UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended
OR
For the transition period from ____________ to ____________
Commission File Number:
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
| ||
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) |
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant | FMIVU | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||
The | ||||
Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A common stock, each at an exercise price of $11.50 per share | FMIVW | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
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 ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not
required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐
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.
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 (Section 232.405
of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
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. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ |
☒ | Smaller reporting company | ||
Emerging growth company |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check
mark if the Registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting
standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial
reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or
issued its audit report.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
The aggregate market value of the registrant’s
common stock outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, at June 30, 2022, computed
by reference to the closing price of the units reported on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC on such date, was approximately $
As of March 31, 2023, there were
Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.
Table of Contents
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this annual report on Form 10-K (this “Form 10-K”) 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 Form 10-K 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; | |
● | 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 adverse impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) on our ability to consummate an initial business combination or on the restaurant and hospitality related sectors; | |
● | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition 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. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K 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 section of this Form 10-K entitled “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
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PART I
References in this report to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to Forum Merger IV Corporation. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors.
Item 1. Business.
Introduction
We are a blank check company formed as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “business combination”). While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or geographic region, we intend to focus on companies that have an aggregate enterprise value of approximately $500 million to $5 billion or more, are North American- or Western European-based, have excellent management teams, have a robust outlook for long-term growth and would benefit from access to capital to fund organic growth or acquisitions.
Our strategy will be to capitalize on inefficiencies we identify in the market, specifically with regards to private equity funds and private companies looking for liquidity. Consistent with this strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We intend to 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.
● | Middle-Market Businesses. We intend to seek to acquire one or more businesses with an aggregate enterprise value of approximately $500 million to $5 billion or more, determined in the sole discretion of our officers and directors according to reasonably accepted valuation standards and methodologies. Although we have no commitment as of the date of the initial public offering (as defined below), we will likely need to issue a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock or shares of preferred stock, or a combination thereof, either to sellers of a target company or to investors that will provide us capital, to complete a business combination. We believe that the middle market segment provides the greatest number of opportunities for investment. This segment is where we believe we have the strongest network to identify the greatest number of attractive opportunities. |
● | Companies Which Have Strong Public Comparables. We intend to seek to acquire one or more businesses where strong public comparables exist. The existence of public companies which operate in similar industry sectors or have similar operating metrics to a potential target business will be important in helping to establish that the valuation of our initial business combination is attractive relative to such public companies. |
● | Established Companies with Proven Track Records. We intend to seek to acquire one or more established companies with consistent historical financial performance. We intend to focus on companies with a history of strong operating and financial results and strong fundamentals. We also intend to focus on companies where we are able to gain a clear understanding of their market and growth strategy. We do not currently intend to acquire start-up companies or companies with recurring negative free cash flow. |
● | Companies with Proven Revenue and Earnings Growth or Potential for Revenue and Earnings Growth. We intend to seek to acquire one or more businesses that have achieved or have the potential for significant revenue and earnings growth through a combination of organic growth, synergistic add-on acquisitions, new product markets and geographies, increased production capacity, expense reduction and increased operating leverage. We intend to focus on companies that have a scalable, capital efficient business model, operate in industries that have strong barriers to entry and have a sustainable competitive advantage in an attractive industry. |
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● | Experienced Management Team. We intend to seek to acquire one or more businesses with a strong, driven and experienced management team that provides a platform for us to further develop the acquired business’s management capabilities. We may also seek to partner with a potential target’s management team where the operating and financial abilities of our executive team and board could complement their own capabilities. |
● | Sectors Exhibiting Secular Growth or with Potential for Cyclical Uptick. We intend to focus on acquisition targets in sectors which exhibit positive secular growth or potential for near-term cyclical uptick. We plan to identify sectors that have demonstrated strong positive growth in recent years, possess drivers for continued growth and are strategically positioned to benefit from upswings in their respective industry cycles. |
● | Benefit from Being a Public Company. We intend to acquire one or more businesses that will benefit from being publicly-traded and can effectively utilize the broader access to capital and the public profile that are associated with being a publicly-traded company. |
These criteria and guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general criteria and 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 and guidelines in our stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in the initial public offering prospectus, would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (as amended on March 17, 2021, our “amended and restated certificate of incorporation”) prohibits us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations.
