As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22, 2021.
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware |
6770 |
86-3288218 |
(State or other jurisdiction of
|
(Primary Standard Industrial
|
(I.R.S. Employer
|
|
39 Mesa Street, Suite 310
San Francisco, CA 94129
|
|
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices) |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box. ☐
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer |
☐ |
|
Accelerated filer |
☐ |
Non-accelerated filer |
☒ |
|
Smaller reporting company |
☒ |
|
|
|
Emerging growth company |
☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE |
|
|||||||||||||
Title Of Each Class Of Securities To Be Registered |
|
Amount To Be Registered |
|
Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Security(1) |
|
|
Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1) |
|
|
Amount Of Registration Fee |
|
|||
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable warrant(2) |
|
23,000,000 Units |
|
$ |
10.00 |
|
|
$ |
230,000,000 |
|
|
$ |
21,321 |
|
Class A common stock included as part of the units(3) |
|
23,000,000 Shares |
|
― |
|
|
― |
|
|
― (4) |
|
|||
Redeemable warrants included as part of the units(3) |
|
11,500,000 Warrants |
|
― |
|
|
― |
|
|
― (4) |
|
|||
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
230,000,000 |
|
|
$ |
21,321 |
|
(1) |
Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee. |
(2) |
Includes 3,000,000 units, consisting of 3,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and 1,500,000 redeemable warrants, which may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any. |
(3) |
Pursuant to Rule 416, there are also being registered an indeterminable number of additional securities as may be issued to prevent dilution resulting from share sub-divisions, share dividends or similar transactions. |
(4) |
No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g). |
The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED October 22, 2021
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp.
$200,000,000
20,000,000 Units
VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. is a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. Only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. 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 our liquidation, as described herein. The underwriters have a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Class A common stock that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to collectively as our public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period (as defined herein), we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest income to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as further described herein.
Our sponsor, VMG Consumer Acquisition Holdings, LLC, will commit to purchase an aggregate of 10,500,000 warrants (or 11,700,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, or $10,500,000 in the aggregate (or $11,700,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering.
Our initial stockholders, which include our sponsor, currently own an aggregate of 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock, up to 750,000 of which may be surrendered to us for no consideration after the closing of this offering depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. The Class B common stock will automatically convert into Class A common stock concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to the adjustments described herein. Only holders of Class B common stock will have the right to elect directors in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. On any other matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, holders of the Class B common stock and holders of the Class A common stock will vote together as a single class, except as required by law.
Currently, there is no public market for our units, Class A common stock or warrants. We intend to apply to list our units on the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “VMGA.U” We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. We expect the Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units to begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or the immediately following business day if such 52nd day is not a business day) unless Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Moelis & Company LLC, the representatives of the underwriters, inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our satisfaction of certain conditions as described further herein. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “VMGA” and “VMGA.WS,” respectively.
We are an “emerging growth company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 43 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
|
|
Per Unit |
|
|
Total |
|
||
Public offering price |
|
$ |
10.00 |
|
|
$ |
200,000,000.00 |
|
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) |
|
$ |
0.55 |
|
|
$ |
11,000,000.00 |
|
Proceeds, before expenses, to us |
|
$ |
9.45 |
|
|
$ |
189,000,000.00 |
|
(1) |
$0.20 per unit, or $4,000,000 in the aggregate (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), is payable upon the closing of this offering. Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 in the aggregate (or up to $8,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States and released to the underwriters only upon the completion of an initial business combination. See also “Underwriting” for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriters. |
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $204.0 million, or $234.6 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.20 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a trust account located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, after deducting $4,000,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions payable upon the closing of this offering (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and an aggregate of $2.5 million to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about , 2021.
Joint Book-Running Manager
Credit Suisse |
Moelis & Company |
October 22, 2021
Until , 2021 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our units, public warrants or Class A common stock, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
table of contents
|
Page |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
20 |
|
|
|
40 |
|
|
|
41 |
|
|
|
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factor Summary |
42 |
|
|
43 |
|
|
|
78 |
|
|
|
81 |
|
|
|
82 |
|
|
|
84 |
|
|
|
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
85 |
|
|
90 |
|
|
|
128 |
|
|
|
137 |
|
|
|
140 |
|
|
|
142 |
|
|
|
155 |
|
|
|
165 |
|
|
|
172 |
|
|
|
172 |
|
|
|
172 |
|
|
|
F-1 |
We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with information that is different from or inconsistent with that contained in this prospectus. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
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:
|
• |
“advisors” or “advisory board members” are to the current members and nominees (if any) of our Advisory Board; |
|
• |
“amended and restated certificate of incorporation” are to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be in effect upon completion of this offering; |
|
• |
“common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock; |
|
• |
“Credit Suisse” are to Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, one of the representatives of the underwriters in this offering; |
|
• |
“DGCL” are to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as amended from time to time; |
|
• |
“directors” are to our current directors and director nominees (if any); |
|
• |
“founder shares” are to Class B common stock initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering and the Class A common stock that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the Class B common stock at the time of our initial business combination as described herein; |
|
• |
“initial stockholders” are to holders of our founder shares prior to this offering; |
|
• |
“letter agreement” are to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part; |
|
• |
“management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors; |
|
• |
“Moelis & Company” are to Moelis & Company LLC, one of the representatives of the underwriters in this offering; |
|
• |
“private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering; |
|
• |
“public shares” are to shares of 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 initial stockholders and management team to the extent our initial stockholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial stockholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares; |
|
• |
“public warrants” are to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market); |
|
• |
“sponsor” are to VMG Consumer Acquisition Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; |
|
• |
“VMG” and “VMG Partners Management” are to VMG Partners II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; |
|
• |
“VMG Growth Funds” are to VMG Equity Partners, L.P. (“Growth I”), VMG Partners II, L.P. (“Growth II”), VMG Partners III, L.P. (“Growth III”), VMG Partners IV, L.P. (“Growth IV”), and VMG Partners V, L.P. (“Growth V”); |
|
• |
“VMG Senior Partners” and “Senior Partners” are to the current Partner-level investment professionals in VMG’s Growth Fund; |
1
|
• |
“we,” “us,” “company”, “VMGCAC” or “our company” are to VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation. |
All forfeitures of shares of the company referred to in this prospectus shall take effect as surrenders for no consideration of such shares as a matter of Delaware law. All conversions of shares of our Class B common stock referred to in this prospectus shall take effect as a redemption of such shares of our Class B common stock and issuance of the corresponding shares of our Class A common stock as a matter of Delaware law. Any stock dividends described in this prospectus shall take effect as share capitalizations as a matter of Delaware law. Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture by our sponsor of 750,000 founder shares.
2
VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. is a mission-driven platform created to acquire and generate value for market-leading, high-growth branded consumer and retail companies across a range of attractive and growing industry verticals. We are an affiliate of VMG Partners, an investment firm founded in 2005 to invest in emerging consumer businesses and support founders and management teams in strengthening their brands, enhancing their quality of operations and accelerating the growth trajectory of their businesses. VMG has a longstanding track record of success with iconic, category-defining brands such as Briogeo, Daily Harvest, Drunk Elephant, KIND, Lily’s Sweets, Pirate’s Booty, Quest Nutrition, Spindrift, Sun Bum, and Vega, among others. We believe our affiliation with VMG Partners, combined with our management’s extensive experience across multiple verticals and business models, will enable us to identify the emerging trends and consumer behavioral shifts that are shaping the future of the consumer and retail industry.
Our areas of focus span an array of business models, including consumer packaged goods, brick-and-mortar, digital and tech-enabled brands, with key industry verticals including but not limited to:
|
• |
Food & Beverage |
|
• |
Beauty & Personal Care |
|
• |
Health & Wellness |
|
• |
Pet Products & Services |
|
• |
Household Products |
|
• |
Apparel, Footwear & Accessories |
|
• |
Multi-Unit Retailers / Services |
With a 15-year track record of investing in, scaling and exiting disruptive consumer and retail companies, VMG believes it has established itself as an investor of choice for high-growth brands in the industry. We believe that VMG offers a robust combination of extensive industry-focused investment experience, hands-on operational expertise and a deep network of relationships across the consumer and retail ecosystem, driving competitive advantages in sourcing and evaluating compelling initial business combination opportunities, as well as in partnering closely with founders and management teams to generate meaningful shareholder value under VMG ownership.
VMG Senior Partners have an average of over 15 years of relevant and complementary investment, operational and advisory experience in the consumer and retail industry. Companies partnering with VMG are poised to benefit from the direct expertise of VMG’s investment professionals – who have hands-on experience in working with management teams across branding, marketing, operations, financial, legal and other functional areas – and also the insights and learnings of VMG portfolio company founders, management teams and boards of directors. We believe that this combination of VMG investment professionals and operators alongside the VMGCAC management team will provide potential business combination targets with a specialized level of access and expertise in the consumer and retail industry.
Since its inception in 2005, VMG has continually invested in strengthening its network of industry relationships which spans industry-leading founders, management teams, operators, subject matter experts, retailers and strategic corporations with interests across the ecosystem. VMG investment professionals have leveraged these multifaceted relationships along with their own experience to create a hands-on operational playbook for VMG portfolio companies to strengthen their brands and expand brand awareness, enhance quality of operations, accelerate their growth trajectory and solidify their financial profile to drive a successful exit.
Collectively, VMG Senior Partners have executed more than $1.7 billion in investments across 60 brands1, which we believe underscores both the value of our sourcing capabilities as well as the depth of VMG Senior Partners’ value-generating operational expertise. In addition to the five VMG Growth Funds to date, the VMG
|
1 |
Figures reflects investments across both VMG Growth and VMG Catalyst funds, as of September 30, 2021. |
3
team has formed VMG Catalyst, L.P. (“Catalyst”), a fund dedicated to investing in early-stage digital consumer products, services, experiences and marketplaces, as well as the infrastructure and technology stack that enable these businesses, thereby expanding the collective VMG skill set.
With the combined expertise of our VMGCAC management and VMG investment professionals, we believe that VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. benefits from a differentiated ability to access high-quality, fast-growing consumer and retail companies and which can generate meaningful value for shareholders under the Company’s ownership. Our strengths include, but are not limited to, the following:
|
• |
Leading target identification, sourcing, and selection capabilities |
|
o |
Deep relationships with and access to many founders and management teams driven by the compelling combination of VMG’s established track record, industry expertise & value-add capabilities, rich firm culture, and industry-leading reputation |
|
o |
Proven history of sourcing actionable, proprietary deal flow based on decades of forging deep, high-touch industry relationships |
|
o |
Strong existing relationships with a wide range of founders and management teams across all consumer and retail industry verticals, with access to key decision makers to drive continued proprietary sourcing capabilities |
|
o |
Disciplined and thoughtful deal selection process, with rigorous target company analytics that leverage the backdrop of our broad operating experience across multiple functional areas |
|
o |
Extensive industry knowledge and experience as an industry thought leader – not only building relationships with multiple constituents across the ecosystem but also connecting them with one another to maximize industry dialogue and insights |
|
o |
Deep understanding of all major consumer and retail verticals, with comprehensive insights into strengths, risks and shifting trends alike |
|
o |
Established history of entry points in private acquisitions and high-return exits |
|
• |
High-quality partnership capabilities with portfolio companies, supported by implementation of the VMG playbook to generate meaningful shareholder value |
|
o |
Robust in-house, value-add resources to support the formation and execution of long-term growth plans, including talent sourcing and data analytics capabilities |
|
o |
Ability to significantly accelerate topline growth of portfolio companies by employing sophisticated multi-channel marketing and brand-building strategies, broadening distribution of products and services, and expanding reach across channels and geographies |
|
o |
Extensive industry network spanning the supply chain to drive access to and/or efficiencies with third parties including retailers across various distribution channels, leading national media and marketing partners, suppliers and manufacturers across various verticals, key national logistics providers, IT and software providers and other relevant constituents |
|
o |
Expertise and learnings from the immediate VMG network, including current and former VMG portfolio management teams as well as their boards of directors, which may together enhance our partner brands’ growth plans and profitability |
|
o |
Rich firm culture with a “people-first” mentality and history of strong partnerships with founders and management teams |
|
o |
Ability to strengthen environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) alignment of portfolio companies given our strong and longstanding internal focus on ESG, with a demonstrated track record of supporting social impact causes and environmental / sustainability initiatives |
|
o |
Comprehensive understanding of the levers that drive stock performance, premium valuations and lower cost of capital with a strong pulse on the markets and investor sentiment |
VMG
Founded in 2005, VMG Partners invests in high-growth, emerging consumer and retail businesses and supports founders and management teams on their mission to create differentiated consumer brands and experiences.
4
VMG Partners has a track record of working with iconic, category-defining companies across industry verticals, with Senior Partners executing over $7.0 billion in successful exits 2 including brands such as Drunk Elephant, Lily’s Sweets, Quest Nutrition and Vega:
|
• |
Drunk Elephant, a leading, fast-growing prestige skincare brand and recognized expert in developing clean compatible and effective products; sold to Shiseido Company in 2019. |
|
• |
Lily’s Sweets, high-growth, “better-for-you” confectionery brand; sold to The Hershey Company in 2021. |
|
• |
Quest Nutrition, a healthy lifestyle food company creating high-protein snacks with minimal sugars and net carbohydrates; sold to Simply Good Foods in 2019. |
|
• |
Vega, a pioneer and leader in plant-based nutrition products; sold to the WhiteWave Foods Company in 2015. |
VMG’s current portfolio includes interests in several notable consumer and retail brands such as Briogeo, Daily Harvest, Hello Bello, Nutpods, Perfect Diary (parent company Yatsen), Spindrift, Stone Brewing and The Pill Club, in VMG’s Growth fund, as well as Attentive and Weee!, in VMG’s Catalyst fund. As of the date of this prospectus, we have neither engaged in discussions, nor entered into any preliminary agreements with any VMG portfolio companies.
VMG has developed a disciplined investment process which is informed by 15 years of hands-on, operationally involved investment experience in the consumer and retail industry. In addition to working with portfolio company founders and management teams on crafting thoughtfully constructed growth plans, VMG supports its portfolio company teams with a range of operational resources to execute these growth plans, with Senior Partner involvement spanning branding, marketing & digital activation, product portfolio and service offering strategy, operations (including supply chain, manufacturing, distribution, innovation and other), talent acquisition, finance, data analytics, legal support and more. Further, the VMG team itself is in constant interaction with key players in the industry, attending multiple industry tradeshows, conducting frequent store visits, and building relationships with key business advisors such as industry investment bankers, local business brokers, lawyers, accountants, recruiters and others to target companies that meet VMG’s investment criteria. In addition, VMG has worked to establish strong relationships with key e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retailers to help identify brand momentum early, and to vet prospective brand performance most effectively. These collective relationships – in combination with VMG’s growing skill set and relationships in commerce enablement technology through its Catalyst fund – enable VMG to prepare its portfolio companies for success across brand, business and financial characteristics.
VMG is uncompromising in its approach to identifying the next generation of consumer brands, regardless of founder pedigree or network. As a testament to VMG’s distinct investment philosophy, VMG has backed numerous founders and management teams of diverse backgrounds. VMG seeks to promote diversity through the construction of its team and its investments. Today, 75% of the VMG’s 40-member investment and operating team is female or ethnically diverse, two groups that are significantly under-represented in investment firms today. Since Spring 2018, 57% of VMG’s investments have been female-founded and 50% have been female led, and 43% of VMG’s total investments have been in companies with diverse founders. VMG also values the importance of diversity in the boardroom: 77% of the boards of Growth IV’s investments qualify as diverse compared to 38% of Fortune 500 boards. Diversity has been a core philosophy of VMG since inception.
Combining proprietary sourcing capabilities, operational expertise, a robust track record and a culture centered around social impact, VMG believes it has become the investor of choice for founders, management teams and operators of high-caliber, high-growth branded consumer and retail companies.
|
2 |
Figure represents Enterprise Value of all realized exits |
5
Our management team is led by Aarti Kapoor, our Chief Executive Officer, Michael Mauzé, our Chairman of the Board, and Angad Hira, our Chief Financial Officer. They will be complemented by our independent directors, Jasmin Allen, Lowell Singer and John Toth.
Aarti Kapoor
Aarti Kapoor has served as our Chief Executive Officer since June 2021. Ms. Kapoor is a seasoned investment banker with 14 years of experience in financial services, spending the majority of her career covering high-growth consumer and retail companies across both M&A and capital markets transactions. Ms. Kapoor has advised several marquee brands across the consumer and retail universe including Barry's Bootcamp, Casper, Caribou Coffee, F45 Training, Flywheel Sports, Indigo Wild, LaserAway, Vega, and various others. Ms. Kapoor has been recognized by various outlets for her work in pioneering coverage of the health and wellness industry on Wall Street, listed to "Forbes 30 Under 30" in Finance, Business Insider's "Rising Stars" of Wall Street, and featured in publications by Bloomberg, ESPN, Yahoo! Finance and more. Prior to joining VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp., Ms. Kapoor was a senior investment banker at Goldman Sachs, where she built out the firm’s coverage of leisure, lifestyle and wellness companies and led the new disruptive growth coverage effort within consumer and retail investment banking. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Ms. Kapoor was an investment banker at Moelis & Company, where she covered consumer and retail companies and built one of Wall Street’s first coverage platforms focused on the health and wellness industry. Ms. Kapoor began her career as an investment banker at Citi covering the technology sector. Ms. Kapoor received her B.A. with Honors in Economics from Harvard College.
Angad S. Hira
Angad Hira has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary since March 2021. Mr. Hira currently serves as Partner and Chief Financial Officer of VMG Partners. Mr. Hira joined VMG in 2010 and is responsible for all aspects of accounting, tax, financial management, reporting, and operations. Prior to transitioning to his CFO role at VMG, Mr. Hira served on the Board of Lily’s Sweets and was a member of the investment team focusing on due diligence, deal execution, and portfolio company oversight. Prior to joining VMG, Mr. Hira was an investment banker in the mergers and acquisitions group at UBS Investment Bank. Mr. Hira received his B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia.
Our Board of Directors
Michael Mauzé
Michael Mauzé has served as our Chairman of the Board since March 2021. Mr. Mauzé co-founded VMG Partners in 2005 and currently focuses on all aspects of VMG Growth’s investment strategy, execution, and portfolio company management. Mr. Mauzé serves on the Boards of Ilegal Mezcal, Little Freddie, Spindrift and Stone Brewing and was previously on the Boards of babyganics, Bare Snacks, Justin’s, Kernel Season’s, KIND, Mighty Leaf Tea, Nature’s Bakery, Perfect Snacks, Pirate Brands, Pretzel Crisps, Smashmallow, Speck Products, Timbuk2 and Waggin’ Train. Prior to co-founding VMG, Mr. Mauzé was a Managing Director at TSG Consumer Partners. Prior to joining TSG, Mr. Mauzé was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers advising consumer and retail companies in M&A and capital raising activities. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Mauzé was an investment banker in the mergers and acquisitions group of PaineWebber, with a special focus on consumer and retail industries. Mr. Mauzé received his A.B. in Economics from Davidson College and his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Jasmin Allen
Jasmin Allen is expected to serve as our director upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Ms. Allen currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Hennessy
6
U.S. brand portfolio at LVMH, including Hennessy VS, Hennessy VSOP, Hennessy XO, Hennessy Black, Master Blender's Selection and the Hennessy Masterbrand. Prior to serving as SVP of Hennessy U.S., Ms. Allen held number of senior roles within LVMH at Moët Hennessy U.S., including Vice President of Moët & Chandon U.S. and Brand Director of Belvedere Vodka U.S. Prior to joining LVMH, Ms. Allen previously served as Head of Entertainment Marketing at T-Mobile and in number of brand management and marketing roles at The Coca-Cola Company. Ms. Allen received her B.S. from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and her M.B.A. from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Lowell J. Singer
Lowell Singer is expected to serve as our director upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Singer currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Acrisure, a fast-growing insurance broker and financial services platform. Prior to joining Acrisure, Mr. Singer was Senior Vice President, Investor Relations at The Walt Disney Company, where he served as Disney's information liaison to the investor community, as well as key advisor and resource to Disney's senior management team. Prior to joining Disney, Mr. Singer was Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at Cowen and Company, where he provided sell-side research coverage of the entertainment, video games and cable sectors. Prior to joining Cowen, Mr. Singer was a senior research analyst at Robertson Stephens, where he led the firm's equity research of the entertainment and media sectors. Prior to joining Robertson Stephens, Mr. Singer was a brand manager with Kraft Foods, where he led the Stove Top and Kraft Salad Dressing businesses. Prior to joining Kraft Foods, Mr. Singer was a corporate finance associate at J.P. Morgan. Mr. Singer received his B.A. from Duke University and his M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
John Toth
John Toth is expected to serve as our director upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Toth is the Chief Financial Officer of BarkBox, Inc., a direct-to-consumer pet food, toys and pet care products company. Mr. Toth served as the Chief Financial Officer of BarkBox from 2016 through its transition to a public company via merger with Northern Star Acquisition Corporation in June 2021. In September 2021, Mr. Toth announced his intention to step down as CFO pending the hiring of a replacement. Prior to joining BarkBox, Mr. Toth served as Chief Financial Officer to public and private companies, including Hot Chalk, ARC Document Solutions, Bell-Carter Foods, and Fresh Express. Prior to his CFO roles, Mr. Toth was a founder and Managing Partner of Tennyson West, a boutique mergers and acquisitions advisory firm. Prior to founding Tennyson West, Mr. Toth was a senior investment banker at J.P. Morgan where he advised business services, energy and technology companies on full range of M&A and capital raising activities. Before joining J.P. Morgan, Mr. Toth was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Toth received his B.A. in Economics and Political Science as well as his M.A. in Economics from Stanford University. Mr. Toth currently serves on the board of Phoenix Industries.
Our Advisory Board
Melissa Baird
Melissa Baird currently serves as Chief Operating Officer at Hims & Hers, a direct-to-consumer telehealth company. Since joining Hims & Hers, Ms. Baird has led the company from an early-stage startup through its SPAC merger in January 2021 and is responsible for all aspects of operations and technology. Prior to joining Hims & Hers, Ms. Baird served as VP of Systems & Procedures at Draper James, Reese Witherspoon's lifestyle brand, where she worked directly with the actress on the brand’s marketing and e-commerce. Prior to joining Draper James, Ms. Baird served as VP of Product & Operations at Bonobos, a digitally native men's retailer, where she built the infrastructure for the company’s innovative Guideshop strategy. Prior to joining Bonobos, Ms. Baird was a project manager at Zulily, a leading flash sale site, where she built out the fulfillment network required to scale through the company’s IPO. Prior to her business career, Ms. Baird spent 10 years as a molecular geneticist at University of Washington and NOAA. Ms. Baird received her B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Missouri.
Amy Ferris
7
Amy Ferris currently serves as Chief Growth Officer at Varo Bank, an all-digital consumer bank. Ms. Ferris is responsible for growing Varo’s customer base and driving impact in the communities that the company serves. Prior to joining Varo, Amy served as Global Head of Marketing for Media Services at Apple, where she led marketing for high-profile consumer and entertainment services and launched new subscription businesses including Apple One, Apple TV+ and Apple News+. Prior to joining Apple, Ms. Ferris served as VP of Global Consumer Marketing at Spotify, where she spearheaded campaigns to grow consumer brand recognition and subscriber loyalty. Prior to joining Spotify, Ms. Ferris, served as Head of Marketing for Amazon Studios, where she built and scaled the marketing team, created the Amazon Studios brand, and launched several original scripted series. Prior to joining Amazon Studios, Ms. Ferris served in senior marketing roles at Chevron and Levi’s. Ms. Ferris received her B.A. in English and Communications from University of California, Santa Barbara, and her M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley.
Michael Steib
Michael Steib currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Artsy, a global online art marketplace. Prior to joining Artsy, Mr. Steib served as Chief Executive Officer to XO Group and Vente-Privee USA. Prior to these roles, Mr. Steib served in senior roles at Google, including Managing Director of Emerging Platforms and Director of TV Ads. Prior to joining Google, Mr. Steib served in senior roles at NBC Universal, including General Manager, Strategic Venture and Vice President, Business Development. Prior to joining NBC Universal, Mr. Steib was an associate at Walker Digital, where he worked on the development of new media businesses for the company. Prior to joining Walker Digital, Mr. Steib was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Mr. Steib received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jesse Timmermans
Jesse Timmermans currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of REVOLVE, the next generation fashion retailer for Millennial and Generation Z consumers. Mr. Timmermans leads all aspects of finance, accounting, treasury and risk management, as well as legal and human resources functions, and led the company through its IPO in June 2019. Prior to joining Revolve, Mr. Timmermans served as Chief Financial Officer of Jobalign, a mobile first technology and marketplace company. Prior to joining Jobalign, Mr. Timmermans served as VP of Finance and Controller at Blue Nile. Prior to joining Blue Nile, Mr. Timmermans served in finance roles at T-Mobile and KPMG. Mr. Timmermans received his B.S. in Accounting from Central Washington University.
Our Market Opportunity
While we may acquire a business in any industry and in any geography, we intend to focus on industries that complement our management team’s background and capitalize on their ability to identify and acquire a business focused on the consumer and retail industries in the United States and Canada.
We believe that select themes – including health & wellness, omnichannel distribution, sustainability & social impact, and the success of challenger brands – are quickly shaping consumer behavior and driving rapid innovation within the consumer and retail industry. We believe that the next generation of brands in the consumer and retail landscape must be prepared to meet the needs of consumers who are increasingly wellness-conscious, values-driven, demand the convenience of shopping both online and in physical stores, and are seeking innovation across all facets of their lifestyle. With VMG’s 15 years of experience positioning portfolio companies to thrive in a dynamic consumer and retail environment, we believe that we are poised to continue supporting the next generation of brands as the consumer landscape continues to evolve.
Health & Wellness
8
Consumers have been increasingly focused on their health and wellness over the last several years, and the global COVID-19 pandemic has further reinforced the consumer’s consciousness around making healthier lifestyle choices. A recent survey by McKinsey & Company found that 79% of consumers believe wellness is important, and 42% consider wellness a top priority. Several long-term trends support the increasing consumer focus on health and wellness, including societal shifts promoting healthy living as an aspirational lifestyle, as well as demographic tailwinds including a growing aging population and trends around younger generations being more proactive in living a healthier lifestyle.
