders meeting, every stockholder entitled to vote may vote in person or by proxy. If authorized by the Board, the voting by stockholders or proxy holders at any meeting conducted by remote communication may be effected by a ballot submitted by electronic transmission (as defined in Section 9.3), provided that any such electronic transmission must either set forth or be submitted with information from which the Corporation can determine that the electronic transmission was authorized by the stockholder or proxy holder. The Board, in its discretion, or the chairman of the meeting of stockholders, in such person’s discretion, may require that any votes cast at such meeting shall be cast by written ballot.
(c) Proxies. Each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of stockholders or to express consent or dissent to corporate action in writing without a meeting may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder by proxy, but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three years from its date, unless the proxy provides for a longer period. Proxies need not be filed with the Secretary of the Corporation until the meeting is called to order, but shall be filed with the Secretary before being voted. Without limiting the manner in which a stockholder may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder as proxy, either of the following shall constitute a valid means by which a stockholder may grant such authority.
(i) A stockholder may execute a writing authorizing another person or persons to act for such stockholder as proxy. Execution may be accomplished by the stockholder or such stockholder’s authorized officer, director, employee or agent signing such writing or causing such person’s signature to be affixed to such writing by any reasonable means, including, but not limited to, by facsimile signature.
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(ii) A stockholder may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder as proxy by transmitting or authorizing the transmission of an electronic transmission to the person who will be the holder of the proxy or to a proxy solicitation firm, proxy support service organization or like agent duly authorized by the person who will be the holder of the proxy to receive such transmission, provided that any such electronic transmission must either set forth or be submitted with information from which it can be determined that the electronic transmission was authorized by the stockholder. Any copy, facsimile telecommunication or other reliable reproduction of the writing or transmission authorizing another person or persons to act as proxy for a stockholder may be substituted or used in lieu of the original writing or transmission for any and all purposes for which the original writing or transmission could be used; provided that such copy, facsimile telecommunication or other reproduction shall be a complete reproduction of the entire original writing or transmission.
(d) Required Vote. Subject to the rights of the holders of one or more series of the Preferred Stock, voting separately by class or series, to elect directors pursuant to the terms of one or more series of Preferred Stock, the election of directors shall be determined by a plurality of the votes cast by the stockholders present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote thereon. All other matters shall be determined by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by the common stockholders present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote thereon, unless the matter is one upon which, by applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation, these Bylaws or applicable stock exchange rules, a different vote is required, in which case such provision shall govern and control the decision of such matter.
(e) Inspectors of Election. The Board may, and shall if required by law, in advance of any meeting of stockholders, appoint one or more persons as inspectors of election, who may be employees of the Corporation or otherwise serve the Corporation in other capacities, to act at such meeting of stockholders or any adjournment thereof and to make a written report thereof. The Board may appoint one or more persons as alternate inspectors to replace any inspector who fails to act. If no inspectors of election or alternates are appointed by the Board, the chairman of the meeting shall appoint one or more inspectors to act at the meeting. Each inspector, before discharging his or her duties, shall take and sign an oath faithfully to execute the duties of inspector with strict impartiality and according to the best of his or her ability. The inspectors shall ascertain and report the number of outstanding shares and the voting power of each; determine the number of shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and the validity of proxies and ballots; count all votes and ballots and report the results; determine and retain for a reasonable period a record of the disposition of any challenges made to any determination by the inspectors; and certify their determination of the number of shares represented at the meeting and their count of all votes and ballots. No person who is a candidate for an office at an election may serve as an inspector at such election. Each report of an inspector shall be in writing and signed by the inspector or by a majority of them if there is more than one inspector acting at such meeting. If there is more than one inspector, the report of a majority shall be the report of the inspectors.
Section 2.6. Adjournments. Any meeting of stockholders, annual or special, may be adjourned by the chairman of the meeting, from time to time, whether or not there is a quorum, to reconvene at the same or some other place. Notice need not be given of any such adjourned meeting if the date, time, and place, if any, thereof, and the means of remote communication, if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such adjourned meeting are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken. At the adjourned meeting the stockholders, or the holders of any class or series of stock entitled to vote separately as a class, as the case may be, may transact any business that might have been transacted at the original meeting. If the adjournment is for more than 30 days, or if after the adjournment a new record date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting.
Section 2.7. Advance Notice for Business.
(a) Annual Meetings of Stockholders. No business may be transacted at an annual meeting of stockholders, other than business that is either (i) specified in the Corporation’s notice of meeting (or any supplement thereto) given by or at the direction of the Board, (ii) otherwise properly brought before the annual meeting by or at the direction of the Board or (iii) otherwise properly brought before the annual meeting by any stockholder of the Corporation (x) who is a stockholder of record on the date of the giving of the notice provided for in this Section 2.7(a) and on the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to vote at such annual meeting and (y) who complies with the notice procedures set forth in this Section 2.7(a). Notwithstanding anything in this Section 2.7(a) to the contrary, only persons nominated for election as a director to fill any term of a directorship that expires on the date of the annual meeting pursuant to Section 3.3 will be considered for election at such meeting.
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(i) In addition to any other applicable requirements, for business (other than nominations) to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a stockholder, such stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in proper written form to the Secretary of the Corporation and such business must otherwise be a proper matter for stockholder action. Subject to Section 2.7(a)(iii), a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary with respect to such business, to be timely, must be received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders; provided, however, that in the event that the annual meeting is called for a date that is not within 45 days before or after such anniversary date, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so received not earlier than the opening of business on the 120th day before the meeting and not later than the later of (x) the close of business on the 90th day before the meeting or (y) the close of business on the 10th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of the annual meeting is first made by the Corporation. The public announcement of an adjournment of an annual meeting shall not commence a new time period for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described in this Section 2.7(a).
(ii) To be in proper written form, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary with respect to any business (other than nominations) must set forth as to each such matter such stockholder proposes to bring before the annual meeting (A) a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the annual meeting, the text of the proposal or business (including the text of any resolutions proposed for consideration and in the event such business includes a proposal to amend these Bylaws, the language of the proposed amendment) and the reasons for conducting such business at the annual meeting, (B) the name and record address of such stockholder and the name and address of the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made, (C) the class or series and number of shares of capital stock of the Corporation that are owned beneficially and of record by such stockholder and by the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made, (D) a description of all arrangements or understandings between such stockholder and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made and any other person or persons (including their names) in connection with the proposal of such business by such stockholder, (E) any material interest of such stockholder and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made in such business and (F) a representation that such stockholder intends to appear in person or by proxy at the annual meeting to bring such business before the meeting.
(iii) The foregoing notice requirements of this Section 2.7(a) shall be deemed satisfied by a stockholder as to any proposal (other than nominations) if the stockholder has notified the Corporation of such stockholder’s intention to present such proposal at an annual meeting in compliance with Rule 14a-8 (or any successor thereof) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and such stockholder has complied with the requirements of Rule 14a-8 for inclusion of such proposal in a proxy statement prepared by the Corporation to solicit proxies for such annual meeting. No business shall be conducted at the annual meeting of stockholders except business brought before the annual meeting in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section 2.7(a), provided, however, that once business has been properly brought before the annual meeting in accordance with such procedures, nothing in this Section 2.7(a) shall be deemed to preclude discussion by any stockholder of any such business. If the Board or the chairman of the annual meeting determines that any stockholder proposal was not made in accordance with the provisions of this Section 2.7(a) or that the information provided in a stockholder’s notice does not satisfy the information requirements of this Section 2.7(a), such proposal shall not be presented for action at the annual meeting. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.7(a), if the stockholder (or a qualified representative of the stockholder) does not appear at the annual meeting of stockholders of the Corporation to present the proposed business, such proposed business shall not be transacted, notwithstanding that proxies in respect of such matter may have been received by the Corporation.
(iv) In addition to the provisions of this Section 2.7(a), a stockholder shall also comply with all applicable requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder with respect to the matters set forth herein. Nothing in this Section 2.7(a) shall be deemed to affect any rights of stockholders to request inclusion of proposals in the Corporation’s proxy statement pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act.
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(b) Special Meetings of Stockholders. Only such business shall be conducted at a special meeting of stockholders as shall have been brought before the meeting pursuant to the Corporation’s notice of meeting. Nominations of persons for election to the Board may be made at a special meeting of stockholders at which directors are to be elected pursuant to the Corporation’s notice of meeting only pursuant to Section 3.3.
(c) Public Announcement. For purposes of these Bylaws, “public announcement” shall mean disclosure in a press release reported by the Dow Jones News Service, Associated Press or comparable national news service or in a document publicly filed or furnished by the Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Sections 13, 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act.
Section 2.8. Conduct of Meetings. The chairman of each annual and special meeting of stockholders shall be the Chairman of the Board or, in the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer (if he or she shall be a director) or, in the absence (or inability or refusal to act of the Chief Executive Officer or if the Chief Executive Officer is not a director, the President (if he or she shall be a director) or, in the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the President or if the President is not a director, such other person as shall be appointed by the Board. The date and time of the opening and the closing of the polls for each matter upon which the stockholders will vote at a meeting shall be announced at the meeting by the chairman of the meeting. The Board may adopt such rules and regulations for the conduct of the meeting of stockholders as it shall deem appropriate. Except to the extent inconsistent with these Bylaws or such rules and regulations as adopted by the Board, the chairman of any meeting of stockholders shall have the right and authority to convene and to adjourn the meeting, to prescribe such rules, regulations and procedures and to do all such acts as, in the judgment of such chairman, are appropriate for the proper conduct of the meeting. Such rules, regulations or procedures, whether adopted by the Board or prescribed by the chairman of the meeting, may include, without limitation, the following: (a) the establishment of an agenda or order of business for the meeting; (b) rules and procedures for maintaining order at the meeting and the safety of those present; (c) limitations on attendance at or participation in the meeting to stockholders of record of the Corporation, their duly authorized and constituted proxies or such other persons as the chairman of the meeting shall determine; (d) restrictions on entry to the meeting after the time fixed for the commencement thereof; and (e) limitations on the time allotted to questions or comments by participants. Unless and to the extent determined by the Board or the chairman of the meeting, meetings of stockholders shall not be required to be held in accordance with the rules of parliamentary procedure. The secretary of each annual and special meeting of stockholders shall be the Secretary or, in the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the Secretary, an Assistant Secretary so appointed to act by the chairman of the meeting. In the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the Secretary and all Assistant Secretaries, the chairman of the meeting may appoint any person to act as secretary of the meeting.
Section 2.9. Consents in Lieu of Meeting. Unless otherwise provided by the Certificate of Incorporation, and subject to the proviso in Section 2.1, until the corporation consummates an initial public offering, any action required to be taken at any annual or special meeting of stockholders, or any action which may be taken at any annual or special meeting of such stockholders, may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted, and shall be delivered to the Corporation by delivery to its registered office in the State of Delaware, its principal place of business, or an officer or agent of the Corporation having custody of the book in which proceedings of meetings of stockholders are recorded. Delivery made to the Corporation’s registered office shall be by hand or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested.
Every written consent shall bear the date of signature of each stockholder who signs the consent, and no written consent shall be effective to take the corporate action referred to therein unless, within 60 days of the earliest dated consent delivered in the manner required by this section and Delaware Law to the Corporation, written consents signed by a sufficient number of holders to take action are delivered to the Corporation by delivery to its registered office in Delaware, its principal place of business or an officer or agent of the Corporation having custody of the book in which proceedings of meetings of stockholders are recorded. Delivery made to the Corporation’s registered office shall be by hand or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested.
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ARTICLE III
DIRECTORS
Section 3.1. Powers. The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board, which may exercise all such powers of the Corporation and do all such lawful acts and things as are not by statute or by the Certificate of Incorporation or by these Bylaws required to be exercised or done by the stockholders. Directors need not be stockholders or residents of the State of Delaware.
Section 3.2. Number and Election. The Board shall consist of not less than one nor more than fifteen members, the exact number of which shall initially be fixed at one member and thereafter from time to time by the Board. If the Board consists of three or more directors, the Board will be divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to the first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In such a case, (i) the term of office of the first class of directors will expire at the first annual meeting of stockholders (ii) the term of office of the second class of directors will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders and (iii) the term of office of the third class of directors will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders.
Section 3.3. Advance Notice for Nomination of Directors.
(a) Only persons who are nominated in accordance with the following procedures shall be eligible for election as directors of the Corporation, except as may be otherwise provided by the terms of one or more series of Preferred Stock with respect to the rights of holders of one or more series of Preferred Stock to elect directors. Nominations of persons for election to the Board at any annual meeting of stockholders, or at any special meeting of stockholders called for the purpose of electing directors as set forth in the Corporation’s notice of such special meeting, may be made (i) by or at the direction of the Board or (ii) by any stockholder of the Corporation (x) who is a stockholder of record entitled to vote in an election of directors on the date of the giving of the notice provided for in this Section 3.3 and on the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting and (y) who complies with the notice procedures set forth in this Section 3.3.
(b) In addition to any other applicable requirements, for a nomination to be made by a stockholder, such stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in proper written form to the Secretary of the Corporation. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary must be received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation (i) in the case of an annual meeting, not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders; provided, however, that in the event that the annual meeting is called for a date that is not within 45 days before or after such anniversary date, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so received not earlier than the opening of business on the 120th day before the meeting and not later than the later of (x) the close of business on the 90th day before the meeting or (y) the close of business on the 10th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of the annual meeting was first made by the Corporation; and (ii) in the case of a special meeting of stockholders called for the purpose of electing directors, not later than the close of business on the 10th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of the special meeting is first made by the Corporation. In no event shall the public announcement of an adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting or special meeting commence a new time period (or extend any time period) for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described in this Section 3.3.
(c) Notwithstanding anything in paragraph (b) of this Section 3.3 to the contrary, in the event that the number of directors to be elected to the Board at an annual meeting is greater than the number of directors whose terms expire on the date of the annual meeting and there is no public announcement by the Corporation naming all of the nominees for the additional directors to be elected or specifying the size of the increased Board before the close of business on the 90th day prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders, a stockholder’s notice required by this Section 3.3 shall also be considered timely, but only with respect to nominees for the additional directorships created by such increase that are to be filled by election at such annual meeting, if it shall be received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than the close of business on the 10th day following the date on which such public announcement was first made by the Corporation.
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(d) To be in proper written form, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary must set forth (i) as to each person whom the stockholder proposes to nominate for election as a director (A) the name, age, business address and residence address of the person, (B) the principal occupation or employment of the person, (C) the class or series and number of shares of capital stock of the Corporation that are owned beneficially or of record by the person and (D) any other information relating to the person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for election of directors pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; and (ii) as to the stockholder giving the notice (A) the name and record address of such stockholder and the name and address of the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination is made, (B) the class or series and number of shares of capital stock of the Corporation that are owned beneficially and of record by such stockholder and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination is made, (C) a description of all arrangements or understandings relating to the nomination to be made by such stockholder among such stockholder, the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination is made, each proposed nominee and any other person or persons (including their names), (D) a representation that such stockholder intends to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to nominate the persons named in its notice and (E) any other information relating to such stockholder and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination is made that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for election of directors pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Such notice must be accompanied by a written consent of each proposed nominee to being named as a nominee and to serve as a director if elected.
(e) If the Board or the chairman of the meeting of stockholders determines that any nomination was not made in accordance with the provisions of this Section 3.3, then such nomination shall not be considered at the meeting in question. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 3.3, if the stockholder (or a qualified representative of the stockholder) does not appear at the meeting of stockholders of the Corporation to present the nomination, such nomination shall be disregarded, notwithstanding that proxies in respect of such nomination may have been received by the Corporation.
(f) In addition to the provisions of this Section 3.3, a stockholder shall also comply with all of the applicable requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder with respect to the matters set forth herein. Nothing in this Section 3.3 shall be deemed to affect any rights of the holders of Preferred Stock to elect directors pursuant to the Certificate of Incorporation.
Section 3.4. Compensation. Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, the Board shall have the authority to fix the compensation of directors. The directors may be reimbursed their expenses, if any, of attendance at each meeting of the Board and may be paid either a fixed sum for attendance at each meeting of the Board or other compensation as director. No such payment shall preclude any director from serving the Corporation in any other capacity and receiving compensation therefor. Members of committees of the Board may be allowed like compensation and reimbursement of expenses for service on the committee.