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenue to date. Based on our business activities, the Company is a “shell company” as defined under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
On March 22, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering (the “initial public offering”) of 30,000,000 units (the “units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, included in the units sold, the “public shares”). Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A common stock”) and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant (“public warrant”), with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock for $11.50 per share. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $300 million. We granted the underwriters for the initial public offering a 45-day option to purchase up to 4,500,000 additional units to cover over-allotments, if any. On March 30, 2021, in connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option, we consummated the sale of an additional 3,601,509 units at a price of $10.00 per unit and the sale of an additional 72,301 private placement units (as defined below) at a price of $10.00 per private placement unit, generating total gross proceeds of $36,738,100.
Simultaneously with the consummation of the initial public offering, we completed the private sale (the “private placement”) of an aggregate of 930,000 units (the “private placement units”) at a price of $10.00 per private placement unit in which Forum Investors IV LLC, our sponsor (the “Sponsor”), purchased 780,000 private placement units and Jefferies LLC purchased 150,000 private placement units, generating gross proceeds of $9,300,000. In connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of the over-allotment option on March 30, 2021, the Sponsor purchased an additional 54,022 private placement units and Jefferies LLC purchased an additional 18,008 private placement units. Each private placement unit consists of one share of Class A common stock (“private placement share”) and one-fourth of one warrant (each, a “private placement warrant”, and collectively with the public warrants, the “warrants”). Each private placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The private placement units are identical to the units sold in the initial public offering except that (a) private placement units (including the underlying securities) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and (b) the private placement warrants, so long as they are held by the Sponsor or Jefferies LLC or their permitted transferees, (i) will not be redeemable by us (subject to certain limited exceptions), (ii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis, (iii) will be entitled to registration rights and (iv) for so long as they are held by the underwriters, will not be exercisable more than five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which the initial public offering prospectus forms a part in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8)(A). The holders will be permitted to transfer the private placement units held by them to certain permitted transferees, including our and the underwriters’ officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with or related to them, but the transferees receiving such securities will be subject to the same agreements with respect to such securities as the Sponsor and Jefferies LLC. Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in the initial public offering, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
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Prior to the consummation of the initial public offering, on January 15, 2021, we issued an aggregate of 8,625,000 shares of our Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “founder shares” or “Class B common stock”), to the Sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000 in cash. Up to 1,125,000 founder shares were subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised. As a result of the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their over-allotment option on March 30, 2021, a total of 224,623 founder shares were forfeited and 900,377 founder shares are no longer subject to forfeiture, resulting in an aggregate of 8,400,377 founder shares issued and outstanding.
A total of $300,000,000, comprised of $296,000,000 of the proceeds from the initial public offering (which amount includes $10,500,000 of the underwriters’ deferred discount) and $6,000,000 of the proceeds of the sale of the private placement units, was placed in a U.S.-based trust account (the “trust account”) at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee. On March 30, 2021, in connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option, a total of $36,015,090 was deposited into the trust account, bringing the aggregate proceeds held in the trust account to $336,015,090 (which amount includes $11,760,528 of the underwriters’ deferred discount).
The funds held in the trust account are invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting the conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.
As of December 31, 2022, there was $340,048,153 in investments and cash held in the trust account, which includes interest income available to us for franchise and income tax obligations of approximately $1,059,920. As of December 31, 2022, we have not withdrawn any interest earned from the trust account to pay taxes.