The growing emphasis on healthy living has been accompanied by a broadening consumer definition of health and wellness in tandem, now including not only conventional industry categories such as fitness and nutrition but also categories such as mental health, sexual health, sleep, recovery and various other aspects of the consumer’s day-to-day lifestyle. The health and wellness industry encompasses a range of products and services that are directly focused on health (e.g. vitamins and minerals, supplements, nutrition and fitness products), and also includes a range of “better-for-you” alternatives that simply offer a relatively healthier choice than their conventional counterparts (e.g. VMG’s recently realized investment, Lily’s Sweets, a low-sugar confectionery brand). Once a phenomenon dominated by the food and beverage industry, the “better-for-you” movement has grown expansively to include various additional consumer packaged goods categories, such as beauty and personal care, household and pet care, with “better-for-you” offerings often characterized by cleaner ingredient profiles and other improvements to conventional offerings. The health and wellness movement has had tremendous impact on consumer brand preference and selection, with over 70% of consumers noting that it is important to them that brands offer “clean” products. We believe the desire for wellbeing in every aspect of life has contributed to the blurring of category lines as consumers pair disparate solution-oriented practices and products to promote their overall physical and mental health.
While COVID-19 has accelerated various healthy living categories – such as at-home fitness, mental health services and sleep aids, among others – shifts in favor of health and wellness are likely to persist even as the world emerges from COVID-19. Spending on health and wellness products has continued to increase into 2021 while 80% of respondents in a fitness survey indicated they plan to continue streaming workouts and 87% will continue using at-home fitness alternatives. As employers struggle to stem employee attrition and burnout due to pandemic working conditions, the global workplace wellness market is estimated to be worth roughly $75 billion in 2024, up from less than $60 billion in 2019.
VMG has a strong track record with brands aligned with health and wellness and better-for-you industry themes, including successful exits of high-protein nutrition brands such as Sequel Naturals (dba “Vega”), Quest Nutrition and Perfect Snacks, among others.
Omnichannel
While the last decade was marked by the emergence and penetration of the digital, direct-to-consumer channel in the consumer goods space, we believe that consumer facing companies today must effectively navigate both online and in-store sales strategies as consumers increasingly shop across multiple channels and personal devices. Creating a unified, holistic consumer experience is now commonplace for brands as consumers become increasingly channel-agnostic.
While consumers still largely prefer buying products in-store (about 85-90%), studies find that, for the most part, consumers do preliminary searches on products online before an eventual in-store purchase, further illustrating the need for a seamless digital experience. In addition, consumer preference towards online purchases is growing, and has only accelerated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by first-time adopters of digital channels, shopping methods, and brands. More than 110 million Americans have made omnichannel features (e.g. buy online, pick up in-store) part of their regular shopping routines, and consumers are increasingly thinking outside of traditional channel boundaries and evaluating brands and retailers based on the seamlessness of their shopping experiences. With consumers quarantining and working from home following the onset of COVID-19, e-commerce
9
penetration increased significantly – however the growing adoption and usage of e-commerce across categories is likely to continue post-COVID-19 as consumers have the opportunity to develop new shopping habits over time.
Despite these trends supporting the e-commerce channel, we believe brick-and-mortar shopping will continue to retain a crucial role in the eye of the consumer. A recent study highlights that brick-and-mortar stores (or product placement within brick-and-mortar stores) form a “halo effect” for subsequent online purchases. Normalized for an initial $100 spend, consumers who first purchased in-store were found to have subsequently spent $267 online, while those who first purchased online spent only $231 when they switched to in-store. Further, specific consumer and retail categories have been marked by a specific consumer preference for product trial in advance of purchase – whether a highly considered long-term purchase (e.g. mattresses or luggage) or a purchase which requires trial to aid the consumer’s purchasing decision (e.g. eyewear, as evidenced by the success of the brick-and-mortar rollout of a digitally native brand, such as Warby Parker). Considering these changing dynamics, we believe we are well-qualified to support businesses in achieving omnichannel success.
The VMG team has been active in partnering with brands with both large brick-and-mortar presence and large online presence since inception. Omnichannel distribution has been a transformative part of the growth story for many of VMG’s portfolio company businesses, spanning several consumer and retail verticals, including but not limited to: Ancient Nutrition, Briogeo, Drunk Elephant, Hello Bello, Honey Pot, Nutpods, Quest Nutrition, Solid Gold and Vega.
Sustainability and Social Impact
While sustainability and social impact have been on the minds of companies for some time now, it has become increasingly evident that traditional sustainability and social impact practices are no longer enough. Consumers are expecting companies to voice their opinions on matters where they had previously been silent and are demanding more transparency and action.
Consumers increasingly consider brands as potential forces for social change, with 76% of Millennials viewing businesses as a source for positive social impact, 65% of Americans having reported doing research on companies to gauge the authenticity of the company’s socio-political and environmental claims, and 76% of Americans stating that they would boycott a company that does not align with their beliefs. Additionally, 66% of consumers have noted a willingness to pay more for sustainable brands, and that after quality, the second most important reason for customer brand loyalty is recognition of sustainable and ethical business practices.
VMG has consistently supported brands with strong sustainability and social missions, and we intend to continue this practice. With racial injustices brought to the forefront in 2020, particularly in the Black and Asian communities, VMG and its portfolio companies made a number of deliberate efforts to stand in solidarity with these groups and put a stake in the ground for racial equality across the board.
We believe that senior management teams of high-profile consumer and retail brands are well-positioned to drive societal change by drawing heightened awareness to such issues and leading by example in their responses. Illustrative portfolio company actions are as follows:
|
• |
Briogeo: Following the death of George Floyd, Briogeo released a statement condemning racial injustice, and focused on amplifying Black-founded brands and professionals to help share their authentic stories. Briogeo partnered with Pull Up For Change, releasing an exclusive product to support grant programs for Black businesses. Briogeo’s founder, Nancy Twine, partnered with Sephora on the Sephora Accelerate program, where Nancy was a keynote speaker and advisor for the program’s participants which were all women of color. The company required all employees to complete mandatory trainings on diversity, inclusion and cultural sensitivity. |
10
|
Mother Nation, an online community working to support mothers, and a variety of experts to highlight the stories of Black Motherhood through history. |
|
• |
Lily’s Sweets: In response to the Black Lives Matter movement, Lily’s Sweets donated to BLM organizations and created its own internal BLM committee. Lily’s Sweets partnered with the Justice Equality Diversity and Inclusion collaborative at the University of Colorado Boulder to help encourage social change. During Black History month it partnered with the JEDI Committee on a self-paced racial equity habit-building challenge which promoted daily engagement with music, articles, podcasts, and films to learn about current and historical issues of racial inequality and ways to be part of the solution. |
In addition to supporting portfolio companies in their brand-level social impact initiatives, we have practiced the same at the VMG Partners level. In support of the BLM and Stop AAPI Hate movements, the VMG team came together to align on key strategies to promote diversity and inclusion within our organization and the broader consumer ecosystem, including issuing public statements on our website and LinkedIn. VMG’s statements condemned systemic racism and encouraged others to judge us by our actions. VMG’s actions have since included increased diversity tracking to improve BIPOC, LGBTQ, veteran, and disabled representation at the portfolio company, board, and executive leadership levels within the VMG portfolio. VMG spearheaded the creation of undergraduate internship programs across a cohort of its portfolio companies, with an eye toward increasing diversity and inclusion in the consumer products industry.
Since long before the events of 2020, both VMG and its portfolio companies have used their brands as platforms to improve the world; Sun Bum, Lily’s Sweets, Hello Bello and Spindrift are just a handful of examples to date.
Disruptive Challenger Brands Taking Share from Incumbents
A confluence of shifting dynamics over the last several years has contributed to a broad-based disruption of consumer and retail verticals whereby newer, “challenger” brands have been taking share from larger, longer standing incumbents. Illustrative societal, demographic and macroeconomic dynamics contributing to the rise of challenger brands include:
|
• |
Growing consumer focus on health and wellness, driving demand for cleaner, “free-from” ingredient labels and enhanced nutritional profiles |
|
• |
Increasing consumer focus on mission-driven brands, social impact, and brand authenticity |
|
• |
Shifting consumer shopping behaviors with increasing penetration of e-commerce as a proportion of total sales |
|
• |
Lower barriers to entry for startup brands, with a significant proportion of digitally native brands launched online and leveraging social media as a key brand-building strategy |
|
• |
Continued technological innovation and development, driving new product and service features, greater consumer access to information pre-purchase, and new, disruptive business models. |
From 2016 to 2020, leading brands in each consumer goods category have generated only 25% of the total category growth despite representing 50% of sales. During the same period, small/medium size brands have generated 45% of the category growth while representing only 32% of sales. Of the CPG industry’s $933 billion of total US sales in 2020, large manufacturers lost $12 billion in sales to smaller players due to a confluence of channel shifts, supply constraints and category shifts. Challenger brands ability to simultaneously take market share from competitors and expand the total addressable market for their products led to several large CPG companies to respond by launching or acquiring brands focused around health and nutrition.
Disruption is being effected in multiple ways: through product innovation (with cleaner labels and enhanced ingredient profiles, or more advanced, technology-enabled consumer products) as well as through new business models and novel ways of connecting with the consumer (such as digitally native, direct-to-consumer business models or technological disruption).
|
• |
Illustrative Product Innovation |
11
|
• |
Illustrative Business Model Innovation |
|
o |
Business model innovation is well-illustrated by shifts in the fitness industry which was for decades dominated by traditional big-box gyms; the first wave of disruption entailed the entry and success of community-driven boutique fitness studios such as SoulCycle, Barry’s Bootcamp and solidcore (a VMG portfolio company) – and the second wave of disruption has more recently entailed the rise of digital fitness content platforms through hardware/software hybrids such as Peloton and Tonal, or content-only platforms such as Zwift, iFit, and Sweat. These disruptors have challenged the long-time incumbents in various ways: for boutique fitness studios, through their group workouts and robust sense of community – and for digital providers, their novel format, convenience, digital communities and more. |
|
o |
A similar business model disruption has taken place in the aesthetic services category, wherein next generation four-wall brands have innovated in segments such as medical spas and hair removal which saw little to no innovation for the prior several decades. In the medical spa category, players such as Ideal Image, Milan Laser and LaserAway have reinvented the consumer anti-aging and laser hair removal experiences and transformed what used to be a clinical doctor’s office visit into a branded, high-tech, user-friendly lifestyle experience. Similarly, players such as European Wax and Waxing the City have taken the waxing service out of a generic beauty salon setting and created dedicated waxing centers that implement best-in-class waxing practices and deliver a high quality of service, in a bright and welcoming salon environment. Additional segments in aesthetic services such as nail salons, lash studios and blowout studios are showing early signs of similar innovation trends, with newer entrants elevating the quality of services delivered to the consumer as well as the overall consumer experience from start to finish. |
Challenger brands have been highly coveted in the market for, among other things, their brand authenticity, brand communities, supportive consumer tailwinds, newer business models and robust growth profiles – as evidenced by the significant M&A activity (both financial and strategic acquirors) as well as transactions in the capital markets. VMG has realized successful exits for various challenger brands across multiple verticals, where category incumbents acquired these businesses to keep up to date with changing consumer preferences. Such transactions include the sale of Natural Balance (clean-label pet food) to Del Monte, Babyganics (clean-label bath, body and outdoor baby products) to SC Johnson, and Lily’s Sweets (low-sugar, better-for-you confectionery) to The Hershey Company, among others.
Our Acquisition and Value Creation Strategy
We intend to source and pursue potential targets that we believe will benefit from the collective investment, advisory and operating expertise of our management team, directors, advisory board members, VMG Partners and the broader VMG relationship network.
12
We believe we can drive value creation by leveraging various aspects of the existing VMG Partners playbook and building upon these skills with the incremental experience of our management team, directors and advisory board members to provide additional areas of support relevant to consumer and retail targets in the public market.
Our operational playbook and value creation strategy includes, but is not limited to:
- |
Branding, Marketing & Digital Activation: With VMG’s 15+ years of working with iconic brands across industry verticals and business models, we plan to combine VMG’s hands-on branding experience with our network of relevant relationships to support key facets of a target company’s brand strategy. We believe we can provide support in areas that include but are not limited to the following: |
|
o |
Refinement of brand messaging, brand taglines, brand positioning, brand values |
|
o |
Definition of primary and secondary target audiences, by demographics and psychographics |
|
o |
Formulation of a multi-channel performance marketing strategy |
|
o |
Enhancement of brand packaging, brand and logo aesthetics, brand imagery |
|
o |
Management of influencer strategy and support, social media tracking and analytics, digital media distribution and other related functions |
|
o |
Customization of an integrated digital activation strategy through utilization of strategies such as social sampling, mobile couponing, consumer education, review building and more |
- |
Product Portfolio & Service Offering Strategy: We believe that VMG’s experience with detailed portfolio analysis and refinement can help to optimize the continuously evolving portfolio dynamics amidst company growth, through initiatives such as: |
|
o |
Analysis of product category and SKU-level performance, with SKU expansion or rationalization as necessary; analogous analyses for consumer services companies at category and service levels |
|
o |
Development of price-pack architecture, managing distribution ecosystem at retailer and channel levels |
|
o |
Determination of product pricing and price increase strategy, if appropriate |
|
o |
Creation of strategy around exclusivity of products or services for specific retailers |
|
o |
Development of portfolio mix goals to drive revenue growth while preserving / increasing margins. |
- |
Operations (Supply, Manufacturing, Distribution, Innovation & Other): Across management, directors, advisory board members and VMG investment professionals, our collective experience includes detailed operational buildouts and/or overhauls for companies spanning various business models and consumer and retail industry verticals. We believe this extensive operating experience, combined with our network of relationships throughout the industry and supply chain, can support the formation of high-quality infrastructure to support future scale, maximize product and/or service quality, mitigate operational risk, and drive operational efficiency. We believe we are positioned to drive value in operational areas including but not limited to: |
|
o |
Supply Chain (supplier access, vetting and buildout of multi-source supplier network, raw material quality control procedures, supplier contract negotiation) |
|
o |
Manufacturing (de novo manufacturing plant development, co-packer procurement, buildout of multi-source co-packing network, co-packer contract negotiation) |
|
o |
Quality control (testing, quality control and quality assurance protocols spanning all stages of the supply chain from raw material to finished product) |
|
o |
Logistics / Distribution (creation of an efficient, cost-effective distribution framework customized for products, distribution channels and geographies) |
|
o |
Innovation (product improvement and new product development initiatives supported by specialized ideation, commercialization and optimization efforts) |
|
o |
Site Selection (real estate and site selection strategy to scale brick-and-mortar footprint, optimize target consumer reach and maximize 4-wall unit economic performance) |
- |
Public Company Readiness: We intend to utilize the collective experience of our management team, directors and advisory board members who have executed IPO and/or de-SPAC transactions – and/or held leadership roles at publicly traded companies to provide support in preparing for long-term public market success. Selected areas in which we anticipate that we can provide public company readiness support include but are not limited to: |
|
o |
Public market-ready management team |
|
o |
Strategic planning and ongoing prioritization of quarterly and annual initiatives |
|
o |
Financial planning, analysis and forecasting capabilities |
13
|
o |
Internal control and audit framework |
|
o |
Investor relations strategy. |
- |
Talent Acquisition: VMG has invested in building an in-house team of experienced recruiters that have longstanding relationships in consumer, retail, technology and other relevant industries in order to identify talent for VMG affiliated companies. The VMG talent team has sourced C-suite executives and functional heads across VMG’s portfolio, as well as facilitated placements throughout the broader industry ecosystem to continue expanding our network of relationships. VMG maintains a large and growing internal database of high quality operator relationships that will be available to VMGCAC to bolster talent for our target company as necessary. |
- |
Data Analytics: VMG has a specific in-house effort exclusively focused on analyzing large data sets that include physical retail sell-through, digital retail sell-through, social media activity, employment activity and various other industry research and KPIs. The Head of Data provides customized analysis for deal sourcing, portfolio company support and ecosystem insights, and will be an available resource to VMGCAC as well. |
- |
Legal Support: VMG works with law firms to help manage risk through strategic oversight and active management of issues related to various legal areas such as: intellectual property, regulatory frameworks, product claims, liability considerations, class action risk, supplier contracts, other key contract matters and more. VMGCAC will be able to utilize VMG’s network of longstanding legal relationships to provide our target company with similar forms of legal support where needed. |
The selection process for our initial business combination will leverage our team’s extensive relationships with founders, management teams and institutional investors, as well as sourcing industry professionals such as investment bankers, legal counsel and various other constituents across the ecosystem. We believe that our sourcing capabilities far exceed the relationships of VMGCAC and its board, as we will leverage the broader network of VMG Senior Partners and the firm’s current and former portfolio companies and boards of directors as well.
We also believe that VMG’s reputation, experience and track record of making investments in leading consumer and retail brands will make us a preferred partner for potential targets in the future. VMG’s objective as a firm includes acting as an entrepreneur–first investor, forging deep partnerships that helps transform visionary ideas into iconic brands.
Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following criteria to evaluate prospective target businesses. We believe VMGCAC’s search for a target will be differentiated and focused on the areas in which our team has expertise in driving business transformations and creating value for investors. We may, however, decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria if we believe such business presents a compelling investment opportunity and can benefit from our value-add strategy. We intend to seek to acquire companies that we believe will have the following target entry characteristics:
|
• |
Robust brand equity marked by an authentic connection to the end-consumer |
|
• |
High-quality products and services, differentiated in the competitive landscape |
|
• |
Attractive and replicable unit economics with ability to scale quickly, and if applicable, visible path to profitability |
|
• |
Demonstrated proof of concept in core distribution channels and geographic markets |
|
• |
Compelling underlying industry fundamentals with a large, growing total addressable market and supportive consumer behavioral tailwinds |
|
• |
Strong relative brand positioning with the ability to become a leader in the target’s industry vertical |
|
• |
Multiple levers of long-term growth spanning brand awareness, products, channels, geographies |
|
• |
Proven management team with entrepreneurial or founder-led culture, poised to lead as a public company |
|
• |
Alignment with key themes in consumer and retail, such as healthy living, omnichannel distribution, sustainability and impact, and industry disruption |
14
We may use other criteria as well. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into an initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria, we will disclose that fact in our shareholder communications related to the acquisition. As discussed elsewhere in this prospectus, this would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC or tender offer documents.
Additional Disclosures
Our Acquisition Process
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. Certain members of our management team are employed by either VMG or one of its affiliates. VMG is continuously made aware of potential 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, or had any discussions, formal or otherwise with, any prospective target business with respect to a business combination transaction with us.
Our search for a business combination, ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak. See “Risk Factors—Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets.”
Several of our officers and certain of our directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to either VMG or to certain companies in which it has invested. These entities may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing that opportunity. Subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law, none of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing or otherwise becoming involved with any other blank check companies, including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination. VMG manages a significant number of funds and will raise additional funds and/or accounts in the future, which will be during the period in which we are seeking our initial business combination. These VMG investment entities may be seeking acquisition opportunities and related financing at any time. We may compete with any one or more of them on any given acquisition opportunity. In particular, certain of these VMG investment entities are focused on investments in the consumer industry and certain of our officers and directors have fiduciary and contractual obligations to such VMG entities to present to them business opportunities that may be appropriate for them. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for the VMG entities. To the extent any conflict of interest arises between, on the one hand, us and, on the other hand, investment funds, accounts, co-investment vehicles and other entities managed by VMG or its affiliates (including, without limitation, arising as a result of certain of our officers and directors being required to offer acquisition opportunities to VMG or investment funds, accounts, co-investment vehicles and other entities), VMG and its affiliates will resolve such conflicts of interest in their sole discretion in accordance with their then existing fiduciary, contractual and other duties and there can be no assurance that such conflict of interest will be resolved in our favor. Our management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our
15
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 the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. For more information, see the section entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”
Our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law. Our directors and officers are also not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. See “Risk Factors—Certain of our directors and officers 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 should be presented.”
In addition, VMG and its affiliates, as well as VMG Funds, may sponsor other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination, and members of our management team may participate in such blank check companies. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates and the board and management teams.
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially adversely affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.
You should not rely on the historical record of our founders’ and management’s performance as indicative of our future performance. See “Risk Factors—Past performance by our management team and their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.”
Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that 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 (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. If our board of directors is not able independently to 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. Although we may purchase multiple businesses in related industries in connection with our initial business combination, 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 shares will own or acquire 100% of the issued and 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 issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a
16
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”). Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in 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 issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target, or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on Nasdaq for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net assets test.
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.
Corporate Information
We are 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”). 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 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (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 shares of 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” will 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
17
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 shares of 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 shares of common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
We are a Delaware corporation incorporated on March 25, 2021. Our executive offices are located at 39 Mesa Street, Suite 310, San Francisco, CA 94129 and our telephone number is (415) 632-4200. Upon completion of this offering, our corporate website address will be www.vmgspac.com. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to invest in our securities.
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. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please see “Proposed Business—Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.” You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Summary Risk Factors
Our company is subject to numerous risks described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. You should carefully consider these risks before making an investment. Some of these risks relating to our business objectives, our organization and structure and this offering include:
• 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.
• Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed 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.
• If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and other events and the status of debt and equity markets.
18
• 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 $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
• If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.
• Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
• We may have limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
• We may be able to complete only one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
• We are dependent upon our directors and officers and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
• 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 a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
• Our directors and officers 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 directors, officers, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
• 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 shares.
• 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 and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.
• Nasdaq 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.
• You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
• 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 the shares of our Class A common stock, you will lose your ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of shares of our Class A common stock.
19
In making your decision on 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: |
|
20,000,000 units (or 23,000,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of: • one share of Class A common stock; and • one-half of one redeemable warrant. |
Proposed Nasdaq symbols: |
|
Units: “VMGA.U” Class A common stock: “VMGA” Warrants: “ VMGA.WS” |
Trading commencement and separation of Class A common stock and warrants: |
|
The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or the immediately following business day if such 52nd day is not a business day) unless Credit Suisse and Moelis & Company inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A 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 Class A common stock and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. |
Separate trading of the Class A common stock and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K |
|
In no event will the Class A common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering, which closing is anticipated to take place three business days from the date of this prospectus. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. |
20
21
Exercise price |
|
$11.50 per share, subject to adjustments as described herein. 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 initial stockholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our initial stockholders or such 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, and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 10 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, then 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 below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equal or exceed $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. |
Exercise period |
|
The warrants will become exercisable on the later of: • 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, and • 12 months from the closing of this offering; provided, in each case, that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A 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). If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. We are not registering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC and have an effective registration statement covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a |
22
23
|
|
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment). Please see the section entitled “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” for additional information. |
24
25
|
|
business combination; (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares 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 redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any extended time that we have to consummate an initial business combination beyond 18 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; and (iv) vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. In addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001 or 37.5%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised); and • the founder shares are automatically convertible into our Class A common stock concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.” |
26
Transfer restrictions on founder shares |
|
Our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A common stock issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property; except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal stockholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (2) if we consummate a transaction after our initial business combination which results in our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, the founder shares will be released from the lock-up. |
Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights |
|
The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further 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 connection with our initial business combination, the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the total number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of shares of Class A common stock by public stockholders), including the total number of shares of Class A common stock issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis. |
27
Election of directors; Voting |
|
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the election of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our outstanding founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended only by approval of at least 90% of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock voting in a stockholder meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote. |
Private placement warrants |
|
Our sponsor will commit, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 10,500,000 private placement warrants (or 11,700,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, or $10,500,000 in the aggregate (or $11,700,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. A portion of the purchase price of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account such that at the time of closing of this offering $204.0 million (or $234.6 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be held in the trust account. The private placement warrants will be identical to the warrants sold in this offering except that the private placement warrants (i) will not be redeemable by us, (ii) may not (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. |
Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants |
|
The private placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as described herein under “Principal stockholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.” |
28
Proceeds to be held in trust account |
|
Nasdaq rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $204.0 million, or $234.6 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.20 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a segregated trust account located in the United States at JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, after deducting $4,000,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions payable upon the closing of this offering (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and an aggregate of $2.5 million to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering. The proceeds to be placed in the trust account include $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. The funds held 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. |
29
Anticipated expenses and funding sources |
|
Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use, except the withdrawal of interest to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) and/or to redeem our public shares in connection with an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as described above. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $200,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.1% per year; however we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from such interest withdrawn from the trust account and: • the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account, which initially will be approximately $1,600,000 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 their affiliates or other third parties, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or invest in us; provided that any such loans will not have any claim on the funds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, at the option of the lender. |
Conditions to completing our initial business combination |
|
The rules of Nasdaq require and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we must consummate an initial business combination 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 commission held in trust) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination upon standards generally accepted by the financial community. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm. While we consider it likely that our board of directors will be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty |
30
|
|
as to the value of the target’s assets or prospects. We will complete our initial business combination only if the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or is otherwise not required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above, provided that in the event that the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the transactions together as our initial business combination for purposes of seeking stockholder approval or conducting a tender offer, as applicable. |
Permitted purchases of public shares and public warrants by our affiliates |
|
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going- |
31
|
|
private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See “Proposed Business—Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will not make any purchases if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A 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. |
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 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor, officers and directors will enter into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they will agree to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. |
32
33
|
|
or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised). We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than ten 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 the voting agreements of our sponsor, officers and directors may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will: • 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 our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. 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 the number of shares we are permitted to redeem. 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. Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A common stock in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act. We intend to require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a stockholder vote, we intend to |
34
|
|
require a public stockholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, 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. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming public stockholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed initial business combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates or shares delivered by public stockholders who elected to redeem their shares. 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. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. 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 initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into following consummation of this offering, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements. |
35
Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding 15% or more of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a stockholder vote |
|
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, 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 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 management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public 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, our sponsor or our management 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 all shares held by those stockholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination. |
Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination |
|
On the completion of our initial business combination, the funds held in the trust account will be used to pay amounts due to any public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination,” to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. |
36
Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination |
|
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we will have only 18 months (unless there is an Extension Period) from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 18-month period or during any Extension Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii)as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and 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 liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and other requirements of 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 sponsor, officers and directors will enter 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 held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial stockholders or management team acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 18-month time period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our sponsor, officers and directors will agree, pursuant to a letter 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 redemption 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 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business |
37
|
|
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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described above under “Limitations on redemptions.” For example, our board of directors may propose such an amendment if it determines that additional time is necessary to complete our initial business combination. In such event, we will conduct a proxy solicitation and distribute proxy materials pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act seeking stockholder approval of such proposal, and in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon stockholder approval of such amendment. |
Limited payments to insiders |
|
There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation paid by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, the following payments will be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, and, if made prior to our initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account: • Repayment of up to an aggregate of $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses; • Payment to our sponsor or an affiliate thereof of up to $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services provided to us; • Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating, negotiating and completing an initial business combination; and • Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. |
38
Audit Committee |
|
We will establish and maintain an audit committee. Among its responsibilities, the audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates and monitor compliance with the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section entitled “Management—Committees of the Board of Directors—Audit Committee.” |
39
We are a blank check company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues to date. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please see “Proposed Business—Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.” You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors”.