ARTICLE IV
BOARD MEETINGS
Section 4.1. Annual Meetings. The Board shall meet as soon as practicable after the adjournment of each annual stockholders meeting at the place of the annual stockholders meeting unless the Board shall fix another time and place and give notice thereof in the manner required herein for special meetings of the Board. No notice to the directors shall be necessary to legally convene this meeting, except as provided in this Section 4.1.
Section 4.2. Regular Meetings. Regularly scheduled, periodic meetings of the Board may be held without notice at such times, dates and places as shall from time to time be determined by the Board.
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Section 4.3. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Board (a) may be called by the Chairman of the Board or President and (b) shall be called by the Chairman of the Board, President or Secretary on the written request of at least a majority of directors then in office, or the sole director, as the case may be, and shall be held at such time, date and place as may be determined by the person calling the meeting or, if called upon the request of directors or the sole director, as specified in such written request. Notice of each special meeting of the Board shall be given, as provided in Section 9.3, to each director (i) at least 24 hours before the meeting if such notice is oral notice given personally or by telephone or written notice given by hand delivery or by means of a form of electronic transmission and delivery; (ii) at least two days before the meeting if such notice is sent by a nationally recognized overnight delivery service; and (iii) at least five days before the meeting if such notice is sent through the United States mail. If the Secretary shall fail or refuse to give such notice, then the notice may be given by the officer who called the meeting or the directors who requested the meeting. Any and all business that may be transacted at a regular meeting of the Board may be transacted at a special meeting. Except as may be otherwise expressly provided by applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation, or these Bylaws, neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any special meeting need be specified in the notice or waiver of notice of such meeting. A special meeting may be held at any time without notice if all the directors are present or if those not present waive notice of the meeting in accordance with Section 9.4.
Section 4.4. Quorum; Required Vote. A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Board, and the act of a majority of the directors present at any meeting at which there is a quorum shall be the act of the Board, except as may be otherwise specifically provided by applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws. If a quorum shall not be present at any meeting, a majority of the directors present may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum is present.
Section 4.5. Consent In Lieu of Meeting. Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board or any committee thereof may be taken without a meeting if all members of the Board or committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing or by electronic transmission, and the writing or writings or electronic transmission or transmissions (or paper reproductions thereof) are filed with the minutes of proceedings of the Board or committee. Such filing shall be in paper form if the minutes are maintained in paper form and shall be in electronic form if the minutes are maintained in electronic form.
Section 4.6. Organization. The chairman of each meeting of the Board shall be the Chairman of the Board or, in the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer (if he or she shall be a director) or, in the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the Chief Executive Officer or if the Chief Executive Officer is not a director, the President (if he or she shall be a director) or in the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the President or if the President is not a director, a chairman elected from the directors present. The Secretary shall act as secretary of all meetings of the Board. In the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the Secretary, an Assistant Secretary shall perform the duties of the Secretary at such meeting. In the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the Secretary and all Assistant Secretaries, the chairman of the meeting may appoint any person to act as secretary of the meeting.
ARTICLE V
COMMITTEES OF DIRECTORS
Section 5.1. Establishment. The Board may by resolution passed by a majority of the Board designate one or more committees, each committee to consist of one or more of the directors of the Corporation. Each committee shall keep regular minutes of its meetings and report the same to the Board when required. The Board shall have the power at any time to fill vacancies in, to change the membership of, or to dissolve any such committee.
Section 5.2. Available Powers. Any committee established pursuant to Section 5.1 hereof, to the extent permitted by applicable law and by resolution of the Board, shall have and may exercise all of the powers and authority of the Board in the management of the business and affairs of the Corporation, and may authorize the seal of the Corporation to be affixed to all papers that may require it.
Section 5.3. Alternate Members. The Board may designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of such committee.
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Section 5.4. Procedures. Unless the Board otherwise provides, the time, date, place, if any, and notice of meetings of a committee shall be determined by such committee. At meetings of a committee, a majority of the number of members of the committee (but not including any alternate member, unless such alternate member has replaced any absent or disqualified member at the time of, or in connection with, such meeting) shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The act of a majority of the members present at any meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the committee, except as otherwise specifically provided by applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation, these Bylaws or the Board. If a quorum is not present at a meeting of a committee, the members present may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than an announcement at the meeting, until a quorum is present. Unless the Board otherwise provides and except as provided in these Bylaws, each committee designated by the Board may make, alter, amend and repeal rules for the conduct of its business. In the absence of such rules each committee shall conduct its business in the same manner as the Board is authorized to conduct its business pursuant to Article III and Article IV of these Bylaws.
ARTICLE VI
OFFICERS
Section 6.1. Officers. The officers of the Corporation elected by the Board shall be a Chairman of the Board, a Chief Executive Officer, a Chief Financial Officer, a Secretary and such other officers (including without limitation, a President, Vice Presidents, Assistant Secretaries, and a Treasurer) as the Board from time to time may determine. Officers elected by the Board shall each have such powers and duties as generally pertain to their respective offices, subject to the specific provisions of this Article VI. Such officers shall also have such powers and duties as from time to time may be conferred by the Board. The Chief Executive Officer or President may also appoint such other officers (including without limitation one or more Vice Presidents and Controllers) as may be necessary or desirable for the conduct of the business of the Corporation. Such other officers shall have such powers and duties and shall hold their offices for such terms as may be provided in these Bylaws or as may be prescribed by the Board or, if such officer has been appointed by the Chief Executive Officer or President, as may be prescribed by the appointing officer.
(a) Chairman of the Board. The Chairman of the Board shall preside when present at all meetings of the stockholders and the Board. The Chairman of the Board shall have general supervision and control of the acquisition activities of the Corporation subject to the ultimate authority of the Board, and shall be responsible for the execution of the policies of the Board with respect to such matters. In the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer (if he or she shall be a director) shall preside when present at all meetings of the stockholders and the Board. The powers and duties of the Chairman of the Board shall not include supervision or control of the preparation of the financial statements of the Corporation (other than through participation as a member of the Board). The position of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer may be held by the same person.
(b) Chief Executive Officer. The Chief Executive Officer shall be the chief executive officer of the Corporation, shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Corporation and general control of all of its business subject to the ultimate authority of the Board, and shall be responsible for the execution of the policies of the Board with respect to such matters, except to the extent any such powers and duties have been prescribed to the Chairman of the Board pursuant to Section 6.1(a) above. In the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer (if he or she shall be a director) shall preside when present at all meetings of the stockholders and the Board. The position of Chief Executive Officer and President may be held by the same person.
(c) President. The President shall make recommendations to the Chief Executive Officer on all operational matters that would normally be reserved for the final executive responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer. In the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, the President (if he or she shall be a director) shall preside when present at all meetings of the stockholders and the Board. The President shall also perform such duties and have such powers as shall be designated by the Board. The position of President and Chief Executive Officer may be held by the same person.
(d) Vice Presidents. In the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the President, the Vice President (or in the event there be more than one Vice President, the Vice Presidents in the order designated by the Board) shall perform the duties and have the powers of the President. Any one or more of the Vice Presidents may be given an additional designation of rank or function.
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(e) Secretary.
(i) The Secretary shall attend all meetings of the stockholders, the Board and (as required) committees of the Board and shall record the proceedings of such meetings in books to be kept for that purpose. The Secretary shall give, or cause to be given, notice of all meetings of the stockholders and special meetings of the Board and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board, the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer or President. The Secretary shall have custody of the corporate seal of the Corporation and the Secretary, or any Assistant Secretary, shall have authority to affix the same to any instrument requiring it, and when so affixed, it may be attested by his or her signature or by the signature of such Assistant Secretary. The Board may give general authority to any other officer to affix the seal of the Corporation and to attest the affixing thereof by his or her signature.
(ii) The Secretary shall keep, or cause to be kept, at the principal executive office of the Corporation or at the office of the Corporation’s transfer agent or registrar, if one has been appointed, a stock ledger, or duplicate stock ledger, showing the names of the stockholders and their addresses, the number and classes of shares held by each and, with respect to certificated shares, the number and date of certificates issued for the same and the number and date of certificates cancelled.
(f) Assistant Secretaries. The Assistant Secretary or, if there be more than one, the Assistant Secretaries in the order determined by the Board shall, in the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the Secretary, perform the duties and have the powers of the Secretary.
(g) Chief Financial Officer. The Chief Financial Officer shall perform all duties commonly incident to that office (including, without limitation, the care and custody of the funds and securities of the Corporation, which from time to time may come into the Chief Financial Officer’s hands and the deposit of the funds of the Corporation in such banks or trust companies as the Board, the Chief Executive Officer or the President may authorize).
(h) Treasurer. The Treasurer shall, in the absence (or inability or refusal to act) of the Chief Financial Officer, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Chief Financial Officer.
Section 6.2. Term of Office; Removal; Vacancies. The elected officers of the Corporation shall be appointed by the Board and shall hold office until their successors are duly elected and qualified by the Board or until their earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification, or removal from office. Any officer may be removed, with or without cause, at any time by the Board. Any officer appointed by the Chief Executive Officer or President may also be removed, with or without cause, by the Chief Executive Officer or President, as the case may be, unless the Board otherwise provides. Any vacancy occurring in any elected office of the Corporation may be filled by the Board. Any vacancy occurring in any office appointed by the Chief Executive Officer or President may be filled by the Chief Executive Officer, or President, as the case may be, unless the Board then determines that such office shall thereupon be elected by the Board, in which case the Board shall elect such officer.
Section 6.3. Other Officers. The Board may delegate the power to appoint such other officers and agents, and may also remove such officers and agents or delegate the power to remove same, as it shall from time to time deem necessary or desirable.
Section 6.4. Multiple Officeholders; Stockholder and Director Officers. Any number of offices may be held by the same person unless the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws otherwise provide. Officers need not be stockholders or residents of the State of Delaware.
ARTICLE VII
SHARES
Section 7.1. Certificated and Uncertificated Shares. The shares of the Corporation may be certificated or uncertificated, subject to the sole discretion of the Board.
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Section 7.2. Multiple Classes of Stock. If the Corporation shall be authorized to issue more than one class of stock or more than one series of any class, the Corporation shall (a) cause the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences or rights to be set forth in full or summarized on the face or back of any certificate that the Corporation issues to represent shares of such class or series of stock or (b) in the case of uncertificated shares, within a reasonable time after the issuance or transfer of such shares, send to the registered owner thereof a written notice containing the information required to be set forth on certificates as specified in clause (a) above; provided, however, that, except as otherwise provided by applicable law, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, there may be set forth on the face or back of such certificate or, in the case of uncertificated shares, on such written notice a statement that the Corporation will furnish without charge to each stockholder who so requests the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences or rights.
Section 7.3. Signatures. Each certificate representing capital stock of the Corporation shall be signed by or in the name of the Corporation by (a) the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, the President or a Vice President and (b) the Treasurer, the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Corporation. Any or all the signatures on the certificate may be a facsimile. In case any officer, transfer agent or registrar who has signed or whose facsimile signature has been placed upon a certificate shall have ceased to be such officer, transfer agent or registrar before such certificate is issued, such certificate may be issued by the Corporation with the same effect as if such person were such officer, transfer agent or registrar on the date of issue.
Section 7.4. Consideration and Payment for Shares.
(a) Subject to applicable law and the Certificate of Incorporation, shares of stock may be issued for such consideration, having in the case of shares with par value a value not less than the par value thereof, and to such persons, as determined from time to time by the Board. The consideration may consist of any tangible or intangible property or benefit to the Corporation including cash, promissory notes, services performed, contracts for services to be performed or other securities.
(b) Subject to applicable law and the Certificate of Incorporation, shares may not be issued until the full amount of the consideration has been paid, unless upon the face or back of each certificate issued to represent any partly paid shares of capital stock or upon the books and records of the Corporation in the case of partly paid uncertificated shares, there shall have been set forth the total amount of the consideration to be paid therefor and the amount paid thereon up to and including the time said certificate representing certificated shares or said uncertificated shares are issued.
Section 7.5. Lost, Destroyed or Wrongfully Taken Certificates.
(a) If an owner of a certificate representing shares claims that such certificate has been lost, destroyed or wrongfully taken, the Corporation shall issue a new certificate representing such shares or such shares in uncertificated form if the owner: (i) requests such a new certificate before the Corporation has notice that the certificate representing such shares has been acquired by a protected purchaser; (ii) if requested by the Corporation, delivers to the Corporation a bond sufficient to indemnify the Corporation against any claim that may be made against the Corporation on account of the alleged loss, wrongful taking or destruction of such certificate or the issuance of such new certificate or uncertificated shares; and (iii) satisfies other reasonable requirements imposed by the Corporation.
(b) If a certificate representing shares has been lost, apparently destroyed or wrongfully taken, and the owner fails to notify the Corporation of that fact within a reasonable time after the owner has notice of such loss, apparent destruction or wrongful taking and the Corporation registers a transfer of such shares before receiving notification, the owner shall be precluded from asserting against the Corporation any claim for registering such transfer or a claim to a new certificate representing such shares or such shares in uncertificated form.
Section 7.6. Transfer of Stock.
(a) If a certificate representing shares of the Corporation is presented to the Corporation with an endorsement requesting the registration of transfer of such shares or an instruction is presented to the Corporation requesting the registration of transfer of uncertificated shares, the Corporation shall register the transfer as requested if:
(i) in the case of certificated shares, the certificate representing such shares has been surrendered;
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(ii)(A) with respect to certificated shares, the endorsement is made by the person specified by the certificate as entitled to such shares; (B) with respect to uncertificated shares, an instruction is made by the registered owner of such uncertificated shares; or (C) with respect to certificated shares or uncertificated shares, the endorsement or instruction is made by any other appropriate person or by an agent who has actual authority to act on behalf of the appropriate person;
(iii) the Corporation has received a guarantee of signature of the person signing such endorsement or instruction or such other reasonable assurance that the endorsement or instruction is genuine and authorized as the Corporation may request;
(iv) the transfer does not violate any restriction on transfer imposed by the Corporation that is enforceable in accordance with Section 7.8(a); and
(v) such other conditions for such transfer as shall be provided for under applicable law have been satisfied.
(b) Whenever any transfer of shares shall be made for collateral security and not absolutely, the Corporation shall so record such fact in the entry of transfer if, when the certificate for such shares is presented to the Corporation for transfer or, if such shares are uncertificated, when the instruction for registration of transfer thereof is presented to the Corporation, both the transferor and transferee request the Corporation to do so.
Section 7.7. Registered Stockholders. Before due presentment for registration of transfer of a certificate representing shares of the Corporation or of an instruction requesting registration of transfer of uncertificated shares, the Corporation may treat the registered owner as the person exclusively entitled to inspect for any proper purpose the stock ledger and the other books and records of the Corporation, vote such shares, receive dividends or notifications with respect to such shares and otherwise exercise all the rights and powers of the owner of such shares, except that a person who is the beneficial owner of such shares (if held in a voting trust or by a nominee on behalf of such person) may, upon providing documentary evidence of beneficial ownership of such shares and satisfying such other conditions as are provided under applicable law, may also so inspect the books and records of the Corporation.
Section 7.8. Effect of the Corporation’s Restriction on Transfer.
(a) A written restriction on the transfer or registration of transfer of shares of the Corporation or on the amount of shares of the Corporation that may be owned by any person or group of persons, if permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law (hereinafter “DGCL”) and noted conspicuously on the certificate representing such shares or, in the case of uncertificated shares, contained in a notice, offering circular or prospectus sent by the Corporation to the registered owner of such shares within a reasonable time prior to or after the issuance or transfer of such shares, may be enforced against the holder of such shares or any successor or transferee of the holder including an executor, administrator, trustee, guardian or other fiduciary entrusted with like responsibility for the person or estate of the holder.
(b) A restriction imposed by the Corporation on the transfer or the registration of shares of the Corporation or on the amount of shares of the Corporation that may be owned by any person or group of persons, even if otherwise lawful, is ineffective against a person without actual knowledge of such restriction unless: (i) the shares are certificated and such restriction is noted conspicuously on the certificate; or (ii) the shares are uncertificated and such restriction was contained in a notice, offering circular or prospectus sent by the Corporation to the registered owner of such shares prior to or within a reasonable time after the issuance or transfer of such shares.