Extension
Our initial public offering prospectus and amended and restated certificate of incorporation provided that we had until March 22, 2023 (the date which was 24 months after the consummation of the initial public offering) to complete an initial business combination. As stated in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed with SEC on March 9, 2023, we held a special meeting of stockholders and approved a proposal to amend (the “Extension Amendment”) our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date (the “completion window”, and any extensions of that date pursuant to the Extension Amendment Proposal, an “Extension”) by which we have to consummate a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses from March 22, 2023 (the “Current Outside Date”) to April 22, 2023 or such earlier date as determined by our board of directors, and such later date, the “Extended Date,” and to allow us, without another stockholder vote, to elect to extend the completion window to consummate a business combination on a monthly basis up to seven times by an additional one month each time after the Extended Date, by resolution of our board of directors, if requested by the Sponsor, and upon five days’ advance notice prior to the applicable completion window, until November 22, 2023 (each, an “Additional Charter Extension Date”) or a total of up to eight months after the Current Outside Date, unless the closing of a business combination shall have occurred prior thereto (the “Extension Amendment Proposal”). In connection with the approval of the Extension, stockholders elected to redeem an aggregate of 27,240,210 public shares, of which we paid cash from the trust account in the aggregate amount of approximately $276,640,526.86 (approximately $10.16 per share) to redeeming stockholders.
Extension Promissory Note
We agreed to deposit from our working capital account into the trust account, for each such Additional Charter Extension Date, the lesser of (a) $175,000 or (b) $0.05 for each public share then outstanding, which we agreed to deposit into the trust account at the beginning of each month (the “Monthly Deposit”), for an aggregate deposit of up to the lesser of (a) $1,225,000 or (b) $0.05 for each public share then outstanding (if all additional extensions are exercised) (the “Extension Deposits”). In the event our working capital account has been depleted, the Sponsor, or one or more of its affiliates, members of third party designees (collectively, the “Lender”)) agreed to lend us the Monthly Deposit in the form of a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note (the “Note”), which we agreed to deposit into the trust account. If we complete a business combination and have borrowed money from the Lender under the Note, we will, at the option of the Lender, repay the amounts loaned under the Note or convert a portion or all of the amounts loaned under such Note into units of the post-business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the Lender, which units will be identical to the private placement units. Additionally, if we do not complete a business combination by the Extended Date (or Additional Charter Extension Date, if applicable), and a Note has been issued to us by the Lender, such Note will be repaid only from funds held outside of the trust account or will be forfeited, eliminated or otherwise forgiven. If the Sponsor designates a third party as Lender, we may negotiate with the Lender and vary the terms of the Note and its conversion, issue securities and pay certain fees to the Lender in connection with the Note. In the event our working capital account has been depleted, the Lender agreed to lend us the Monthly Deposit in the form of the Note, which we shall deposit into the trust account.
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Letter of Intent
As disclosed in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 14, 2023, we have entered into a letter of intent with a target (the “LOI Target”) that is non-binding with respect to all its material terms, except with respect to provisions regarding a limited period of exclusivity. We are currently in discussions with the LOI Target to extend the limited period of exclusivity in the letter of intent. The LOI Target is a profitable and growing company in the online gaming industry, providing its customers with an expansive portfolio of digital gaming products and services. Subject to completion of its related audit, for the calendar year ended December 31, 2022, the LOI Target expects adjusted revenue in excess of $300 million and expects adjusted EBITDA margins of approximately 30%. The LOI Target also expects strong free cash flow conversion for fiscal year 2023 substantially in excess of 2022 levels. The execution and negotiation of a definitive business combination agreement is subject to several conditions, including the completion of due diligence, securing certain concurrent financing and negotiation and preparation of related definitive documentation. We cannot assure stockholders that it will be able to enter into a definitive business combination agreement with the LOI Target on terms acceptable to us or the LOI Target prior to the Extended Date. In the event we and the LOI Target enter into a business combination agreement and related definitive documents, we can also not provide any assurance that the business combination agreement will be consummated prior to the Extended Date.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations until the consummation of our initial business combination. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash held in the trust account, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into), 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. 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.
Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination
The listing rules of The Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of 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. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination target, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not 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 as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. In addition, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
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We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so 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. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction 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 in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock 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 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. If the 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.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital allocation experience in evaluating each prospective business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our Sponsor or our 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 that is affiliated (as defined in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation) with our Sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions stating that the consideration to be paid by us in such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
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Our officers and directors indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement units. Because of this ownership, our Sponsor and our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, 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 to present the opportunity to such entity, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Our directors and officers are 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. In addition, our officers or directors may be investors, or have other direct or indirect interests, in a business with which we may enter into a business combination agreement and/or in certain funds or other persons that may purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the public market. In addition, our Sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
Amendments to Facilitate the Consummation of an Initial Business Combination
On March 7, 2023, we held a special meeting of stockholders and approved four proposals to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that will facilitate the consummation of an initial business combination.