40
The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data is presented.
|
|
September 30, 2021 |
|
|||||
Balance Sheet Data: |
|
Actual |
|
|
As Adjusted(6) |
|
||
Working Capital (deficiency)(1) |
|
$ |
(400,998 |
) |
|
$ |
1,519,275 |
|
Total Assets(2) |
|
$ |
385,273 |
|
|
$ |
205,519,200 |
|
Total Liabilities(3) |
|
$ |
465,998 |
|
|
$ |
7,000,000 |
|
Value of Class A common stock that may be redeemed in connection with our initial business combination ($10.20 per share)(4) |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
204,000,000 |
|
Stockholder’s Equity (deficit)(5) |
|
$ |
(80,725 |
) |
|
$ |
(5,480,800 |
) |
(1) |
The “as adjusted” calculation includes $1,600,000 in cash held outside the trust account, plus ($80,725) of actual stockholder’s deficit at September 30, 2021 (assuming the forfeiture of 750,000 shares of Class B common stock). |
(2) |
The “as adjusted” calculation equals $204,000,000 cash held in trust from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, plus $1,600,000 in cash held outside the trust account, plus ($80,725) of actual stockholder’s deficit at September 30, 2021 (assuming the forfeiture of 750,000 shares of Class B common stock). |
(3) |
The “as adjusted” calculation includes $7,000,000 of deferred underwriting commissions |
(4) |
The “as adjusted” calculation equals the “as adjusted” total assets, less the “as adjusted” total liabilities, less the “as adjusted” stockholder’s equity. |
(5) |
Excludes 20,000,000 shares of class A common stock purchased in the public market which are subject to redemption in connection with our initial business combination. The “as adjusted” calculation equals the “as adjusted” total assets, less the “as adjusted” total liabilities, less the value of common stock that may be redeemed in connection with our initial business combination (approximately $10.20 per share). |
(6) |
Assumes the full forfeiture of 750,000 shares of Class B common stock that are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. |
If no business combination is completed within the period to consummate the initial business combination, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to the Company to pay its franchise and income taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of the Company’s public Stock. Our sponsor, officers and directors will enter into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.
41
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factor Summary
Some of the statements contained in this prospectus may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “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 the 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; |
|
• |
actual and potential conflicts of interest relating to our sponsor and our directors, officers and other affiliates; |
|
• |
our ability to draw from the support and expertise of our sponsor, and our directors, officers and other affiliates; |
|
• |
our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
|
• |
our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
|
• |
our pool of prospective target businesses; |
|
• |
our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; |
|
• |
the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
|
• |
our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
|
• |
the lack of a market for our securities; |
|
• |
the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
|
• |
the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
|
• |
our financial performance following this offering. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors”. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
42
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 blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware 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. 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.
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 internal controls 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 Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any March 31 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following September 30. 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 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 Rule 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 any fiscal year for so long as either (1) the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates
43
did not exceed $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues did not exceed $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates did not exceed $700 million as of the prior June 30. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early-stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
Risks Relating to Our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to 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. In such case, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Even if we seek stockholder approval, the holders of our founder shares will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our Class A common stock do not approve of the business combination we complete. Please see the section entitled “Proposed Business—Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
Your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial business combination. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding our initial business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and members of our management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Our initial stockholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding Class A common stock on an as-converted basis immediately following the completion of this offering (assuming our initial stockholders do not purchase any units in this offering). Our initial stockholders and management team also may from time to time purchase Class A common stock prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that, if we seek stockholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the stockholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, including the founder shares. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this
44
offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial stockholders and management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive an ordinary resolution, being the requisite stockholder approval for such 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 minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. 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. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a business combination and such amount of deferred underwriting discount is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets, after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions, to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets, after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions, to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination or less than such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption of our public shares and the related business combination, and we may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us. If we are able to consummate an initial business combination, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
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 will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B common stock results in the issuance of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, the amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The 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 shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you
45
would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within 18 months after the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our 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 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
Our search for a business combination, and any partner business with which we ultimately complete a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by global public health epidemics, including the strain of coronavirus known as COVID-19, and the status of debt and equity markets.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, which has and is continuing to spread throughout the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic”. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted, and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result, in a widespread health crisis that has adversely affected, in the case of COVID-19 and its variants, and could adversely affect, in the case of future outbreaks of infectious diseases, the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential partner business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected.
Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the partner business’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and complete a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. While vaccines for COVID-19 are being, and have been, developed, there is no guarantee that any such vaccine will be durable and effective against infection from COVID-19 and its variants consistent with current expectations and we expect it will take significant time before the vaccines are accepted on a significant scale. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to complete a business combination, or the operations of a partner business with which we ultimately complete a business combination, may be materially adversely affected. In addition, our ability to complete a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Finally, the outbreak of COVID-19 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.
46
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies preparing for an initial public offering, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available to consummate an initial business combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within 18 months after the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within 18 months after the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the pandemic on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest income 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 liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and subject to the other requirements of applicable law.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” 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 sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. Such purchases may include a contractual acknowledgment 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.
47
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling 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. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See “Proposed Business—Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
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 their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter 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 technical, human and other resources similar or greater to ours or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a stockholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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, |
48
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; |
|
• |
adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
|
• |
reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly 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 redemption 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 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, 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 complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
49
We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in this offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a business combination 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 ascertain or assess adequately all of the relevant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of 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 law, 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 only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from a valuation or appraisal firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board of directors cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or from a valuation or appraisal firm that the price we are paying is fair to our stockholders 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 proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We may issue additional shares of our 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 our Class A common stock upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. 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 200,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this
50
offering, there will be 180,000,000 and 15,000,000 (assuming in each case that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option and the forfeiture of 750,000 shares of Class B common stock) authorized but unissued shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of the shares of Class B common stock. The Class B common stock is automatically convertible into Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination as described herein and in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. 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 our Class A common stock or shares of 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 Class A common stock to redeem the warrants or upon conversion of the shares of 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 contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to stockholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote. The issuance of additional shares of common stock or shares of preferred stock:
|
• |
may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering; |
|
• |
may subordinate the rights of holders of our Class A common stock if shares of preferred stock are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A common stock; |
|
• |
could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of our Class A common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
|
• |
may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants. |
Unlike most other similarly structured blank check companies, our initial stockholders will receive additional shares of our Class A common stock if we issue shares to complete an initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock on the first business day following the completion of our initial business combination at a ratio such that the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of shares of our common stock issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the sum of (a) the total number of shares of our common stock issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or deemed issued by the company in connection with or in relation to the completion of the initial business combination, excluding (1) any shares of our Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into shares of our Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and (2) any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans, minus (b) the number of public shares redeemed by public stockholders in connection with our initial business combination. In no event will the shares of our Class B common stock convert into shares of our Class A common stock at a rate of less than one to one. This is different than most other similarly structured blank check companies in which the initial stockholders will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares outstanding prior to the initial business combination.
Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, 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
51
attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, consultants 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 only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after this offering) if our initial business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On July 1, 2021, we issued to our sponsor an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. Prior to this offering, our sponsor transferred 35,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors and 15,000 founder shares to each of our advisory board members, in each case at a purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 23,000,000 units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 750,000 of the founder shares may be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment is exercised. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor will commit to purchase an aggregate of 10,500,000 private placement warrants (or 11,700,000 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) for an aggregate purchase price of $10,500,000 (or $11,700,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $1.00 per warrant. The private placement warrants 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 18-month anniversary of the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination, subject to the Extension Period.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability. The net proceeds from this offering and the private placement of warrants will provide us with $198,600,000 (or $228,150,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) that we may use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $7,000,000, or up to $8,050,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account).
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
|
• |
solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or |
|
• |
dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
52
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.
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 business combination 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.
We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred commissions that will released from the trust only on a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay such underwriter or its affiliate fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The underwriters’ or their respective affiliates’ financial interests tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
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 shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the
53
voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of our Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of our Class A common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding Class A 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 shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our 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 (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their respective affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of our 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 exceeds the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, all shares of our Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our stockholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, special purpose acquisition companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 65% of the public warrants. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require us to provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We 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.
The 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 common stock, which is a
54
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 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 a certain percentage of the company’s stockholders. In those charters, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by 90% of the company’s stockholders attending and voting at an annual meeting. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. Our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees, if any, who will collectively beneficially own, on an as converted basis, 20% of our Class A common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated 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 govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors will agree, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in letter agreements that we will enter into with our sponsor, officers and directors. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, officers and directors may be amended without stockholder approval.
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, officers and directors will contain provisions relating to transfer restrictions of our founder shares and private placement warrants, indemnification of the trust account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidating distributions from the trust account. The letter agreement may be amended without stockholder approval (although releasing the parties from the restriction not to transfer the founder shares for 185 days following the date of this prospectus will require the prior written consent of the underwriter). While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to the letter agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to the letter agreement. Any such amendments to the letter agreement would not require approval from our stockholders 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.
We have not selected any specific business combination target but intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private
55
placement warrants. As a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemption by public stockholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
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.
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 and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
If (i) we issue additional shares of common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock, (ii) 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, and (iii) the Market Value of our Class A common stock is below $9.20 per share, then 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.
Our warrants 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 10,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock (or up to 11,500,000 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement an aggregate of 10,500,000 private placement warrants (or 11,700,000 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), at $1.00 per warrant. In addition, if the sponsor, officers or directors make any working capital loans, it may convert those loans into up to an additional 1,500,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant. To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A common stock issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
56
Affiliates of VMG have similar or overlapping investment objectives and guidelines, and we may not be presented investment opportunities that may otherwise be suitable for us.
Affiliates of VMG currently invest and plan to continue to invest in, incubate, and grow successful businesses in sectors. There may be overlap of investment opportunities with affiliates of VMG that are actively investing and similar overlap with future VMG affiliates. For example, prior or existing investments by VMG funds that could have otherwise fallen within our investment mandate include (but are not limited to) Quest Nutrition, Daily Harvest, The Pill Club, Weee! and Hello Bello. This overlap could create conflicts of interest. In particular, investment opportunities that may otherwise be suitable for us may not be presented to us by our sponsor. This overlap could also create conflicts in determining to which entity a particular investment opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us.
Past performance by our management team, VMG and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
Information regarding our management team, VMG and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance by our management team, VMG and their affiliates and the businesses with which they have been associated, is not a guarantee that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination, that we will be able to provide positive returns to our stockholders, or of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical experiences of our management team, VMG and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or as indicative of every prior investment by each of the members of our management team, VMG or their affiliates. The market price of our securities may be influenced by numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, and our stockholders may experience losses on their investment in our securities.
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 the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and pro forma financial statement disclosure. 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 (“GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“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) (“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 statements in accordance with federal proxy rules or in our tender offer documents, as applicable, and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
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 initial business combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may
57
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 business combination.
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 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), (b) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, or (c) arising under the federal securities laws, including the Securities Act, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall concurrently be the sole and exclusive forums. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this paragraph will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any 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 choice-of-forum provision may make it more costly for a stockholder to bring a claim, and it may also limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company or its directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
Risks Relating to our Securities
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 proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly redeem or tender public shares. For example, we may require our public 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
58
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 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 or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this prospectus entitled “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. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, 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: (i) our completion of an 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 and on the conditions described herein, (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 redemption 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 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Public stockholders who redeem their Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, with respect to such Class A common stock so redeemed. In addition, if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension 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 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension 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 the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the funds held in the trust account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Nasdaq 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 list our units listed on Nasdaq. We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Following the date that the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants will be separately listed on Nasdaq. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the Nasdaq listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, following our initial public offering, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our stockholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million, we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders of our securities and we would be required to have a market value of listed securities of $50.0 million. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
59
If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
|
• |
a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
|
• |
reduced liquidity for our securities; |
|
• |
a determination that our Class A common stock is a “penny stock,” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
|
• |
a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
|
• |
a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A common stock and warrants will be covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, including in connection with our initial business combination.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because our securities will be listed on a national securities exchange, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see “Proposed Business—Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”
If we seek 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 seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And, as a result, you will continue to
60
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.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
As of September 30, 2021, we had cash of $65,000 and deferred offering costs of $320,273. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of an initial business combination. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial business combination will be successful. In addition, we are currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and its effect on our financial position, results its operations and/or search for a target company. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern.
If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 18 months or during any Extension Period, 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 and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering, only $1,600,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that, upon closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 18 months or during any Extension Period; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.
In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $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. The amount held in the trust account will not be impacted as a result of such increase or decrease. 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 affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive an estimated $10.20 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our
61
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 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 within 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 debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders following the 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 unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
If third parties bring claims against us, the funds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third party claims against us.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the company under the circumstances. Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of this offering will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we 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 $10.20 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.20 per
62
public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the funds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.20 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy his obligations or that he has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors 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 $10.20 per share.
The securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share.
The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we do not complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our public stockholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income earned thereon (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest income to pay dissolution expenses). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share.
If, after we distribute the funds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy or insolvency court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the funds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of
63
directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the funds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our 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 funds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the funds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency 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 stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, our public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond such 18 months before redemption from our trust account.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, the funds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest income to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public stockholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind-up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public stockholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the DGCL. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the funds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we consummate our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their shares of Class A common stock. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public stockholders be entitled to distributions if we are unable to complete our initial business combination.
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 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 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension 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 18th month from the closing of this offering in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280 of the DGCL, 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 ten years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to
64
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. 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 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), 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 the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our stockholders to elect directors.
In accordance with Nasdaq 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 Nasdaq. 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. 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 election 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. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the completion of an initial business combination.
You will not be permitted to exercise your warrants unless we register and qualify the underlying shares of Class A common stock or certain exemptions are available.
If the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, holders of warrants will not be entitled to exercise such warrants and such warrants 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.
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 15 business days, after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the registration under the Securities Act of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in
65
the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, under the terms of the warrant agreement, holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do so for cash and, instead, will be required to do so on a cashless basis, in which case the number of shares of Class A common stock that the holders of warrants will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum number of shares equal to 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment).
In no event will warrants 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 or qualification is available.
If our shares of Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, not permit holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants to do so for cash and, instead, require them to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement or register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities 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 (other than upon a cashless exercise as described above) or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws.
If there is no effective registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants, holders will receive fewer shares of Class A common stock upon their exercise of the warrants than they would have received had they been able to pay the exercise price of their warrants in cash.
If holders elect to exercise their warrants when there is no effective registration statement, the number of shares of Class A common stock received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his or her warrant for cash. For example, if the holder is exercising 875 public warrants at $11.50 per share through a cashless exercise when the shares of Class A common stock have a fair market value of $17.50 per share when there is no effective registration statement, then upon the cashless exercise, the holder will receive 300 shares of Class A common stock. The holder would have received 875 shares of Class A common stock if the exercise price was paid in cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of shares of Class A common stock upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders and holders of our private placement warrants may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of private placement warrants, the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of the founder shares or the exercise of the private placement warrants held, or to be held, by them and holders of private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register the resale of such warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. 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
66
expected when the securities owned by our initial stockholders or holders of working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered for resale.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any 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.
Our efforts to identify a prospective initial business combination target will not be limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic region. While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a business or businesses that can benefit from our management team’s established global relationships and operating experience. Our management team has extensive experience in identifying and executing strategic investments globally and has done so successfully in a number of sectors, including the travel & leisure, financial services, health & wellness, music & entertainment, media & mobile, space, and renewable energy sectors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will prohibit us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
We may 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 and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
|
• |
default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
|
• |
acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
|
• |
our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
|
• |
our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
|
• |
our inability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock; |
67
|
• |
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. |
Our initial stockholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon closing of this offering, our initial stockholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If our initial stockholders purchase any units in this offering or if our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of Class A common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. 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. If there is an annual general meeting before the initial business combination, only founder shares are entitled to vote on the election of directors. If there is an annual general meeting following the initial business combination, our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
Our initial stockholders paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 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 share of Class A 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 initial stockholders acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public stockholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 111.0% (or $11.10 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering of $(1.10) and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination. 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 shares of Class A common stock.
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 underwriter. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with the representative of the underwriter, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this
68
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 operating companies; |
|
• |
general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and |
|
• |
other factors as were deemed relevant. |
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering size, price and terms of the Units 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 pandemic. 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.
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 shares of 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 will include the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred stock, and the fact that prior to the completion of our initial business combination only holders of shares of our Class B common stock, which have been issued to our sponsor, 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. If there is an annual general meeting before the initial business combination, only founder shares are entitled to vote on the election of directors. If there is an annual general meeting following the initial business combination, our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will also require, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, that (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any claim (A) as to which the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware 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
69
Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery or (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. 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, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Additionally, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal courts shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act against us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or agents. Section 22 of the Securities Act, however, created concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provisions, and the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ charter documents has been challenged in legal proceedings. While the Delaware courts have determined that such exclusive forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions, and there can be no assurance that such provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to these provisions; however, we note that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
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 and officers.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without 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 will provide that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A 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 the 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 Reference Value equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). Please see “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants—Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00.” 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
70
securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants as described above could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the Market Value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us.
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 shares of common stock received is capped at 0.361 shares of our Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.
Because each unit contains one-half of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other special purpose acquisition companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We 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 (a “PHC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
A U.S. corporation generally will be classified as a PHC for U.S. federal income tax purposes in a given taxable year if (i) at any time 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 (ii) 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, 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, more than 50% of our stock may 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
71
a given taxable year, we would be subject to an additional PHC tax, currently 20%, on our undistributed PHC income, subject to certain adjustments.
Risks Relating to our Management Team
We are dependent upon our officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
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, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that
72
the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in other business endeavors, including VMG, for which they may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. For example, the continued COVID-19 pandemic might distract our management team related to their ongoing obligations. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Management— Officers and Directors.”
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 sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our stockholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Delaware law and we or our stockholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our stockholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
In particular, VMG principally invests in branded consumer product and services companies, marketplaces, as well as the infrastructure and technology stack that enable these businesses within the United States and Canada. In particular, the focus industries generally include food, beverage, beauty, personal care, wellness, pet and household products. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive investment for VMG.
73
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.” Our sponsor and our directors and officers, VMG or their respective affiliates may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business—Effecting our initial business combination—Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal 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, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Certain members of our management team may be involved in and have a greater financial interest in the performance of other VMG entities, and such activities may create conflicts of interest in making decisions on our behalf.
Certain members of our management team may be subject to a variety of conflicts of interest relating to their responsibilities to VMG and its other affiliates. Such individuals may serve as members of management or a board of directors (or in similar such capacity) to various other VMG entities. Such positions may create a conflict between the advice and investment opportunities provided to such entities and the responsibilities owed to us. The other entities in which such individuals may become involved may have investment objectives that overlap with ours. Furthermore, certain of our principals and employees may have a greater financial interest in the performance of such other VMG entities than our performance. Such involvement may create conflicts of interest in sourcing investment opportunities on our behalf and on behalf of such other entities.
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including another blank check company, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses or entities. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us.
In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors are, and/or may in the future become affiliated with other blank check companies or other entities that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours.
For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Management—Officers, Directors and Director Nominees,” “Management—Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
74
Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries
If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
|
• |
costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations; |
|
• |
rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
|
• |
complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
|
• |
laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
|
• |
exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
|
• |
tariffs and trade barriers; |
|
• |
regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
|
• |
local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
|
• |
unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
|
• |
challenges in managing and staffing international operations; |
|
• |
longer payment cycles; |
|
• |
tax issues, such as including limits on our ability to change our tax residence from the United States, tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
|
• |
currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
|
• |
rates of inflation; |
|
• |
challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
|
• |
cultural and language differences; |
|
• |
employment regulations; |
|
• |
underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
|
• |
corruption; |
|
• |
protection of intellectual property; |
|
• |
social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances; |
|
• |
regime changes and political upheaval; |
|
• |
terrorist attacks and wars; and |
|
• |
deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
75
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such initial business combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, our management may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue will be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’s ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from Delaware to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in,
76
increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on stockholders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite stockholder approval under the DGCL, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a stockholder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the stockholder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to stockholders to pay such taxes. Stockholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore, investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
77
We are offering 20,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants will be used as set forth in the following table.
|
|
Without Over allotment Option |
|
|
Over-allotment Option Exercised |
|
||
Gross proceeds |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1) |
|
$ |
200,000,000 |
|
|
$ |
230,000,000 |
|
Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement |
|
$ |
10,500,000 |
|
|
$ |
11,700,000 |
|
Total gross proceeds |
|
$ |
210,500,000 |
|
|
$ |
241,700,000 |
|
Offering expenses(2) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Underwriting commissions (2.0% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(3) |
|
$ |
4,000,000 |
|
|
$ |
4,600,000 |
|
Legal fees and expenses |
|
|
400,000 |
|
|
|
400,000 |
|
Printing and engraving expenses |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
Accounting fees and expenses |
|
|
100,000 |
|
|
|
100,000 |
|
SEC/FINRA Expenses |
|
|
57,000 |
|
|
|
57,000 |
|
Travel and road show |
|
|
5,000 |
|
|
|
5,000 |
|
Nasdaq listing and filing fees |
|
|
150,000 |
|
|
|
150,000 |
|
Miscellaneous |
|
|
188,000 |
|
|
|
188,000 |
|
Total offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) |
|
$ |
900,000 |
|
|
$ |
900,000 |
|
Proceeds after offering expenses |
|
$ |
205,600,000 |
|
|
$ |
236,200,000 |
|
Held in trust account(3) |
|
|
204,000,000 |
|
|
|
234,600,000 |
|
% of public offering size |
|
|
102 |
% |
|
|
102 |
% |
Not held in trust account |
|
$ |
1,600,000 |
|
|
$ |
1,600,000 |
|
The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,600,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account:(4)
|
Amount |
|
|
% of Total |
|
||
Director & Officer liability insurance premium(5) |
|
600,000 |
|
|
|
37.5 |
% |
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel, and other expenses in connection with any business combination(5) |
|
500,000 |
|
|
|
31.3 |
% |
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations |
|
50,000 |
|
|
|
3.1 |
% |
Nasdaq and other regulatory fees |
|
150,000 |
|
|
|
9.4 |
% |
Payment for office space, utilities, administrative and support services |
|
180,000 |
|
|
|
11.3 |
% |
Consulting, travel and miscellaneous expenses incurred during search for initial business combination target |
|
75,000 |
|
|
|
4.7 |
% |
Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses |
|
45,000 |
|
|
|
2.8 |
% |
Total |
$ |
1,600,000 |
|
|
|
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 have been paid from the proceeds of loans from our sponsor of up to $300,000 as described in this prospectus. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $900,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses other than underwriting commissions. In the event that offering expenses are less than set forth in this table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses. |
(3) |
The underwriters have agreed to defer underwriting commissions of 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon and concurrently with the completion of our initial business combination, up to $7,000,000, which constitutes the underwriters’ deferred commissions (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriters from the funds held in the trust account. See “Underwriting”. The remaining funds, less amounts released to the trustee to pay redeeming stockholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. |
78
(5) |
Includes estimated amounts that may also be used in connection with our initial business combination to fund a “no shop” provision and commitment fees for financing. |
Nasdaq rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the $210,500,000 in gross proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, or $241,700,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, $204,000,000 ($10.20 per unit), or $234,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.20 per unit), will be deposited into a trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, after deducting $4,000,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions payable upon the closing of this offering (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and an aggregate of $2.5 million to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering. The proceeds held 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 meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $200,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.1% per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. We expect that the interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay income taxes. We will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the trust account, except for the withdrawal of interest to pay our taxes and up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses, as applicable, if any, until the earliest of (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted 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 redemption 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 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity.
The net proceeds released to us from the trust account upon the closing of our initial business combination may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may use the balance of the cash released from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that, following this offering and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will be prohibited from issuing additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination.
We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective business combination, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of
79
which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.
We will pay our sponsor or an affiliate thereof up to $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services provided to members of our management team. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $900,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
80
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. 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.
81
The difference between the public offering price per share of Class A common stock, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public stockholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of Class A common stock which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding Class A common stock.
At September 30, 2021, our net tangible book (deficit) was $(400,998), or approximately $(0.07) per share. After giving effect to the sale of 20,000,000 shares of Class A common stock included in the units we are offering by this prospectus (or 23,000,000 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at September 30, 2021 would have been $(5,480,725) or $(1.10) per share (or $(6,530,725) or $(1.14) per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), representing an immediate decrease in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of 20,000,000 units of our Class A common stock that may be redeemed for cash or 23,000,000 units of our Class A common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of $(1.03) per share (or $(1.07) per share to our initial Stockholders as of the date of this prospectus. Total dilution to public Stockholders from this offering will be $11.10 per share (or $11.14 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public stockholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:
|
|
Without Over- allotment |
|
|
With Over- allotment |
|
||
Public offering price |
|
$ |
10.00 |
|
|
$ |
10.00 |
|
Net tangible book deficit before this offering |
|
|
(0.07 |
) |
|
|
(0.07 |
) |
Increase (decrease) attributable to public stockholders' |
|
|
(1.03 |
) |
|
|
(1.07 |
) |
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants |
|
|
(1.10 |
) |
|
|
(1.14 |
) |
Dilution to public stockholders |
|
$ |
11.10 |
|
|
$ |
11.14 |
|
Percentage of dilution to public stockholders |
|
|
111.0 |
% |
|
|
111.4 |
% |
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 $204,000,000 because holders of up to approximately 102% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or stockholders meeting, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares.