Section 7.9. Regulations. The Board shall have power and authority to make such additional rules and regulations, subject to any applicable requirement of law, as the Board may deem necessary and appropriate with respect to the issue, transfer or registration of transfer of shares of stock or certificates representing shares. The Board may appoint one or more transfer agents or registrars and may require for the validity thereof that certificates representing shares bear the signature of any transfer agent or registrar so appointed.
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ARTICLE VIII
INDEMNIFICATION
Section 8.1. Right to Indemnification. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended, the Corporation shall indemnify and hold harmless each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved in any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (hereinafter a “Proceeding”), by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or, while a director or officer of the Corporation, is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust, other enterprise or nonprofit entity, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan (hereinafter an “Indemnitee”), whether the basis of such Proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as a director, officer, employee or agent, or in any other capacity while serving as a director, officer, employee or agent, against all liability and loss suffered and expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 excise taxes and penalties and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred by such Indemnitee in connection with such Proceeding; provided, however, that, except as provided in Section 8.3 with respect to Proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification, the Corporation shall indemnify an Indemnitee in connection with a Proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such Indemnitee only if such Proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board.
Section 8.2. Right to Advancement of Expenses. In addition to the right to indemnification conferred in Section 8.1, an Indemnitee shall also have the right to be paid by the Corporation to the fullest extent not prohibited by applicable law the expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees) incurred in defending or otherwise participating in any such Proceeding in advance of its final disposition (hereinafter an “advancement of expenses”); provided, however, that, if the DGCL requires, an advancement of expenses incurred by an Indemnitee in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the Corporation (and not in any other capacity in which service was or is rendered by such Indemnitee, including, without limitation, service to an employee benefit plan) shall be made only upon the Corporation’s receipt of an undertaking (hereinafter an “undertaking”), by or on behalf of such Indemnitee, to repay all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined that such Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified under this Article VIII or otherwise.
Section 8.3. Right of Indemnitee to Bring Suit. If a claim under Section 8.1 or Section 8.2 is not paid in full by the Corporation within 60 days after a written claim therefor has been received by the Corporation, except in the case of a claim for an advancement of expenses, in which case the applicable period shall be 20 days, the Indemnitee may at any time thereafter bring suit against the Corporation to recover the unpaid amount of the claim. If successful in whole or in part in any such suit, or in a suit brought by the Corporation to recover an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking, the Indemnitee shall also be entitled to be paid the expense of prosecuting or defending such suit. In (a) any suit brought by the Indemnitee to enforce a right to indemnification hereunder (but not in a suit brought by an Indemnitee to enforce a right to an advancement of expenses) it shall be a defense that, and (b) in any suit brought by the Corporation to recover an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking, the Corporation shall be entitled to recover such expenses upon a final judicial decision from which there is no further right to appeal that, the Indemnitee has not met any applicable standard for indemnification set forth in the DGCL. Neither the failure of the Corporation (including its directors who are not parties to such action, a committee of such directors, independent legal counsel, or its stockholders) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such suit that indemnification of the Indemnitee is proper in the circumstances because the Indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the DGCL, nor an actual determination by the Corporation (including a determination by its directors who are not parties to such action, a committee of such directors, independent legal counsel, or its stockholders) that the Indemnitee has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall create a presumption that the Indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct or, in the case of such a suit brought by the Indemnitee, shall be a defense to such suit. In any suit brought by the Indemnitee to enforce a right to indemnification or to an advancement of expenses hereunder, or by the Corporation to recover an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking, the burden of proving that the Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified, or to such advancement of expenses, under this Article VIII or otherwise shall be on the Corporation.
Section 8.4. Non-Exclusivity of Rights. The rights provided to any Indemnitee pursuant to this Article VIII shall not be exclusive of any other right, which such Indemnitee may have or hereafter acquire under applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation, these Bylaws, an agreement, a vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise.
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Section 8.5. Insurance. The Corporation may maintain insurance, at its expense, to protect itself and/or any director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any expense, liability or loss, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the DGCL.
Section 8.6. Indemnification of Other Persons. This Article VIII shall not limit the right of the Corporation to the extent and in the manner authorized or permitted by law to indemnify and to advance expenses to persons other than Indemnitees. Without limiting the foregoing, the Corporation may, to the extent authorized from time to time by the Board, grant rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses to any employee or agent of the Corporation and to any other person who is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan, to the fullest extent of the provisions of this Article VIII with respect to the indemnification and advancement of expenses of Indemnitees under this Article VIII.
Section 8.7. Amendments. Any repeal or amendment of this Article VIII by the Board or the stockholders of the Corporation or by changes in applicable law, or the adoption of any other provision of these Bylaws inconsistent with this Article VIII, will, to the extent permitted by applicable law, be prospective only (except to the extent such amendment or change in applicable law permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights to Indemnitees on a retroactive basis than permitted prior thereto), and will not in any way diminish or adversely affect any right or protection existing hereunder in respect of any act or omission occurring prior to such repeal or amendment or adoption of such inconsistent provision; provided however, that amendments or repeals of this Article VIII shall require the affirmative vote of the stockholders holding at least 66.7% of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation.
Section 8.8. Certain Definitions. For purposes of this Article VIII, (a) references to “other enterprise” shall include any employee benefit plan; (b) references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to an employee benefit plan; (c) references to “serving at the request of the Corporation” shall include any service that imposes duties on, or involves services by, a person with respect to any employee benefit plan, its participants, or beneficiaries; and (d) a person who acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interest of the Corporation” for purposes of Section 145 of the DGCL.
Section 8.9. Contract Rights. The rights provided to Indemnitees pursuant to this Article VIII shall be contract rights and such rights shall continue as to an Indemnitee who has ceased to be a director, officer, agent or employee and shall inure to the benefit of the Indemnitee’s heirs, executors and administrators.
Section 8.10. Severability. If any provision or provisions of this Article VIII shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever: (a) the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Article VIII shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby; and (b) to the fullest extent possible, the provisions of this Article VIII (including, without limitation, each such portion of this Article VIII containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed so as to give effect to the intent manifested by the provision held invalid, illegal or unenforceable.
ARTICLE IX
MISCELLANEOUS
Section 9.1. Place of Meetings. If the place of any meeting of stockholders, the Board or committee of the Board for which notice is required under these Bylaws is not designated in the notice of such meeting, such meeting shall be held at the principal business office of the Corporation; provided, however, if the Board has, in its sole discretion, determined that a meeting shall not be held at any place, but instead shall be held by means of remote communication pursuant to Section 9.5 hereof, then such meeting shall not be held at any place.
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Section 9.2. Fixing Record Dates.
(a) In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of stockholders or any adjournment thereof, the Board may fix a record date, which shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board, and which record date shall not be more than 60 nor less than 10 days before the date of such meeting. If no record date is fixed by the Board, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall be at the close of business on the business day next preceding the day on which notice is given, or, if notice is waived, at the close of business on the business day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held. A determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however, that the Board may fix a new record date for the adjourned meeting.
(b) In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment of any rights or the stockholders entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of stock, or for the purpose of any other lawful action, the Board may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted, and which record date shall be not more than 60 days prior to such action. If no record date is fixed, the record date for determining stockholders for any such purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the Board adopts the resolution relating thereto.
Section 9.3. Means of Giving Notice.
(a) Notice to Directors. Whenever under applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws notice is required to be given to any director, such notice shall be given either (i) in writing and sent by mail, or by a nationally recognized delivery service, (ii) by means of facsimile telecommunication or other form of electronic transmission, or (iii) by oral notice given personally or by telephone. A notice to a director will be deemed given as follows: (i) if given by hand delivery, orally, or by telephone, when actually received by the director; (ii) if sent through the United States mail, when deposited in the United States mail, with postage and fees thereon prepaid, addressed to the director at the director’s address appearing on the records of the Corporation; (iii) if sent for next day delivery by a nationally recognized overnight delivery service, when deposited with such service, with fees thereon prepaid, addressed to the director at the director’s address appearing on the records of the Corporation; (iv) if sent by facsimile telecommunication, when sent to the facsimile transmission number for such director appearing on the records of the Corporation; (v) if sent by electronic mail, when sent to the electronic mail address for such director appearing on the records of the Corporation; or (vi) if sent by any other form of electronic transmission, when sent to the address, location or number (as applicable) for such director appearing on the records of the Corporation.
(b) Notice to Stockholders. Whenever under applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws notice is required to be given to any stockholder, such notice may be given (i) in writing and sent either by hand delivery, through the United States mail, or by a nationally recognized overnight delivery service for next day delivery, or (ii) by means of a form of electronic transmission consented to by the stockholder, to the extent permitted by, and subject to the conditions set forth in Section 232 of the DGCL. A notice to a stockholder shall be deemed given as follows: (i) if given by hand delivery, when actually received by the stockholder, (ii) if sent through the United States mail, when deposited in the United States mail, with postage and fees thereon prepaid, addressed to the stockholder at the stockholder’s address appearing on the stock ledger of the Corporation, (iii) if sent for next day delivery by a nationally recognized overnight delivery service, when deposited with such service, with fees thereon prepaid, addressed to the stockholder at the stockholder’s address appearing on the stock ledger of the Corporation, and (iv) if given by a form of electronic transmission consented to by the stockholder to whom the notice is given and otherwise meeting the requirements set forth above, (A) if by facsimile transmission, when directed to a number at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice, (B) if by electronic mail, when directed to an electronic mail address at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice, (C) if by a posting on an electronic network together with separate notice to the stockholder of such specified posting, upon the later of (1) such posting and (2) the giving of such separate notice, and (D) if by any other form of electronic transmission, when directed to the stockholder. A stockholder may revoke such stockholder’s consent to receiving notice by means of electronic communication by giving written notice of such revocation to the Corporation. Any such consent shall be deemed revoked if (1) the Corporation is unable to deliver by electronic transmission two consecutive notices given by the Corporation in accordance with such consent and (2) such inability becomes known to the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary or to the Corporation’s transfer agent, or other person responsible for the giving of notice; provided, however, the inadvertent failure to treat such inability as a revocation shall not invalidate any meeting or other action.
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(c) Electronic Transmission. “Electronic transmission” means any form of communication, not directly involving the physical transmission of paper, that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved and reviewed by a recipient thereof, and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient through an automated process, including but not limited to transmission by telex, facsimile telecommunication, electronic mail, telegram and cablegram.
(d) Notice to Stockholders Sharing Same Address. Without limiting the manner by which notice otherwise may be given effectively by the Corporation to stockholders, any notice to stockholders given by the Corporation under any provision of the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws shall be effective if given by a single written notice to stockholders who share an address if consented to by the stockholders at that address to whom such notice is given. A stockholder may revoke such stockholder’s consent by delivering written notice of such revocation to the Corporation. Any stockholder who fails to object in writing to the Corporation within 60 days of having been given written notice by the Corporation of its intention to send such a single written notice shall be deemed to have consented to receiving such single written notice.
(e) Exceptions to Notice Requirements. Whenever notice is required to be given, under the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, to any person with whom communication is unlawful, the giving of such notice to such person shall not be required and there shall be no duty to apply to any governmental authority or agency for a license or permit to give such notice to such person. Any action or meeting that shall be taken or held without notice to any such person with whom communication is unlawful shall have the same force and effect as if such notice had been duly given. In the event that the action taken by the Corporation is such as to require the filing of a certificate with the Secretary of State of Delaware, the certificate shall state, if such is the fact and if notice is required, that notice was given to all persons entitled to receive notice except such persons with whom communication is unlawful.
Whenever notice is required to be given by the Corporation, under any provision of the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, to any stockholder to whom (1) notice of two consecutive annual meetings of stockholders and all notices of stockholder meetings or of the taking of action by written consent of stockholders without a meeting to such stockholder during the period between such two consecutive annual meetings, or (2) all, and at least two payments (if sent by first-class mail) of dividends or interest on securities during a 12-month period, have been mailed addressed to such stockholder at such stockholder’s address as shown on the records of the Corporation and have been returned undeliverable, the giving of such notice to such stockholder shall not be required. Any action or meeting that shall be taken or held without notice to such stockholder shall have the same force and effect as if such notice had been duly given. If any such stockholder shall deliver to the Corporation a written notice setting forth such stockholder’s then current address, the requirement that notice be given to such stockholder shall be reinstated. In the event that the action taken by the Corporation is such as to require the filing of a certificate with the Secretary of State of Delaware, the certificate need not state that notice was not given to persons to whom notice was not required to be given pursuant to Section 230(b) of the DGCL. The exception in subsection (1) of the first sentence of this paragraph to the requirement that notice be given shall not be applicable to any notice returned as undeliverable if the notice was given by electronic transmission.
Section 9.4. Waiver of Notice. Whenever any notice is required to be given under applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation, or these Bylaws, a written waiver of such notice, signed before or after the date of such meeting by the person or persons entitled to said notice, or a waiver by electronic transmission by the person entitled to said notice, shall be deemed equivalent to such required notice. All such waivers shall be kept with the books of the Corporation. Attendance at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except where a person attends for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business on the ground that the meeting was not lawfully called or convened.
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Section 9.5. Meeting Attendance via Remote Communication Equipment.
(a) Stockholder Meetings. If authorized by the Board in its sole discretion, and subject to such guidelines and procedures as the Board may adopt, stockholders and proxy holders not physically present at a meeting of stockholders may, by means of remote communication:
(i) participate in a meeting of stockholders; and
(ii) be deemed present in person and vote at a meeting of stockholders, whether such meeting is to be held at a designated place or solely by means of remote communication, provided that (A) the Corporation shall implement reasonable measures to verify that each person deemed present and permitted to vote at the meeting by means of remote communication is a stockholder or proxy holder, (B) the Corporation shall implement reasonable measures to provide such stockholders and proxy holders a reasonable opportunity to participate in the meeting and to vote on matters submitted to the stockholders, including an opportunity to read or hear the proceedings of the meeting substantially concurrently with such proceedings, and (C) if any stockholder or proxy holder votes or takes other action at the meeting by means of remote communication, a record of such votes or other action shall be maintained by the Corporation.
(b) Board Meetings. Unless otherwise restricted by applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, members of the Board or any committee thereof may participate in a meeting of the Board or any committee thereof by means of conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other. Such participation in a meeting shall constitute presence in person at the meeting, except where a person participates in the meeting for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business on the ground that the meeting was not lawfully called or convened.
Section 9.6. Dividends. The Board may from time to time declare, and the Corporation may pay, dividends (payable in cash, property or shares of the Corporation’s capital stock) on the Corporation’s outstanding shares of capital stock, subject to applicable law and the Certificate of Incorporation.
Section 9.7. Reserves. The Board may set apart out of the funds of the Corporation available for dividends a reserve or reserves for any proper purpose and may abolish any such reserve.
Section 9.8. Contracts and Negotiable Instruments. Except as otherwise provided by applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, any contract, bond, deed, lease, mortgage or other instrument may be executed and delivered in the name and on behalf of the Corporation by such officer or officers or other employee or employees of the Corporation as the Board may from time to time authorize. Such authority may be general or confined to specific instances as the Board may determine. The Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, the Chief Financial Officer, the Treasurer or any Vice President may execute and deliver any contract, bond, deed, lease, mortgage or other instrument in the name and on behalf of the Corporation. Subject to any restrictions imposed by the Board, the Chairman of the Board Chief Executive Officer, President, the Chief Financial Officer, the Treasurer or any Vice President may delegate powers to execute and deliver any contract, bond, deed, lease, mortgage or other instrument in the name and on behalf of the Corporation to other officers or employees of the Corporation under such person’s supervision and authority, it being understood, however, that any such delegation of power shall not relieve such officer of responsibility with respect to the exercise of such delegated power.
Section 9.9. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be fixed by the Board.
Section 9.10. Seal. The Board may adopt a corporate seal, which shall be in such form as the Board determines. The seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed, affixed or otherwise reproduced.
Section 9.11. Books and Records. The books and records of the Corporation may be kept within or outside the State of Delaware at such place or places as may from time to time be designated by the Board.
Section 9.12. Resignation. Any director, committee member or officer may resign by giving notice thereof in writing or by electronic transmission to the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President or the Secretary. The resignation shall take effect at the time specified therein, or at the time of receipt of such notice if no time is specified or the specified time is earlier than the time of such receipt. Unless otherwise specified therein, the acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.
