Form 10-K

Large accelerated filer

Accelerated filer

Non-accelerated
filer

Smaller reporting company

Emerging growth company

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM

10-K

(Mark One)

☒	ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

☐	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from

Leo Holdings Corp. II

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


Cayman Islands	001-39865	98-1574497
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

Albany Financial Center, South Ocean Blvd, Suite #507, P.O. Box SP-63158, New Providence, Nassau, The Bahamas
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (310)

800-1000

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:


Title of Each Class:	Trading Symbol:	Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered:
Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant	LHC.U	New York Stock Exchange
Class A ordinary shares included as part of the units	LHC	New York Stock Exchange
Redeemable warrants included as part of the units	LHCWS	New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation

S-T

(§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

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 definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule

12b-2

of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule

12b-2

of the Exchange Act). Yes ☒ No ☐

As of June 30, 2021, the aggregate market value of the Registrant’s ordinary shares held by

non-affiliates

of the Registrant was $364.5 million.

As of March

, 2022, 37,500,000 Class A ordinary shares, and 9,375,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, were issued and outstanding.

Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.

Table of Contents

Leo Holdings Corp. II

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM

10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS


CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY		iii

1. PART I		1
ITEM 1.	BUSINESS	1
ITEM 1A.	RISK FACTORS	17
ITEM 1B.	UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS	48
ITEM 2.	PROPERTIES	48
ITEM 3.	LEGAL PROCEEDINGS	49
ITEM 4.	MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES	49

2. PART II		50
ITEM 5.	MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES	50
ITEM 6.	SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA	51
ITEM 7.	MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS	51
ITEM 8.	FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA	56
ITEM 9.	CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE	57
ITEM 9A.	CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES	57
ITEM 9B.	OTHER INFORMATION	58

3. PART III		59
ITEM 10.	DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE	59
ITEM 11.	EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION	67
ITEM 12.	SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS	68
ITEM 13.	CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.	70
ITEM 14.	PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES	72

4. PART IV		73
ITEM 15.	EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES	73
ITEM 16.	FORM 10-K SUMMARY	73

5. SIGNATURES		74

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CERTAIN TERMS

Unless otherwise stated in this Annual Report on Form

10-K

(this “Report”) or the context otherwise requires, references to:

•

“we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Leo Holdings Corp. II, a Cayman Islands exempted company;

•

“Lion Capital” are to Lion Capital LLP, an affiliate of our sponsor;

•

“Companies Law” are to the Companies Law (2020 Revision) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time;

•

“Founders” are Lyndon Lea, Ed Forst and Robert Darwent, senior executives of Lion Capital;

•

“founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares initially issued to our sponsor in private placements prior to our initial public offering and the Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class A ordinary shares will not be “public shares”);

•

“management” or our “management team” are to our executive officers and directors;

•

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

•

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

•

“public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market);

•

“public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor and management team to the extent our sponsor and/or members of our management team purchase public shares,

provided

that our sponsor’s and each member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares; and

•

“sponsor” are to Leo Investors II Limited Partnership, a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership.

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

Some of the statements contained in this Report 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.

The forward-looking statements contained in this Report 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, the following risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other factors:

•

our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in light of disruption that may result from limitations imposed by the

COVID-19

outbreak;

•

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

•

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

•

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

•

our pool of prospective target businesses;

•

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

•

our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;

•

the lack of a market for our securities;

•

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

•

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

•

our financial performance following our initial public offering.

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.

iii

Table of Contents

1. PART I

ITEM 1.

BUSINESS

Introduction

We are a blank check company recently incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this Report as our initial business combination. We intend to focus our search for a target business in the consumer sector and believe our management team is well suited to identify opportunities that have the potential to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders, although we may pursue a business combination opportunity in any business or industry.

Our company was founded by senior executives of, and advisors to, Lion Capital. We believe that we derive significant benefit from our affiliation with Lion Capital.

Lion Capital is a leading consumer focused private equity firm and its principals have invested over $9.3 billion in 49 businesses since 1998. Since it was founded in 2004 by Lyndon Lea and Robert Darwent, Lion Capital has focused exclusively on investing in the consumer sector globally, including disruptive industries. Every aspect of Lion Capital’s structure, team and approach has been designed to support this strategy, and Lion Capital has invested in some of the consumer industry’s best-known brands, including Weetabix, Orangina, Jimmy Choo and AllSaints. Representing approximately 70% of GDP, consumer related spend offers a vast pool of potential attractive opportunities for the company.