The first amendment extended the date by which we have to consummate an initial business combination from March 22, 2023 to April 22, 2023 or such earlier date as determined by our board of directors, and to allow us, without another stockholder vote, to elect to extend the completion window to consummate a business combination on a monthly basis up to seven times by an additional one month each time after the Extended Date, by resolution of our board of directors, if requested by the Sponsor, and upon five days’ advance notice prior to the applicable completion window, until November 22, 2023 or a total of up to eight months after the Current Outside Date, unless the closing of a business combination shall have occurred prior thereto. The purpose of the Extension Amendment is to allow us sufficient time to complete its initial business combination.
The second amendment (the “Founder Share Amendment”) provided holders of Class B common stock the right to convert any and all their Class B common stock into Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis prior to the closing of a business combination at the election of the holder. The purpose of the Founder Share Amendment is to allow us to convert the founder shares at any point in time prior to the business combination and give us further flexibility to retain stockholders and meet Nasdaq continued listing requirements following any stockholder redemptions.
The third amendment (the “Redemption Limitation Amendment”) deleted the limitation that we shall not redeem public shares that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. The purpose of the Redemption Limitation Amendment is to eliminate the requirement that we have at least $5,000,001 in tangible net assets (as determined in accordance with Rule 3a51-1(g)(1) under the Exchange Act) in order to consummate the business combination.
The fourth amendment (the “Liquidation Amendment”) permitted our board of directors, in its sole discretion, to elect to wind up our operations on an earlier date than the Extended Date (including prior to the Current Outside Date or an Additional Charter Extension Date, as applicable) as determined by our board of directors and included in a public announcement. The purpose of the Liquidation Amendment is to enable our board of directors, in its sole discretion, to liquidate the trust account and dissolve in accordance with applicable law and to redeem all public shares on a specified date following the filing of the amendment to the amended and restated certificate of incorporation and prior to the Extended Date (or Additional Charter Extension Date, if applicable) (including a date prior to the Current Outside Date), after taking into account various factors, including, but not limited to, the prospect of identifying a target and negotiating and consummating a business combination prior to the Extended Date (or Additional Charter Extension Date, if applicable), as well as the planned implementation of the Excise Tax (as defined herein) beginning in 2023.
Redemption rights for holders of public shares upon consummation of the 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 either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) without a stockholder vote by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial 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 requirements. Under Nasdaq rules, asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would typically require stockholder approval. 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.
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If we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a stockholder meeting, we will:
● | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and |
● | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the then outstanding shares of common stock present and entitled to vote at the meeting to approve the initial business combination when a quorum is present are voted in favor of the initial 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 will count towards this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares and private placement shares held by them and any public shares acquired by them during or after our initial public offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a stockholder on the record date for the stockholder meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is approximately $10.11 per public share as of December 31, 2022. 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 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 in connection with such initial business combination, 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 the initial public offering, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.
Conduct of redemptions pursuant to tender offer rules
If we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation: (a) conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and (b) 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.
Submission of our initial business combination to a stockholder vote
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 business combination.
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If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their 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. There is no limit on the number of shares or warrants our Sponsor, 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. If they engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. 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 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 comply with such rules. We expect that any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination.
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 warrantholders 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 shares of Class A common stock or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Stockholder Approval
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 provides 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 the initial public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. Such restriction will also be applicable to our affiliates. 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 initial business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us 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 the initial public 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 an initial 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.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
Our amendment to the amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have until April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable, to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable, 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 (which interest shall be net of 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 liquidating 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. 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 by April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable.
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Competition
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 blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic business combinations. 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 we do. 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 initial business combination 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 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.