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Section 9.13. Surety Bonds. Such officers, employees and agents of the Corporation (if any) as the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, President or the Board may direct, from time to time, shall be bonded for the faithful performance of their duties and for the restoration to the Corporation, in case of their death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal from office, of all books, papers, vouchers, money and other property of whatever kind in their possession or under their control belonging to the Corporation, in such amounts and by such surety companies as the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, President or the Board may determine. The premiums on such bonds shall be paid by the Corporation and the bonds so furnished shall be in the custody of the Secretary.
Section 9.14. Securities of Other Corporations. Powers of attorney, proxies, waivers of notice of meeting, consents in writing and other instruments relating to securities owned by the Corporation may be executed in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation by the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, President or any Vice President or any other officer authorized by the Board. Any such officer, may, in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation, take all such action as any such officer may deem advisable to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of security holders of any corporation in which the Corporation may own securities, or to consent in writing, in the name of the Corporation as such holder, to any action by such corporation, and at any such meeting or with respect to any such consent shall possess and may exercise any and all rights and power incident to the ownership of such securities and which, as the owner thereof, the Corporation might have exercised and possessed. The Board may from time to time confer like powers upon any other person or persons.
Section 9.15. Amendments. The Board shall have the power to adopt, amend, alter or repeal the Bylaws. The affirmative vote of a majority of the Board shall be required to adopt, amend, alter or repeal the Bylaws. The Bylaws also may be adopted, amended, altered or repealed by the stockholders; provided, however, that in addition to any vote of the holders of any class or series of capital stock of the Corporation required by applicable law or the Certificate of Incorporation, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class, shall be required for the stockholders to adopt, amend, alter or repeal the Bylaws.
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Exhibit 10.1
THIS PROMISSORY NOTE (THIS “NOTE”) HAS NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”). THIS NOTE HAS BEEN ACQUIRED FOR INVESTMENT ONLY AND MAY NOT BE SOLD, TRANSFERRED OR ASSIGNED IN THE ABSENCE OF REGISTRATION OF THE RESALE THEREOF UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR AN OPINION OF COUNSEL REASONABLY SATISFACTORY IN FORM, SCOPE AND SUBSTANCE TO THE COMPANY THAT SUCH REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED.
PROMISSORY NOTE
Principal Amount: Up to $240,000 | Dated as of May 15, 2020 |
Panacea Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Maker”), promises to pay to the order of EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, or its registered assigns or successors in interest (collectively, “Payee”), or order, the principal sum of Two Hundred Forty Thousand Dollars ($240,000) or such lesser amount as shall have been advanced by Payee to Maker and shall remain unpaid under this Note on the Maturity Date (as defined below) in lawful money of the United States of America, on the terms and conditions described below. All payments on this Note shall be made by check or wire transfer of immediately available funds or as otherwise determined by Maker to such account as Payee may from time to time designate by written notice in accordance with the provisions of this Note.
1. Principal. The entire unpaid principal balance of this Note shall be due and payable in full on the earlier of: (i) December 31, 2020, and (ii) the date on which Maker consummates an initial public offering of its securities (such earlier date of (i) and (ii), the “Maturity Date”), unless accelerated upon the occurrence of an Event of Default (as defined below). The principal balance may be prepaid at any time by Maker, at its election and without penalty. Under no circumstances shall any individual, including but not limited to any officer, director, employee or shareholder of Maker, be obligated personally for any obligations or liabilities of Maker hereunder.
2. Drawdown Requests. Maker and Payee agree that Maker may request, from time to time, up to Two Hundred Forty Thousand Dollars ($240,000) in draw downs under this Note to be used for costs and expenses related to Maker’s proposed initial public offering of its securities (the “IPO”), including its formation. The principal of this Note may be drawn down from time to time prior to the Maturity Date upon request from Maker to Payee (each, a “Drawdown Request”). Each Drawdown Request must state the amount to be drawn down, and must not be an amount less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) unless agreed upon by Maker and Payee. Payee shall fund each Drawdown Request no later than five (5) business days after receipt of a Drawdown Request; provided, however, that the maximum amount of drawdowns outstanding under this Note at any time may not exceed Two Hundred Forty Thousand Dollars ($240,000). No fees, payments or other amounts shall be due to Payee in connection with, or as a result of, any Drawdown Request by Maker.
3. Interest. No interest shall accrue on the unpaid principal balance of this Note.
4. Application of Payments. All payments shall be applied first to payment in full of any costs incurred in the collection of any sum due under this Note, including (without limitation) reasonable attorney’s fees, then to the payment in full of any late charges and finally to the reduction of the unpaid principal balance of this Note.
5. Events of Default. The following shall constitute an event of default (“Event of Default”):
(a) Failure to Make Required Payments. Failure by Maker to pay the principal amount due pursuant to this Note on the Maturity Date.
(b) Voluntary Bankruptcy, Etc. The commencement by Maker of a voluntary case under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, rehabilitation or other similar law, or the consent by it to the appointment of or taking possession by a receiver, liquidator, assignee, trustee, custodian, sequestrator (or other similar official) of Maker or for any substantial part of its property, or the making by it of any assignment for the benefit of creditors, or the failure of Maker generally to pay its debts as such debts become due, or the taking of corporate action by Maker in furtherance of any of the foregoing.
(c) Involuntary Bankruptcy, Etc. The entry of a decree or order for relief by a court having jurisdiction in the premises in respect of Maker in an involuntary case under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law, or appointing a receiver, liquidator, assignee, custodian, trustee, sequestrator (or similar official) of Maker or for any substantial part of its property, or ordering the winding-up or liquidation of its affairs, and the continuance of any such decree or order unstayed and in effect for a period of sixty (60) consecutive days.
6. Remedies.
(a) Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default specified in Section 5(a) hereof, Payee may, by written notice to Maker, declare this Note to be due immediately and payable, whereupon the unpaid principal amount of this Note, and all other amounts payable thereunder, shall become immediately due and payable without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby expressly waived, anything contained herein or in the documents evidencing the same to the contrary notwithstanding.
(b) Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default specified in Sections 5(b) or 5(c), the unpaid principal balance of this Note, and all other sums payable with regard to this Note, shall automatically and immediately become due and payable, in all cases without any action on the part of Payee.
7. Waivers. Maker and all endorsers and guarantors of, and sureties for, this Note waive presentment for payment, demand, notice of dishonor, protest, and notice of protest with regard to the Note, all errors, defects and imperfections in any proceedings instituted by Payee under the terms of this Note, and all benefits that might accrue to Maker by virtue of any present or future laws exempting any property, real or personal, or any part of the proceeds arising from any sale of any such property, from attachment, levy or sale under execution, or providing for any stay of execution, exemption from civil process, or extension of time for payment; and Maker agrees that any real estate that may be levied upon pursuant to a judgment obtained by virtue hereof, on any writ of execution issued hereon, may be sold upon any such writ in whole or in part in any order desired by Payee.
8. Unconditional Liability. Maker hereby waives all notices in connection with the delivery, acceptance, performance, default, or enforcement of the payment of this Note, and agrees that its liability shall be unconditional, without regard to the liability of any other party, and shall not be affected in any manner by any indulgence, extension of time, renewal, waiver or modification granted or consented to by Payee, and consents to any and all extensions of time, renewals, waivers, or modifications that may be granted by Payee with respect to the payment or other provisions of this Note, and agrees that additional makers, endorsers, guarantors, or sureties may become parties hereto without notice to Maker or affecting Maker’s liability hereunder.
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9. Notices. All notices, statements or other documents which are required or contemplated by this Note shall be: (i) in writing and delivered personally or sent by first class registered or certified mail, overnight courier service or facsimile or electronic transmission to the address designated in writing, (ii) by facsimile to the number most recently provided to such party or such other address or fax number as may be designated in writing by such party or (iii) by electronic mail, to the electronic mail address most recently provided to such party or such other electronic mail address as may be designated in writing by such party. Any notice or other communication so transmitted shall be deemed to have been given on the day of delivery, if delivered personally, on the business day following receipt of written confirmation, if sent by facsimile or electronic transmission, one (1) business day after delivery to an overnight courier service or five (5) days after mailing if sent by mail.
10. Construction. THIS NOTE SHALL BE CONSTRUED AND ENFORCED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF NEW YORK.
11. Severability. Any provision contained in this Note which is prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.
12. Trust Waiver. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Payee hereby waives any and all right, title, interest or claim of any kind (“Claim”) in or to any distribution of or from the trust account to be established in which proceeds of the IPO (including the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions) and proceeds of the sale of the warrants issued in a private placement to occur in connection with the consummation of the IPO are to be deposited, as described in greater detail in the registration statement and prospectus to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the IPO, and hereby agrees not to seek recourse, reimbursement, payment or satisfaction for any Claim against the trust account for any reason whatsoever.
13. Amendment; Waiver. Any amendment hereto or waiver of any provision hereof may be made with, and only with, the written consent of Maker and Payee.
14. Assignment. No assignment or transfer of this Note or any rights or obligations hereunder may be made by any party hereto (by operation of law or otherwise) without the prior written consent of the other party hereto and any attempted assignment without the required consent shall be void.
[Signature page follows]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Maker, intending to be legally bound hereby, has caused this Note to be duly executed by the undersigned as of the day and year first above written.
Panacea Acquisition Corp. | ||
By: | /s/ Oleg Nodelman | |
Name: | Oleg Nodelman | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
Agreed and Acknowledged:
EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC | ||
By: | /s/ Oleg Nodelman | |
Name: | Oleg Nodelman | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
[Signature Page to Promissory Note]
Exhibit 10.2
THIS PROMISSORY NOTE (THIS “NOTE”) HAS NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”). THIS NOTE HAS BEEN ACQUIRED FOR INVESTMENT ONLY AND MAY NOT BE SOLD, TRANSFERRED OR ASSIGNED IN THE ABSENCE OF REGISTRATION OF THE RESALE THEREOF UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR AN OPINION OF COUNSEL REASONABLY SATISFACTORY IN FORM, SCOPE AND SUBSTANCE TO THE COMPANY THAT SUCH REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED.
PROMISSORY NOTE
Principal Amount: Up to $60,000 | Dated as of May 15, 2020 |
Panacea Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Maker”), promises to pay to the order of Cowen Investments II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, or its registered assigns or successors in interest (collectively, “Payee”), or order, the principal sum of Sixty Thousand Dollars ($60,000) or such lesser amount as shall have been advanced by Payee to Maker and shall remain unpaid under this Note on the Maturity Date (as defined below) in lawful money of the United States of America, on the terms and conditions described below. All payments on this Note shall be made by check or wire transfer of immediately available funds or as otherwise determined by Maker to such account as Payee may from time to time designate by written notice in accordance with the provisions of this Note.
1. Principal. The entire unpaid principal balance of this Note shall be due and payable in full on the earlier of: (i) December 31, 2020, and (ii) the date on which Maker consummates an initial public offering of its securities (such earlier date of (i) and (ii), the “Maturity Date”), unless accelerated upon the occurrence of an Event of Default (as defined below). The principal balance may be prepaid at any time by Maker, at its election and without penalty. Under no circumstances shall any individual, including but not limited to any officer, director, employee or shareholder of Maker, be obligated personally for any obligations or liabilities of Maker hereunder.
2. Drawdown Requests. Maker and Payee agree that Maker may request, from time to time, up to Sixty Thousand Dollars ($60,000) in draw downs under this Note to be used for costs and expenses related to Maker’s proposed initial public offering of its securities (the “IPO”), including its formation. The principal of this Note may be drawn down from time to time prior to the Maturity Date upon request from Maker to Payee (each, a “Drawdown Request”). Each Drawdown Request must state the amount to be drawn down, and must not be an amount less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) unless agreed upon by Maker and Payee. Payee shall fund each Drawdown Request no later than five (5) business days after receipt of a Drawdown Request; provided, however, that the maximum amount of drawdowns outstanding under this Note at any time may not exceed Sixty Thousand Dollars ($60,000). No fees, payments or other amounts shall be due to Payee in connection with, or as a result of, any Drawdown Request by Maker.
3. Interest. No interest shall accrue on the unpaid principal balance of this Note.
4. Application of Payments. All payments shall be applied first to payment in full of any costs incurred in the collection of any sum due under this Note, including (without limitation) reasonable attorney’s fees, then to the payment in full of any late charges and finally to the reduction of the unpaid principal balance of this Note.
5. Events of Default. The following shall constitute an event of default (“Event of Default”):
(a) Failure to Make Required Payments. Failure by Maker to pay the principal amount due pursuant to this Note on the Maturity Date.
(b) Voluntary Bankruptcy, Etc. The commencement by Maker of a voluntary case under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, rehabilitation or other similar law, or the consent by it to the appointment of or taking possession by a receiver, liquidator, assignee, trustee, custodian, sequestrator (or other similar official) of Maker or for any substantial part of its property, or the making by it of any assignment for the benefit of creditors, or the failure of Maker generally to pay its debts as such debts become due, or the taking of corporate action by Maker in furtherance of any of the foregoing.
(c) Involuntary Bankruptcy, Etc. The entry of a decree or order for relief by a court having jurisdiction in the premises in respect of Maker in an involuntary case under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law, or appointing a receiver, liquidator, assignee, custodian, trustee, sequestrator (or similar official) of Maker or for any substantial part of its property, or ordering the winding-up or liquidation of its affairs, and the continuance of any such decree or order unstayed and in effect for a period of sixty (60) consecutive days.
6. Remedies.
(a) Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default specified in Section 5(a) hereof, Payee may, by written notice to Maker, declare this Note to be due immediately and payable, whereupon the unpaid principal amount of this Note, and all other amounts payable thereunder, shall become immediately due and payable without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby expressly waived, anything contained herein or in the documents evidencing the same to the contrary notwithstanding.
(b) Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default specified in Sections 5(b) or 5(c), the unpaid principal balance of this Note, and all other sums payable with regard to this Note, shall automatically and immediately become due and payable, in all cases without any action on the part of Payee.
7. Waivers. Maker and all endorsers and guarantors of, and sureties for, this Note waive presentment for payment, demand, notice of dishonor, protest, and notice of protest with regard to the Note, all errors, defects and imperfections in any proceedings instituted by Payee under the terms of this Note, and all benefits that might accrue to Maker by virtue of any present or future laws exempting any property, real or personal, or any part of the proceeds arising from any sale of any such property, from attachment, levy or sale under execution, or providing for any stay of execution, exemption from civil process, or extension of time for payment; and Maker agrees that any real estate that may be levied upon pursuant to a judgment obtained by virtue hereof, on any writ of execution issued hereon, may be sold upon any such writ in whole or in part in any order desired by Payee.
8. Unconditional Liability. Maker hereby waives all notices in connection with the delivery, acceptance, performance, default, or enforcement of the payment of this Note, and agrees that its liability shall be unconditional, without regard to the liability of any other party, and shall not be affected in any manner by any indulgence, extension of time, renewal, waiver or modification granted or consented to by Payee, and consents to any and all extensions of time, renewals, waivers, or modifications that may be granted by Payee with respect to the payment or other provisions of this Note, and agrees that additional makers, endorsers, guarantors, or sureties may become parties hereto without notice to Maker or affecting Maker’s liability hereunder.
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9. Notices. All notices, statements or other documents which are required or contemplated by this Note shall be: (i) in writing and delivered personally or sent by first class registered or certified mail, overnight courier service or facsimile or electronic transmission to the address designated in writing, (ii) by facsimile to the number most recently provided to such party or such other address or fax number as may be designated in writing by such party or (iii) by electronic mail, to the electronic mail address most recently provided to such party or such other electronic mail address as may be designated in writing by such party. Any notice or other communication so transmitted shall be deemed to have been given on the day of delivery, if delivered personally, on the business day following receipt of written confirmation, if sent by facsimile or electronic transmission, one (1) business day after delivery to an overnight courier service or five (5) days after mailing if sent by mail.
10. Construction. THIS NOTE SHALL BE CONSTRUED AND ENFORCED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF NEW YORK.
11. Severability. Any provision contained in this Note which is prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction.
12. Trust Waiver. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Payee hereby waives any and all right, title, interest or claim of any kind (“Claim”) in or to any distribution of or from the trust account to be established in which proceeds of the IPO (including the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions) and proceeds of the sale of the warrants issued in a private placement to occur in connection with the consummation of the IPO are to be deposited, as described in greater detail in the registration statement and prospectus to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the IPO, and hereby agrees not to seek recourse, reimbursement, payment or satisfaction for any Claim against the trust account for any reason whatsoever.