Our Founders

Our company was founded by senior executives of, and advisors to, Lion Capital. Mr. Lea and Mr. Darwent have worked together for the last 22 years.

Our management team is led by Lyndon Lea, our President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Lea is a founder of Lion Capital and has served as its Managing Partner since its inception in 2004. Prior to founding Lion Capital, Mr. Lea was a partner of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst where he

co-founded

its European operations in 1998. From 1994 to 1998, Mr. Lea served at Glenisla, the former European affiliate of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., prior to which he was an investment banker in London and New York with Schroders and Goldman Sachs. Mr. Lea graduated with a BA in Honors Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario in Canada in 1990.

Mr. Lea has been active in the investment arena for 30 years, 26 of which have been exclusively focused on private equity. Mr. Lea has led the acquisitions of over 30 investments. Mr Lea also has extensive operating experience having served as interim CEO for AllSaints and having held executive positions in several portfolio investments over his career. Additionally, Mr Lea has served on several public company boards including Yell plc, Premier Foods and Aber. Mr Lea currently serves on the board of DMS (NYSE:DMS).

Ed Forst, our Chairman, is Chairman, Partner, and member of the Investment Committee at Lion Capital. Mr. Forst previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Cushman & Wakefield, leading the commercial real estate firm across more than 60 countries. Prior to this, Mr. Forst was a Management Committee Partner of Goldman, Sachs & Co. where he served as the

Co-CEO

of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and before that as the Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Vice President of the firm. Mr. Forst also served as the Chairman of Goldman’s Global Debt Underwriting Committee for seven years. Mr. Forst was also the Executive Vice President and Principal Operating Officer of Harvard University during the financial crisis, as well as Adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Mr. Forst sits on the boards of The Feinstein Institute of Northwell Health and the Yale School of Management. Mr. Forst has also served on the board of the Harvard Management Company, as Treasurer of Carnegie Hall, and as the Chairman of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). Mr. Forst earned his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his AB in Economics from Harvard University.

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Robert Darwent is our Chief Financial Officer. Alongside Mr. Lea, Mr. Darwent is a founder of Lion Capital where he sits on the Investment Committee and Operating Committee of the firm. Prior to founding Lion Capital in 2004, Mr. Darwent worked with Mr. Lea in the European operations of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst since its formation in 1998. From 1995 to 1998, Mr. Darwent worked in the London office of Morgan Stanley in their investment banking and private equity groups. Mr. Darwent graduated from Cambridge University in 1995. Mr. Darwent currently serves on the public company boards of Loungers plc (LON:LGRS) and DMS (NYSE:DMS).

Experience with Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicles

Our management team has previous experience in the execution of public acquisition vehicles. From November 2017 until July 2020, Mr. Lea was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Darwent was the Chief Financial Officer and each of Ms. Bush and Ms. Minnick were directors of Leo Holdings Corp., a special purpose acquisition company formed for substantially similar purposes as our company and that completed its initial public offering in February 2018. On April 23, 2020 Leo Holdings Corp. entered into a Business Combination Agreement with Digital Media Solutions Holdings, LLC (“DMS”) and certain of its affiliates pursuant to which Leo Holdings Corp. acquired DMS on July 15, 2020.

From January 2021 until November 2021, Mr. Forst was the Chairman, Mr. Lea was the President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Mr. Darwent was the Chief Financial Officer and each of Ms. Bush, Ms. Minnick and Mr. Agarwal were directors of Leo Holdings III Corp. (“Leo III”), a special purpose acquisition company formed for substantially similar purposes as our company and that completed its initial public offering in March 2021. On April 23, 2021 Leo Holdings Corp. entered into a Business Combination Agreement with Local Bounti Corporation (“Local Bounti”) and certain of its affiliates pursuant to which Leo Holdings III Corp. acquired Local Bounti on November 19, 2021.