82
The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial stockholders and the public stockholders:
|
|
Shares Purchased |
|
|
Total Consideration |
|
|
Average Price |
|
|||||||||||
|
|
Number |
|
|
Percentage |
|
|
Number |
|
|
Percentage |
|
|
Per Share |
|
|||||
Initial stockholders(1)(2) |
|
|
5,000,000 |
|
|
|
20.00 |
|
|
$ |
25,000 |
|
|
|
0.01 |
|
|
$ |
0.005 |
|
Public stockholders |
|
|
20,000,000 |
|
|
|
80.00 |
|
|
$ |
200,000,000 |
|
|
|
99.99 |
|
|
$ |
10.00 |
|
|
|
|
25,000,000 |
|
|
|
100.00 |
|
|
$ |
200,025,000 |
|
|
|
100.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
(1) |
Assumes the full forfeiture of 750,000 shares of Class B common stock that are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. |
(2) |
Assumes conversion of the founder 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 founder shares result in the issuance of stock of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon such conversion. |
The pro forma net tangible book value per share after the offering (assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option) is calculated as follows:
|
|
Without Over- allotment |
|
|
With Over- allotment |
|
||
Numerator: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net tangible book deficit before this offering |
|
$ |
(400,998 |
) |
|
$ |
(400,998 |
) |
Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants(1) |
|
|
205,600,000 |
|
|
|
236,200,000 |
|
Plus: Offering costs paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value |
|
|
320,273 |
|
|
|
320,273 |
|
Less: Deferred underwriting commissions |
|
|
(7,000,000 |
) |
|
|
(8,050,000 |
) |
Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption (2) |
|
|
(204,000,000 |
) |
|
|
(234,600,000 |
) |
|
|
$ |
(5,480,725 |
) |
|
$ |
(6,530,725 |
) |
Denominator: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Class B common stock outstanding prior to this offering |
|
|
5,750,000 |
|
|
|
5,750,000 |
|
Class B common stock forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised |
|
|
(750,000 |
) |
|
|
— |
|
Class A common stock included in the units offered |
|
|
20,000,000 |
|
|
|
23,000,000 |
|
Less: Stock subject to redemption |
|
|
(20,000,000 |
) |
|
|
(23,000,000 |
) |
|
|
|
5,000,000 |
|
|
|
5,750,000 |
|
(1) |
Expenses applied against gross proceeds include offering expenses of $900,000 and underwriting commissions of $4,000,000 or $4,600,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option (excluding deferred underwriting fees). See “Use of proceeds.” |
(2) |
If we seek 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 initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. In the event of any such purchases of our shares prior to the completion of our initial business combination, the number of shares of Class A common stock subject to redemption will be reduced by the amount of any such purchases, increasing the pro forma net tangible book value per share. See “Proposed Business—Initial Business Combination—Permitted Purchases of Our Securities.” |
83
The following table sets forth our capitalization at September 30, 2021, and as adjusted to give effect to the filing of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the sale of our units in this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities, assuming no exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option:
|
|
September 30, 2021 |
|
|||||
|
|
Actual |
|
|
As Adjusted (1)(3) |
|
||
Note payable to related party(1) |
|
$ |
100,000 |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
Deferred underwriting commissions |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
7,000,000 |
|
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized; -0- and 20,000,000 shares are subject to possible redemption, actual and as adjusted, respectively(2) |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
204,000,000 |
|
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 stock authorized; none issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized; -0- shares issued and outstanding (excluding -0- and 20,000,000 shares subject to possible redemption), actual and as adjusted, respectively |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, 10,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 and 5,000,000 shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively(3) |
|
|
575 |
|
|
|
500 |
|
Additional paid-in capital(4) |
|
|
24,425 |
|
|
|
— |
|
Accumulated deficit(5) |
|
|
(105,725 |
) |
|
|
(5,481,300 |
) |
Total stockholders' equity (deficit) |
|
$ |
(80,725 |
) |
|
$ |
(5,480,800 |
) |
Total capitalization |
|
$ |
19,275 |
|
|
$ |
205,519,200 |
|
(1) |
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. The as adjusted information gives effect to the repayment of this note out of the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. As of September 30, 2021, we have borrowed approximately $100,000 under the promissory note with our sponsor. |
(2) |
All of the 20,000,000 shares of Class A common stock sold as part of the units in the offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with our liquidation if there is a Stockholders' vote or tender offer in connection with the business combination and in connection with certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. In accordance with SEC and its guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of a company require common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Given that the 20,000,000 shares of Class A common stock sold as part of the units in the offering will be issued with other freestanding instruments (i.e., public warrants), the initial carrying value of Class A common stock classified as temporary equity will be the allocated proceeds determined in accordance with ASC 470-20. Our Class A common stock is subject to ASC 480-10-S99. If it is probable that the equity instrument will become redeemable, we have the option to either (i) accrete changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance (or from the date that it becomes probable that the instrument will become redeemable, if later) to the earliest redemption date of the instrument or (ii) recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying amount of the instrument to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. We have elected to recognize the changes immediately. The accretion or remeasurement will be treated as a deemed dividend (i.e., a reduction to retained earnings, or in absence of retained earnings, additional paid-in capital). |
(3) |
Actual share amount is prior to any forfeiture of founder shares and as adjusted shares amount assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. |
(4) |
The ‘as adjusted’ additional paid-in capital includes the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants over their estimated fair value at issuance as a deemed capital contribution from our sponsor, less the immediate accretion of the carry value of Class A common stock subject to redemption to redemption value to reduce additional paid-in capital to zero. |
(5) |
As adjusted accumulated deficit includes transaction costs allocated to warrant liabilities. Such costs will be immediately expensed. As adjusted accumulated deficit also includes the immediate accretion of the carry value of Class A common stock subject to redemption to redemption value. |
84
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on March 25, 2021 as a Delaware corporation and incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry, we intend to focus our search on companies in the travel & leisure, financial services, health & wellness, music & entertainment, media & mobile, and renewable energy/resource efficiency sectors. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of this offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing.
The issuance of additional shares in connection with a business combination to the owners of the target or other investors:
|
• |
may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions with respect to the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the shares of Class B common stock; |
|
• |
may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A common stock if preferred stock are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A common stock; |
|
• |
could cause a change in control if a substantial number of our shares of Class A common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
|
• |
may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and |
|
• |
may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A common stock and/or warrants. Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or the owners of a target, 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 security is payable on demand; |
|
• |
our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
|
• |
our inability to pay dividends on our Class A 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 Class A 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; |
85
|
• |
increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
|
• |
limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at September 30, 2021, we had $65,000 and deferred offering costs of $320,273. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through receipt of a $25,000 capital contribution from our sponsor in exchange for the issuance of the founder shares to our sponsor and $300,000 in loans from our sponsor.
We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of the units in this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $210,500,000 (or $241,700,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), after deducting offering expenses of approximately $900,000 and underwriting commissions of $4,000,000 (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $7,000,000, or $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $205,600,000 (or $236,200,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). $204,000,000 (or $234,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account, which includes the deferred underwriting commissions described above. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. The remaining approximately $1,600,000 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 (excluding deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses). We estimate our annual franchise tax obligations, based on the number of shares of our Class A common stock authorized and outstanding after the completion of this offering, to be $200,000, which is the maximum amount of annual franchise taxes payable by us as a Delaware corporation per annum, which we may pay from funds from this offering held outside of the trust account or from interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and released to us for this purpose. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our income and franchise taxes. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held
86
in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the approximately $1,600,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds to primarily identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial business combination. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $500,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $50,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $150,000 for Nasdaq and other regulatory fees; $600,000 for director and officer liability insurance premium; $75,000 for consulting, travel and miscellaneous expenses incurred during the search for a business combination target; and approximately $75,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves. We will also pay our sponsor or an affiliate thereof up to $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team.
These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.
Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the funds held in our trust account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. In addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by public stockholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We may also obtain financing prior to the closing of our initial business combination to
87
fund our working capital needs and transaction costs in connection with our search for and completion of our initial business combination. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the 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 addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
Controls and Procedures
We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer an emerging growth company would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor has our independent registered public accounting firm tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our initial business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
|
• |
staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties; |
|
• |
reconciliation of accounts; |
|
• |
proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate; |
|
• |
evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions; |
|
• |
documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and |
|
• |
documentation of accounting policies and procedures. |
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expenses in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent registered public accounting firm to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent registered public accounting firm may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S.
88
government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results
As of September 30, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus as we have not conducted any operations to date.
JOBS Act
The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an independent registered public accounting firm’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the report of the independent registered public accounting firm providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis), and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of this offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
89
Our Company
VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. is a mission-driven platform created to acquire and generate value for market-leading, high-growth branded consumer and retail companies across a range of attractive and growing industry verticals. We are an affiliate of VMG Partners, an investment firm founded in 2005 to invest in emerging consumer businesses and support founders and management teams in strengthening their brands, enhancing their quality of operations and accelerating the growth trajectory of their businesses. VMG has a longstanding track record of success with iconic, category-defining brands such as Briogeo, Daily Harvest, Drunk Elephant, KIND, Lily’s Sweets, Pirate’s Booty, Quest Nutrition, Spindrift, Sun Bum, and Vega, among others. We believe our affiliation with VMG Partners, combined with our management’s extensive experience across multiple verticals and business models, will enable us to identify the emerging trends and consumer behavioral shifts that are shaping the future of the consumer and retail industry.
Our areas of focus span an array of business models, including consumer packaged goods, brick-and-mortar, digital, and tech-enabled brands, with key industry verticals including but not limited to:
|
• |
Food & Beverage |
|
• |
Beauty & Personal Care |
|
• |
Health & Wellness |
|
• |
Pet Products & Services |
|
• |
Household Products |
|
• |
Apparel, Footwear & Accessories |
|
• |
Multi-Unit Retailers / Services |
With a 15-year track record of investing in, scaling and exiting disruptive consumer and retail companies, VMG believes it has established itself as an investor of choice for high-growth brands in the industry. We believe that VMG offers a robust combination of extensive industry-focused investment experience, hands-on operational expertise and a deep network of relationships across the consumer and retail ecosystem, driving competitive advantages in sourcing and evaluating compelling initial business combination opportunities, as well as in partnering closely with founders and management teams to generate meaningful shareholder value under VMG ownership.
VMG Senior Partners have an average of over 15 years of relevant and complementary investment, operational and advisory experience in the consumer and retail industry. Companies partnering with VMG are poised to benefit from the direct expertise of VMG’s investment professionals – who have hands-on experience in working with management teams across branding, marketing, operations, financial, legal and other functional areas – and also the insights and learnings of VMG portfolio company founders, management teams and boards of directors. We believe that this combination of VMG investment professionals and operators alongside the VMGCAC management team will provide potential business combination targets with a specialized level of access and expertise in the consumer and retail industry.
Since its inception in 2005, VMG has continually invested in strengthening its network of industry relationships which spans industry-leading founders, management teams, operators, subject matter experts, retailers and strategic corporations with interests across the ecosystem. VMG investment professionals have leveraged these multifaceted relationships along with their own experience to create a hands-on operational playbook for VMG portfolio companies to strengthen their brands and expand brand awareness, enhance quality of operations, accelerate their growth trajectory and solidify their financial profile to drive a successful exit.
Collectively, VMG Senior Partners have executed more than $1.7 billion in investments across 60 brands3, which we believe underscores both the value of our sourcing capabilities as well as the depth of VMG Senior Partners’ value-generating operational expertise. In addition to the five VMG Growth Funds to date, the VMG team has formed VMG Catalyst, L.P., a fund dedicated to investing in early-stage digital consumer products,
|
3 |
Figures reflects investments across both VMG Growth and VMG Catalyst funds, as of September 30, 2021. |
90
services, experiences and marketplaces, as well as the infrastructure and technology stack that enable these businesses, thereby expanding the collective VMG skill set.
With the combined expertise of our VMGCAC management and VMG investment professionals, we believe that VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. benefits from a differentiated ability to access high-quality, fast-growing consumer and retail companies and which can generate meaningful value for shareholders under the Company’s ownership. Our strengths include, but are not limited to, the following:
|
• |
Leading target identification, sourcing, and selection capabilities |
|
o |
Deep relationships with and access to many founders and management teams driven by the compelling combination of VMG’s established track record, industry expertise & value-add capabilities, rich firm culture, and industry-leading reputation |
|
o |
Proven history of sourcing actionable, proprietary deal flow based on decades of forging deep, high-touch industry relationships |
|
o |
Strong existing relationships with a wide range of founders and management teams across all consumer and retail industry verticals, with access to key decision makers to drive continued proprietary sourcing capabilities |
|
o |
Disciplined and thoughtful deal selection process, with rigorous target company analytics that leverage the backdrop of our broad operating experience across multiple functional areas |
|
o |
Extensive industry knowledge and experience as an industry thought leader – not only building relationships with multiple constituents across the ecosystem but also connecting them with one another to maximize industry dialogue and insights |
|
o |
Deep understanding of all major consumer and retail verticals, with comprehensive insights into strengths, risks and shifting trends alike |
|
o |
Established history of entry points in private acquisitions and high-return exits |
|
• |
High-quality partnership capabilities with portfolio companies, supported by implementation of the VMG playbook to generate meaningful shareholder value |
|
o |
Robust in-house, value-add resources to support the formation and execution of long-term growth plans, including talent sourcing and data analytics capabilities |
|
o |
Ability to significantly accelerate topline growth of portfolio companies by employing sophisticated multi-channel marketing and brand-building strategies, broadening distribution of products and services, and expanding reach across channels and geographies |
|
o |
Extensive industry network spanning the supply chain to drive access to and/or efficiencies with third parties including retailers across various distribution channels, leading national media and marketing partners, suppliers and manufacturers across various verticals, key national logistics providers, IT and software providers and other relevant constituents |
|
o |
Expertise and learnings from the immediate VMG network, including current and former VMG portfolio management teams as well as their boards of directors, which may together enhance our partner brands’ growth plans and profitability |
|
o |
Rich firm culture with a “people-first” mentality and history of strong partnerships with founders and management teams |
|
o |
Ability to strengthen ESG alignment of portfolio companies given our strong and longstanding internal focus on ESG, with a demonstrated track record of supporting social impact causes and environmental / sustainability initiatives |
|
o |
Comprehensive understanding of the levers that drive stock performance, premium valuations and lower cost of capital with a strong pulse on the markets and investor sentiment |
VMG
Founded in 2005, VMG Partners invests in high-growth, emerging consumer and retail businesses and supports founders and management teams on their mission to create differentiated consumer brands and experiences.
91
VMG Partners has a track record of working with iconic, category-defining companies across industry verticals, with Senior Partners executing over $7.0 billion in successful exits4 including brands such as Drunk Elephant, Lily’s Sweets, Quest Nutrition and Vega:
|
• |
Drunk Elephant, a leading, fast-growing prestige skincare brand and recognized expert in developing clean compatible and effective products; sold to Shiseido Company in 2019. |
|
• |
Lily’s Sweets, high-growth, “better-for-you” confectionery brand; sold to The Hershey Company in 2021. |
|
• |
Quest Nutrition, a healthy lifestyle food company creating high-protein snacks with minimal sugars and net carbohydrates; sold to Simply Good Foods in 2019. |
|
• |
Vega, a pioneer and leader in plant-based nutrition products; sold to the WhiteWave Foods Company in 2015. |
VMG’s current portfolio includes interests in several notable consumer and retail brands such as Briogeo, Daily Harvest, Hello Bello, Nutpods, Perfect Diary (parent company Yatsen), Spindrift, Stone Brewing and The Pill Club, in VMG’s Growth fund, as well as Attentive and Weee!, in VMG’s Catalyst fund. As of the date of this prospectus, we have neither engaged in discussions, nor entered into any preliminary agreements with any VMG portfolio companies.
VMG has developed a disciplined investment process which is informed by 15 years of hands-on, operationally involved investment experience in the consumer and retail industry. In addition to working with portfolio company founders and management teams on crafting thoughtfully constructed growth plans, VMG supports its portfolio company teams with a range of operational resources to execute these growth plans, with Senior Partner involvement spanning branding, marketing & digital activation, product portfolio and service offering strategy, operations (including supply chain, manufacturing, distribution, innovation and other), talent acquisition, finance, data analytics, legal support and more. Further, the VMG team itself is in constant interaction with key players in the industry, attending multiple industry tradeshows, conducting frequent store visits, and building relationships with key business advisors such as industry investment bankers, local business brokers, lawyers, accountants, recruiters and others to target companies that meet VMG’s investment criteria. In addition, VMG has worked to establish strong relationships with key e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retailers to help identify brand momentum early, and to vet prospective brand performance most effectively. These collective relationships – in combination with VMG’s growing skill set and relationships in commerce enablement technology through its Catalyst fund – enable VMG to prepare its portfolio companies for success across brand, business and financial characteristics.
VMG is uncompromising in its approach to identifying the next generation of consumer brands, regardless of founder pedigree or network. As a testament to VMG’s distinct investment philosophy, VMG has backed numerous founders and management teams of diverse backgrounds. VMG seeks to promote diversity through the construction of its team and its investments. Today, 75% of the VMG’s 40-member investment and operating team is female or ethnically diverse, two groups that are significantly under-represented in investment firms today. Since Spring 2018, 57% of VMG’s investments have been female-founded and 50% have been female led, and 43% of VMG’s total investments have been in companies with diverse founders. VMG also values the importance of diversity in the boardroom: 77% of the boards of Growth IV’s investments qualify as diverse compared to 38% of Fortune 500 boards. Diversity has been a core philosophy of VMG since inception.
Combining proprietary sourcing capabilities, operational expertise, a robust track record and a culture centered around social impact, VMG believes it has become the investor of choice for founders, management teams and operators of high-caliber, high-growth branded consumer and retail companies.
Our Management Team
Our management team is led by Aarti Kapoor, our Chief Executive Officer, Michael Mauzé, our Chairman of the Board, and Angad Hira, our Chief Financial Officer. They will be complemented by our independent directors, Jasmin Allen, Lowell Singer and John Toth.
|
4 |
Figure represents Enterprise Value of all realized exits |
92
Aarti Kapoor
Aarti Kapoor has served as our Chief Executive Officer since June 2021. Ms. Kapoor is a seasoned investment banker with 14 years of experience in financial services, spending the majority of her career covering high-growth consumer and retail companies across both M&A and capital markets transactions. Ms. Kapoor has advised several marquee brands across the consumer and retail universe including Barry's Bootcamp, Casper, Caribou Coffee, F45 Training, Flywheel Sports, Indigo Wild, LaserAway, Vega, and various others. Ms. Kapoor has been recognized by various outlets for her work in pioneering coverage of the health and wellness industry on Wall Street, listed to "Forbes 30 Under 30" in Finance, Business Insider's "Rising Stars" of Wall Street, and featured in publications by Bloomberg, ESPN, Yahoo! Finance and more. Prior to joining VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp., Ms. Kapoor was a senior investment banker at Goldman Sachs, where she built out the firm’s coverage of leisure, lifestyle and wellness companies and led the new disruptive growth coverage effort within consumer and retail investment banking. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Ms. Kapoor was an investment banker at Moelis & Company, where she covered consumer and retail companies and built one of Wall Street’s first coverage platforms focused on the health and wellness industry. Ms. Kapoor began her career as an investment banker at Citi covering the technology sector. Ms. Kapoor received her B.A. with Honors in Economics from Harvard College.
Angad S. Hira
Angad Hira has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary since March 2021. Mr. Hira currently serves as Partner and Chief Financial Officer of VMG Partners. Mr. Hira joined VMG in 2010 and is responsible for all aspects of accounting, tax, financial management, reporting, and operations. Prior to transitioning to his CFO role at VMG, Mr. Hira served on the Board of Lily’s Sweets and was a member of the investment team focusing on due diligence, deal execution, and portfolio company oversight. Prior to joining VMG, Mr. Hira was an investment banker in the mergers and acquisitions group at UBS Investment Bank. Mr. Hira received his B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia.
Our Board of Directors
Michael Mauzé
Michael Mauzé has served as our Chairman of the Board since March 2021. Mr. Mauzé co-founded VMG Partners in 2005 and currently focuses on all aspects of VMG Growth’s investment strategy, execution, and portfolio company management. Mr. Mauzé serves on the Boards of Ilegal Mezcal, Little Freddie, Spindrift and Stone Brewing and was previously on the Boards of babyganics, Bare Snacks, Justin’s, Kernel Season’s, KIND, Mighty Leaf Tea, Nature’s Bakery, Perfect Snacks, Pirate Brands, Pretzel Crisps, Smashmallow, Speck Products, Timbuk2 and Waggin’ Train. Prior to co-founding VMG, Mr. Mauzé was a Managing Director at TSG Consumer Partners. Prior to joining TSG, Mr. Mauzé was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers advising consumer and retail companies in M&A and capital raising activities. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Mauzé was an investment banker in the mergers and acquisitions group of PaineWebber, with a special focus on consumer and retail industries. Mr. Mauzé received his A.B. in Economics from Davidson College and his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Jasmin Allen
Jasmin Allen is expected to serve as our director upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Ms. Allen currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Hennessy U.S. brand portfolio at LVMH, including Hennessy VS, Hennessy VSOP, Hennessy XO, Hennessy Black, Master Blender's Selection and the Hennessy Masterbrand. Prior to serving as SVP of Hennessy U.S., Ms. Allen held number of senior roles within LVMH at Moët Hennessy U.S., including Vice President of Moët & Chandon U.S. and Brand Director of Belvedere Vodka U.S. Prior to joining LVMH, Ms. Allen previously served as Head of Entertainment Marketing at T-Mobile and in number of brand management and marketing roles at The Coca-Cola Company. Ms. Allen received her B.S. from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and her M.B.A. from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
93
Lowell J. Singer
Lowell Singer is expected to serve as our director upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Singer currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Acrisure, a fast-growing insurance broker and financial services platform. Prior to joining Acrisure, Mr. Singer was Senior Vice President, Investor Relations at The Walt Disney Company, where he served as Disney's information liaison to the investor community, as well as key advisor and resource to Disney's senior management team. Prior to joining Disney, Mr. Singer was Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at Cowen and Company, where he provided sell-side research coverage of the entertainment, video games and cable sectors. Prior to joining Cowen, Mr. Singer was a senior research analyst at Robertson Stephens, where he led the firm's equity research of the entertainment and media sectors. Prior to joining Robertson Stephens, Mr. Singer was a brand manager with Kraft Foods, where he led the Stove Top and Kraft Salad Dressing businesses. Prior to joining Kraft Foods, Mr. Singer was a corporate finance associate at J.P. Morgan. Mr. Singer received his B.A. from Duke University and his M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
John Toth
John Toth is expected to serve as our director upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Toth is the Chief Financial Officer of BarkBox, Inc., a direct-to-consumer pet food, toys and pet care products company. Mr. Toth served as the Chief Financial Officer of BarkBox from 2016 through its transition to a public company via merger with Northern Star Acquisition Corporation in June 2021. In September 2021, Mr. Toth announced his intention to step down as CFO pending the hiring of a replacement. Prior to joining BarkBox, Mr. Toth served as Chief Financial Officer to public and private companies, including Hot Chalk, ARC Document Solutions, Bell-Carter Foods, and Fresh Express. Prior to his CFO roles, Mr. Toth was a founder and Managing Partner of Tennyson West, a boutique mergers and acquisitions advisory firm. Prior to founding Tennyson West, Mr. Toth was a senior investment banker at J.P. Morgan where he advised business services, energy and technology companies on full range of M&A and capital raising activities. Before joining J.P. Morgan, Mr. Toth was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Toth received his B.A. in Economics and Political Science as well as his M.A. in Economics from Stanford University. Mr. Toth currently serves on the board of Phoenix Industries.
Our Advisory Board
Melissa Baird
Melissa Baird currently serves as Chief Operating Officer at Hims & Hers, a direct-to-consumer telehealth company. Since joining Hims & Hers, Ms. Baird has led the company from an early-stage startup through its SPAC merger in January 2021 and is responsible for all aspects of operations and technology. Prior to joining Hims & Hers, Ms. Baird served as VP of Systems & Procedures at Draper James, Reese Witherspoon's lifestyle brand, where she worked directly with the actress on the brand’s marketing and e-commerce. Prior to joining Draper James, Ms. Baird served as VP of Product & Operations at Bonobos, a digitally native men's retailer, where she built the infrastructure for the company’s innovative Guideshop strategy. Prior to joining Bonobos, Ms. Baird was a project manager at Zulily, a leading flash sale site, where she built out the fulfillment network required to scale through the company’s IPO. Prior to her business career, Ms. Baird spent 10 years as a molecular geneticist at University of Washington and NOAA. Ms. Baird received her B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Missouri.
Amy Ferris
Amy Ferris currently serves as Chief Growth Officer at Varo Bank, an all-digital consumer bank. Ms. Ferris is responsible for growing Varo’s customer base and driving impact in the communities that the company serves. Prior to joining Varo, Amy served as Global Head of Marketing for Media Services at Apple, where she led marketing for high-profile consumer and entertainment services and launched new subscription businesses including Apple One, Apple TV+ and Apple News+. Prior to joining Apple, Ms. Ferris served as VP of Global Consumer Marketing at Spotify, where she spearheaded campaigns to grow consumer brand recognition and subscriber loyalty. Prior to joining Spotify, Ms. Ferris, served as Head of Marketing for Amazon Studios, where she built and scaled the marketing team, created the Amazon Studios brand, and launched several original scripted series. Prior to joining Amazon Studios, Ms. Ferris served in senior marketing roles at Chevron and Levi’s. Ms. Ferris received her B.A. in
94
English and Communications from University of California, Santa Barbara, and her M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley.