13. Amendment; Waiver. Any amendment hereto or waiver of any provision hereof may be made with, and only with, the written consent of Maker and Payee.
14. Assignment. No assignment or transfer of this Note or any rights or obligations hereunder may be made by any party hereto (by operation of law or otherwise) without the prior written consent of the other party hereto and any attempted assignment without the required consent shall be void.
[Signature page follows]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Maker, intending to be legally bound hereby, has caused this Note to be duly executed by the undersigned as of the day and year first above written.
Panacea Acquisition Corp. | ||
By: | /s/ Oleg Nodelman | |
Name: | Oleg Nodelman | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
Agreed and Acknowledged:
Cowen Investments II LLC | ||
By: | /s/ Owen Littman | |
Name: | Owen Littman | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
[Signature Page to Promissory Note]
Exhibit 10.6
Panacea Acquisition Corp.
357 Tehama Street
Floor 3
San Francisco, CA 94103
EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC | May 7, 2020 |
357 Tehama Street
Floor 3
San Francisco, CA 94103
RE: | Securities Subscription Agreement |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Panacea Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), is pleased to accept the offer EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Subscriber” or “you”), has made to purchase 2,875,000 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock (the “Shares”), $0.0001 par value per share (the “Class B Common Stock”), up to 375,000 of which are subject to complete or partial forfeiture by you if the underwriters of the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”), if any, do not fully exercise their over-allotment option (the “Over-allotment Option”). For the purposes of this Agreement (this “Agreement”), references to “Common Stock” are to, collectively, the Class B Common Stock and the Company’s Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Class A Common Stock”). Pursuant to the Company’s certificate of incorporation, as amended to the date hereof (the “Charter”), shares of Class B Common Stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Charter. Unless the context otherwise requires, as used herein “Securities” shall refer to the Shares and shall be deemed to include any shares of Class A Common Stock issued upon conversion of the Shares. The terms on which the Company is willing to sell the Shares to the Subscriber, and the Company and the Subscriber’s agreements regarding such Shares, are as follows:
1. Purchase of Shares.
For the sum of $20,000 (the “Purchase Price”), which the Company acknowledges has been remitted at the Company’s direction for offering costs, the Company hereby sells and issues the Shares to the Subscriber, and the Subscriber hereby purchases the Shares from the Company, subject to the forfeiture provisions of Section 3, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement. Concurrently with the Subscriber’s execution of this Agreement, the Company shall, at its option, deliver to the Subscriber a certificate registered in the Subscriber’s name representing the Shares (the “Original Certificate”), or effect such delivery in book-entry form.
2. Representations, Warranties and Agreements.
2.1 Subscriber’s Representations, Warranties and Agreements. To induce the Company to issue the Securities to the Subscriber, the Subscriber hereby represents and warrants to the Company and agrees with the Company as follows:
2.1.1 No Government Recommendation or Approval. The Subscriber understands that no federal or state agency has passed upon or made any recommendation or endorsement of the offering of the Securities.
2.1.2 No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation by the Subscriber of the transactions contemplated hereby do not violate, conflict with or constitute a default under (i) the formation and governing documents of the Subscriber, (ii) any agreement, indenture or instrument to which the Subscriber is a party, (iii) any law, statute, rule or regulation to which the Subscriber is subject or (iv) any agreement, order, judgment or decree to which the Subscriber is subject.
2.1.3 Organization and Authority. The Subscriber is a Delaware limited liability company, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and possesses all requisite power and authority necessary to carry out the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. Upon execution and delivery by you, this Agreement is a legal, valid and binding agreement of the Subscriber, enforceable against the Subscriber in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and subject to general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforcement is sought in a proceeding at law or in equity).
2.1.4 Experience, Financial Capability and Suitability. The Subscriber is: (i) sophisticated in financial matters and is able to evaluate the risks and benefits of the investment in the Securities and (ii) able to bear the economic risk of its investment in the Securities for an indefinite period of time because the Securities have not been registered under the Securities Act (as defined below) and therefore cannot be sold unless subsequently registered under the Securities Act or an exemption from such registration is available. The Subscriber is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of its investment in the Company and has the capacity to protect its own interests. The Subscriber must bear the economic risk of this investment until the Securities are sold pursuant to: (x) an effective registration statement under the Securities Act or (y) an exemption from registration available with respect to such sale. The Subscriber is able to bear the economic risks of an investment in the Securities and to afford a complete loss of the Subscriber’s investment in the Securities.
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2.1.5 Access to Information; Independent Investigation. Prior to the execution of this Agreement, the Subscriber has had the opportunity to ask questions of and receive answers from representatives of the Company concerning an investment in the Company, as well as the finances, operations, business and prospects of the Company, and the opportunity to obtain additional information to verify the accuracy of all information so obtained. In determining whether to make this investment, the Subscriber has relied solely on the Subscriber’s own knowledge and understanding of the Company and its business based upon the Subscriber’s own due diligence investigation and the information furnished pursuant to this paragraph. The Subscriber understands that no person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations which were not furnished pursuant to this Section 2 and the Subscriber has not relied on any other representations or information in making its investment decision, whether written or oral, relating to the Company, its operations and/or its prospects.
2.1.6 Private Placement. The Subscriber represents that it is an “accredited investor” as such term is defined in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and acknowledges the sale contemplated hereby is being made in reliance on a private placement exemption applicable to “accredited investors” within the meaning of Section 501(a) of Regulation D under the Securities Act or similar exemptions under state law.
2.1.7 Investment Purposes. The Subscriber is purchasing the Securities solely for investment purposes, for the Subscriber’s own account and not for the account or benefit of any other person, and not with a view towards the distribution or dissemination thereof. The Subscriber did not decide to enter into this Agreement as a result of any general solicitation or general advertising within the meaning of Rule 502 under the Securities Act.
2.1.8 Restrictions on Transfer; Shell Company. The Subscriber understands the Securities are being offered in a transaction not involving a public offering within the meaning of the Securities Act. The Subscriber understands the Securities will be “restricted securities” within the meaning of Rule 144(a)(3) under the Securities Act and the Subscriber understands that the certificates or book-entries representing the Securities will contain a legend in respect of such restrictions. If in the future the Subscriber decides to offer, resell, pledge or otherwise transfer the Securities, such Securities may be offered, resold, pledged or otherwise transferred only pursuant to: (i) registration under the Securities Act, or (ii) an available exemption from registration. The Subscriber agrees that if any transfer of its Securities or any interest therein is proposed to be made, as a condition precedent to any such transfer, the Subscriber may, at the Company’s option, be required to deliver to the Company an opinion of counsel satisfactory to the Company. Absent registration or an exemption, the Subscriber agrees not to resell the Securities. The Subscriber further acknowledges that because the Company is a shell company, Rule 144 may not be available to the Subscriber for the resale of the Shares until at least one year following consummation of the initial business combination of the Company (which may not occur), despite technical compliance with the requirements of Rule 144 and the release or waiver of any contractual transfer restrictions.
2.1.9 No Governmental Consents. No governmental, administrative or other third party consents or approvals are required, necessary or appropriate on the part of the Subscriber in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
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2.2 Company’s Representations, Warranties and Agreements. To induce the Subscriber to purchase the Securities, the Company hereby represents and warrants to the Subscriber and agrees with the Subscriber as follows:
2.2.1 Organization and Corporate Power. The Company is a Delaware corporation and is qualified to do business in every jurisdiction in which the failure to so qualify would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, operating results or assets of the Company. The Company possesses all requisite corporate power and authority necessary to carry out the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
2.2.2 No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby do not violate, conflict with or constitute a default under (i) the Charter or bylaws of the Company, (ii) any agreement, indenture or instrument to which the Company is a party, (iii) any law, statute, rule or regulation to which the Company is subject, or (iv) any agreement, order, judgment or decree to which the Company is subject.
2.2.3 Title to Securities. Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof, the Securities will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof, the Subscriber will have or receive good title to the Securities, free and clear of all liens, claims and encumbrances of any kind, other than (a) transfer restrictions hereunder and under the other agreements to which the Securities may be subject which have been notified to the Subscriber in writing, (b) transfer restrictions under federal and state securities laws, and (c) liens, claims or encumbrances imposed due to the actions of the Subscriber.
2.2.4 No Adverse Actions. There are no actions, suits, investigations or proceedings pending, threatened against or affecting the Company which: (i) seek to restrain, enjoin, prevent the consummation of or otherwise affect the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or (ii) question the validity or legality of any transactions or seek to recover damages or to obtain other relief in connection with any transactions.
2.2.5 Authorization. The shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the Shares have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance upon such conversion.
3. Forfeiture of Shares.
3.1 Partial or No Exercise of the Over-allotment Option. In the event the Over-allotment Option granted to the underwriters of the IPO is not exercised in full, the Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that it (or, if applicable, it and any transferees of Shares) shall automatically forfeit at the time such Over-allotment Option expires (or earlier if the underwriters of the IPO waive their ability to exercise such Over-allotment Option) any and all rights to such number of Shares (up to an aggregate of 375,000 Shares and pro rata based upon the percentage of the Over-allotment Option exercised) such that immediately following such forfeiture, the aggregate number of Shares owned by the Subscriber (and any such transferees) will equal 16% of the issued and outstanding Common Stock immediately following the IPO (not including Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of any warrants or underlying any units or warrants issued in a private placement in connection with the IPO).
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3.2 Termination of Rights as Stockholder. If any of the Shares are forfeited in accordance with this Section 3, then after such time the Subscriber (or its successor in interest), shall no longer have any rights as a holder of such forfeited Shares, and the Company shall take such action as is appropriate to cancel such forfeited Shares.
3.3 Share Certificates. In the event an adjustment to the Original Certificates, if any, is required pursuant to this Section 3, then the Subscriber shall return such Original Certificates to the Company or its designated agent as soon as practicable upon its receipt of notice from the Company advising the Subscriber of such adjustment, following which a new certificate (the “New Certificate”), if any, shall be issued in such amount representing the adjusted number of Shares held by the Subscriber. The New Certificate, if any, shall be returned to the Subscriber as soon as practicable. Any such adjustment for any uncertificated securities held by the Subscriber shall be made in book-entry form.
4. Waiver of Liquidation Distributions; Redemption Rights. In connection with the Shares purchased pursuant to this Agreement, the Subscriber hereby waives any and all right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any distributions by the Company from the trust account which will be established for the benefit of the Company’s public stockholders and into which substantially all of the proceeds of the IPO will be deposited (the “Trust Account”), in the event of a liquidation of the Company upon the Company’s failure to timely complete an initial business combination. For purposes of clarity, in the event the Subscriber purchases securities in the IPO or in the aftermarket, any shares of Class A Common Stock so purchased shall be eligible to receive any liquidating distributions by the Company. However, in no event will the Subscriber have the right to redeem any shares of Common Stock held by it into funds held in the Trust Account upon the successful completion of an initial business combination. For the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing shall not restrict the right of any affiliate of the Subscriber to redeem any shares of Class A Common Stock purchased in the IPO or aftermarket by such affiliate of the Subscriber.
5. Restrictions on Transfer.
5.1 Securities Law Restrictions. In addition to any restrictions to be contained in that certain letter agreement (commonly known as an “Insider Letter”) dated on or prior to the closing of the IPO by and among the Subscriber, the Company and other parties thereto, the Subscriber agrees not to sell, transfer, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of all or any part of the Securities unless, prior thereto (a) a registration statement on the appropriate form under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws with respect to the Securities proposed to be transferred shall then be effective or (b) the Company has received, if requested by the Company, an opinion from counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Company, that such registration is not required because such transaction is exempt from registration under the Securities Act and the rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder and with all applicable state securities laws.
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5.2 Lock-up. The Subscriber acknowledges that the Securities will be subject to lock-up provisions (the “Lock-up”) contained in the Insider Letter. Pursuant to the Insider Letter, the Subscriber will agree (subject to certain customary exceptions) not to sell, transfer, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of all or any part of the Securities until the earlier to occur of: (a) one year after the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, (b) if the last sale price of the Class A Common Stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Company’s initial business combination and (c) the date on which the Company consummates a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction after the Company’s initial business combination that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Common Stock for cash, securities or other property.
5.3 Restrictive Legends. All certificates representing the Securities shall have endorsed thereon legends substantially as follows:
“THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS AND NEITHER THE SECURITIES NOR ANY INTEREST THEREIN MAY BE OFFERED, SOLD, TRANSFERRED, PLEDGED OR OTHERWISE DISPOSED OF EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER SUCH ACT OR SUCH LAWS OR AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION UNDER SUCH ACT AND SUCH LAWS WHICH, IN THE OPINION OF COUNSEL (IF THE COMPANY SO REQUESTS), IS AVAILABLE.”
“THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO A LOCKUP AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD, TRANSFERRED, PLEDGED OR OTHERWISE DISPOSED DURING THE TERM OF THE LOCKUP.”
5.4 Additional Shares or Substituted Securities. In the event of the declaration of a share dividend, the declaration of an extraordinary dividend payable in a form other than Common Stock, a spin-off, a share split, an adjustment in conversion ratio, a recapitalization or a similar transaction affecting the Company’s outstanding Common Stock without receipt of consideration, any new, substituted or additional securities or other property which are by reason of such transaction distributed with respect to any Securities subject to this Section 5 or into which such Securities thereby become convertible shall immediately be subject to this Section 5 and Section 3. Appropriate adjustments to reflect the distribution of such securities or property shall be made to the number and/or class of Securities subject to this Section 5 and Section 3.
5.5 Registration Rights. The Subscriber acknowledges that the Shares are being purchased pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and will become freely tradable only after certain conditions are met or they are registered pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be entered into with the Company prior to the closing of the IPO (the “Registration Rights Agreement”).
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6. Other Agreements.
6.1 Further Assurances. The Subscriber agrees to execute such further instruments and to take such further action as may reasonably be necessary to carry out the intent of this Agreement.
6.2 Notices. All notices, statements or other documents which are required or contemplated by this Agreement shall be in writing and delivered (i) personally or sent by first class registered or certified mail, overnight courier service or facsimile or electronic transmission to the address designated in writing, (ii) by facsimile to the number most recently provided to such party or such other address or fax number as may be designated in writing by such party, and (iii) by electronic mail, to the electronic mail address most recently provided to such party or such other electronic mail address as may be designated in writing by such party. Any notice or other communication so transmitted shall be deemed to have been given on the day of delivery, if delivered personally, on the business day following receipt of written confirmation, if sent by facsimile or electronic transmission, one (1) business day after delivery to an overnight courier service or five (5) days after mailing if sent by mail.
6.3 Entire Agreement. This Agreement, together with that certain Insider Letter to be entered into between the Subscriber and the Company and the Registration Rights Agreement, each substantially in the form to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the Subscriber and the Company with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior oral or written agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. No statement, representation, warranty, covenant or agreement of any kind not expressly set forth in this Agreement shall affect, or be used to interpret, change or restrict, the express terms and provisions of this Agreement.
6.4 Modifications and Amendments. The terms and provisions of this Agreement may be modified or amended only by written agreement executed by all parties hereto.
6.5 Waivers and Consents. The terms and provisions of this Agreement may be waived, or consent for the departure therefrom granted, only by written document executed by the party entitled to the benefits of such terms or provisions. No such waiver or consent shall be deemed to be or shall constitute a waiver or consent with respect to any other terms or provisions of this Agreement, whether or not similar. Each such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the purpose for which it was given, and shall not constitute a continuing waiver or consent.
6.6 Assignment. The rights and obligations under this Agreement may not be assigned by either party hereto without the prior written consent of the other party.
6.7 Benefit. All statements, representations, warranties, covenants and agreements in this Agreement shall be binding on the parties hereto and shall inure to the benefit of the respective successors and permitted assigns of each party hereto. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to create any rights or obligations except among the parties hereto, and no person or entity shall be regarded as a third-party beneficiary of this Agreement.
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6.8 Governing Law. This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of Delaware applicable to contracts wholly performed within the borders of such state.
6.9 Severability. In the event that any court of competent jurisdiction shall determine that any provision, or any portion thereof, contained in this Agreement shall be unreasonable or unenforceable in any respect, then such provision shall be deemed limited to the extent that such court deems it reasonable and enforceable, and as so limited shall remain in full force and effect. In the event that such court shall deem any such provision, or portion thereof, wholly unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect.