Employees
We currently have two officers, Marshall Kiev and David Boris, our Co-Chief Executive Officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters, but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the initial 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 are required to file Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q with the SEC on a regular basis, and are required to disclose certain material events in a Current Report on Form 8-K. The SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s Internet website is located at www.sec.gov. In addition, the Company will provide copies of these documents without charge upon request from us in writing at 1615 South Congress Avenue, Suite 103, Delray Beach, Florida or by telephone at (212) 739-7860.
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, 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 targets 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.
We are required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (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 company 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.
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 the initial public 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 are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors.
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Form 10-K, 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.
Risk Factor Summary
● | 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. |
● | Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination. |
● | Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash. |
● | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote. |
● | 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. |
● | The requirement that we complete our initial business combination by April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable, may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating an initial 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 recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets. |
● | We may not be able to complete our initial business combination by April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. |
● | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed initial business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock. |
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● | If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed. |
● | You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies. |
● | Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. |
● | If the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least until April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable, 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. |
● | Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us. |
● | You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss. |
● | 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. |
● | Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations. |
● | We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. |
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● | 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 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. | |
● | Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. | |
● | We may engage in an initial 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. | |
● | Since our Sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us 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. | |
● | Our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results. | |
● | A new 1% U.S. federal excise tax could be imposed on us in connection with redemptions by us of our shares or our liquidation. | |
● | If we are deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we may be forced to abandon our efforts to complete a business combination and instead be required to liquidate the Company. To mitigate the risk of that result, on or prior to the 24-month anniversary of the effective date of the registration statement relating to our initial public offering, we will instruct Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company to liquidate the securities held in the trust account and instead hold all funds in the trust account in an interest-bearing bank deposit account. | |
● | Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, including events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults or non-performance by financial institutions, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, or our prospects. |
● |
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.” |
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Risks Relating to our Search for, 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, 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 if the initial business combination would not require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial 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. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our common stock do not approve of the initial business combination we complete.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial business combination. Since our board of directors may complete an initial business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the initial business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Pursuant to the letter agreement, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares and private placement shares held by them and any public shares they may acquire during or after the initial public offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. Our initial stockholders own shares representing 58.58% of our outstanding shares of common stock (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units). Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial stockholders to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite stockholder approval for such initial business combination.
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The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore 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 result in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock at the time of the consummation of our business combination. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the full deferred underwriting commissions.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your stock.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your stock in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination by April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable, may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating an initial 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 an initial business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination by April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating an initial 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.
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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 recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 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 China and other parts of 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 outbreak has and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 continues to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which 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. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity in 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.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination by April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 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 (which interest shall be net of 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 liquidating 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. In such case, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than $10.00 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “- If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed initial 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 public shares or public warrants or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or public warrants in such transactions.
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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 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. 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 such purchases 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 warrantholders 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. We expect that any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
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.
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 materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, 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 describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or submit public shares for redemption. For example, 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 stock certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically 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 date on which the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination is to be held. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a stockholder vote, we intend to 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 vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The redemption rights will also include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 and have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the initial public 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.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, 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 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 similar or greater technical, human and other resources or more 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 the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. 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 and completing an initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “- If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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If the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least until April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable, 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 the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, only $1,850,000 were available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account are sufficient to allow us to operate for at least until April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable; 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 initial 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.
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. None of 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 $1,200,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. 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 obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete 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. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “- If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, 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 perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. The underwriters of the initial public offering will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account. Making such a request of potential target businesses may make our acquisition proposal less attractive to them and, to the extent prospective target businesses refuse to execute such a waiver, it may limit the field of potential target businesses that we might pursue.
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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 are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which the initial public offering 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 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 similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, 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 the initial public 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 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 $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our Sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, 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 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 $10.00 per share.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. There can be no assurance that these trends will not continue.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
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In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
● | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
● | restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. |
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
● | registration as an investment company with the SEC; |
● | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
● | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and compliance other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete an initial 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. The initial public offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our 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 redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering 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 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering, 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 an initial business combination or may result in our liquidation. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “- If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and results of operations.
Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law (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 by April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable, may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the 24th month from the closing of the initial public 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, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching 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. 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 by April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable, 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.
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Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We may pursue business combination opportunities in any industry or geographic region, except that we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our initial 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 or warrantholders who choose to remain stockholders or warrantholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrantholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors which may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider an initial business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if an initial business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our company or we are unable to identify a suitable candidate in these areas of expertise after having expanded a reasonable amount of time and effort in an attempt to do so. 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 the initial public offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in an initial business combination candidate.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “- If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent valuation or appraisal firm that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the shares of Class A common stock, and you will not have any information regarding such other security at this time.
In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the shares of Class A common stock. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your warrants for securities pursuant to the warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company of which you do not have information at this time. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, the surviving company will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register the issuance of the security underlying the warrants within fifteen business days of the closing of an initial business combination.
We may issue additional common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions 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 authorizes the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 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. After the initial public offering, there were 56,745,576 and 1,599,623 authorized but unissued shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance, which amount takes into account the shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of Class B common stock. Immediately after the consummation of the initial public offering, there were no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Shares of Class B common stock are convertible into shares of our Class A common stock initially at a one-for-one ratio.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of 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 shares of Class A common stock in connection with the redemption of our warrants or shares of Class A common stock upon conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth therein. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that prior to 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 as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering or (y) amend the foregoing provisions. 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 or preferred stock:
● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the initial public offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock; |
● | may subordinate the rights of holders of our common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
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● | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
● | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and |
● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants. |
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 receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, 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 receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “- If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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.
Recently, 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 targets companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
We may engage in an initial 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 or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under the section of the initial public offering prospectus entitled “Management–-Conflicts of Interest.” In addition, our Sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our 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 preliminary discussions concerning an initial business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for an initial business combination as set forth in the section of the initial public offering prospectus entitled “Proposed Business–-Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or from an independent valuation or appraisal firm, regarding the fairness to our stockholders from a financial point of view of an initial business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the initial business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
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Since our Sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us 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 January 28, 2021, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 8,625,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. As a result of the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their over-allotment option on March 30, 2021, a total of 224,623 founder shares were forfeited and 900,377 founder shares are no longer subject to forfeiture, resulting in an aggregate of 8,400,377 founder shares issued and outstanding. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the Sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. 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. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our Sponsor and Jefferies LLC purchased an aggregate of 1,002,030 units at a price of $10.00 per unit, consisting of 834,022 units by our Sponsor and 168,008 units by the Jefferies LLC for an aggregate purchase price of $10,020,300, or $10.00 per unit, that will also worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed initial business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares or private placement shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination or in connection with a tender offer. In addition, we may obtain loans from our Sponsor, affiliates of our Sponsor or an officer or director. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 24-month anniversary of the closing of the initial public offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
On March 7, 2023, we held a special meeting of stockholders and approved the Extension Amendment to extend the date by which we have to consummate an initial business combination from March 22, 2023 to April 22, 2023 or such earlier date as determined by our board of directors and to allow us, without another stockholder vote, to elect to extend the completion window to consummate a business combination on a monthly basis up to seven times by an additional one month each time after the Extended Date, by resolution of our board of directors, if requested by the Sponsor, and upon five days’ advance notice prior to the applicable completion window, until November 22, 2023 or a total of up to eight months after the Current Outside Date, unless the closing of a business combination shall have occurred prior thereto. In connection with the Extension, we agreed to deposit from our working capital account into the trust account, for each such Additional Charter Extension Date, the lesser of (a) $175,000 or (b) $0.05 for each public share then outstanding, which we agreed to deposit into the trust account at the beginning of each month, for an aggregate deposit of up to the lesser of (a) $1,225,000 or (b) $0.05 for each public share then outstanding (if all additional extensions are exercised). In the event our working capital account has been depleted, the Lender agreed to lend us the Monthly Deposit in the form of a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note, which we agreed to deposit into the trust account. If we complete a business combination and have borrowed money from the Lender under the Note, we will, at the option of the Lender, repay the amounts loaned under the Note or convert a portion or all of the amounts loaned under such Note into units of the post-business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the Lender, which units will be identical to the private placement units. Additionally, if we do not complete a business combination by the Extended Date (or Additional Charter Extension Date, if applicable), and a Note has been issued to us by the Lender, such Note will be repaid only from funds held outside of the trust account or will be forfeited, eliminated or otherwise forgiven. If the Sponsor designates a third party as Lender, we may negotiate with the Lender and vary the terms of the Note and its conversion, issue securities and pay certain fees to the Lender in connection with the Note. In the event our working capital account has been depleted, the Lender agreed to lend us the Monthly Deposit in the form of the Note, which we shall deposit into the trust account.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete an initial 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following the initial public offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
● | our inability to pay dividends on our common stock; |
● | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes; |
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● | 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; |
● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; |
● | and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of services and limited operating activities. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operating results and profitability.