Michael Steib
Michael Steib currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Artsy, a global online art marketplace. Prior to joining Artsy, Mr. Steib served as Chief Executive Officer to XO Group and Vente-Privee USA. Prior to these roles, Mr. Steib served in senior roles at Google, including Managing Director of Emerging Platforms and Director of TV Ads. Prior to joining Google, Mr. Steib served in senior roles at NBC Universal, including General Manager, Strategic Venture and Vice President, Business Development. Prior to joining NBC Universal, Mr. Steib was an associate at Walker Digital, where he worked on the development of new media businesses for the company. Prior to joining Walker Digital, Mr. Steib was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Mr. Steib received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jesse Timmermans
Jesse Timmermans currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of REVOLVE, the next generation fashion retailer for Millennial and Generation Z consumers. Mr. Timmermans leads all aspects of finance, accounting, treasury and risk management, as well as legal and human resources functions, and led the company through its IPO in June 2019. Prior to joining Revolve, Mr. Timmermans served as Chief Financial Officer of Jobalign, a mobile first technology and marketplace company. Prior to joining Jobalign, Mr. Timmermans served as VP of Finance and Controller at Blue Nile. Prior to joining Blue Nile, Mr. Timmermans served in finance roles at T-Mobile and KPMG. Mr. Timmermans received his B.S. in Accounting from Central Washington University.
Our Market Opportunity
While we may acquire a business in any industry and in any geography, we intend to focus on industries that complement our management team’s background and capitalize on their ability to identify and acquire a business focused on the consumer and retail industries in the United States and Canada.
We believe that select themes – including health & wellness, omnichannel distribution, sustainability & social impact, and the success of challenger brands – are quickly shaping consumer behavior and driving rapid innovation within the consumer and retail industry. We believe that the next generation of brands in the consumer and retail landscape must be prepared to meet the needs of consumers who are increasingly wellness-conscious, values-driven, demand the convenience of shopping both online and in physical stores, and are seeking innovation across all facets of their lifestyle. With VMG’s 15 years of experience positioning portfolio companies to thrive in a dynamic consumer and retail environment, we believe that we are poised to continue supporting the next generation of brands as the consumer landscape continues to evolve.
Health & Wellness
Consumers have been increasingly focused on their health and wellness over the last several years, and the global COVID-19 pandemic has further reinforced the consumer’s consciousness around making healthier lifestyle choices. A recent survey by McKinsey & Company found that 79% of consumers believe wellness is important, and 42% consider wellness a top priority. Several long-term trends support the increasing consumer focus on health and wellness, including societal shifts promoting healthy living as an aspirational lifestyle, as well as demographic tailwinds including a growing aging population and trends around younger generations being more proactive in living a healthier lifestyle.
The growing emphasis on healthy living has been accompanied by a broadening consumer definition of health and wellness in tandem, now including not only conventional industry categories such as fitness and nutrition but also categories such as mental health, sexual health, sleep, recovery and various other aspects of the consumer’s day-to-day lifestyle. The health and wellness industry encompasses a range of products and services that are directly focused on health (e.g. vitamins and minerals, supplements, nutrition and fitness products), and also includes a range of “better-for-you” alternatives that simply offer a relatively healthier choice than their conventional counterparts (e.g. VMG’s recently realized investment, Lily’s Sweets, a low-sugar confectionery brand). Once a phenomenon
95
dominated by the food and beverage industry, the “better-for-you” movement has grown expansively to include various additional consumer packaged goods categories, such as beauty and personal care, household and pet care, with “better-for-you” offerings often characterized by cleaner ingredient profiles and other improvements to conventional offerings. The health and wellness movement has had tremendous impact on consumer brand preference and selection, with over 70% of consumers noting that it is important to them that brands offer “clean” products. We believe the desire for wellbeing in every aspect of life has contributed to the blurring of category lines as consumers pair disparate solution-oriented practices and products to promote their overall physical and mental health.
While COVID-19 has accelerated various healthy living categories – such as at-home fitness, mental health services and sleep aids, among others – shifts in favor of health and wellness are likely to persist even as the world emerges from COVID-19. Spending on health and wellness products has continued to increase into 2021 while 80% of respondents in a fitness survey indicated they plan to continue streaming workouts and 87% will continue using at-home fitness alternatives. As employers struggle to stem employee attrition and burnout due to pandemic working conditions, the global workplace wellness market is estimated to be worth roughly $75 billion in 2024, up from less than $60 billion in 2019.
VMG has a strong track record with brands aligned with health and wellness and better-for-you industry themes, including successful exits of high-protein nutrition brands such as Sequel Naturals (dba “Vega”), Quest Nutrition and Perfect Snacks, among others.
Omnichannel
While the last decade was marked by the emergence and penetration of the digital, direct-to-consumer channel in the consumer goods space, we believe that consumer facing companies today must effectively navigate both online and in-store sales strategies as consumers increasingly shop across multiple channels and personal devices. Creating a unified, holistic consumer experience is now commonplace for brands as consumers become increasingly channel-agnostic.
While consumers still largely prefer buying products in-store (about 85-90%), studies find that, for the most part, consumers do preliminary searches on products online before an eventual in-store purchase, further illustrating the need for a seamless digital experience. In addition, consumer preference towards online purchases is growing, and has only accelerated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by first-time adopters of digital channels, shopping methods, and brands. More than 110 million Americans have made omnichannel features (e.g. buy online, pick up in-store) part of their regular shopping routines, and consumers are increasingly thinking outside of traditional channel boundaries and evaluating brands and retailers based on the seamlessness of their shopping experiences. With consumers quarantining and working from home following the onset of COVID-19, e-commerce penetration increased significantly – however the growing adoption and usage of e-commerce across categories is likely to continue post-COVID-19 as consumers have the opportunity to develop new shopping habits over time.
Despite these trends supporting the e-commerce channel, we believe brick-and-mortar shopping will continue to retain a crucial role in the eye of the consumer. A recent study highlights that brick-and-mortar stores (or product placement within brick-and-mortar stores) form a “halo effect” for subsequent online purchases. Normalized for an initial $100 spend, consumers who first purchased in-store were found to have subsequently spent $267 online, while those who first purchased online spent only $231 when they switched to in-store. Further, specific consumer and retail categories have been marked by a specific consumer preference for product trial in advance of purchase – whether a highly considered long-term purchase (e.g. mattresses or luggage) or a purchase which requires trial to aid the consumer’s purchasing decision (e.g. eyewear, as evidenced by the success of the brick-and-mortar rollout of a digitally native brand, such as Warby Parker). Considering these changing dynamics, we believe we are well-qualified to support businesses in achieving omnichannel success.
The VMG team has been active in partnering with brands with both large brick-and-mortar presence and large online presence since inception. Omnichannel distribution has been a transformative part of the growth story for many of VMG’s portfolio company businesses, spanning several consumer and retail verticals, including but not
96
limited to: Ancient Nutrition, Briogeo, Drunk Elephant, Hello Bello, Honey Pot, Nutpods, Quest Nutrition, Solid Gold and Vega.
Sustainability and Social Impact
While sustainability and social impact have been on the minds of companies for some time now, it has become increasingly evident that traditional sustainability and social impact practices are no longer enough. Consumers are expecting companies to voice their opinions on matters where they had previously been silent and are demanding more transparency and action.
Consumers increasingly consider brands as potential forces for social change, with 76% of Millennials viewing businesses as a source for positive social impact, 65% of Americans having reported doing research on companies to gauge the authenticity of the company’s socio-political and environmental claims, and 76% of Americans stating that they would boycott a company that does not align with their beliefs. Additionally, 66% of consumers have noted a willingness to pay more for sustainable brands, and that after quality, the second most important reason for customer brand loyalty is recognition of sustainable and ethical business practices.
VMG has consistently supported brands with strong sustainability and social missions, and we intend to continue this practice. With racial injustices brought to the forefront in 2020, particularly in the Black and Asian communities, VMG and its portfolio companies made a number of deliberate efforts to stand in solidarity with these groups and put a stake in the ground for racial equality across the board.
We believe that senior management teams of high-profile consumer and retail brands are well-positioned to drive societal change by drawing heightened awareness to such issues and leading by example in their responses. Illustrative portfolio company actions are as follows:
|
• |
Briogeo: Following the death of George Floyd, Briogeo released a statement condemning racial injustice, and focused on amplifying Black-founded brands and professionals to help share their authentic stories. Briogeo partnered with Pull Up For Change, releasing an exclusive product to support grant programs for Black businesses. Briogeo’s founder, Nancy Twine, partnered with Sephora on the Sephora Accelerate program, where Nancy was a keynote speaker and advisor for the program’s participants which were all women of color. The company required all employees to complete mandatory trainings on diversity, inclusion and cultural sensitivity. |
|
• |
Hello Bello: In the wake of racially motivated violence in the US, Hello Bello responded publicly in support of Black Lives Matter and partnered with local nonprofits and churches to coordinate diaper donations in communities of color. Hello Bello pledged to “help raise future allies in this fight against racism and inequality.” More recently, during Black History Month, Hello Bello partnered with Mother Nation, an online community working to support mothers, and a variety of experts to highlight the stories of Black Motherhood through history. |
|
• |
Lily’s Sweets: In response to the Black Lives Matter movement, Lily’s Sweets donated to BLM organizations and created its own internal BLM committee. Lily’s Sweets partnered with the Justice Equality Diversity and Inclusion collaborative at the University of Colorado Boulder to help encourage social change. During Black History month it partnered with the JEDI Committee on a self-paced racial equity habit-building challenge which promoted daily engagement with music, articles, podcasts, and films to learn about current and historical issues of racial inequality and ways to be part of the solution. |
In addition to supporting portfolio companies in their brand-level social impact initiatives, we have practiced the same at the VMG Partners level. In support of the BLM and Stop AAPI Hate movements, the VMG team came together to align on key strategies to promote diversity and inclusion within our organization and the broader consumer ecosystem, including issuing public statements on our website and LinkedIn. VMG’s statements condemned systemic racism and encouraged others to judge us by our actions. VMG’s actions have since included increased diversity tracking to improve BIPOC, LGBTQ, veteran, and disabled representation at the portfolio company, board, and executive leadership levels within the VMG portfolio. VMG spearheaded the creation of undergraduate internship programs across a cohort of its portfolio companies, with an eye toward increasing diversity and inclusion in the consumer products industry.
97
Since long before the events of 2020, both VMG and its portfolio companies have used their brands as platforms to improve the world; Sun Bum, Lily’s Sweets, Hello Bello and Spindrift are just a handful of examples to date.
Disruptive Challenger Brands Taking Share from Incumbents
A confluence of shifting dynamics over the last several years has contributed to a broad-based disruption of consumer and retail verticals whereby newer, “challenger” brands have been taking share from larger, longer standing incumbents. Illustrative societal, demographic and macroeconomic dynamics contributing to the rise of challenger brands include:
|
• |
Growing consumer focus on health and wellness, driving demand for cleaner, “free-from” ingredient labels and enhanced nutritional profiles |
|
• |
Increasing consumer focus on mission-driven brands, social impact, and brand authenticity |
|
• |
Shifting consumer shopping behaviors with increasing penetration of e-commerce as a proportion of total sales |
|
• |
Lower barriers to entry for startup brands, with a significant proportion of digitally native brands launched online and leveraging social media as a key brand-building strategy |
|
• |
Continued technological innovation and development, driving new product and service features, greater consumer access to information pre-purchase, and new, disruptive business models. |
From 2016 to 2020, leading brands in each consumer goods category have generated only 25% of the total category growth despite representing 50% of sales. During the same period, small/medium size brands have generated 45% of the category growth while representing only 32% of sales. Of the CPG industry’s $933 billion of total US sales in 2020, large manufacturers lost $12 billion in sales to smaller players due to a confluence of channel shifts, supply constraints and category shifts. Challenger brands ability to simultaneously take market share from competitors and expand the total addressable market for their products led to several large CPG companies to respond by launching or acquiring brands focused around health and nutrition.
Disruption is being effected in multiple ways: through product innovation (with cleaner labels and enhanced ingredient profiles, or more advanced, technology-enabled consumer products) as well as through new business models and novel ways of connecting with the consumer (such as digitally native, direct-to-consumer business models or technological disruption).
|
• |
Illustrative Product Innovation |
|
o |
Product innovation in food and beverage is well-illustrated by the emergence of plant-based alternatives in response to growing consumer focus on health, wellness and sustainability in food and beverage. Meat alternatives such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have experienced steep growth in recent years, as have dairy alternatives such as Nutpods (a VMG portfolio company) and Oatly, and plant-based nutrition such as Vega (a former VMG portfolio company) and Orgain, innovating on the traditional whey protein category. Product innovation in beauty and personal care has mirrored such trends as consumers seek products with ingredient profiles that are natural or “free from” toxic ingredients, environmentally-friendly and animal cruelty-free: these consumer demands drove the very growth and success of VMG’s former clean-label skincare portfolio company Drunk Elephant, which sold to Shiseido in 2019, and are propelling growth of VMG’s existing investment in clean-label, fragrance-free skincare brand Necessaire, a portfolio company in VMG’s Catalyst fund. Similar trends in clean-label have penetrated other consumer and retail verticals, driving meaningful product innovation in household, pet, and other consumer product categories. |
|
• |
Illustrative Business Model Innovation |
98
|
fitness studios, through their group workouts and robust sense of community – and for digital providers, their novel format, convenience, digital communities and more. |
|
o |
A similar business model disruption has taken place in the aesthetic services category, wherein next generation four-wall brands have innovated in segments such as medical spas and hair removal which saw little to no innovation for the prior several decades. In the medical spa category, players such as Ideal Image, Milan Laser and LaserAway have reinvented the consumer anti-aging and laser hair removal experiences and transformed what used to be a clinical doctor’s office visit into a branded, high-tech, user-friendly lifestyle experience. Similarly, players such as European Wax and Waxing the City have taken the waxing service out of a generic beauty salon setting and created dedicated waxing centers that implement best-in-class waxing practices and deliver a high quality of service, in a bright and welcoming salon environment. Additional segments in aesthetic services such as nail salons, lash studios and blowout studios are showing early signs of similar innovation trends, with newer entrants elevating the quality of services delivered to the consumer as well as the overall consumer experience from start to finish. |
Challenger brands have been highly coveted in the market for, among other things, their brand authenticity, brand communities, supportive consumer tailwinds, newer business models and robust growth profiles – as evidenced by the significant M&A activity (both financial and strategic acquirors) as well as transactions in the capital markets. VMG has realized successful exits for various challenger brands across multiple verticals, where category incumbents acquired these businesses to keep up to date with changing consumer preferences. Such transactions include the sale of Natural Balance (clean-label pet food) to Del Monte, Babyganics (clean-label bath, body and outdoor baby products) to SC Johnson, and Lily’s Sweets (low-sugar, better-for-you confectionery) to The Hershey Company, among others.
Our Acquisition and Value Creation Strategy
We intend to source and pursue potential targets that we believe will benefit from the collective investment, advisory and operating expertise of our management team, directors, advisory board members, VMG Partners and the broader VMG relationship network.
We believe we can drive value creation by leveraging various aspects of the existing VMG Partners playbook, and building upon these skills with the incremental experience of our management team, directors and advisory board members to provide additional areas of support relevant to consumer and retail targets in the public market.
Our operational playbook and value creation strategy includes, but is not limited to:
- |
Branding, Marketing & Digital Activation: With VMG’s 15+ years of working with iconic brands across industry verticals and business models, we plan to combine VMG’s hands-on branding experience with our network of relevant relationships to support key facets of a target company’s brand strategy. We believe we can provide support in areas that include but are not limited to the following: |
|
o |
Refinement of brand messaging, brand taglines, brand positioning, brand values |
|
o |
Definition of primary and secondary target audiences, by demographics and psychographics |
|
o |
Formulation of a multi-channel performance marketing strategy |
|
o |
Enhancement of brand packaging, brand and logo aesthetics, brand imagery |
|
o |
Management of influencer strategy and support, social media tracking and analytics, digital media distribution and other related functions |
|
o |
Customization of an integrated digital activation strategy through utilization of strategies such as social sampling, mobile couponing, consumer education, review building and more |
- |
Product Portfolio & Service Offering Strategy: We believe that VMG’s experience with detailed portfolio analysis and refinement can help to optimize the continuously evolving portfolio dynamics amidst company growth, through initiatives such as: |
|
o |
Analysis of product category and SKU-level performance, with SKU expansion or rationalization as necessary; analogous analyses for consumer services companies at category and service levels |
|
o |
Development of price-pack architecture, managing distribution ecosystem at retailer and channel levels |
|
o |
Determination of product pricing and price increase strategy, if appropriate |
|
o |
Creation of strategy around exclusivity of products or services for specific retailers |
|
o |
Development of portfolio mix goals to drive revenue growth while preserving / increasing margins. |
99
|
o |
Supply Chain (supplier access, vetting and buildout of multi-source supplier network, raw material quality control procedures, supplier contract negotiation) |
|
o |
Manufacturing (de novo manufacturing plant development, co-packer procurement, buildout of multi-source co-packing network, co-packer contract negotiation) |
|
o |
Quality control (testing, quality control and quality assurance protocols spanning all stages of the supply chain from raw material to finished product) |
|
o |
Logistics / Distribution (creation of an efficient, cost-effective distribution framework customized for products, distribution channels and geographies) |
|
o |
Innovation (product improvement and new product development initiatives supported by specialized ideation, commercialization and optimization efforts) |
|
o |
Site Selection (real estate and site selection strategy to scale brick-and-mortar footprint, optimize target consumer reach and maximize 4-wall unit economic performance) |
- |
Public Company Readiness: We intend to utilize the collective experience of our management team, directors and advisory board members who have executed IPOs and de-SPACs and/or held leadership roles at publicly traded companies to provide support in preparing for long-term public market success, including areas such as: |
|
o |
Public market-ready management team |
|
o |
Strategic planning and ongoing prioritization of quarterly and annual initiatives |
|
o |
Financial planning, analysis and forecasting capabilities |
|
o |
SEC financial reporting capabilities |
|
o |
Internal control and audit framework |
|
o |
Investor relations strategy. |
- |
Talent Acquisition: VMG has invested in building an in-house team of experienced recruiters that have longstanding relationships in consumer, retail, technology and other relevant industries in order to identify talent for VMG affiliated companies. The VMG talent team has sourced C-suite executives and functional heads across VMG’s portfolio, as well as facilitated placements throughout the broader industry ecosystem to continue expanding our network of relationships. VMG maintains a large and growing internal database of high quality operator relationships that will be available to VMGCAC to bolster talent for our target company as necessary. |
- |
Data Analytics: VMG has a specific in-house effort exclusively focused on analyzing large data sets that include physical retail sell-through, digital retail sell-through, social media activity, employment activity and various other industry research and KPIs. The Head of Data provides customized analysis for deal sourcing, portfolio company support and ecosystem insights, and will be an available resource to VMGCAC as well. |
- |
Legal Support: VMG works with law firms to help manage risk through strategic oversight and active management of issues related to various legal areas such as: intellectual property, regulatory frameworks, product claims, liability considerations, class action risk, supplier contracts, other key contract matters and more. VMGCAC will be able to utilize VMG’s network of longstanding legal relationships to provide our target company with similar forms of legal support where needed. |
The selection process for our initial business combination will leverage our team’s extensive relationships with founders, management teams and institutional investors, as well as sourcing industry professionals such as investment bankers, legal counsel and various other constituents across the ecosystem. We believe that our sourcing capabilities far exceed the relationships of VMGCAC and its board, as we will leverage the broader network of VMG Senior Partners and the firm’s current and former portfolio companies and boards of directors as well.
We also believe that VMG’s reputation, experience and track record of making investments in leading consumer and retail brands will make us a preferred partner for potential targets in the future. VMG’s objective as a firm includes acting as an entrepreneur–first investor forging deep partnerships that helps transform visionary ideas into iconic brands.
100
Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following criteria to evaluate prospective target businesses. We believe VMGCAC’s search for a target will be differentiated and focused on the areas in which our team has expertise in driving business transformations and creating value for investors. We may, however, decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria if we believe such business presents a compelling investment opportunity and can benefit from our value-add strategy. We intend to seek to acquire companies that we believe will have the following target entry characteristics:
|
• |
Robust brand equity marked by an authentic connection to the end-consumer |
|
• |
High-quality products and services, differentiated in the competitive landscape |
|
• |
Attractive and replicable unit economics with ability to scale quickly, and if applicable, visible path to profitability |
|
• |
Demonstrated proof of concept in core distribution channels and geographic markets |
|
• |
Compelling underlying industry fundamentals with a large, growing total addressable market and supportive consumer behavioral tailwinds |
|
• |
Strong relative brand positioning with the ability to become a leader in the target’s industry vertical |
|
• |
Multiple levers of long-term growth spanning brand awareness, products, channels, geographies |
|
• |
Proven management team with entrepreneurial or founder-led culture, poised to lead as a public company |
|
• |
Alignment with key themes in consumer and retail, such as healthy living, omnichannel distribution, sustainability and impact, and industry disruption |
We may use other criteria as well. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into an initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria, we will disclose that fact in our shareholder communications related to the acquisition. As discussed elsewhere in this prospectus, this would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC or tender offer documents.
Our Acquisition Process
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. Certain members of our management team are employed by either VMG or one of its affiliates. VMG is continuously made aware of potential 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, or had any discussions, formal or otherwise with, any prospective target business with respect to a business combination transaction with us.
Our search for a business combination, ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak. See “Risk Factors—Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets.”
Several of our officers and certain of our directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to either VMG or to certain companies in which it has invested. These entities may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing that opportunity. Subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law, none of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing or otherwise becoming involved with any other blank check companies, including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination. VMG manages a significant number of funds and will raise additional funds and/or accounts in the future, which will be during the period in which we are seeking our initial business combination. These VMG investment entities may be seeking acquisition opportunities and related financing at any time. We may compete with any one or more of them on any given acquisition opportunity. In particular, certain of these VMG investment entities are focused on investments in the
101
consumer industry and certain of our officers and directors have fiduciary and contractual obligations to such VMG entities to present to them business opportunities that may be appropriate for them. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for the VMG entities. To the extent any conflict of interest arises between, on the one hand, us and, on the other hand, investment funds, accounts, co-investment vehicles and other entities managed by VMG or its affiliates (including, without limitation, arising as a result of certain of our officers and directors being required to offer acquisition opportunities to VMG or investment funds, accounts, co-investment vehicles and other entities), VMG and its affiliates will resolve such conflicts of interest in their sole discretion in accordance with their then existing fiduciary, contractual and other duties and there can be no assurance that such conflict of interest will be resolved in our favor. Our management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. 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 the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. For more information, see the section entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”
Our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law. Our directors and officers are also not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. See “Risk Factors—Certain of our directors and officers 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 should be presented.”
In addition, VMG and its affiliates, as well as VMG Funds, may sponsor other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination, and members of our management team may participate in such blank check companies. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates and the board and management teams.
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially adversely affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.
You should not rely on the historical record of our founders’ and management’s performance as indicative of our future performance. See “Risk Factors—Past performance by our management team and their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.”
Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that 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 (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. If our board of directors is not able independently to 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
102
commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Although we may purchase multiple businesses in related industries in connection with our initial business combination, 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 shares will own or acquire 100% of the issued and 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 issued and 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”). Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in 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 issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target, or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on Nasdaq for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net assets test.
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.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their stock, shares or other equity interests in the target business for our Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A common stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by
103
augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek stockholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
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.
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 (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to SEC rules from time to time), or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of any fiscal year for so long as either (1) the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates did not equal or exceed $250.0 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues did not exceed $100.0 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates did not equal or exceed $700.0 million as of the prior June 30.
Financial Position
With funds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants initially available for a business combination in the amount of $198,600,000, after payment of the estimated expenses of this offering and $7,000,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $228,150,000 after payment of $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), we offer a target business a variety of options such as 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 leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
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 warrants, our equity, debt or a combination of these as the
104
consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our officers and directors have neither individually selected nor considered a target business, nor have they had any discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with our underwriters or other advisors. Some of the members of our management team are employed by certain affiliates of VMG. VMG is continuously 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 discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction. We have not (nor have any of our agents or affiliates) been approached by any candidates (or representative of any candidates) with respect to a possible acquisition transaction with us and we will not consider a business combination with any company that has already been identified to VMG as a suitable acquisition candidate for it. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate.
We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions with any business combination target. Additionally, we have not engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate, to conduct any research or take any measures, directly or indirectly, to locate or contact a target business, other than our officers and directors. Accordingly, there is no current basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination. Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely affect a target business.
We may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account, or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There are no prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial business combination. We are not currently a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the incurrence of debt or otherwise.
Sources of Target Businesses
Our VMGCAC management team has built a broad network of relationships in the consumer and retail industry, and we believe this network will be significantly bolstered by the collective relationships of our directors, advisory board members and VMG Partners. Over the course of their careers, the members of each of these groups has built relationships with relevant industry constituencies including founders, management teams, shareholders, industry experts, and advisors across multiple consumer and retail verticals, both in the U.S. and globally. Our management team’s relationship network is a product of both investment banking and principal investing activities such as consumer and retail industry coverage, mergers & acquisitions and IPO transaction advisory, investment target sourcing, and the acquisition, financing and sale of businesses under varying economic and financial market conditions.
In addition to relationships from principal business activities, the members of our management team, our directors and our advisory board members have developed contacts from serving on the boards of directors of
105
several companies in the consumer and retail industry and beyond. Similarly, VMG investment professionals benefit from VMG’s 15+ year track record of evaluating potential investment candidates as well as working with current and former VMG portfolio management teams and board members.
We believe this combined reach across our management team, directors, advisory board members and VMG Partners will provide management with a robust and consistent flow of acquisition opportunities which are proprietary or where a limited group of investors are invited to participate in the sale process. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates may be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment banks, growth equity funds, private equity funds, and strategic corporations seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions. We also expect that we may receive direct inbound requests from unaffiliated targets given VMG’s history and touchpoints in the consumer and retail industry.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
As more fully discussed in “Management— Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our directors and officers currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that 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 (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. If our board of directors is not able independently to 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. Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. 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 issued and 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 equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
106
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 and a review of financial, operational, legal and other information, which will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
|
• |
subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and |
|
• |
cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
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 subject to the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, 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
107
of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
Type of Transaction |
|
Whether Stockholder Approval is Required |
Purchase of assets |
|
No |
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company |
|
No |
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company |
|
No |
Merger of the company with a target |
|
Yes |
Under Nasdaq listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
|
• |
we issue shares of common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our common stock then outstanding (other than in a public offering); |
|
• |
any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding shares of common stock or voting power of 5% or more; or |
|
• |
the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
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 of 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 sponsor, 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 material nonpublic information), our sponsor, 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 transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. In the event our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates determine to undertake any such transactions, such transactions could have the effect of influencing the vote necessary to approve such transaction. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. They will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore
108
agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. Subsequent to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to (1) refrain from purchasing securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (2) clear certain trades 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 sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates purchase 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 such transaction could be to (1) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of our initial business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or 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. This may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our securities 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.
Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and/or any of their respective affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, directors, officers, 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 tender offer or proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, directors, officers, 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 sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and 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 sponsor, directors, officers 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 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 sponsor, directors, officers and/or any of their respective affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of our common stock if the 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 Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the completion
109
of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.20 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial 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 sponsor, officers and directors will enter into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they will agree to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering.
Limitation on Redemptions
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 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A 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 initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. We may, however, raise fund through the sale of equity, debt or a combination thereof in connection with our initial business combination in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.
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. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would typically require stockholder approval. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with Nasdaq’s stockholder approval rules. 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, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with
110
Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our common stock in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we 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 that 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 ten 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 Nasdaq 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, alignment 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 will enter into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they will agree to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, alignment shares and 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 public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of common
111
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, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to the Excess Shares without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of 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 initially 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, rather than simply voting against the initial business combination. 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 initially 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 ten 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 DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against
112
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.
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 with a different target until 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if No Initial Business Combination
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we will initially have only 18 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 (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and 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, liquidate and dissolve, 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 sponsor, officers and directors will enter into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial stockholders acquire 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 sponsor, directors and officers will agree, 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 redemption 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 18 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
113
then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and 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 $1,600,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.20. 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 $10.20. 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 $10.20 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 enter into an agreement with a third-party that has not executed a waiver only 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.
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third-party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) 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) $10.20 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 value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third-party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third-party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations 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. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business
114
combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 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 other officers 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) $10.20 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 value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors 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 $10.20 per 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 $10.20 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 $1,600,000 from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, 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 18 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,
115
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.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280 of the DGCL, 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) $10.20 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 $10.20 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.”
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an 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 redemption 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 18 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 our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this
116
offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants.
117
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 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.
|
|
Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination |
|
Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates |
|
Redemptions if we Fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination |
Calculation of redemption price |
|
Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a 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 $10.20 per share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no |
|
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit to the prices that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may pay in these transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the 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 |
|
If we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 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 $10.20 per share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest income to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. |
|
|
redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination. |
|
the going- private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. |
|
|
118
|
|
Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination |
|
Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates |
|
Redemptions if we Fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination |
|
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 deferred underwriting commissions and interest withdrawn in order to pay our taxes and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses (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 would 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 |
Escrow of offering proceeds |
|
204,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be deposited into a trust account located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. |
|
Approximately $170,100,000 of the offering proceeds, representing the gross proceeds of this offering, would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. |
Investment of net proceeds |
|
204,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. |
|
Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. |
119
120
121
|
|
Terms of Our Offering |
|
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
|
|
we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of our initial business combination. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public stockholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction; provided that, 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 without our prior consent. |
|
|
Business combination deadline |
|
If we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, |
|
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. |
|
|
including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest income 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 liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible |
|
|
122
|
|
Terms of Our Offering |
|
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
|
|
following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and subject to the other requirements of applicable law. |
|
|
Release of funds |
|
Except for the withdrawal of interest to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), if any, none of the funds held in trust will be released from the trust account until the earliest of (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted 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 redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. |
|
The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
123
124
125
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other special purpose acquisition companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess similar or greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our issued and outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
We currently utilize office space at 39 Mesa Street, Suite 310, San Francisco, CA 94129 from our sponsor and the members of our management team as our executive offices. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
We currently have two officers: Aarti Kapoor and Angad Hira. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We will register our units, shares of 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 accountants.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may conduct an initial business combination with because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential 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 September 30, 2023 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 have our internal control procedures audited. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
126
Prior to the date of this prospectus, we filed 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 are 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.
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 shares of Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
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.
127
Officers, Directors and Director Nominees
Our officers and directors are as follows:
Name |
|
Age |
|
Position |
Aarti Kapoor |
|
36 |
|
Chief Executive Officer and Director |
Angad S. Hira |
|
36 |
|
Chief Financial Officer and Secretary |
Michael Mauzé |
|
58 |
|
Chairman of the Board of Directors |
Jasmin Allen |
|
41 |
|
Director Nominee |
Lowell J. Singer |
|
56 |
|
Director Nominee |
John Toth |
|
51 |
|
Director Nominee |
Aarti Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Aarti Kapoor has served as our Chief Executive Officer since June 2021. Ms. Kapoor is a seasoned investment banker with 14 years of experience in financial services, spending the majority of her career covering high-growth consumer and retail companies across both M&A and capital markets transactions. Ms. Kapoor has advised several marquee brands across the consumer and retail universe including Barry's Bootcamp, Casper, Caribou Coffee, F45 Training, Flywheel Sports, Indigo Wild, LaserAway, Vega, and various others. Ms. Kapoor has been recognized by various outlets for her work in pioneering coverage of the health and wellness industry on Wall Street, listed to "Forbes 30 Under 30" in Finance, Business Insider's "Rising Stars" of Wall Street, and featured in publications by Bloomberg, ESPN, Yahoo! Finance and more. Prior to joining VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp., Ms. Kapoor was a senior investment banker at Goldman Sachs, where she built out the firm’s coverage of leisure, lifestyle and wellness companies and led the new disruptive growth coverage effort within consumer and retail investment banking. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Ms. Kapoor was an investment banker at Moelis & Company, where she covered consumer and retail companies and built one of Wall Street’s first coverage platforms focused on the health and wellness industry. Ms. Kapoor began her career as an investment banker at Citi covering the technology sector. Ms. Kapoor received her B.A. with Honors in Economics from Harvard College. We believe Ms. Kapoor’s expertise in financial services makes her well qualified to be our Chief Executive Officer and serve on our board of directors.
Angad S. Hira, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary
Angad Hira has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary since March 2021. Mr. Hira currently serves as Partner and Chief Financial Officer of VMG Partners. Mr. Hira joined VMG in 2010 and is responsible for all aspects of accounting, tax, financial management, reporting, and operations. Prior to transitioning to his CFO role at VMG, Mr. Hira served on the Board of Lily’s Sweets and was a member of the investment team focusing on due diligence, deal execution, and portfolio company oversight. Prior to joining VMG, Mr. Hira was an investment banker in the mergers and acquisitions group at UBS Investment Bank. Mr. Hira received his B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia. We believe Mr. Hira’s extensive financial experience and history as an investment professional at VMG make him a valuable addition to our management team.
Our Board of Directors
Michael Mauzé, Chairman of the Board of Directors
Michael Mauzé has served as our Chairman of the Board since March 2021. Mr. Mauzé co-founded VMG Partners in 2005 and currently focuses on all aspects of VMG Growth’s investment strategy, execution, and portfolio company management. Mr. Mauzé serves on the Boards of Ilegal Mezcal, Little Freddie, Spindrift and Stone Brewing and was previously on the Boards of babyganics, Bare Snacks, Justin’s, Kernel Season’s, KIND, Mighty Leaf Tea, Nature’s Bakery, Perfect Snacks, Pirate Brands, Pretzel Crisps, Smashmallow, Speck Products, Timbuk2 and Waggin’ Train. Prior to co-founding VMG, Mr. Mauzé was a Managing Director at TSG Consumer
128
Partners. Prior to joining TSG, Mr. Mauzé was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers advising consumer and retail companies in M&A and capital raising activities. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Mauzé was an investment banker in the mergers and acquisitions group of PaineWebber, with a special focus on consumer and retail industries. Mr. Mauzé received his A.B. in Economics from Davidson College and his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. We believe Mr. Mauzé’s extensive leadership experience, management expertise from serving on boards of both public and private companies and deep understanding of the VMG brand make him a valuable addition to our board of directors.
Jasmin Allen, Director Nominee
Jasmin Allen is expected to serve as our director upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Ms. Allen currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Hennessy U.S. brand portfolio at LVMH, including Hennessy VS, Hennessy VSOP, Hennessy XO, Hennessy Black, Master Blender's Selection and the Hennessy Masterbrand. Prior to serving as SVP of Hennessy U.S., Ms. Allen held number of senior roles within LVMH at Moët Hennessy U.S., including Vice President of Moët & Chandon U.S. and Brand Director of Belvedere Vodka U.S. Prior to joining LVMH, Ms. Allen previously served as Head of Entertainment Marketing at T-Mobile and in number of brand management and marketing roles at The Coca-Cola Company. Ms. Allen received her B.S. from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and her M.B.A. from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. We believe Ms. Allen’s extensive leadership experience and management expertise and deep knowledge of the branded consumer and retail make her well qualified to serve on our board of directors.
Lowell J. Singer, Director Nominee
Lowell Singer is expected to serve as our director upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Singer currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Acrisure, a fast-growing insurance broker and financial services platform. Prior to joining Acrisure, Mr. Singer was Senior Vice President, Investor Relations at The Walt Disney Company, where he served as Disney's information liaison to the investor community, as well as key advisor and resource to Disney's senior management team. Prior to joining Disney, Mr. Singer was Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at Cowen and Company, where he provided sell-side research coverage of the entertainment, video games and cable sectors. Prior to joining Cowen, Mr. Singer was a senior research analyst at Robertson Stephens, where he led the firm's equity research of the entertainment and media sectors. Prior to joining Robertson Stephens, Mr. Singer was a brand manager with Kraft Foods, where he led the Stove Top and Kraft Salad Dressing businesses. Prior to joining Kraft Foods, Mr. Singer was a corporate finance associate at J.P. Morgan. Mr. Singer received his B.A. from Duke University and his M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business. We believe Mr. Singer’s extensive leadership experience and management expertise make him well qualified to serve on our board of directors.
John Toth, Director Nominee
John Toth is expected to serve as our director upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Toth is the Chief Financial Officer of BarkBox, Inc., a direct-to-consumer pet food, toys and pet care products company. Mr. Toth served as the Chief Financial Officer of BarkBox from 2016 through its transition to a public company via merger with Northern Star Acquisition Corporation in June 2021. In September 2021, Mr. Toth announced his intention to step down as CFO pending the hiring of a replacement. Prior to joining BarkBox, Mr. Toth served as Chief Financial Officer to public and private companies, including Hot Chalk, ARC Document Solutions, Bell-Carter Foods, and Fresh Express. Prior to his CFO roles, Mr. Toth was a founder and Managing Partner of Tennyson West, a boutique mergers and acquisitions advisory firm. Prior to founding Tennyson West, Mr. Toth was a senior investment banker at J.P. Morgan where he advised business services, energy and technology companies on full range of M&A and capital raising activities. Before joining J.P. Morgan, Mr. Toth was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Toth received his B.A. in Economics and Political Science as well as his M.A. in Economics from Stanford University. Mr. Toth currently serves on the board
129
of Phoenix Industries. We believe Mr. Toth’s extensive management and financial expertise and recent de-SPAC experience make him well qualified to serve on our board of directors.
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 five members.
Only holders of Class B common stock will have the right to elect directors in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the election of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation relating to the rights of holders of Class B common stock to elect directors may be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our common stock voting in a general meeting.
In accordance with Nasdaq 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 Nasdaq. 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.
Our officers are elected 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 elect officers as it deems appropriate pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
The rules of Nasdaq require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect to have three “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our board of directors has determined that Jasmin Allen, Lowell Singer and John Toth are “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Officer and Director Compensation
None of our officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on Nasdaq through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will pay our sponsor or an affiliate thereof up to $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services provided to members of our management team. In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
130
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed initial business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect that our board of directors will have three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Both our audit committee and our compensation committee will be composed solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of Nasdaq and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of Nasdaq 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 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.
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. Jasmin Allen, Lowell Singer and John Toth will serve as the members and will serve as chair of the audit committee. Each of Jasmin Allen, Lowell Singer and John Toth are independent of and unaffiliated with our sponsor and our underwriters. Under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on the audit committee must be independent.
, and are financially literate and our board of directors has determined that qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which will detail the 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 registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent registered public accounting firm; the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
131
|
policies and procedures; reviewing and discussing with the independent registered public accounting firm all relationships the registered public accounting firm have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; |
|
• |
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 registered public accounting firm describing (1) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the registered public accounting 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 registered public accounting firm, 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 registered public accounting firm, 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. |
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. Jasmin Allen, Lowell Singer and John Toth will serve as the members of the compensation committee and will chair the compensation committee. Under Nasdaq listing standards, all the directors on the compensation committee must be independent.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
|
• |
reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our chief executive officer’s compensation, evaluating our chief executive officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our chief executive officer’s 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. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than the payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of up to $10,000 per month, for up to 18 months, for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be
132
responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.
The charter also provides 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 Nasdaq 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 will be Jasmin Allen, Lowell Singer and John Toth. will serve as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards, all the directors on the nominating and corporate governance committee must be independent.
We have adopted 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 general meeting 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 also provides 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.
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.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and the charters of the committees of our board of directors will be provided without charge upon request from us. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find Additional Information.” If we make any amendments to our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics other than technical, administrative or other
133
non-substantive amendments, or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, from a provision of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions requiring disclosure under applicable SEC or Nasdaq rules, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver on our website. The information included on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Form S-1 or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to our website are intended to be inactive textual references only.
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 our company and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation. |
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then- current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law. 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 the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Below is a table summarizing the VMG-related and other entities to which our officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
Individual |
|
Entity/Organization |
|
Entity’s Business |
|
Affiliation |
Aarti Kapoor |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Angad Hira |
|
VMG Partners |
|
Investments |
|
Chief Financial Officer, Partner |
Michael Mauzé |
|
VMG Partners Spindrift Ilegal Mezcal Little Freddie Stone Brewing |
|
Investments Consumer Products Consumer Products Consumer Products Consumer Products |
|
Partner Director Director Director Director |
Jasmin Allen |
|
Moet Hennessey USA |
|
Consumer Products
|
|
Senior Vice President and General Manager |
Lowell Singer |
|
Acrisure |
|
Insurance and Financial Services |
|
Chief Financial Officer |
John Toth |
|
BarkBox Phoenix Industries |
|
Consumer Products Household Fixtures |
|
Chief Financial Officer Board Member |
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
134
|
endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. |
|
• |
Our initial stockholders purchased founder shares prior to the date of this prospectus and will purchase private placement warrants in a transaction that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Our sponsor, officers and directors will enter into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they will agree to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Additionally, our sponsor, officers and directors will agree to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, our sponsor, officers and directors will agree not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their common stock for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will be released from the lockup. The private placement warrants (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because each of our officers and directors will own common stock or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
|
• |
Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. |
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm, that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, be paid by the company any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination. Further, commencing on the date our securities are first listed on Nasdaq, we will also pay our sponsor or an affiliate thereof up to $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team.
In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors may participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company prior to completion of our initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers or directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Our board of directors will review any potential conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis.
We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, and they and the other members of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination.
135
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, unless they violated their duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, acted in bad faith, knowingly or intentionally violated the law, authorized unlawful payments of dividends, unlawful stock purchases or unlawful redemptions, or derived an improper personal benefit from their actions as directors.
We will enter into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also permit us to secure 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 expect to purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors. We also intend to enter into indemnity agreements with them.
Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.
Our indemnification obligations may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
136
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 shares of Class A 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 issued and outstanding shares of common stock; |
|
• |
each of our officers and directors; and |
|
• |
all our officers and directors as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of our common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.
On July 1, 2021, we issued to our sponsor an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 23,000,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 750,000 of the founder shares may be surrendered by our sponsor for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. The post-offering percentages in the following table assume that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that 750,000 founder shares have been surrendered to us for no consideration, and that there are 25,000,000 common stock issued and outstanding after this offering.
In September and October 2021, our sponsor transferred 35,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors and 15,000 founder shares to each of our advisory board members, in each case at a purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share.
|
|
Numbering of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) |
|
|
Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Shares of Common Stock |
|
||||||||||
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1) |
|
Before Offering |
|
|
After Offering |
|
|
Before Offering |
|
|
After Offering |
|
||||
VMG Consumer Acquisition Holdings, LLC (3) |
|
558,500,000(4) |
|
|
|
4,835,000 |
|
|
|
97.1 |
% |
|
|
19.3 |
% |
|
Aarti Kapoor |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
Angad S. Hira |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
Michael Mauzé |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
Jasmin Allen |
|
|
35,000 |
|
|
|
35,000 |
|
|
* |
|
|
* |
|
||
John Toth |
|
|
35,000 |
|
|
|
35,000 |
|
|
* |
|
|
* |
|
||
Lowell J. Singer |
|
|
35,000 |
|
|
|
35,000 |
|
|
* |
|
|
* |
|
||
All executive officers, directors and director nominees as a group (6 individuals) |
|
|
105,000 |
|
|
|
105,000 |
|
|
|
1.8 |
% |
|
* |
|
* |
Less than one percent. |
(1) |
Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following is 39 Mesa Street, Suite 310 San Francisco, CA 94129. |
(2) |
Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as shares of Class B common stock. Such shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities”. |
137
Robin Tsai. Accordingly, each of the entities and individuals named herein may be deemed to share beneficial ownership of the securities held of record by VMG Consumer Acquisition Holdings, LLC. Each of them disclaims any such beneficial ownership. |
(4) |
Includes up to 750,000 founder shares that may be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. |
Immediately after this offering, our initial stockholders will beneficially own 20.0% of the then issued and outstanding common stock (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Only holders of Class B common stock will have the right to elect directors in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to elect any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our initial stockholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions including our initial business combination.
Our sponsor will commit, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 10,500,000 private placement warrants (or 11,700,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, or $10,500,000 in the aggregate (or $11,700,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. The private placement warrants will be identical to the warrants sold in this offering except that the private placement warrants, (i) will not be redeemable by us, (ii) may not (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder. A portion of the purchase price of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account such that at the time of closing of this offering $204.0 million (or $234.6 million if the underwriters exercises their over-allotment option in full) will be held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants are subject to the transfer restrictions described below.
VMG Consumer Acquisition Holdings, LLC, our sponsor, and our officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares, private placement warrants and any shares of Class A common stock issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the agreement entered into by our sponsor, officers and directors. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (i) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the closing price of the shares of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination and (B) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property and (ii) in the case of the private placement warrants and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion or exercise thereof, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination except in each case (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliate or family member of any of our officers or directors, any affiliate of our sponsor or to any member of the sponsor or any of their affiliates, (b) in the case of an individual, as a gift to such person’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of such person’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of such person; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with any forward purchase agreement or similar arrangement or in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the shares or warrants were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of the laws of the State of Delaware or our sponsor’s organizational documents upon dissolution of our sponsor, (g) in the event of our liquidation prior to our consummation of our initial business
138
combination; or (h) in the event that, subsequent to our consummation of an initial business combination, we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreements.
The holders of the (i) founder shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to the closing of this offering, (ii) private placement warrants, which will be issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering and the shares of Class A common stock underlying such private placement warrants and (iii) private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement and assuming the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full and $1.5 million of working capital loans are converted into private placement warrants, we will be obligated to register up to 18,950,000 shares of Class A common stock and 10,000,000 warrants. The number of shares of Class A common stock includes (i) 5,750,000 shares of Class A common stock to be issued upon conversion of the founder shares, (ii) 11,700,000 shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement warrants and (iii) 1,500,000 shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans. The number of warrants includes 11,700,000 private placement warrants and 1,500,000 private placement warrants issued upon conversion of the working capital loans. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
139
Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions
On July 1, 2021, we issued to our sponsor an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. Up to 750,000 of the founder shares may be surrendered by our sponsor for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. In September and October 2021, our sponsor transferred 35,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors and 15,000 founder shares to each of our advisory board members, in each case at a purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share.
Our sponsor will commit, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 10,500,000 private placement warrants (or 11,700,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, or $10,500,000 in the aggregate (or $11,700,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. The private placement warrants will be identical to the warrants sold in this offering except that the private placement warrants, (i) will not be redeemable by us, (ii) may not (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
We currently utilize office space at 39 Mesa Street, Suite 310 San Francisco, CA 94129 from our sponsor as our executive offices. Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we will pay our sponsor or an affiliate thereof up to $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services provided to members of our management team. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor may loan us funds to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans would be non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the closing of this offering.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required on a non-interest basis. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
Any of the foregoing payments to our sponsor, repayments of loans from our sponsor or repayments of working capital loans prior to our initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account.
140
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation or tender offer 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 general meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
We will enter into a registration rights agreement on or prior to the closing date of this offering with respect to the founder shares and private placement warrants, which is described under the heading “Principal stockholders—Registration Rights.”
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors will adopt a policy setting forth the policies and procedures for its review and approval or ratification of “related party transactions.” A “related party transaction” is any consummated or proposed transaction or series of transactions: (i) in which the company was or is to be a participant; (ii) the amount of which exceeds (or is reasonably expected to exceed) the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of the company’s total assets at year end for the prior two completed fiscal years in the aggregate over the duration of the transaction (without regard to profit or loss); and (iii) in which a “related party” had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest. “Related parties” under this policy will include: (i) our directors, nominees for director or officers; (ii) any record or beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities; (iii) any immediate family member of any of the foregoing if the foregoing person is a natural person; and (iv) any other person who maybe a “related person” pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act. Pursuant to the policy, the audit committee will consider (i) the relevant facts and circumstances of each related party transaction, including if the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in arm’s-length dealings with an unrelated third party, (ii) the extent of the related party’s interest in the transaction, (iii) whether the transaction contravenes our code of ethics or other policies, (iv) whether the audit committee believes the relationship underlying the transaction to be in the best interests of the company and its stockholders and (v) the effect that the transaction may have on a director’s status as an independent member of the board and on his or her eligibility to serve on the board’s committees. Management will present to the audit committee each proposed related party transaction, including all relevant facts and circumstances relating thereto. Under the policy, we may consummate related party transactions only if our audit committee approves or ratifies the transaction in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the policy. The policy will not permit any director or officer to participate in the discussion of, or decision concerning, a related person transaction in which he or she is the related party.
141
We are a Delaware corporation and our affairs are governed by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the DGCL. Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which will be adopted upon the consummation of this offering, we will be authorized to issue 220,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value each, including 200,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, as well as 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.0001 par value each. The following description summarizes certain terms of our shares as will be set out more particularly in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of 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 the Company’s shares of Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. For example, if a warrant holder holds one-half of one warrant to purchase a share of Class A common stock, such warrant will not be exercisable. If a warrant holder holds two-halves of one warrant, such whole warrant will be exercisable for one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share.
The shares of Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units are expected to begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or the immediately following business day if such 52nd day is not a business day) unless Credit Suisse and Moelis & Company inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the 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. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
In no event will the shares of Class A common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes this audited balance sheet upon the completion of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days after the date of this prospectus. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.
Common Stock
Prior to the date of this prospectus, there were 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock outstanding, all of which were held of record by our initial stockholders, so that our initial stockholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock after this offering (assuming our initial stockholders do not purchase any units in this offering). Up to 750,000 of the founder shares may be surrendered by our sponsor for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. Upon the closing of this offering,
142
25,000,000 of our common stock will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding surrender for no consideration of 750,000 founder shares) including:
|
• |
20,000,000 shares of Class A common stock underlying units issued as part of this offering; and |
|
• |
5,000,000 shares of Class B common stock held by our initial stockholders. |
Stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the election of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended only by approval of at least 90% of the shares of our Class B common stock voting in an annual meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or as required by applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our shares of common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. 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 authorize the issuance of up to 200,000,000 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 Nasdaq 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 Nasdaq. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold annual meetings of stockholders for the purpose 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 completion 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 completion of an 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. Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our sponsor, officers and directors will enter into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they will agree to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Unlike many special purpose acquisition 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 law, if a stockholder vote is not required by law and we do not
143
decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to 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 our 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 law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, like many special purpose acquisition 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 shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of our initial business combination. However, the participation of our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could result in the approval of our initial business combination even if a majority of our public stockholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding 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.
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 Excess Shares 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 stockholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such stockholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such stockholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial 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 shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public stockholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest income 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 liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law. Our sponsor, officers and directors will enter into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they will agree to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our sponsor or management team acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating
144
distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our stockholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the 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 public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per-share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein.
The founder shares are designated as Class B common stock and, except as described below, are identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same stockholder rights as public stockholders, except that (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, (ii) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights, (iii) our sponsor, officers and directors will enter into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they will agree to (A) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (B) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares 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 redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, (C) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 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 such time period and (D) vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination, (iv) the founder shares are automatically convertible into shares of Class A common stock concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described herein and in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, and (v) only holders of Class B common stock will have the right to elect directors in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock on the first business day following the completion of our initial business combination at a ratio such that the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of shares of our common stock issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the sum of (a) the total number of shares of our common stock issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or deemed issued by the company in connection with or in relation to the completion of the initial business combination, excluding (1) any shares of our Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into shares of our Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and (2) any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans, minus (b) the number of public shares redeemed by public stockholders in connection with our initial business combination. In no event will the shares of our Class B common stock convert into shares of our Class A common stock at a rate of less than one to one. This is different than most other similarly structured blank check companies in which the initial stockholders will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares outstanding prior to the 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 sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the
145
same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the closing price of the shares of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, and (B) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property. Up to 750,000 founder shares may be surrendered to us for no consideration depending on the exercise of the over-allotment option.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorize 1,000,000 preferred stock and provide that 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 preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preferred stock are being issued or registered in this offering.
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of 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 one year from the closing of this offering and 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, provided, in each case, that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement) and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of 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 two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We will not be obligated to deliver any 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 with respect to the shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue a share of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless the share of 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. 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 have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than fifteen (15) business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the shares of Class A common stock issuable
146
upon exercise of the warrants. We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the sixtieth (60th) business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Notwithstanding the above, if our shares of Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, 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, and in the event we do not so elect, 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. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering each such warrant 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 the excess of the “fair market value” less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361. The “fair market value” of our Class A common stock shall mean the volume weighted average price of the shares of Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants.
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 not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption (the “30-day redemption period”) to each warrant holder; and |
|
• |
if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before we send to the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (which we refer to as the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). |
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. However, we will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period.