6.10 No Waiver of Rights, Powers and Remedies. No failure or delay by a party hereto in exercising any right, power or remedy under this Agreement, and no course of dealing between the parties hereto, shall operate as a waiver of any such right, power or remedy of such party. No single or partial exercise of any right, power or remedy under this Agreement by a party hereto, nor any abandonment or discontinuance of steps to enforce any such right, power or remedy, shall preclude such party from any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or remedy hereunder. The election of any remedy by a party hereto shall not constitute a waiver of the right of such party to pursue other available remedies. No notice to or demand on a party not expressly required under this Agreement shall entitle the party receiving such notice or demand to any other or further notice or demand in similar or other circumstances or constitute a waiver of the rights of the party giving such notice or demand to any other or further action in any circumstances without such notice or demand.
6.11 Survival of Representations and Warranties. All representations and warranties made by the parties hereto in this Agreement or in any other agreement, certificate or instrument provided for or contemplated hereby, shall survive the execution and delivery hereof and any investigations made by or on behalf of the parties.
6.12 No Broker or Finder. Each of the parties hereto represents and warrants to the other that no broker, finder or other financial consultant has acted on its behalf in connection with this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby in such a way as to create any liability on the other. Each of the parties hereto agrees to indemnify and save the other harmless from any claim or demand for commission or other compensation by any broker, finder, financial consultant or similar agent claiming to have been employed by or on behalf of such party and to bear the cost of legal expenses incurred in defending against any such claim.
6.13 Headings and Captions. The headings and captions of the various subdivisions of this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and shall in no way modify or affect the meaning or construction of any of the terms or provisions hereof.
6.14 Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the other party, it being understood that both parties need not sign the same counterpart. In the event that any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission or any other form of electronic delivery, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such signature page were an original thereof.
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6.15 Construction. The parties hereto have participated jointly in the negotiation and drafting of this Agreement. If an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement will be construed as if drafted jointly by the parties hereto and no presumption or burden of proof will arise favoring or disfavoring any party hereto because of the authorship of any provision of this Agreement. The words “include,” “includes,” and “including” will be deemed to be followed by “without limitation.” Pronouns in masculine, feminine, and neuter genders will be construed to include any other gender, and words in the singular form will be construed to include the plural and vice versa, unless the context otherwise requires. The words “this Agreement,” “herein,” “hereof,” “hereby,” “hereunder,” and words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular subdivision unless expressly so limited. The parties hereto intend that each representation, warranty, and covenant contained herein will have independent significance. If any party hereto has breached any representation, warranty, or covenant contained herein in any respect, the fact that there exists another representation, warranty or covenant relating to the same subject matter (regardless of the relative levels of specificity) which such party hereto has not breached will not detract from or mitigate the fact that such party hereto is in breach of the first representation, warranty, or covenant.
6.16 Mutual Drafting. This Agreement is the joint product of the Subscriber and the Company and each provision hereof has been subject to the mutual consultation, negotiation and agreement of such parties and shall not be construed for or against any party hereto.
7. Voting and Tender of Shares. The Subscriber agrees to vote the Shares in favor of an initial business combination that the Company negotiates and submits for approval to the Company’s stockholders and shall not seek redemption with respect to any of the Shares in connection with an initial business combination or any amendment to the Charter, as amended, prior to an initial business combination. Additionally, the Subscriber agrees not to tender any Shares in connection with a tender offer presented to the Company’s stockholders in connection with an initial business combination negotiated by the Company.
8. Indemnification. Each party shall indemnify the other against any loss, cost or damages (including reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses) incurred as a result of such party’s breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement in this Agreement.
[Signature Page Follows]
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If the foregoing accurately sets forth our understanding and agreement, please sign the enclosed copy of this Agreement and return it to us.
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Very truly yours, | |
Panacea Acquisition Corp. | ||
By: | /s/ Oleg Nodelman | |
Name: | Oleg Nodelman | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC | ||
By: | /s/ Oleg Nodelman | |
Name: | Oleg Nodelman | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
[Signature Page to Securities Subscription Agreement]
Exhibit 10.7
Panacea Acquisition Corp.
357 Tehama Street
Floor 3
San Francisco, CA 94103
Cowen Investments II LLC | May 7, 2020 |
599 Lexington Avenue
20th Floor
New York, NY 10022
RE: Securities Subscription Agreement
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Panacea Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), is pleased to accept the offer Cowen Investments II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Subscriber” or “you”), has made to purchase 718,750 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock (the “Shares”), $0.0001 par value per share (the “Class B Common Stock”), up to 93,750 of which are subject to complete or partial forfeiture by you if the underwriters of the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”), if any, do not fully exercise their over-allotment option (the “Over-allotment Option”). For the purposes of this Agreement (this “Agreement”), references to “Common Stock” are to, collectively, the Class B Common Stock and the Company’s Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Class A Common Stock”). Pursuant to the Company’s certificate of incorporation, as amended to the date hereof (the “Charter”), shares of Class B Common Stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Charter. Unless the context otherwise requires, as used herein “Securities” shall refer to the Shares and shall be deemed to include any shares of Class A Common Stock issued upon conversion of the Shares. The terms on which the Company is willing to sell the Shares to the Subscriber, and the Company and the Subscriber’s agreements regarding such Shares, are as follows:
1. Purchase of Shares.
For the sum of $5,000 (the “Purchase Price”), which the Company acknowledges has been remitted at the Company’s direction for offering costs, the Company hereby sells and issues the Shares to the Subscriber, and the Subscriber hereby purchases the Shares from the Company, subject to the forfeiture provisions of Section 3, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement. Concurrently with the Subscriber’s execution of this Agreement, the Company shall, at its option, deliver to the Subscriber a certificate registered in the Subscriber’s name representing the Shares (the “Original Certificate”), or effect such delivery in book-entry form.
2. Representations, Warranties and Agreements.
2.1 Subscriber’s Representations, Warranties and Agreements. To induce the Company to issue the Securities to the Subscriber, the Subscriber hereby represents and warrants to the Company and agrees with the Company as follows:
2.1.1 No Government Recommendation or Approval. The Subscriber understands that no federal or state agency has passed upon or made any recommendation or endorsement of the offering of the Securities.
2.1.2 No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation by the Subscriber of the transactions contemplated hereby do not violate, conflict with or constitute a default under (i) the formation and governing documents of the Subscriber, (ii) any agreement, indenture or instrument to which the Subscriber is a party, (iii) any law, statute, rule or regulation to which the Subscriber is subject or (iv) any agreement, order, judgment or decree to which the Subscriber is subject.
2.1.3 Organization and Authority. The Subscriber is a Delaware limited liability company, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and possesses all requisite power and authority necessary to carry out the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. Upon execution and delivery by you, this Agreement is a legal, valid and binding agreement of the Subscriber, enforceable against the Subscriber in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and subject to general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforcement is sought in a proceeding at law or in equity).
2.1.4 Experience, Financial Capability and Suitability. The Subscriber is: (i) sophisticated in financial matters and is able to evaluate the risks and benefits of the investment in the Securities and (ii) able to bear the economic risk of its investment in the Securities for an indefinite period of time because the Securities have not been registered under the Securities Act (as defined below) and therefore cannot be sold unless subsequently registered under the Securities Act or an exemption from such registration is available. The Subscriber is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of its investment in the Company and has the capacity to protect its own interests. The Subscriber must bear the economic risk of this investment until the Securities are sold pursuant to: (x) an effective registration statement under the Securities Act or (y) an exemption from registration available with respect to such sale. The Subscriber is able to bear the economic risks of an investment in the Securities and to afford a complete loss of the Subscriber’s investment in the Securities.
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2.1.5 Access to Information; Independent Investigation. Prior to the execution of this Agreement, the Subscriber has had the opportunity to ask questions of and receive answers from representatives of the Company concerning an investment in the Company, as well as the finances, operations, business and prospects of the Company, and the opportunity to obtain additional information to verify the accuracy of all information so obtained. In determining whether to make this investment, the Subscriber has relied solely on the Subscriber’s own knowledge and understanding of the Company and its business based upon the Subscriber’s own due diligence investigation and the information furnished pursuant to this paragraph. The Subscriber understands that no person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations which were not furnished pursuant to this Section 2 and the Subscriber has not relied on any other representations or information in making its investment decision, whether written or oral, relating to the Company, its operations and/or its prospects.
2.1.6 Private Placement. The Subscriber represents that it is an “accredited investor” as such term is defined in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and acknowledges the sale contemplated hereby is being made in reliance on a private placement exemption applicable to “accredited investors” within the meaning of Section 501(a) of Regulation D under the Securities Act or similar exemptions under state law.
2.1.7 Investment Purposes. The Subscriber is purchasing the Securities solely for investment purposes, for the Subscriber’s own account and not for the account or benefit of any other person, and not with a view towards the distribution or dissemination thereof. The Subscriber did not decide to enter into this Agreement as a result of any general solicitation or general advertising within the meaning of Rule 502 under the Securities Act.
2.1.8 Restrictions on Transfer; Shell Company. The Subscriber understands the Securities are being offered in a transaction not involving a public offering within the meaning of the Securities Act. The Subscriber understands the Securities will be “restricted securities” within the meaning of Rule 144(a)(3) under the Securities Act and the Subscriber understands that the certificates or book-entries representing the Securities will contain a legend in respect of such restrictions. If in the future the Subscriber decides to offer, resell, pledge or otherwise transfer the Securities, such Securities may be offered, resold, pledged or otherwise transferred only pursuant to: (i) registration under the Securities Act, or (ii) an available exemption from registration. The Subscriber agrees that if any transfer of its Securities or any interest therein is proposed to be made, as a condition precedent to any such transfer, the Subscriber may, at the Company’s option, be required to deliver to the Company an opinion of counsel satisfactory to the Company. Absent registration or an exemption, the Subscriber agrees not to resell the Securities. The Subscriber further acknowledges that because the Company is a shell company, Rule 144 may not be available to the Subscriber for the resale of the Shares until at least one year following consummation of the initial business combination of the Company (which may not occur), despite technical compliance with the requirements of Rule 144 and the release or waiver of any contractual transfer restrictions.
2.1.9 No Governmental Consents. No governmental, administrative or other third party consents or approvals are required, necessary or appropriate on the part of the Subscriber in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
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2.2 Company’s Representations, Warranties and Agreements. To induce the Subscriber to purchase the Securities, the Company hereby represents and warrants to the Subscriber and agrees with the Subscriber as follows:
2.2.1 Organization and Corporate Power. The Company is a Delaware corporation and is qualified to do business in every jurisdiction in which the failure to so qualify would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, operating results or assets of the Company. The Company possesses all requisite corporate power and authority necessary to carry out the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
2.2.2 No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby do not violate, conflict with or constitute a default under (i) the Charter or bylaws of the Company, (ii) any agreement, indenture or instrument to which the Company is a party, (iii) any law, statute, rule or regulation to which the Company is subject or (iv) any agreement, order, judgment or decree to which the Company is subject.
2.2.3 Title to Securities. Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof, the Securities will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof, the Subscriber will have or receive good title to the Securities, free and clear of all liens, claims and encumbrances of any kind, other than (a) transfer restrictions hereunder and under the other agreements to which the Securities may be subject which have been notified to the Subscriber in writing, (b) transfer restrictions under federal and state securities laws, and (c) liens, claims or encumbrances imposed due to the actions of the Subscriber.
2.2.4 No Adverse Actions. There are no actions, suits, investigations or proceedings pending, threatened against or affecting the Company which: (i) seek to restrain, enjoin, prevent the consummation of or otherwise affect the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or (ii) question the validity or legality of any transactions or seek to recover damages or to obtain other relief in connection with any transactions.
2.2.5 Authorization. The shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the Shares have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance upon such conversion.
3. Forfeiture of Shares.
3.1 Partial or No Exercise of the Over-allotment Option. In the event the Over-allotment Option granted to the underwriters of the IPO is not exercised in full, the Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that it (or, if applicable, it and any transferees of Shares) shall automatically forfeit at the time such Over-allotment Option expires (or earlier if the underwriters of the IPO waive their ability to exercise such Over-allotment Option) any and all rights to such number of Shares (up to an aggregate of 93,750 Shares and pro rata based upon the percentage of the Over-allotment Option exercised) such that immediately following such forfeiture, the aggregate number of Shares owned by the Subscriber (and any such transferees) will equal 4% of the issued and outstanding Common Stock immediately following the IPO (not including Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of any warrants or underlying any units or warrants issued in a private placement in connection with the IPO).
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3.2 Termination of Rights as Stockholder. If any of the Shares are forfeited in accordance with this Section 3, then after such time the Subscriber (or its successor in interest), shall no longer have any rights as a holder of such forfeited Shares, and the Company shall take such action as is appropriate to cancel such forfeited Shares.
3.3 Share Certificates. In the event an adjustment to the Original Certificates, if any, is required pursuant to this Section 3, then the Subscriber shall return such Original Certificates to the Company or its designated agent as soon as practicable upon its receipt of notice from the Company advising the Subscriber of such adjustment, following which a new certificate (the “New Certificate”), if any, shall be issued in such amount representing the adjusted number of Shares held by the Subscriber. The New Certificate, if any, shall be returned to the Subscriber as soon as practicable. Any such adjustment for any uncertificated securities held by the Subscriber shall be made in book-entry form.
4. Waiver of Liquidation Distributions; Redemption Rights. In connection with the Shares purchased pursuant to this Agreement, the Subscriber hereby waives any and all right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any distributions by the Company from the trust account which will be established for the benefit of the Company’s public stockholders and into which substantially all of the proceeds of the IPO will be deposited (the “Trust Account”), in the event of a liquidation of the Company upon the Company’s failure to timely complete an initial business combination. For purposes of clarity, in the event the Subscriber purchases securities in the IPO or in the aftermarket, any shares of Class A Common Stock so purchased shall be eligible to receive any liquidating distributions by the Company. However, in no event will the Subscriber have the right to redeem any shares of Common Stock held by it into funds held in the Trust Account upon the successful completion of an initial business combination. For the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing shall not restrict the right of any affiliate of the Subscriber to redeem any shares of Class A Common Stock purchased in the IPO or aftermarket by such affiliate of the Subscriber.
5. Restrictions on Transfer.
5.1 Securities Law Restrictions. In addition to any restrictions to be contained in that certain letter agreement (commonly known as an “Insider Letter”) dated on or prior to the closing of the IPO by and among the Subscriber, the Company and other parties thereto, the Subscriber agrees not to sell, transfer, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of all or any part of the Securities unless, prior thereto (a) a registration statement on the appropriate form under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws with respect to the Securities proposed to be transferred shall then be effective or (b) the Company has received, if requested by the Company, an opinion from counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Company, that such registration is not required because such transaction is exempt from registration under the Securities Act and the rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder and with all applicable state securities laws.
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5.2 Lock-up. The Subscriber acknowledges that the Securities will be subject to lock-up provisions (the “Lock-up”) contained in the Insider Letter. Pursuant to the Insider Letter, the Subscriber will agree (subject to certain customary exceptions) not to sell, transfer, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of all or any part of the Securities until the earlier to occur of: (a) one year after the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, (b) if the last sale price of the Class A Common Stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Company’s initial business combination and (c) the date on which the Company consummates a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction after the Company’s initial business combination that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Common Stock for cash, securities or other property.
5.3 Restrictive Legends. All certificates representing the Securities shall have endorsed thereon legends substantially as follows:
“THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS AND NEITHER THE SECURITIES NOR ANY INTEREST THEREIN MAY BE OFFERED, SOLD, TRANSFERRED, PLEDGED OR OTHERWISE DISPOSED OF EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER SUCH ACT OR SUCH LAWS OR AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION UNDER SUCH ACT AND SUCH LAWS WHICH, IN THE OPINION OF COUNSEL (IF THE COMPANY SO REQUESTS), IS AVAILABLE.”
“THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO A LOCKUP AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD, TRANSFERRED, PLEDGED OR OTHERWISE DISPOSED DURING THE TERM OF THE LOCKUP.”
5.4 Additional Shares or Substituted Securities. In the event of the declaration of a share dividend, the declaration of an extraordinary dividend payable in a form other than Common Stock, a spin-off, a share split, an adjustment in conversion ratio, a recapitalization or a similar transaction affecting the Company’s outstanding Common Stock without receipt of consideration, any new, substituted or additional securities or other property which are by reason of such transaction distributed with respect to any Securities subject to this Section 5 or into which such Securities thereby become convertible shall immediately be subject to this Section 5 and Section 3. Appropriate adjustments to reflect the distribution of such securities or property shall be made to the number and/or class of Securities subject to this Section 5 and Section 3.