Of the net proceeds from the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, approximately $52,842,245 is available to complete our initial business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which includes 11,760,528 for the payment of deferred underwriting commissions).
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
● | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or |
● | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need 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 an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our initial 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 an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
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We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors 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.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete an initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders or warrantholders 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 their affiliates. 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, all shares of 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, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated 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 or warrantholders may not support.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds 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 to extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering requires the approval of holders of a majority of our common stock entitled to vote thereon and amending other such provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires the approval of holders of at least 65% of our common stock, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires 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 (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any 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.
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We have amended our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time we have to consummate our initial business combination beyond 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering which was approved by a majority of the then outstanding shares of common stock present and entitled to vote at the meeting to approve such amendment when a quorum is present. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation also provides that any of its other provisions related to pre-initial business combination activity (and the corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), including an amendment to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated, may be amended with the approval of holders of at least 65% of our common stock, which are lower amendment thresholds than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we may amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the time we have to consummate our initial business combination beyond 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering if such amendment is approved by a majority of the then outstanding shares of common stock present and entitled to vote at the meeting to approve such amendment when a quorum is present. Our initial public offering prospectus and amended and restated certificate of incorporation provided that we had until March 22, 2023 (the date which was 24 months after the consummation of the initial public offering) to complete an initial business combination. As stated in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed with SEC on March 9, 2023, we held a special meeting of stockholders and approved the Extension Amendment to extend the date by which we have to consummate an initial business combination from March 22, 2023 to April 22, 2023 or such earlier date as determined by our board of directors and to allow us, without another stockholder vote, to elect to extend the completion window to consummate a business combination on a monthly basis up to seven times by an additional one month each time after the Extended Date, by resolution of our board of directors, if requested by the Sponsor, and upon five days’ advance notice prior to the applicable completion window, until November 22, 2023 or a total of up to eight months after the Current Outside Date, unless the closing of a business combination shall have occurred prior thereto. In connection with the approval of the Extension, stockholders elected to redeem an aggregate of 27,240,210 public shares, of which we paid cash from the trust account in the aggregate amount of approximately $276,640,526.86 (approximately $10.16 per share) to redeeming stockholders.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation also provides that any of its other provisions related to pre-initial business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein and including to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated) may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and the 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 common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. We may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering or (y) amend the foregoing provisions. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock upon the closing of the initial public offering (not including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units and assuming they do not purchase any units in the initial public offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-initial business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete an initial 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, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering or (ii) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest will be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our 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, 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.
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Certain agreements related to the initial public offering may be amended without stockholder approval.