We have established the last of the 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 his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. Any such exercise would not be done on a “cashless” basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised. However, the price of the Class A common stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
Redemption Procedures. A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.8% (as specified by the holder) of the shares of Class A common stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
147
Anti-dilution Adjustments. If the number of outstanding shares of Class A common stock is increased by a share capitalization payable in Class A common stock, or by a split-up share of common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such share capitalization, 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 common stock. A rights offering to holders of common stock entitling holders to purchase shares of Class A common stock at a price less than the “historical fair market value” (as defined below) will be deemed a share capitalization of a number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the product of (i) 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) and (ii) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of Class A common stock paid in such rights offering and (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A common stock, in determining the price payable for shares of 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 (ii) “historical fair market value” means the volume weighted average price of Class A common stock as reported during the ten (10) 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 securities into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A common stock in connection with a proposed initial business combination, or (d) 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 Class A common stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share split or reclassification of Class A common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share split, reclassification or similar event, the number of Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding 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.
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 sponsors or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our initial stockholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 65% 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, then 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 adjacent to “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 Class A common stock), or in the case of any
148
merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our issued and 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 Class A common stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of Class A common 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. 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 Black-Scholes Warrant Value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants.
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive 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 shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number, the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder.
The private placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except, among other limited exceptions as described under “Principal stockholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants,” to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor) and they will not be redeemable by us. The holders of the private placement warrants have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. Except as described below, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering.
If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of 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 “historical fair market value” of our Class A common stock (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes, the “historical fair
149
market value” will mean the average reported closing 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 warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. 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 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.
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 a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. If we 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 claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity. Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company has agreed that it has no right of set-off or any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to, or to any monies in, the trust account, and has irrevocably waived any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to, or to any monies in, the trust account that it may have now or in the future. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied, or a claim will only be able to be pursued, solely against us and our assets outside the trust account and not against the any monies in the trust account or interest earned thereon.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions designed to provide certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of the holders of 65% of our common stock. Our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees, if any, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that:
|
• |
If we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law; |
150
|
• |
Although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our executive officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or 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 law 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; |
|
• |
As long as our securities are listed on Nasdaq, our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with an aggregate fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in trust (excluding any deferred underwriter’s fees and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination; |
|
• |
If our stockholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, or with respect to any other provisions 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 Class A 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein; 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
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:
151
|
• |
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. |
Our authorized but unissued common stock and preferred stock will be 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.
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 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 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, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and the federal district courts of the United State of America for the District of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, concurrently be the sole and exclusive forums for suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder or otherwise arising under federal securities laws. Moreover, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Our decision to adopt a federal forum provision for suits arising under federal securities laws followed a decision by the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware holding that such provisions are facially valid under Delaware law. While there can be no assurance that federal or state courts will follow the holding of the Delaware Supreme Court or determine that our federal forum provision should be enforced in a particular case, application of our federal forum provision means that suits brought by our stockholders to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder must be brought in federal court and cannot be brought in state court.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will also provide that the provisions of the preceding paragraph will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Moreover, Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, actions by our stockholders to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder must be brought in federal court. Our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
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.
Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations
152
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.
Securities Eligible for Future Sale
Immediately after this offering we will have 25,000,000 (or 28,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) shares of common stock outstanding. Of these shares, the shares of Class A common stock sold in this offering (20,000,000 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 23,000,000 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any Class A common stock purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the outstanding founder shares (5,000,000 founder shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 5,750,000 founder shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and all of the outstanding private placement warrants (10,500,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 11,700,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering.
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
|
• |
1% of the total number of shares of common stock then outstanding, which will equal 25,000 shares immediately after this offering (or 28,750 if the underwriters exercise in full their over-allotment option); or |
|
• |
the average weekly reported trading volume of the Class A 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 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; |
153
|
• |
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. |
As a result, our initial stockholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.
The holders of the (i) founder shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to the closing of this offering, (ii) private placement warrants, which will be issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering and the shares of Class A common stock underlying such private placement warrants and (iii) private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement and assuming the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full and $1.5 million of working capital loans are converted into private placement warrants, we will be obligated to register up to 18,950,000 shares of Class A common stock and 10,000,000 warrants. The number of shares of Class A common stock includes (i) 5,750,000 shares of Class A common stock to be issued upon conversion of the founder shares, (ii) 11,700,000 shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement warrants and (iii) 1,500,000 shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans. The number of warrants includes 11,700,000 private placement warrants and 1,500,000 private placement warrants issued upon conversion of the working capital loans. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
We intend to apply to list our units on Nasdaq under the symbol “VMGA.U” commencing on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “VMGA” and “VMGA.WS,” respectively. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.
154
United States Federal Income Tax Considerations
The following discussion is a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences relating to the purchase, ownership and disposition of our units, Class A common stock and warrants issued pursuant to this offering, which we refer to collectively as our securities, but does not purport to be a complete analysis of all potential tax effects. The effects of other U.S. federal tax laws, such as estate and gift tax laws, and any applicable state, local or non-U.S. tax laws are not discussed.
This discussion is based on the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder, judicial decisions, and published rulings and administrative pronouncements of the IRS, in each case in effect as of the date hereof. These authorities may change or be subject to differing interpretations. Any such change or differing interpretation may be applied retroactively in a manner that could adversely affect the tax consequences discussed below. We have not sought and will not seek any rulings from the IRS regarding the matters discussed below. There can be no assurance the IRS or a court will not take a contrary position to that discussed below regarding the tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our units, Class A common stock or warrants.
This discussion is limited to holders that hold our units, Class A common stock and warrants as a “capital asset” within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code (generally, property held for investment). This discussion does not address the U.S. federal income tax consequences to our sponsor, officers or directors, or holders of private placement warrants. This discussion does not address all U.S. federal income tax consequences relevant to a holder’s particular circumstances, including the impact of the Medicare contribution tax on net investment income and the alternative minimum tax. In addition, it does not address consequences relevant to holders subject to special rules, including, without limitation:
|
• |
banks; |
|
• |
certain financial institutions; |
|
• |
regulated investment companies and real estate investment trusts; |
|
• |
insurance companies; |
|
• |
brokers, dealers or traders in securities; |
|
• |
traders in securities that elect to mark to market; |
|
• |
tax-exempt organizations or governmental organizations; |
|
• |
U.S. expatriates and former citizens or long-term residents of the United States; |
|
• |
persons holding our units, Class A common stock or warrants as part of a hedge, straddle or other risk reduction strategy or as part of a conversion transaction or other integrated investment; |
|
• |
persons that actually or constructively own 5% or more of our voting stock by vote or value; |
|
• |
“controlled foreign corporations,” “passive foreign investment companies,” and corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax; |
|
• |
S corporations, partnerships or other entities or arrangements treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes (and investors therein); |
|
• |
persons deemed to sell our units, Class A common stock or warrants under the constructive sale provisions of the Code; |
|
• |
persons who hold or receive our units, Class A common stock or warrants pursuant to the exercise of any employee stock option or otherwise as compensation; |
|
• |
tax-qualified retirement plans; and |
|
• |
“qualified foreign pension funds” as defined in Section 897(l)(2) of the Code and entities all of the interests of which are held by qualified foreign pension funds. |
155
If an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds our units, Class A common stock or warrants, the tax treatment of an owner of such an entity or arrangement will depend on the status of the owner, the activities of the entity or arrangement and certain determinations made at the owner level. Accordingly, entities or arrangements treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes holding our units, Class A common stock or warrants and the owners in such entities or arrangements should consult their tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences to them.
THIS DISCUSSION IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TAX ADVICE. INVESTORS SHOULD CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS WITH RESPECT TO THE APPLICATION OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAWS TO THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATIONS AS WELL AS ANY TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE PURCHASE, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR UNITS, CLASS A COMMON STOCK AND WARRANTS ARISING UNDER THE U.S. FEDERAL ESTATE OR GIFT TAX LAWS OR UNDER THE LAWS OF ANY STATE, LOCAL OR NON-U.S. TAXING JURISDICTION OR UNDER ANY APPLICABLE INCOME TAX TREATY.
Personal Holding Company Status
We could 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 (“PHC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A U.S. corporation generally will be classified as a PHC for U.S. federal income tax purposes in a given taxable year if (i) at any time 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 (ii) 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, 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, more than 50% of our stock may 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 be 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, subject to certain adjustments.
Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit
No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or instruments or arrangements similar to a unit for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, we intend to treat the acquisition of a unit as the acquisition of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant, a whole one of which is exercisable to acquire one share of Class A common stock. By purchasing a unit, you will agree to adopt such treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The foregoing treatment of our Class A common stock and warrants and a holder’s purchase price allocation (discussed below) are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each holder is advised to consult its tax advisor regarding the risks associated with an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit) and regarding an allocation of the purchase price among the Class A common stock and the portion of a warrant that comprise a unit. The balance of this discussion generally assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
For U.S. federal income tax purposes, each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the one share of Class A common stock and the one-half of one warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. Under U.S. federal income tax law, each investor must make his or her own determination of such value based on all the facts and circumstances. Therefore, we strongly urge each investor to consult his or her tax advisor regarding the determination of value for these purposes. The
156
price allocated to each share of Class A common stock and the one-half of one warrant should be the stockholder’s initial tax basis in such share or one-half of one warrant, as the case may be. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the share of Class A common stock and the one-half of one warrant constituting the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the Class A common stock and the one-half of one warrant based on their respective fair market values at the time of disposition (as determined by each such unit holder based on all the facts and circumstances). The separation of shares of Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The foregoing U.S. federal income tax treatment of the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts.
Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each prospective investor is urged to consult its tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holders
For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. Holder” is any beneficial owner of our units, Class A common stock or warrants that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
|
• |
an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States; |
|
• |
a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation) created or organized under the laws of the United States, any state thereof, or the District of Columbia; |
|
• |
an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or |
|
• |
a trust that (1) is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and the control of one or more “United States persons” (within the meaning of Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code), or (2) has a valid election in effect to be treated as a United States person for U.S. federal income tax purposes. |
Distributions
The gross amount of distributions made with respect to the Class A common stock generally will be includible in a U.S. Holder’s gross income, in accordance with such U.S. Holder’s method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as dividend income, but only to the extent that such distributions are paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. The dividends will be taxable to a corporate U.S. Holder at regular corporate tax rates and will generally be eligible for the dividends received deduction if the requisite holding period is satisfied. Distributions in excess of such earnings and profits generally will be applied against and reduce the U.S. Holder’s basis in its Class A common stock (but not below zero), and to the extent in excess of such basis, will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such Class A common stock, as described under “U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Units, Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below.
With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders and with certain exceptions, dividends may be “qualified dividend income,” which is taxed at the lower applicable long-term capital gain rate provided that the U.S. Holder satisfies certain holding period requirements and the U.S. Holder is not under an obligation to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property. 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. If the holding period requirements are not satisfied, then a corporation may not be able to qualify for the dividends received deduction and would have taxable income equal to the entire dividend amount, and non-corporate U.S. Holders may be subject to tax on such dividends at regular ordinary income tax rates instead of the preferential rate that applies to qualified dividend income.
157
Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Units, Class A Common Stock and Warrants
Upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our units, Class A common stock or warrants which, in general, would include a redemption of Class A common stock or warrants that is treated as a sale of such securities as described below, and including as a result of a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized and the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in the Class A common stock or warrants.
Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A common stock or warrants 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. If the running of the holding period is suspended, then non-corporate U.S. Holders may not be able to satisfy the one-year holding period requirement for long-term capital gain treatment, in which case any gain on a sale or taxable disposition of the shares or warrants would be subject to short-term capital gain treatment and would be taxed at regular ordinary income tax rates. Long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. Holders will be eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
Generally, the amount of gain or loss recognized by a U.S. Holder is an amount equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the Class A common stock or warrants are held as part of units at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the Class A common stock or the warrant based upon the then fair market values of the Class A common stock and the warrants included in the units) and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A common stock or warrants so disposed. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A common stock or warrant generally will equal the U.S. Holder’s adjusted 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 one-half of one warrant or, as discussed below, the U.S. Holder’s initial basis for Class A common stock received upon exercise of warrants) less, in the case of a share of Class A common stock, any prior distributions treated as a return of capital.
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 the section entitled “Description of Securities—Common Stock” or if we purchase a U.S. Holder’s share of Class A common stock in an open market transaction, the treatment of the transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption or purchase by us qualifies as sale of the Class A common stock under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption or purchase by us qualifies as a sale of Class A common stock, the U.S. Holder will be treated as described under “U.S. Holders— Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Units, Class A Common Stock and Warrants” above. Whether a redemption or purchase by us qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely 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) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after the redemption or purchase by us. The redemption or purchase by us of Class A common stock generally will be treated as a sale of the Class A common stock (rather than a corporate distribution) if the redemption or purchase by us (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. Holder, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. Holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. Holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. Holder takes into account not only our 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 Class A common stock which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of warrants. In order to meet the “substantially disproportionate” test, the percentage of our outstanding voting stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption or purchase by us of Class A common stock must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our outstanding voting stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S.
158
Holder immediately before the redemption or purchase by us. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, the Class A common stock may not be treated as voting shares for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially disproportionate test may not apply. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (i) all of the shares of our stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed or (ii) 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. The redemption or purchase by us of the Class A common stock will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend with respect to a U.S. Holder if it results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption or purchase by us will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority stockholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” A U.S. Holder should consult with its tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption or purchase by us.
If none of the foregoing tests is satisfied, then the redemption or purchase by us will be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “U.S. Holders—Distributions,” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. Holder in the redeemed Class A common stock will 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, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant
Except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. Holder generally will not recognize gain or loss upon the acquisition of a share of Class A common stock on the exercise of a warrant for cash. A U.S. Holder’s initial tax basis in a share of our Class A common stock received upon exercise of the warrant generally will 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 “Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price. The U.S. Holder’s holding period for the share of Class A common stock received upon exercise of the warrant generally will commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the date 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 warrant. If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant.
The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current tax law. A cashless exercise may be tax-free, 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 basis in the share of Class A common stock received would equal the holder’s basis in the warrants used to effect the cashless exercise. If the cashless exercise is not treated as a realization event, a U.S. Holder’s holding period in the Class A common stock generally would be treated as commencing on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly the date of exercise of the warrant). If 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 part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a U.S. Holder could be deemed to have surrendered warrants equal to the number of shares of Class A common stock having an aggregate value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. The U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the value of the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in such warrants. In this case, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A common stock received would equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrants deemed exercised (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price of such warrants. A U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A common stock in such case generally would commence on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly 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, there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences and holding periods described above would be adopted
159
by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.
If we redeem warrants for cash pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants— Redemption of Warrants When the Price Per Share of Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00” or if we purchase warrants in an open market transaction, such redemption or purchase generally will be treated as a taxable disposition to the U.S. Holder, taxed as described above under “U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Units, Class A Common Stock and Warrants.”
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 generally is not taxable. U.S. Holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (for instance, through an increase in the number of shares of Class A common stock that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease in the exercise price of the warrant) as a result of a distribution of cash or other property, such as other securities and stock dividends, to the holders of our Class A common stock which is taxable to such holders of our Class A common stock as a distribution. Such constructive distributions would be subject to tax in the same manner as if the U.S. Holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest. For certain informational reporting purposes, we are required to determine the date and amount of any such constructive distributions and publicly report such information or report such information to the IRS and holders of warrants that are not exempt from information reporting. Proposed Treasury Regulations, which we may rely on prior to the issuance of final regulations, specify how the date and amount of constructive distributions are determined.
U.S. Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Distributions with respect to the Class A common stock to a U.S. Holder and proceeds from the sale, exchange or redemption of the units, Class A common stock or warrants by a U.S. Holder generally are subject to information reporting to the IRS and possible U.S. backup withholding, unless the U.S. Holder is an exempt recipient. Backup withholding may apply to such payments if a U.S. Holder fails to furnish a correct taxpayer identification number or a certification of exempt status or has been notified by the IRS that it is subject to backup withholding (and such notification has not been withdrawn).
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against a U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, and such holder may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by timely filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS and furnishing any required information.
Non-U.S. Holders
For purposes of this discussion, a “Non-U.S. Holder” is any beneficial owner of our units, Class A common stock or warrants that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
|
• |
a non-resident alien individual; |
|
• |
a foreign corporation; or |
|
• |
a foreign estate or trust. |
Distributions
In general, any distributions (including constructive distributions) we make to a Non-U.S. Holder with respect to shares of our Class A common stock, to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as
160
determined under U.S. federal income tax principles) will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Amounts not treated as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes will constitute a return of capital and first be applied against and reduce a Non-U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A common stock, but not below zero. Any excess will be treated as capital gain realized on the sale or other disposition of the Class A common stock and will be treated as described below under “Non-U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Units, Class A Common Stock and Warrants.”
Subject to the discussion below on effectively connected income, dividends paid to a Non-U.S. Holder of our Class A common stock will be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax at a rate of 30% of the gross amount of the dividends (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty, provided the Non-U.S. Holder furnishes a valid IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or other applicable documentation) certifying qualification for the lower treaty rate). 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 Non-U.S. Holder. A Non-U.S. Holder that does not timely furnish the required documentation, but that qualifies for a reduced treaty rate, may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by timely filing an appropriate claim for refund with the IRS. Non-U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding their entitlement to benefits under any applicable income tax treaty. In addition, if we determine that we are likely to be classified as a “United States real property holding corporation” (see “Non-U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Units, Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below), we will withhold 15% of any distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits, including a distribution in redemption of our Class A common stock treated as a taxable sale of our Class A common stock. See also “Non-U.S. Holders—Possible Constructive Distributions” for potential U.S. federal tax consequences with respect to constructive distributions.
If dividends paid to a Non-U.S. Holder are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, the Non-U.S. Holder maintains a permanent establishment in the United States to which such dividends are attributable), the Non-U.S. Holder will be exempt from the 30% U.S. federal withholding tax described above. To claim the exemption, the Non-U.S. Holder must furnish to the applicable withholding agent a valid IRS Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Any such effectively connected dividends generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at the regular graduated rates, unless an applicable income tax treaty provides otherwise. A Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation also may be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on such effectively connected dividends, as adjusted for certain items. Non-U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding any applicable tax treaties that may provide for different rules.
Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant
The U.S. federal income tax characterization of the exercise, redemption or lapse of a warrant held by a Non-U.S. Holder generally will follow the U.S. federal income tax characterization of the exercise, redemption or lapse of a warrant by a U.S. Holder, as described under “U.S. Holders—Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant” above, and the tax consequences of such characterizations will be as set forth above and below in this “Non-U.S. Holders” section.
Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Units, Class A Common Stock and Warrants
A Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax in respect of any gain realized upon the sale, taxable exchange or other taxable disposition of our Class A common stock (including a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the date of 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 Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, the Non-U.S. Holder maintains a permanent establishment in the United States to which such gain is attributable); |
161
|
• |
the Non-U.S. Holder is a nonresident alien individual present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year of the disposition and certain other requirements 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 or warrants, as applicable, and, in the case where shares of our Class A common stock and warrants are treated as 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 or more than 5% of our warrants, as applicable, 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 or warrants, as applicable. There can be no assurance that our Class A common stock or warrants will be treated as regularly traded on an established securities market for this purpose. |
Gain described in the first bullet point above generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at the regular graduated rates applicable to a U.S. Holder, unless an applicable income tax treaty provides otherwise. A Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation also may be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on such effectively connected gain, as adjusted for certain items.
A Non-U.S. Holder described in the second bullet point above generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on gain realized upon the sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A common stock or warrants, which may be offset by U.S. source capital losses of the Non-U.S. Holder (even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States), provided the Non-U.S. Holder has timely filed U.S. federal income tax returns with respect to such losses.
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. federal income tax at a rate of 15% of the amount realized upon such disposition. We cannot determine whether we will be a U.S. real property holding corporation in the future until we complete an initial business combination. We will be classified as a U.S. real property holding corporation if the fair market value of our “U.S. real property interests” equals or exceeds 50 percent 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.
Non-U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding potentially applicable income tax treaties that may provide for different rules.
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 share of Class A common stock pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Common Stock” generally will follow 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—Distributions” and “Non-U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Units, Class A Common Stock or Warrants,” as applicable. It is possible that because the applicable withholding agent may not be able to determine the proper characterization of a redemption of a Non-U.S. Holder’s Class A common stock, the withholding agent might treat the redemption as a distribution subject to withholding tax.
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 generally is not taxable. Non-U.S. Holders of the warrants
162
would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the Non-U.S. Holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (for instance, through an increase in the number of shares of Class A common stock that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease in the exercise price of the warrant) as a result of a distribution of cash or other property such as other securities and stock dividends to the holders of shares of our Class A common stock which is taxable to such holders of our Class A common stock as a distribution. Such constructive distribution to a Non-U.S. Holder of warrants would be treated as if such Non-U.S. Holder had received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest (taxed as described above under “Non-U.S. Holders—Distributions”). It is possible that any withholding tax on such a constructive distribution might be satisfied by us or the applicable withholding agent from other distributions to the Non-U.S. Holder, or from proceeds subsequently paid or credit to such Non-U.S. Holder. For certain informational reporting purposes, we are required to determine the date and amount of any such constructive distributions and publicly report such information or report such information to the IRS and holders of warrants that are not exempt from information reporting. Proposed Treasury Regulations, which taxpayers may generally rely on prior to the issuance of final regulations, specify how the date and amount of constructive distributions are determined.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Distributions on our Class A common stock will not be subject to backup withholding, provided the applicable withholding agent does not have actual knowledge or reason to know the holder is a United States person and the holder either certifies its non-U.S. status, such as by furnishing a valid IRS Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or W-8ECI, or otherwise establishes an exemption. However, information returns are required to be filed with the IRS in connection with any distributions on our Class A common stock paid to the Non-U.S. Holder, regardless of whether such distributions constitute dividends or whether any tax was actually withheld. In addition, proceeds from a sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A common stock and warrants within the United States or conducted through certain U.S.-related brokers generally will not be subject to backup withholding or information reporting if the applicable withholding agent receives the certification described above and does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such holder is a United States person, or the holder otherwise establishes an exemption. Proceeds from a disposition of our Class A common stock and warrants conducted through a non-U.S. office of a non-U.S. broker generally will not be subject to backup withholding or information reporting.
Copies of information returns that are filed with the IRS may also be made available under the provisions of an applicable treaty or agreement to the tax authorities of the country in which the Non-U.S. Holder resides or is established.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules may be allowed as a refund or a credit against a Non-U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
Additional Withholding Tax on Payments Made to Foreign Accounts
Withholding taxes may be imposed under Sections 1471 to 1474 of the Code (such Sections commonly referred to as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or “FATCA”) on certain types of payments made to non-U.S. financial institutions and certain other non-U.S. entities. Specifically, a 30% withholding tax may be imposed on dividends (including constructive distributions) in respect of our securities, or (subject to the proposed Treasury Regulations discussed below) gross proceeds from the sale or disposition of, our securities, paid to a “foreign financial institution” or a “non-financial foreign entity” (each as defined in the Code), unless (1) the foreign financial institution undertakes certain diligence and reporting obligations, (2) the non-financial foreign entity either certifies it does not have any “substantial United States owners” (as defined in the Code) or furnishes identifying information regarding each substantial United States owner, or (3) the foreign financial institution or non-financial foreign entity otherwise qualifies for an exemption from these rules. If the payee is a foreign financial institution and is subject to the diligence and reporting requirements in (1) above, it must enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury requiring, among other things, that it undertake to identify accounts held by certain “specified United States persons” or “United States-owned foreign entities” (each as defined in the Code), annually report certain information about such accounts, and withhold 30% on certain payments to non-compliant foreign financial institutions and certain other account holders. Foreign financial institutions located in jurisdictions that have an intergovernmental agreement with the United States governing FATCA may be subject to different rules.
163
Under the applicable Treasury Regulations and administrative guidance, withholding under FATCA generally applies to payments of dividends on our Class A common stock. While withholding under FATCA would have applied also to payments of gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our securities, proposed Treasury Regulations eliminate FATCA withholding on payments of gross proceeds from a sale or other disposition that can produce U.S. source income. Taxpayers generally may rely on these proposed Treasury Regulations until final Treasury Regulations are issued.
Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the potential application of withholding under FATCA to their investment in our securities.
THE DISCUSSION ABOVE IS A GENERAL SUMMARY. IT DOES NOT COVER ALL TAX MATTERS THAT MAY BE IMPORTANT TO YOU. EACH PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER SHOULD CONSULT ITS TAX ADVISOR ABOUT THE TAX CONSEQUENCES OF AN INVESTMENT IN OUR UNITS, CLASS A COMMON STOCK AND WARRANTS BASED ON THE INVESTOR’S CIRCUMSTANCES.
164
Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an underwriting agreement dated as of the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters named below the following respective numbers of units:
Underwriters |
|
Number of Units |
|
|
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC |
|
|
|
|
Moelis & Company LLC |
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
|
20,000,000 |
|
The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters are obligated to purchase all the units in this offering if any are purchased, other than those units covered by the over-allotment option described below.
We have granted to the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase on a pro rata basis up to 3,000,000 additional units at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The option may be exercised only to cover any over-allotments of units.
The underwriters propose to offer the units initially at the public offering price on the cover page of this prospectus and to selling group members at that price less a selling concession of $ per unit.
The following table summarizes the compensation and estimated expenses we will pay:
|
|
Per Unit(1) |
|
|
Total |
|
||||||||||
|
|
Without Over- allotment |
|
|
With Over- allotment |
|
|
Without Over- allotment |
|
|
With Over- allotment |
|
||||
Underwriting Discounts and Commissions paid by us |
|
$ |
0.55 |
|
|
$ |
0.55 |
|
|
$ |
11,000,000 |
|
|
$ |
12,650,000 |
|
(1) |
Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate, payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriters only on completion of an initial business combination, in an amount equal to $0.35 multiplied by the number of Class A common stock sold as part of the units in this offering, as described in this prospectus. |
We estimate that our non-reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses for this offering will be approximately $900,000. We have agreed to pay for the FINRA-related fees and expenses of the underwriters’ legal counsel, not to exceed $25,000.
The representatives have informed us that the underwriters do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.