5.5 Registration Rights. The Subscriber acknowledges that the Shares are being purchased pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and will become freely tradable only after certain conditions are met or they are registered pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be entered into with the Company prior to the closing of the IPO (the “Registration Rights Agreement”).
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6. Other Agreements.
6.1 Further Assurances. The Subscriber agrees to execute such further instruments and to take such further action as may reasonably be necessary to carry out the intent of this Agreement.
6.2 Notices. All notices, statements or other documents which are required or contemplated by this Agreement shall be in writing and delivered (i) personally or sent by first class registered or certified mail, overnight courier service or facsimile or electronic transmission to the address designated in writing, (ii) by facsimile to the number most recently provided to such party or such other address or fax number as may be designated in writing by such party, and (iii) by electronic mail, to the electronic mail address most recently provided to such party or such other electronic mail address as may be designated in writing by such party. Any notice or other communication so transmitted shall be deemed to have been given on the day of delivery, if delivered personally, on the business day following receipt of written confirmation, if sent by facsimile or electronic transmission, one (1) business day after delivery to an overnight courier service or five (5) days after mailing if sent by mail.
6.3 Entire Agreement. This Agreement, together with that certain Insider Letter to be entered into between the Subscriber and the Company and the Registration Rights Agreement, each substantially in the form to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the Subscriber and the Company with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior oral or written agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. No statement, representation, warranty, covenant or agreement of any kind not expressly set forth in this Agreement shall affect, or be used to interpret, change or restrict, the express terms and provisions of this Agreement.
6.4 Modifications and Amendments. The terms and provisions of this Agreement may be modified or amended only by written agreement executed by all parties hereto.
6.5 Waivers and Consents. The terms and provisions of this Agreement may be waived, or consent for the departure therefrom granted, only by written document executed by the party entitled to the benefits of such terms or provisions. No such waiver or consent shall be deemed to be or shall constitute a waiver or consent with respect to any other terms or provisions of this Agreement, whether or not similar. Each such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the purpose for which it was given, and shall not constitute a continuing waiver or consent.
6.6 Assignment. The rights and obligations under this Agreement may not be assigned by either party hereto without the prior written consent of the other party.
6.7 Benefit. All statements, representations, warranties, covenants and agreements in this Agreement shall be binding on the parties hereto and shall inure to the benefit of the respective successors and permitted assigns of each party hereto. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to create any rights or obligations except among the parties hereto, and no person or entity shall be regarded as a third-party beneficiary of this Agreement.
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6.8 Governing Law. This Agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of Delaware applicable to contracts wholly performed within the borders of such state.
6.9 Severability. In the event that any court of competent jurisdiction shall determine that any provision, or any portion thereof, contained in this Agreement shall be unreasonable or unenforceable in any respect, then such provision shall be deemed limited to the extent that such court deems it reasonable and enforceable, and as so limited shall remain in full force and effect. In the event that such court shall deem any such provision, or portion thereof, wholly unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect.
6.10 No Waiver of Rights, Powers and Remedies. No failure or delay by a party hereto in exercising any right, power or remedy under this Agreement, and no course of dealing between the parties hereto, shall operate as a waiver of any such right, power or remedy of such party. No single or partial exercise of any right, power or remedy under this Agreement by a party hereto, nor any abandonment or discontinuance of steps to enforce any such right, power or remedy, shall preclude such party from any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or remedy hereunder. The election of any remedy by a party hereto shall not constitute a waiver of the right of such party to pursue other available remedies. No notice to or demand on a party not expressly required under this Agreement shall entitle the party receiving such notice or demand to any other or further notice or demand in similar or other circumstances or constitute a waiver of the rights of the party giving such notice or demand to any other or further action in any circumstances without such notice or demand.
6.11 Survival of Representations and Warranties. All representations and warranties made by the parties hereto in this Agreement or in any other agreement, certificate or instrument provided for or contemplated hereby, shall survive the execution and delivery hereof and any investigations made by or on behalf of the parties.
6.12 No Broker or Finder. Each of the parties hereto represents and warrants to the other that no broker, finder or other financial consultant has acted on its behalf in connection with this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby in such a way as to create any liability on the other. Each of the parties hereto agrees to indemnify and save the other harmless from any claim or demand for commission or other compensation by any broker, finder, financial consultant or similar agent claiming to have been employed by or on behalf of such party and to bear the cost of legal expenses incurred in defending against any such claim.
6.13 Headings and Captions. The headings and captions of the various subdivisions of this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and shall in no way modify or affect the meaning or construction of any of the terms or provisions hereof.
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6.14 Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the other party, it being understood that both parties need not sign the same counterpart. In the event that any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission or any other form of electronic delivery, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such signature page were an original thereof.
6.15 Construction. The parties hereto have participated jointly in the negotiation and drafting of this Agreement. If an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement will be construed as if drafted jointly by the parties hereto and no presumption or burden of proof will arise favoring or disfavoring any party hereto because of the authorship of any provision of this Agreement. The words “include,” “includes,” and “including” will be deemed to be followed by “without limitation.” Pronouns in masculine, feminine, and neuter genders will be construed to include any other gender, and words in the singular form will be construed to include the plural and vice versa, unless the context otherwise requires. The words “this Agreement,” “herein,” “hereof,” “hereby,” “hereunder,” and words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular subdivision unless expressly so limited. The parties hereto intend that each representation, warranty, and covenant contained herein will have independent significance. If any party hereto has breached any representation, warranty, or covenant contained herein in any respect, the fact that there exists another representation, warranty or covenant relating to the same subject matter (regardless of the relative levels of specificity) which such party hereto has not breached will not detract from or mitigate the fact that such party hereto is in breach of the first representation, warranty, or covenant.
6.16 Mutual Drafting. This Agreement is the joint product of the Subscriber and the Company and each provision hereof has been subject to the mutual consultation, negotiation and agreement of such parties and shall not be construed for or against any party hereto.
7. Voting and Tender of Shares. The Subscriber agrees to vote the Shares in favor of an initial business combination that the Company negotiates and submits for approval to the Company’s stockholders and shall not seek redemption with respect to any of the Shares in connection with an initial business combination or any amendment to the Charter, as amended, prior to an initial business combination. Additionally, the Subscriber agrees not to tender any Shares in connection with a tender offer presented to the Company’s stockholders in connection with an initial business combination negotiated by the Company.
8. Indemnification. Each party shall indemnify the other against any loss, cost or damages (including reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses) incurred as a result of such party’s breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement in this Agreement.
[Signature Page Follows]
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If the foregoing accurately sets forth our understanding and agreement, please sign the enclosed copy of this Agreement and return it to us.
Very truly yours, | ||
Panacea Acquisition Corp. | ||
By: | /s/ Oleg Nodelman | |
Name: | Oleg Nodelman | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
Cowen Investments II LLC | ||
By: | /s/ Owen Littman | |
Name: | Owen Littman | |
Title: | Authorized Signatory |
[Signature Page to Securities Subscription Agreement]
Exhibit 10.12
FORWARD PURCHASE AGREEMENT
This Forward Purchase Agreement (this “Agreement”) is entered into as of [●], 2020, by and among Panacea Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), EcoR1 Panacea Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Adviser”), and each of the purchasers listed on signature pages hereto (each, a “Purchaser” and, collectively, the “Purchasers”).
Recitals
WHEREAS, the Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (a “Business Combination”);
WHEREAS, the Company has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a registration statement on Form S-1 (such registration statement, as may be amended from time to time, including to reflect changes in terms, the “Registration Statement”) for its initial public offering (“IPO”) of 12,500,000 units (or 14,375,000 units in the aggregate if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment in full) (the “Public Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Public Unit, each comprised of one share of Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A Share(s)”), and one-third of one redeemable warrant, where each whole redeemable warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A Share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (the “Warrant(s)”);
WHEREAS, following the closing of the IPO (the “IPO Closing”), the Company will seek to identify and consummate a Business Combination; and
WHEREAS, the parties hereto wish to enter into this Agreement, pursuant to which substantially concurrently with the closing of the Company’s initial Business Combination (the “Business Combination Closing”), the Company shall issue and sell, and the Purchasers shall purchase, on a private placement basis, an aggregate of 2,500,000 Class A Shares (the “Forward Purchase Shares”) and 833,333 redeemable warrants (the “Forward Purchase Warrants” and, collectively with the Forward Purchase Shares and the Class A Shares underlying the Forward Purchase Warrants, the “Forward Purchase Securities”);
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises, representations, warranties and the mutual covenants contained in this Agreement, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt, sufficiency and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:
Agreement
1. Sale and Purchase.
(a) Forward Purchase Units.
(i) The Company shall issue and sell to the Purchasers, severally and not jointly, and the Purchasers shall purchase from the Company, at a price of $10.00 per one Forward Purchase Share and one-third of one Forward Purchase Warrant (a “Forward Purchase Unit”), an aggregate of 2,500,000 Forward Purchase Units for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000,000 (the “FPU Purchase Price”), with the allocation of the Forward Purchase Units among the Purchasers to be determined by the Adviser, in its sole discretion (the “Adviser Allocation”). Each Forward Purchase Unit and its underlying securities will have the same terms as the private placement units and their underlying securities to be issued under the Unit Subscription Agreement substantially in the form attached as Exhibit 10.8 to the Registration Statement, in connection with the IPO. Each Forward Purchase Warrant will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Warrant Agreement to be entered into between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as Warrant Agent, in connection with the IPO.
(ii) The Company shall require the Purchasers to purchase the Forward Purchase Units pursuant to Section 1(a)(i) hereof by delivering notice (the “Company Notice”) to the Adviser and the Purchasers, at least five (5) Business Days before the funding of the FPU Purchase Price to an account specified by the Company, specifying the anticipated date of the Business Combination Closing and instructions for wiring the FPU Purchase Price to an account designated by the Company. At least two (2) Business Days before the anticipated date of the Business Combination Closing specified in such Company Notice, [(i) the Adviser shall deliver notice of the Adviser Allocation (the “Adviser Allocation Notice”) to the Company and the Purchasers and (ii)] each Purchaser shall deliver its respective portion of the FPU Purchase Price in cash via wire transfer to the account specified in such Company Notice, to be held in escrow pending the FPU Closing (as defined below). If the FPU Closing does not occur within thirty (30) days after the Purchasers deliver the FPU Purchase Price to such account, the Company shall, upon request of the Adviser, return to the Purchasers the FPU Purchase Price, provided that the return of the FPU Purchase Price placed in escrow shall not terminate this Agreement or otherwise relieve either party of any of its obligations hereunder and the Company may provide a subsequent Company Notice pursuant to this Section 1(a)(ii). For the purposes of this Agreement, “Business Day” means any day, other than a Saturday or a Sunday, that is neither a legal holiday nor a day on which banking institutions are generally authorized or required by law or regulation to close in the City of New York, New York.
(iii) The closing of the sale of the Forward Purchase Units (the “FPU Closing”) shall be held on the same date and substantially concurrently with the Business Combination Closing (such date being referred to as the “FPU Closing Date”). At the FPU Closing, the Company will issue to each Purchaser the number of Forward Purchase Shares and Forward Purchase Warrants included in the Forward Purchase Units set forth in the Adviser Allocation Notice, each registered in the name of the respective Purchaser.
(b) Delivery of Forward Purchase Units.
(i) The Company shall register each Purchaser as the owner of the number of Forward Purchase Shares and Forward Purchase Warrants included in the Forward Purchase Units set forth in the Adviser Allocation Notice with the Company’s transfer agent by book entry on or promptly after (but in no event more than two (2) Business Days after) the FPU Closing Date.
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(ii) Each book entry for the Forward Purchase Securities shall contain a notation, and each certificate (if any) evidencing the Forward Purchase Securities shall be stamped or otherwise imprinted with a legend, in substantially the following form:
“THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION, AND MAY NOT BE TRANSFERRED IN VIOLATION OF SUCH ACT AND LAWS.”
(c) Registration Rights. The Purchasers shall have registration rights as set forth in the Registration Rights Agreement substantially in the form attached as Exhibit 10.5 of the Registration Statement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”).
2. Representations and Warranties of the Purchasers. Each Purchaser represents and warrants, severally and not jointly, to the Company as follows, as of the date hereof:
(a) Organization and Power. The Purchaser is duly formed and validly existing and in good standing in its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization and has all requisite power and authority to carry on its business as presently conducted and as proposed to be conducted.
(b) Authorization. The Purchaser has full power and authority to enter into this Agreement. This Agreement, when executed and delivered by the Purchaser, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of the Purchaser, enforceable against the Purchaser in accordance with its terms, except (a) as limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent conveyance and any other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (b) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies, or (c) to the extent the indemnification provisions contained in the Registration Rights Agreement may be limited by applicable federal or state securities laws.
(c) Governmental Consents and Filings. No consent, approval, order or authorization of, or registration, qualification, designation, declaration or filing with, any federal, state or local governmental authority is required on the part of the Purchaser in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(d) Compliance with Other Instruments. The execution, delivery and performance by the Purchaser of this Agreement and the consummation by the Purchaser of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not result in any violation or default (i) of any provisions of its organizational documents, (ii) of any instrument, judgment, order, writ or decree to which it is a party or by which it is bound, (iii) under any note, indenture or mortgage to which it is a party or by which it is bound, (iv) under any lease, agreement, contract or purchase order to which it is a party or by which it is bound or (v) of any provision of federal or state statute, rule or regulation applicable to the Purchaser, in each case (other than clause (i)), which would have a material adverse effect on the Purchaser or its ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
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(e) Purchase Entirely for Own Account. This Agreement is made with the Purchaser in reliance upon the Purchaser’s representation to the Company, which by the Purchaser’s execution of this Agreement, the Purchaser hereby confirms, that the Forward Purchase Securities to be acquired by the Purchaser will be acquired for investment for the Purchaser’s own account, not as a nominee or agent, and not with a view to the resale or distribution of any part thereof, and that the Purchaser has no present intention of selling, granting any participation in, or otherwise distributing the same in violation of law. By executing this Agreement, the Purchaser further represents that the Purchaser does not presently have any contract, undertaking, agreement or arrangement with any Person to sell, transfer or grant participations to such Person or to any third Person, with respect to any of the Forward Purchase Securities. For purposes of this Agreement, “Person” means an individual, a limited liability company, a partnership, a joint venture, a corporation, a trust, an unincorporated organization, any other entity or any government or any department or agency thereof.
(f) Disclosure of Information. The Purchaser has had an opportunity to discuss the Company’s business, management, financial affairs and the terms and conditions of the offering of the Forward Purchase Units, as well as the terms of the Company’s proposed IPO, with the Company’s management.
(g) Restricted Securities. The Purchaser understands that the offer and sale of the Forward Purchase Units have not been registered under the Securities Act, by reason of a specific exemption from the registration provisions of the Securities Act that depends upon, among other things, the bona fide nature of the investment intent and the accuracy of the Purchaser’s representations as expressed herein. The Purchaser understands that the Forward Purchase Securities are “restricted securities” under applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws and that, pursuant to these laws, the Purchaser must hold the Forward Purchase Securities indefinitely unless they are registered with the SEC and qualified by state authorities, or an exemption from such registration and qualification requirements is available. The Purchaser acknowledges that the Company has no obligation to register or qualify the Forward Purchase Securities for resale, except pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement. The Purchaser further acknowledges that if an exemption from registration or qualification is available, it may be conditioned on various requirements including, but not limited to, the time and manner of sale, the holding period for the Forward Purchase Securities, and on requirements relating to the Company that are outside of the Purchaser’s control, and which the Company is under no obligation and may not be able to satisfy. The Purchaser understands that the offering to the Purchaser of the Forward Purchase Securities is not, and is not intended to be, part of the IPO, and that the Purchaser will not be able to rely on the protection of Section 11 or Section 12 of the Securities Act with respect to the Forward Purchase Securities.
(h) No Public Market. The Purchaser understands that no public market now exists for the Forward Purchase Securities, and that the Company has made no assurances that a public market will ever exist for the Forward Purchase Securities.
(i) High Degree of Risk. The Purchaser understands that its agreement to purchase the Forward Purchase Units involves a high degree of risk, which could cause the Purchaser to lose all or part of its investment.