With respect to the above, past performance of our management team, Leo Holdings Corp., Leo III or Lion Capital and its affiliates is not a guarantee of either (i) success with respect to a business combination that may be consummated or (ii) the ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction. You should not rely on the historical record of management, Leo Holdings Corp., Leo III or Lion Capital and its affiliates as indicative of future performance. An investment in us is not an investment in Lion Capital. For a list of our executive officers and entities for which a conflict of interest may or does exist between such officers and the company, please refer to “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”

Business Strategy

Our selection process will leverage our management team’s and strategic advisor’s broad and deep relationship network, industry expertise and proven deal-sourcing capabilities to provide us with a number of business combination opportunities.

Our management team has experience in:

•

operating companies, setting and changing strategies, and identifying, mentoring and recruiting world-class talent;

•

developing and growing companies, both organically and through acquisition, and expanding the product ranges and geographic footprints of a number of target businesses;

•

evaluating disruptive technologies particularly with regards to the transition of offline consumer habits to online purchasing through throughout the consumer lifecycle extending from sourcing, logistics, planning through to consumer interface and purchase behavior;

•

sourcing, structuring, acquiring and selling businesses;

•

partnering with other industry-leading companies to increase sales and improve competitive position;

•

fostering relationships with sellers, capital providers and target management teams; and

•

accessing the capital markets across various business cycles, including financing businesses and assisting companies with the transition to public ownership.

We will focus our search on established companies with a leading competitive position, strong management team, collaborative and collegiate culture, robust financial profile and strong long-term potential for profitability.

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The past performance of our founders and other members of our management team is not a guarantee that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination, nor of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management’s performance as indicative of our future performance. An investment in us is not an investment in Lion Capital.

We communicate with our management’s network of relationships to articulate the parameters for our search for a target company and a potential business combination and are in the process of pursuing and reviewing potential opportunities.

Acquisition Criteria

Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines which we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to seek to acquire one or more businesses that we believe:

•

are underperforming their potential but can demonstrate a clear microeconomic thesis for value creation; while close attention is paid to prevailing market and economic trends, these are not the primary drivers of growth. Given our experience and extensive understanding of the key players and trends in the consumer space our deep understanding of our target markets enables us to seek targets which can yield significant value in all market conditions;

•

are at an inflection point, such as those requiring additional management expertise. We believe that we are well-positioned to partner with founders and act as stewards of a business through the transition phrase from founder ownership to acquisition by a strategic. We bring a vast experience working with owners and entrepreneurs as a prestigious and value-added partner bringing expertise and knowledge having transformed and grown dozens of brands;

•

evaluate and improve a company’s growth prospects and help it realize opportunities to create shareholder value following the consummation of a business combination. The credibility of our senior team means we are recognized as one of the preeminent investors in consumer brands globally and are frequently sought out by entrepreneurs;

•

have significant embedded and/or underexploited expansion opportunities. This can be accomplished through a combination of accelerating organic growth and finding attractive

add-on

acquisition targets. Our management team has significant experience in identifying such targets and helping target management assess the strategic and financial fit. Similarly, our management team has the expertise to assess the likely synergies and a process to help a target company integrate acquisitions;

•

exhibit unrecognized value or other characteristics that we believe have been misevaluated by the marketplace based on our company-specific analysis and due diligence review. For a potential target company, this process will include, among other things, a review and analysis of the company’s capital structure, quality of earnings, potential for operational improvements, corporate governance, customers, material contracts, and industry background and trends. We leverage the operational experience and disciplined investment approach of our team to identify opportunities to unlock value that our experience in complex situations allows us to pursue; and

•

will offer attractive risk-adjusted equity returns for our shareholders. We will seek to acquire a target on terms and in a manner that leverages our experience in transformational investing. Financial returns will be evaluated based on (i) the potential for organic growth in cash flows, (ii) the ability to achieve cost savings, (iii) the ability to accelerate growth, including through the opportunity for

follow-on

acquisitions, and (iv) the prospects for creating value through other value creation initiatives. Potential upside from growth in the target business’ earnings and an improved capital structure will be weighed against any identified downside risks.

These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC.

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Initial Business Combination

Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (net of amounts previously disbursed to management for working capital purposes and excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in trust and taxes paid or payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of signing the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses or we are considering an initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent valuation or accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the prior owners of the target business, the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.

Other Considerations

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination or subsequent transaction with a company that is affiliated with Lion Capital or our sponsor, Founders, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with

SEC Form 10-K filed by Leo Holdings Corp. II