We, our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed that we will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, without the prior written consent of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Moelis & Company LLC for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, any units, warrants, shares of Class A common stock or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, shares of Class A common stock; provided, however, that we may (1) issue and sell the private placement warrants; (2) issue and sell the additional units to cover our underwriters’ over-allotment option (if any); (3) register with the SEC pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, the resale of the private placement warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and the founder shares; and (4) issue securities in connection with our initial business combination. However, the foregoing shall not apply to the forfeiture of any founder shares pursuant to their terms or any transfer of founder shares to any 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; 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). Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Moelis & Company LLC in their sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.
165
Our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A common stock issued upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; or (B) subsequent to our initial 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 share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, amalgamation, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal stockholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares.
The private placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal stockholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in that respect.
We expect our units to be listed on Nasdaq, under the symbol “VMGA.U” and, once the Class A common stock and warrants begin separate trading, to have our Class A common stock and warrants listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “VMGA” and “VMGA.WS,” respectively.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities. Consequently, the initial public offering price for the units was determined by negotiations between us and the representatives.
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.
If we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, the trustee and the underwriters have agreed that: (1) they will forfeit any rights or claims to their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account; and (2) the deferred underwriters’ discounts and commissions will be distributed on a pro rata basis, together with any accrued interest thereon (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) to the public stockholders.
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 is 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. |
166
|
• |
Penalty bids permit the representatives to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the units originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions. |
These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. As a result, the price of our units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. These transactions may be effected on Nasdaq or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
We are not under any contractual obligation to engage the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering, but we may do so at our discretion. However, the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses, act as sell side M&A advisors for any of them, provide financial advisory services to us in connection with a business combination or assist us in raising additional capital in the future, including by acting as a placement agent in a private offering or underwriting or arranging debt financing. If the underwriters provide services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriters 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 60 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. Any fees we may pay the underwriters or their affiliates for services rendered to us after this offering may be contingent on the completion of a business combination and may be paid in other than cash. The underwriters or their affiliates that provide these services to us may have a potential conflict of interest given that the underwriters are entitled to the deferred portion of their underwriting compensation for this offering only if an initial business combination is completed within the specified timeframe.
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 affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers.
Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by the underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering and the underwriters participating in this offering may distribute prospectuses electronically. The representatives may agree to allocate a number of units to underwriters and selling group members for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriters and selling group members that will make internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.
167
The units are offered for sale in the United States, Europe, Asia and other jurisdictions where it is lawful to make such offers.
The underwriters have represented and agreed that they have not offered, sold or delivered and will not offer, sell or deliver any of the units directly or indirectly, or distribute this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, in or from any jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations thereof and that will not impose any obligations on us except as set forth in the underwriting agreement.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom
In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom (each a “Relevant State”), no units have been offered or will be offered pursuant to this offering to the public in that Relevant State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation, except that offers of units may be made to the public in that Relevant State at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Regulation:
|
(a) |
to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under the Prospectus Regulation; |
|
(b) |
to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under the Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or |
|
(c) |
in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation, provided that no such offer of units shall require the issuer or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation. |
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any units in any Relevant State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any units, and the expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom
The underwriters represent, warrant and agree as follows:
|
(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 FSMA) to persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling with Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 or in circumstances in which section 21 of FSMA does not apply to the company; and |
|
(b) |
they have complied with, and will comply with all applicable provisions of FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the units in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom. |
The underwriters will not offer or sell any of our units directly or indirectly in Japan or to, or for the benefit of any Japanese person or to others, for re-offering or re-sale directly or indirectly in Japan or to any Japanese person, except in each case pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Securities and Exchange Law of Japan and any other applicable laws and regulations of Japan. For purposes of this paragraph, “Japanese person” means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.
Notice to Residents of Hong Kong
The underwriters and each of their affiliates have not (1) offered or sold, and will not offer or sell, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, our units other than (A) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities
168
and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance or (B) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32 of Hong Kong) or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance or (2) issued or had in its possession for the purposes of issue, and will not issue or have in its possession for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere any advertisement, invitation or document relating to our units which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to our securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance. The contents of this document have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in Hong Kong. You are advised to exercise caution in relation to the offer. If you are in any doubt about any of the contents of this document, you should obtain independent professional advice.
Notice to Residents of Singapore
This prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units has not been and will not be registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the units will be offered in Singapore pursuant to exemptions under Section 274 and Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “Securities and Futures Act”). Accordingly, our units may not be offered or sold, or be the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units be circulated or distributed, whether directly or indirectly, to the public or any member of the public in Singapore other than (a) to an institutional investor or other person specified in Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, (b) to a sophisticated investor, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act or (c) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the Securities and Futures Act.
Notice to Residents of Germany
Each person who is in possession of this prospectus is aware that no German sales prospectus (Verkaufsprospekt) within the meaning of the Securities Sales Prospectus Act (Wertpapier- Verkaufsprospektgesetz, the “Act”) of the Federal Republic of Germany has been or will be published with respect to our units. In particular, the underwriters have represented that they have not engaged and has agreed that they will not engage in a public offering (offentliches Angebot) within the meaning of the Act with respect to any of our units otherwise then in accordance with the Act and all other applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
The units are being issued and sold outside the Republic of France and that, in connection with their initial distribution, it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell, directly or indirectly, any units to the public in the Republic of France, and that it has not distributed and will not distribute or cause to be distributed to the public in the Republic of France this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, and that such offers, sales and distributions have been and will be made in the Republic of France only to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) in accordance with Article L.411-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code and decrét no. 98-880 dated October 1, 1998.
Notice to Residents of the Netherlands
Our units may not be offered, sold, transferred or delivered in or from the Netherlands as part of their initial distribution or at any time thereafter, directly or indirectly, other than to, individuals or legal entities situated in The Netherlands who or which trade or invest in securities in the conduct of a business or profession (which includes banks, securities intermediaries (including dealers and brokers), insurance companies, pension funds, collective investment institution, central governments, large international and supranational organizations, other institutional investors and other parties, including treasury departments of commercial enterprises, which as an ancillary activity regularly invest in securities; hereinafter, “Professional Investors”); provided that in the offer, prospectus and in any other documents or advertisements in which a forthcoming offering of our units is publicly announced (whether electronically or otherwise) in The Netherlands it is stated that such offer is and will be exclusively made to such Professional Investors. Individual or legal entities who are not Professional Investors may not participate in the
169
offering of our units, and this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units may not be considered an offer or the prospect of an offer to sell or exchange our units.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the Cayman Islands
No offer or invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our units.
The distribution of units in Canada is being made only in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these securities are made. Any resale of the units in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the securities.
Representations of Canadian Purchasers
By purchasing units in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:
|
• |
the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the units without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an “accredited investor” as defined under National Instrument 45-106—Prospectus Exemptions; |
|
• |
the purchaser is a “permitted client” as defined in National Instrument 31-103—Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations; |
|
• |
where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent; and |
|
• |
the purchaser has reviewed the text above under “Resale Restrictions.” |
Canadian purchasers are hereby notified that the underwriters are relying on the exemption set out in section 3A.3 or 3A.4, if applicable, of National Instrument 33-105—Underwriting Conflicts from having to provide certain conflict of interest disclosure in this document.
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if the prospectus (including any amendment thereto) such as this document contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory.
The purchaser of these securities in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
170
All of our directors and officers as well as the experts named herein may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.
Taxation and Eligibility for Investment
Canadian purchasers of units should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in the units in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the units for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation.
171
Latham & Watkins LLP, New York, New York, is acting as counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act, and as such, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus. In connection with this offering, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, New York, New York, is acting as counsel to the underwriters.
The financial statements of VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. as of September 30, 2021 and for the period from March 25, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 appearing in this prospectus have been audited by Marcum LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to substantial doubt about the ability of VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. to continue as a going concern absent the consummation of this offering as described in Note 1 to the Financial Statements), appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, and are included in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
Where You Can Find Additional Information
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.
Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
172
VMG CONSUMER ACQUISITION CORP.
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of
VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of September 30, 2021, the related statements of operations, cash flows, changes in stockholders’ equity for the period from March 25, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of September 30, 2021, the results of its operations, cash flows and changes in stockholders’ equity for the period from March 25, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explanatory Paragraph – Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company’s ability to execute its business plan is dependent upon its completion of the proposed initial public offering described in Note 3 to the financial statements. The Company has a working capital deficiency as of September 30, 2021 and lacks the financial resources it needs to sustain operations for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. Management's plans with regard to these matters are also described in Notes 1 and 3. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that become necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum llp
Marcum llp
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021
New York, NY
October 22, 2021
F-2
VMG CONSUMER ACQUISITION CORP.
As of September 30, 2021
ASSETS: |
|
|
|
|
Cash |
|
$ |
65,000 |
|
Deferred offering costs associated with proposed public offering |
|
|
320,273 |
|
Total Assets |
|
$ |
385,273 |
|
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY(DEFICIT): |
|
|
|
|
Current liabilities: |
|
|
|
|
Notes Payable |
|
$ |
100,000 |
|
Accrued offering and formation costs |
|
|
365,998 |
|
Total Current Liabilities |
|
$ |
465,998 |
|
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 6) |
|
|
|
|
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; 100,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding |
|
|
— |
|
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 shares issued and outstanding(1) |
|
|
575 |
|
Additional paid-in capital |
|
|
24,425 |
|
Accumulated deficit |
|
|
(105,725 |
) |
Total Stockholders' Equity |
|
|
(80,725 |
) |
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity |
|
$ |
385,273 |
|
(1) |
Includes an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares of Class B common stock 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
VMG CONSUMER ACQUISITION CORP.
For the period from March 25, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021
|
|
|
|
|
Formation and operating costs |
|
$ |
105,725 |
|
Net loss |
|
$ |
(105,725 |
) |
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted (1) |
|
|
5,000,000 |
|
Basic and diluted net loss per share |
|
$ |
(0.02 |
) |
(1) |
This number excludes an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares of Class B common stock 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
VMG CONSUMER ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
For the period from March 25, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021
|
|
Common Stock |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
Class A |
|
|
Class B |
|
Additional Paid-In Capital |
|
Accumulated |
|
|
Stockholder’s |
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
Shares |
|
|
Amount |
|
|
Shares |
|
|
Amount |
|
|
|
|
Deficit |
|
|
Equity(Deficit) |
|
||||||
Balance as of March 25, 2021 (inception) |
|
|
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor (1) |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
5,750,000 |
|
|
|
575 |
|
|
24,425 |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
25,000 |
|
Net loss |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
(105,725 |
) |
|
|
(105,725 |
) |
Balance as of September 30, 2021 |
|
|
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
|
5,750,000 |
|
|
$ |
575 |
|
|
24,425 |
|
$ |
(105,725 |
) |
|
$ |
(80,725 |
) |
(1) |
Includes an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares of Class B common stock 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
VMG CONSUMER ACQUISITION CORP.
For the period from March 25, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021
|
|
|
|
|
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: |
|
|
|
|
Net loss |
|
$ |
(105,725 |
) |
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
|
|
|
|
Accrued offering and formation costs |
|
|
105,725 |
|
Net cash used in operating activities |
|
|
— |
|
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: |
|
|
|
|
Proceeds from promissory note |
|
|
100,000 |
|
Proceeds from issuance of Class B common stock to sponsor |
|
|
25,000 |
|
Offering costs paid |
|
|
(60,000 |
) |
Net cash provided by financing activities |
|
|
65,000 |
|
Net increase in cash |
|
|
65,000 |
|
Cash - beginning of the period |
|
|
— |
|
Cash - end of the period |
|
$ |
65,000 |
|
Supplemental disclosure of noncash financing activities: |
|
|
|
|
Deferred offering costs included in accrued offering costs |
|
$ |
260,273 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
Note 1 — Description of Organization, Business Operations, and Going Concern
VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. (the "Company") is a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on March 25, 2021. 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 an emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.
As of September 30, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from March 25, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the proposed initial public offering 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 on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the Proposed Public Offering (as defined below). The Company has selected September 30 as its fiscal year end.
The Company’s sponsor is VMG Consumer Acquisition Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability corporation (the "Sponsor"). The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a proposed public offering (the "Proposed Public Offering") of 20,000,000 units of the Company (each, a "Unit" and collectively, the "Units") at $10.00 per Unit (or 23,000,000 Units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), which is discussed in Note 3, and the sale of 10,500,000 warrants of the Company (or 11,700,000 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) (each, a "Private Placement Warrant" and collectively, the "Private Placement Warrants"), at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to the Sponsor that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Public Offering.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in Trust and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company only intends to complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act 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 $10.20 per Unit sold in the Proposed Public Offering, including the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants, will be held in a trust account ("Trust Account") located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.
The Company will provide the holders (the "Public Stockholders") of the Company’s issued and outstanding Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, sold in the Proposed Public Offering (the "Public Shares") 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 stockholders 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, solely in its discretion. The Public Stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then held in the Trust Account, plus any interest income earned thereon (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest income to pay dissolution expenses) (initially anticipated to be $10.20 per Public Share). The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Stockholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 6). These Public Shares will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering in
F-7
accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 480 "Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity." If the Company seeks stockholder approval, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. The Company will not redeem the Public Shares in connection with a Business Combination in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. If a stockholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal 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 law, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem the Public Shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Additionally, each Public Stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public stockholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the initial stockholders (as defined below) have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined below in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination. In addition, the initial stockholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.
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 holders of the Founder Shares (the "initial stockholders") have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period or during any Extension Period (as defined below) or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to stockholders' rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 18 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (the "Combination Period") and the Company’s stockholders have not amended the Certificate of Incorporation to extend such Combination Period (the “Extension Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Stockholders' rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, 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 warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete an initial Business Combination within the Combination Period or during any Extension Period.
The Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete an initial Business Combination within the Combination Period or during any Extension Period. However, if the initial stockholders acquire Public Shares in or after the Proposed Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period or during any Extension Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to the deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period or during any Extension Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the
F-8
redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be less than $10.20. 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 (except for the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement (a "Target"), reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (i) $10.20 per Public Share or (ii) the 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 interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account nor will it apply to any claims under 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"). 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 (other than the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Going Concern Consideration
As of September 30, 2021, the Company had $65,000 in cash and a working capital deficiency of $(400,998). Further, the Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through the Proposed Public Offering. The Company cannot assure that its plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial Business Combination will be successful. In addition, management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and its effect on the Company’s financial position, results its operations and/or search for a target company. See further discussion of the Company’s assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic below.
These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for the twelve months following the issuance of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from its inability to consummate the Proposed Public Offering or its inability to continue as a going concern.
COVID-19
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization ("WHO") announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus (the "COVID-19 outbreak"). In March 2020, the WHO classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic, based on the rapid increase in exposure globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve. Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak 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 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.
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP") and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an "emerging growth company," as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, 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
F-9
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 of 2002, 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 an emerging growth company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash and cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents are recorded at cost, which approximates fair value. The company had $65,000 in cash as of September 30, 2021. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of September 30, 2021.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC 820, "Fair Value Measurement," approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. 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 during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Deferred Offering Costs Associated with the Proposed Public Offering
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.
Net Loss Per Share Of Common Stock
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, "Earnings Per Share." Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of common stock outstanding during the period, reduced by an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares of Class B common stock subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters. As of September 30, 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into 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
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, "Income Taxes." Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. Deferred tax assets were deemed to be de minimis as of September 30, 2021.
FASB ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of September 30, 2021. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties as of September 30, 2021. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. 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 March 25, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
The Company’s management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
Note 3 — Proposed Public Offering
Pursuant to the Proposed Public Offering, the Company intends to offer for sale 20,000,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock, and one-half of one redeemable warrant (each, a "Public Warrant"). Each Public Warrant entitles 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).
The Company will grant the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the final prospectus relating to the Proposed Public Offering to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Proposed Public Offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.
Note 4 – Private Placements Warrants
Private Placement Warrants
The Sponsor will agree to purchase an aggregate of 10,500,000 Private Placement Warrants (or 11,700,000 Private Placement Warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, or approximately $10,500,000 in the aggregate (or $11,700,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one whole share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants and the sale of forward purchase units to the Sponsor 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 or any Extension Period, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable.
The purchasers of the Private Placement Warrants will agree, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants (except to permitted transferees) until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.
F-11
Note 5 — Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On July 1, 2021, the Sponsor acquired 5,750,000 founder shares (the “Founder Shares”) for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, consisting of 5,750,000 Class B founder shares. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the Sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued.
Up to 750,000 Founder Shares are subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised so that the initial stockholders will maintain ownership of 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock, on an as-converted basis, after this offering.
Class B Founder Shares
The Class B Founder Shares will automatically convert into shares of the Company’s Class A common stock on the first business day following the completion of the initial Business Combination at a ratio such that the number of shares of the Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all Class B Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the sum of (a) the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or deemed issued by the company in connection with or in relation to the completion of the initial business combination, excluding (1) any shares of the Company’s Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into shares of the Company’s Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and (2) any private placement warrants issued to the Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans, minus (b) the number of public shares redeemed by public stockholders in connection with the initial Business Combination. Prior to the initial Business Combination, only holders of the Class B common stock will be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors.
Related Party Promissory Note
On July 1, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 to be used for the payment of costs related to the Proposed Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due upon the earlier of December 31, 2021, or the date the Company consummates the Proposed Public Offering. The Company intends to repay the Note from the proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering not being placed in the Trust Account. On July 19, 2021 the Company borrowed $100,000 under the Note with the Sponsor and as of September 30, 2021, the Company had $100,000 outstanding under the Note.
Working Capital Loans
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required ("Working Capital Loans"). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would 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 or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. 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. To date, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
F-12
Note 6 — Commitments & Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any (and any Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans), will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering. These holders will be entitled to certain demand and "piggyback" registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement will provide that the Company will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters will be entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $4,000,000 in the aggregate (or $4,600,000 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. An additional fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $7,000,000 in the aggregate (or approximately $8,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Note 7 — Stockholders' Equity
Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of September 30, 2021, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of September 30, 2021, 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. As of September 30, 2021, 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock were issued and outstanding.
Holders of the Class A common stock and holders of the Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company's stockholders, except as required by law or stock exchange rule; provided that only holders of the Class B common stock shall have the right to vote on the election of the Company's directors prior to the initial Business Combination. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial Business Combination, holders of a majority of the outstanding founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
Note 8 — Warrants
Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional Public Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Public Warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering; provided in each case that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A 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 holders are permitted to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under certain circumstances as a result of the Company’s failure to have an effective registration statement by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial Business Combination. The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of its initial Business Combination, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with
F-13
the SEC and have an effective registration statement covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of the Company’s initial Business Combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, the Company will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and the Company 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 the Company’s Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a "covered security" under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, 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, it will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event the Company does not so elect, it 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.
The warrants have an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments, and will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the 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 board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such 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 the initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions) and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates the 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 under "Redemption of warrants for Class A common stock" and "Redemption of warrants for cash" 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 are identical to the Public Warrants, except that, (i) they will not be redeemable by the Company, (ii) they (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the Sponsor until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination, (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) are subject to registration rights.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00: Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company 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; and |
|
• |
if, and only if the last reported sale price of Class A common stock 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 (the "Reference Value") equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted). |
The Company will not redeem the warrants as described above unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption
F-14
period. Any such exercise would not be on a cashless basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised.
In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any warrant. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period or during any Extension 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.
Note 9 — Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to October 22, 2021, the date that the financial statements were issued. On October 8, 2021, our sponsor transferred 35,000 shares of Class B common stock to Jasmin Allen, who will be an independent director upon the effectiveness of the registration statement for the IPO, at a purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share.
F-15
20,000,000 Units
VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp.
PROSPECTUS
, 2021
Credit Suisse
Moelis & Company
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 |
|
$ |
21,321 |
|
FINRA expenses |
|
|
35,000 |
|
Accounting fees and expenses |
|
|
100,000 |
|
Printing and engraving expenses |
|
- |
|
|
Travel and road show expenses |
|
|
5,000 |
|
Legal fees and expenses |
|
|
400,000 |
|
Nasdaq listing and filing fees |
|
|
150,000 |
|
Miscellaneous |
|
|
188,679 |
|
Total |
|
$ |
900,000 |
|
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 (“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. |
II-1
|
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 of the corporation 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 of the corporation 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 of the corporation or by persons serving at the request of the corporation as directors, officers, employees or agents of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise 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 the certificate of incorporation or the bylaws 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 consolidation or merger 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. |
II-2
|
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 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 bylaw, 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 unless they violated their duty of loyalty to the company or its stockholders, acted in bad faith, knowingly or intentionally violated the law, authorized unlawful payments of dividends, unlawful stock purchases or unlawful redemptions, or derived improper personal benefit from their actions as directors. 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 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.
II-3
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 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 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 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 include the provisions relating to advancement of expenses and indemnification rights consistent with those 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 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 indemnity 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 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 will agree 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.
On July 1, 2021, we issued to our sponsor an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. Such securities were issued in connection with our
II-4
organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 23,000,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 750,000 of these shares may be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised.
Our sponsor is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D. Each of the equity holders in our sponsor is an accredited investor under Rule 501 of Regulation D. The sole business of our sponsor is to act as the company’s sponsor in connection with this offering. The limited liability company agreement of our sponsor provides that its membership interests may only be transferred to our officers or directors or other persons affiliated with our sponsor, or in connection with estate planning transfers.
Our sponsor will commit, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase from us an aggregate of 10,500,000 private placement warrants (or 11,700,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at $1.00 per warrant (for an aggregate purchase price of $10,500,000 (or $11,700,000 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. This issuance will be made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
II-5
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit No. |
|
Description |
1.1 |
|
Form of Underwriting Agreement.* |
3.1 |
|
Certificate of Incorporation.* |
3.2 |
|
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.* |
3.3 |
|
Bylaws.* |
4.1 |
|
Specimen Unit Certificate.* |
4.2 |
|
Specimen Class A Common Stock Certificate.* |
4.3 |
|
Specimen Warrant Certificate.* |
4.4 |
|
Form of Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.* |
5.1 |
|
Opinion of Latham & Watkins LLP.* |
10.1 |
|
Form of Letter Agreement among the Registrant, VMG Consumer Acquisition Holdings, LLC and each of the officers and directors of the Registrant.* |
10.2 |
|
Form of Investment Management Trust Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.* |
10.3 |
|
Form of Registration Rights Agreement among the Registrant, VMG Consumer Acquisition Holdings, LLC and the Holders signatory thereto.* |
10.4 |
|
Form of Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement among the Registrant and VMG Consumer Acquisition Holdings, LLC.* |
10.5 |
|
Form of Indemnity Agreement.* |
10.6 |
|
Promissory Note issued to VMG Consumer Acquisition Holdings, LLC.* |
10.7 |
|
Securities Purchase Agreement between VMG Consumer Acquisition Holdings, LLC and the Registrant.* |
10.8 |
|
Form of Administrative Services Agreement between the Registrant and VMG Consumer Acquisition Holdings, LLC.* |
14.1 |
|
Form of Code of Ethics.* |
23.1 |
|
|
23.2 |
|
Consent of Latham & Watkins LLP (included on Exhibit 5.1).* |
24.1 |
|
Power of Attorney (included in the signature page of this Registration Statement). |
99.1 |
|
|
99.2 |
|
|
99.3 |
|
* |
To be filed by amendment. |
|
(a) |
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser. |
II-6
|
event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. |
|
(c) |
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that: |
|
(1) |
For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective. |
|
(2) |
For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
|
(3) |
For the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 of 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 of 1933 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. |
II-7
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York, New York, on the 22nd day of October, 2021.
VMG CONSUMER ACQUISITION CORP. |
||
|
|
|
By: |
|
/s/ Aarti Kapoor |
|
|
Name: Aarti Kapoor |
|
|
Title: Chief Executive Officer |
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints each of Aarti Kapoor and Michael Mauzé his true and lawful attorney-in-fact, with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities to sign any and all amendments including post-effective amendments to this registration statement and any and all registration statements filed pursuant to Rule 462 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact or his substitute, each acting alone, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature |
|
Title |
|
Date |
/s/ Aarti Kapoor |
|
Aarti Kapoor
Chief Executive Officer and Director
|
|
October 22, 2021 |
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Angad Hira |
|
Angad Hira
Chief Financial Officer
|
|
October 22, 2021 |
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Michael Mauzé |
|
Michael Mauzé
|
|
October 22, 2021 |
|
|
|
|
|
Exhibit 23.1
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm’s Consent
We consent to the inclusion in this Registration Statement of VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) on Form S-1 of our report dated October 22, 2021, which includes an explanatory paragraph as to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, with respect to our audit of the financial statements of VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. as of September 30, 2021 and for the period from March 25, 2021, (inception) through September 30, 2021, which report appears in the Prospectus, which is part of this Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to our Firm under the heading “Experts” in such Prospectus.
/s/ Marcum llp
Marcum llp
Melville, NY
October 22, 2021
Exhibit 99.1
Consent to be Named as a Director Nominee
In connection with the filing by VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. of the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (the “Registration Statement”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), I hereby consent, pursuant to Rule 438 of the Securities Act, to being named as a nominee to the board of directors of VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. in the Registration Statement and any and all amendments and supplements thereto. I also consent to the filing of this consent as an exhibit to such Registration Statement and any amendments thereto.
/s/ Jasmin Allen___
Date: October 21, 2021Name: Jasmin Allen
Exhibit 99.2
Consent to be Named as a Director Nominee
In connection with the filing by VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. of the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (the “Registration Statement”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), I hereby consent, pursuant to Rule 438 of the Securities Act, to being named as a nominee to the board of directors of VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. in the Registration Statement and any and all amendments and supplements thereto. I also consent to the filing of this consent as an exhibit to such Registration Statement and any amendments thereto.
/s/ Lowell Singer_____
Date: October 21, 2021Name: Lowell Singer
Exhibit 99.3
Consent to be Named as a Director Nominee
In connection with the filing by VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. of the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (the “Registration Statement”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), I hereby consent, pursuant to Rule 438 of the Securities Act, to being named as a nominee to the board of directors of VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. in the Registration Statement and any and all amendments and supplements thereto. I also consent to the filing of this consent as an exhibit to such Registration Statement and any amendments thereto.
/s/ John Toth_______
Date: October 21, 2021Name: John Toth