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(j) No General Solicitation. Neither the Purchaser, nor any of its officers, directors, employees, agents, stockholders or partners, has either directly or indirectly, including, through a broker or finder (i) to its knowledge, engaged in any general solicitation, or (ii) published any advertisement in connection with the offer and sale of the Forward Purchase Units.
(k) Non-Public Information. The Purchaser acknowledges its obligations under applicable securities laws with respect to the treatment of material non-public information relating to the Company.
(l) Affiliation of Certain FINRA Members. The Purchaser is neither a person associated nor affiliated with Cowen and Company, LLC or, to its actual knowledge, any other member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) that is participating in the IPO.
(m) No Other Representations and Warranties; Non-Reliance. Except for the specific representations and warranties contained in this Section 2 and in any certificate or agreement delivered pursuant hereto, none of the Purchaser nor any person acting on behalf of the Purchaser nor any of the Purchaser’s affiliates (the “Purchaser Parties”) has made, makes or shall be deemed to make any other express or implied representation or warranty with respect to the Purchaser and this offering, and the Purchaser Parties disclaim any such representation or warranty. Except for the specific representations and warranties expressly made by the Company in Section 3 of this Agreement and in any certificate or agreement delivered pursuant hereto, the Purchaser Parties specifically disclaim that they are relying upon any other representations or warranties that may have been made by the Company.
3. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to the Purchasers as follows:
(a) Incorporation and Corporate Power. The Company is duly incorporated and validly existing and in good standing as a corporation under the laws of the State of Delaware and has all requisite corporate power and authority to carry on its business as presently conducted and as proposed to be conducted. The Company has no subsidiaries.
(b) Capitalization. As of the date of this Agreement, the authorized share capital of the Company consists of:
(i) 75,000,000 Class A Shares, none of which are issued and outstanding.
(ii) 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class B Share(s)”), 3,593,750 of which are issued and outstanding (468,750 of which are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option in connection with the IPO is not exercised in full). All of the issued and outstanding Class B Shares have been duly authorized, are fully paid and nonassessable and were issued in compliance with all applicable federal and state securities laws.
(iii) 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, none of which are issued and outstanding.
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(c) Authorization; No Breach. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Forward Purchase Units, including the Forward Purchase Shares and the Forward Purchase Warrants included in the Forward Purchase Units, have been duly authorized by the Company as of the FPU 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 Warrant Agreement and this Agreement, the Forward Purchase Warrants will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable in accordance with their terms as of the FPU Closing Date.
(i) The execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement and the Forward Purchase Units, the issuance and sale of the Forward Purchase Units, the issuance of the Forward Purchase Warrants and the Forward Purchase Shares and the fulfillment of and compliance with the respective terms hereof and thereof by the Company, do not and will not as of the FPU 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 Company’s certificate of incorporation (the “Charter”) and bylaws (the “Bylaws”) 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.
(d) Valid Issuance of Forward Purchase Units. Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof and the Warrant Agreement, the Forward Purchase Shares and the shares issuable upon exercise of the Forward Purchase Warrants will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. On the date of issuance of the Forward Purchase Units, the Forward Purchase Warrants, the Forward Purchase Shares and the shares issuable upon exercise of the Forward Purchase Warrants shall have been reserved for issuance. Upon issuance in accordance with, and payment pursuant to, the terms hereof and the Warrant Agreement, the Purchaser will have good title to the Forward Purchase Units purchased by it, the Forward Purchase Warrants, the Forward Purchase Shares and the shares issuable upon exercise of the Forward Purchase 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.
(e) Governmental Consents and Filings. Assuming the accuracy of the representations and warranties made by each Purchaser in this Agreement, no consent, approval, order or authorization of, or registration, qualification, designation, declaration or filing with, any federal, state or local governmental authority is required on the part of the Company in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except for applicable requirements of the Securities Act.
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(f) Compliance with Other Instruments. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not result in any violation or default (i) of any provisions of its Charter, Bylaws or other governing documents, (ii) of any instrument, judgment, order, writ or decree to which it is a party or by which it is bound, (iii) under any note, indenture or mortgage to which it is a party or by which it is bound, (iv) under any lease, agreement, contract or purchase order to which it is a party or by which it is bound or (v) of any provision of federal or state statute, rule or regulation applicable to the Company, in each case (other than clause (i)) which would have a material adverse effect on the Company or its ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(g) No General Solicitation. Neither the Company, nor any of its officers, directors, employees, agents or shareholders has either directly or indirectly, including, through a broker or finder (i) engaged in any general solicitation, or (ii) published any advertisement in connection with the offer and sale of the Forward Purchase Units.
(h) No Other Representations and Warranties; Non-Reliance. Except for the specific representations and warranties contained in this Section 3 and in any certificate or agreement delivered pursuant hereto, the Company has not made and does not make nor shall be deemed to make any other express or implied representation or warranty with respect to the Company, this offering, the proposed IPO or a potential Business Combination, and the Company disclaims any such representation or warranty. Except for the specific representations and warranties expressly made by the Purchasers in Section 2 of this Agreement and in any certificate or agreement delivered pursuant hereto, the Company specifically disclaims that it is relying upon any other representations or warranties that may have been made by the Purchaser Parties.
4. Additional Agreements and Acknowledgements and Waivers of the Purchasers.
(a) Trust Account.
(i) Each Purchaser hereby acknowledges that it is aware that the Company will establish a trust account (the “Trust Account”) for the benefit of its public stockholders upon the closing of the IPO. Each Purchaser, for itself and its affiliates, hereby agrees that it 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, except for redemption and liquidation rights, if any, such Purchaser may have in respect of any Class A Shares held by it.
(ii) Each Purchaser hereby agrees that it shall have 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 have now or in the future, except for redemption and liquidation rights, if any, such Purchaser may have in respect of any Class A Shares held by it. In the event any Purchaser has any Claim against the Company under this Agreement, such Purchaser 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, except for redemption and liquidation rights, if any, such Purchaser may have in respect of any Class A Shares held by it.
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(b) No Short Sales. Each Purchaser hereby agrees that neither it, nor any person or entity acting on its behalf or pursuant to any understanding with it, will engage in any Short Sales with respect to securities of the Company prior to the Business Combination Closing. For purposes of this Section, “Short Sales” shall include, without limitation, all “short sales” as defined in Rule 200 promulgated under Regulation SHO under the Exchange Act and all types of direct and indirect stock pledges (other than pledges in the ordinary course of business as part of prime brokerage arrangements), forward sale contracts, options, puts, calls, swaps and similar arrangements (including on a total return basis), and sales and other transactions through non-U.S. broker dealers or foreign regulated brokers.
5. Additional Agreement of the Company.
(a) NYSE Listing. The Company will use commercially reasonable best efforts to effect and maintain the listing of the Class A Shares and the Warrants on the New York Stock Exchange (or another national securities exchange).
6. FPU Closing Conditions.
(a) The obligation of the Purchasers to purchase the Forward Purchase Units at the FPU Closing under this Agreement shall be subject to the fulfillment, at or prior to the FPU Closing of each of the following conditions, any of which, to the extent permitted by applicable laws, may be waived by the Purchasers:
(i) the Business Combination shall be consummated substantially concurrently with the purchase of Forward Purchase Units;
(ii) the representations and warranties of the Company set forth in Section 3 of this Agreement shall have been true and correct as of the date hereof and shall be true and correct, in the case of the Company, as of the FPU Closing, as applicable, with the same effect as though such representations and warranties had been made on and as of such date (other than any such representation or warranty that is made by its terms as of a specified date, which shall be true and correct as of such specified date), except, in the case of the Company, where the failure to be so true and correct would not have a material adverse effect on the Company or its ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(iii) the Company shall have performed, satisfied and complied in all material respects with the covenants, agreements and conditions required by this Agreement to be performed, satisfied or complied with by the Company at or prior to the FPU Closing; and
(iv) no order, writ, judgment, injunction, decree, determination, or award shall have been entered by or with any governmental, regulatory, or administrative authority or any court, tribunal, or judicial, or arbitral body, and no other legal restraint or prohibition shall be in effect, preventing the purchase by the Purchasers of the Forward Purchase Units.
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(b) The obligation of the Company to sell the Forward Purchase Units at the FPU Closing under this Agreement shall be subject to the fulfillment, at or prior to the FPU Closing of each of the following conditions, any of which, to the extent permitted by applicable laws, may be waived by the Company:
(i) the Business Combination shall be consummated substantially concurrently with the purchase of Forward Purchase Units;
(ii) the representations and warranties of the Purchasers set forth in Section 2 of this Agreement shall have been true and correct as of the date hereof and shall be true and correct as of the FPU Closing, as applicable, with the same effect as though such representations and warranties had been made on and as of such date (other than any such representation or warranty that is made by its terms as of a specified date, which shall be true and correct as of such specified date), except where the failure to be so true and correct would not have a material adverse effect on the Purchasers or their ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(iii) the Purchasers shall have performed, satisfied and complied in all material respects with the covenants, agreements and conditions required by this Agreement to be performed, satisfied or complied with by the Purchasers at or prior to the FPU Closing; and
(iv) no order, writ, judgment, injunction, decree, determination, or award shall have been entered by or with any governmental, regulatory, or administrative authority or any court, tribunal, or judicial, or arbitral body, and no other legal restraint or prohibition shall be in effect, preventing the purchase by the Purchasers of the Forward Purchase Units.
7. Termination. This Agreement may be terminated at any time prior to the FPU Closing:
(a) by mutual written consent of the Company and the Purchasers;
(b) automatically
(i) if the IPO is not consummated on or prior to December 31, 2020;
(ii) if the Business Combination is not consummated within twenty-four (24) months from the closing of the IPO, unless extended upon approval of the Company’s stockholders in accordance with the Charter; or
(iii) if the Company becomes subject to any voluntary or involuntary petition under the United States federal bankruptcy laws or any state insolvency law, in each case which is not withdrawn within sixty (60) days after being filed, or a receiver, fiscal agent or similar officer is appointed by a court for business or property of the Company, in each case which is not removed, withdrawn or terminated within sixty (60) days after such appointment.
In the event of any termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 7, the FPU Purchase Price (and interest thereon, if any), if previously paid, and each Purchaser’s funds paid in connection herewith shall be promptly returned to such Purchaser, and thereafter this Agreement shall forthwith become null and void and have no effect, without any liability on the part of the Purchasers or the Company and their respective directors, officers, employees, partners, managers, members, or stockholders and all rights and obligations of each party shall cease; provided, however, that nothing contained in this Section 7 shall relieve any party from liabilities or damages arising out of any fraud or willful breach by such party of any of its representations, warranties, covenants or agreements contained in this Agreement.
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8. General Provisions.
(a) Notices. All notices and other communications given or made pursuant to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed effectively given upon the earlier of actual receipt, and (a) personal delivery to the party to be notified, (b) when sent, if sent by electronic mail or facsimile (if any) during normal business hours of the recipient, and if not sent during normal business hours, then on the recipient’s next Business Day, (c) five (5) Business Days after having been sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, or (d) one (1) Business Day after deposit with a nationally recognized overnight courier, freight prepaid, specifying next Business Day delivery, with written verification of receipt. All communications sent to the Company shall be sent to: Panacea Acquisition Corp., 357 Tehama Street, Floor 3, San Francisco, California, Attn: [●], email: [●], with a copy to the Company’s counsel at: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, 525 University Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301, Attn: Gregg Noel, Esq., and Michael Mies, Esq., email: Gregg.noel@skadden.com and Michael.mies@skadden.com, respectively.
All communications to the Purchasers shall be sent to the Purchasers’ address as set forth on the signature page hereof, or to such e-mail address, facsimile number (if any) or address as subsequently modified by written notice given in accordance with this Section 8(a).
(b) Survival of Representations and Warranties. All of the representations and warranties contained herein shall survive the FPU Closing.
(c) Entire Agreement. This Agreement, together with any documents, instruments and writings that are delivered pursuant hereto or referenced herein, constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the parties hereto in respect of its subject matter 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.
(d) Successors. All of the terms, agreements, covenants, representations, warranties, and conditions of this Agreement are binding upon, and inure to the benefit of and are enforceable by, the parties hereto and their respective successors. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any party other than the parties hereto or their respective successors and assigns any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided in this Agreement.
(e) Assignments. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, no party hereto may assign either this Agreement or any of its rights, interests, or obligations hereunder without the prior written approval of the Company and the Adviser.
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(f) Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which will be deemed an original but all of which together will constitute one and the same instrument.
(g) Headings. The section headings contained in this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and will not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.
(h) Governing Law. This Agreement, the entire relationship of the parties hereto, and any dispute between the parties (whether grounded in contract, tort, statute, law or equity) shall be governed by, construed in accordance with, and interpreted pursuant to the laws of the State of New York.
(i) Jurisdiction. The parties hereto (i) hereby irrevocably and unconditionally submit to the jurisdiction of the state courts of New York and to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for the purpose of any suit, action or other proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement, (b) agree not to commence any suit, action or other proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement except in state courts of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (c) hereby waive, and agree not to assert, by way of motion, as a defense, or otherwise, in any such suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not subject personally to the jurisdiction of the above-named courts, that its property is exempt or immune from attachment or execution, that the suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum, that the venue of the suit, action or proceeding is improper or that this Agreement or the subject matter hereof may not be enforced in or by such court.
(j) Waiver of Jury Trial. The parties hereto hereby waive any right to a jury trial in connection with any litigation pursuant to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby.
(k) Amendments. This Agreement may not be amended, modified or waived as to any particular provision, except with the written consent of the Company and the Purchasers.
(l) Severability. The provisions of this Agreement will be deemed severable and the invalidity or unenforceability of any provision will not affect the validity or enforceability of the other provisions hereof; provided that if any provision of this Agreement, as applied to any party hereto or to any circumstance, is adjudged by a governmental authority, arbitrator, or mediator not to be enforceable in accordance with its terms, the parties hereto agree that the governmental authority, arbitrator, or mediator making such determination will have the power to modify the provision in a manner consistent with its objectives such that it is enforceable, and/or to delete specific words or phrases, and in its reduced form, such provision will then be enforceable and will be enforced.
(m) Expenses. Each of the Company and the Purchasers will bear its own costs and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation, execution and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, including all fees and expenses of agents, representatives, financial advisors, legal counsel and accountants.
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(n) Construction. The parties hereto have participated jointly in the negotiation and drafting of this Agreement. If an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement will be construed as if drafted jointly by the parties hereto and no presumption or burden of proof will arise favoring or disfavoring any party hereto because of the authorship of any provision of this Agreement. Any reference to any federal, state, local, or foreign law will be deemed also to refer to law as amended and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, unless the context requires otherwise. The words “include,” “includes,” and “including” will be deemed to be followed by “without limitation.” Pronouns in masculine, feminine, and neuter genders will be construed to include any other gender, and words in the singular form will be construed to include the plural and vice versa, unless the context otherwise requires. The words “this Agreement,” “herein,” “hereof,” “hereby,” “hereunder,” and words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular subdivision unless expressly so limited. The parties hereto intend that each representation, warranty, and covenant contained herein will have independent significance. If any party hereto has breached any representation, warranty, or covenant contained herein in any respect, the fact that there exists another representation, warranty or covenant relating to the same subject matter (regardless of the relative levels of specificity) which such party hereto has not breached will not detract from or mitigate the fact that such party hereto is in breach of the first representation, warranty, or covenant.
(o) Waiver. No waiver by any party hereto of any default, misrepresentation, or breach of warranty or covenant hereunder, whether intentional or not, may be deemed to extend to any prior or subsequent default, misrepresentation, or breach of warranty or covenant hereunder or affect in any way any rights arising because of any prior or subsequent occurrence.
(p) Confidentiality. Except as may be required by law, regulation or applicable stock exchange listing requirements, unless and until the transactions contemplated hereby and the terms hereof are publicly announced or otherwise publicly disclosed by the Company, the parties hereto shall keep confidential and shall not publicly disclose the existence or terms of this Agreement.
[Signature page follows]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have executed this Agreement to be effective as of the date first set forth above.
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Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We hereby consent to the use in this Registration Statement on Form S-1, of our report dated June 12, 2020, relating to the balance sheet of Panacea Acquisition Corp. as of May 7, 2020, and the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from April 24, 2020 (inception) through May 7, 2020, and to the reference to our Firm under the caption “Experts” in the Prospectus.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC | |
New York, New York | |
June 12, 2020 |