Each of the agreements related to the initial public offering to which we are a party, other than the warrant agreement and the investment management trust agreement, may be amended without stockholder approval. Such agreements are: the underwriting agreement; the letter agreement among us and our initial stockholders, Sponsor, officers and directors; the registration rights agreement among us, our initial stockholders and the underwriters; the private placement units purchase agreements among us, our Sponsor and Jefferies LLC; and the administrative services agreement among us and an affiliate of our Sponsor. These agreements contain various provisions that our public stockholders might deem to be material. For example, our letter agreement and the underwriting agreement contain certain lock-up provisions with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants and other securities held by our Sponsor, officers and directors. Amendments to such agreements would require the consent of the applicable parties thereto and would need to be approved by our board of directors, which may do so for a variety of reasons, including to facilitate our initial business combination. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement. Any amendment entered into in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to such initial business combination, and any other material amendment to any of our material agreements will be disclosed in a filing with the SEC. Any such amendments would not require approval from our stockholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities. For example, amendments to the lock-up provision discussed above may result in our initial stockholders selling their securities earlier than they would otherwise be permitted, which may have an adverse effect on the price of 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 larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units. As a result, 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, the amount of additional financing we may be required to obtain could increase as a result of future growth capital needs for any particular transaction, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination and/or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination. 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. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “- If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
Our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of the initial public offering, our initial stockholders owned shares representing 21.9% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock (including the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement units and assuming they do not purchase any units in the initial public 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 and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any units in the initial public offering or if our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our initial stockholders, is and will be divided into two classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of two years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the initial business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and 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.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike most blank check companies, if (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, (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 on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (iii) 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, 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, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 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.
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Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on 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, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial 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.
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.
After our initial business combination, our results of operations and prospects could be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political, social and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
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 year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, including events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults or non-performance by financial institutions, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, or our prospects.
The funds in our operating account and our trust account are held in banks or other financial institutions. Our cash held in non-interest bearing and interest-bearing accounts would exceed any applicable Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limits. Should events, including limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments occur with respect to the banks or other financial institutions that hold our funds, or that affect financial institutions or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, our liquidity may be adversely affected. For example, on March 10, 2023, the FDIC announced that Silicon Valley Bank had been closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Although we did not have any funds in Silicon Valley Bank or other institutions that have been closed, we cannot guarantee that the banks or other financial institutions that hold our funds will not experience similar issues.
In addition, investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on terms favorable to us in connection with a potential business combination, or at all, and could have material adverse impacts on our liquidity, our business, financial condition or results of operations, and our prospects. Our business may be adversely impacted by these developments in ways that we cannot predict at this time, there may be additional risks that we have not yet identified, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to avoid negative consequences directly or indirectly from any failure of one or more banks or other financial institutions.
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Risks Relating to the Post Business Combination Company
Subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our stock price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrantholders who choose to remain stockholders or warrantholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrantholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination.
We may structure an 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 business sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the 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 Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock 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 common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business. We 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 have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrantholders who choose to remain stockholders or warrantholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrantholders 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.
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Risks Relating to Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
● | higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
● | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
● | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
● | longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
● | tax issues, including but not limited to tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
● | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
● | rates of inflation; |
● | cultural and language differences; |
● | employment regulations; |
● | crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars, including the conflict in Ukraine and the surrounding region; |
● | deterioration of political relations with the United States; and |
● | government appropriations of assets. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
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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.
We are currently operating in a period of economic uncertainty and capital markets disruption, which has been significantly impacted by geopolitical instability due to the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected by any negative impact on the global economy and capital markets resulting from the conflict in Ukraine or any other geopolitical tensions.
Russian military actions and the resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets, potentially making it more difficult for us to obtain additional funds.
Any of the above mentioned factors could affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results. The extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial. Any such disruptions may also magnify the impact of other risks described in this Form 10-K.
Risks Relating to Our Sponsor and Management Team
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our directors and officers, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, 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. In addition, the officers and directors of an initial business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of an initial business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an initial business combination candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an initial business combination candidate’s management team will remain associated with the initial business combination candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an initial business combination candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
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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 the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the initial business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the initial 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 initial 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.
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 an initial 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 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 independent directors may also serve as officers or board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of the initial public offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our Sponsor and officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business.
Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties. 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. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
In addition, our Sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
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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 an initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our Sponsor, directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
Risks Relating to our Securities
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the occurrence of each of the following: (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 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 redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering 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 are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering 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 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering 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 proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss
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.
Our units are listed on Nasdaq and the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants are separately listed on Nasdaq. Although we 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 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, 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 and we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists any of 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; |
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● | 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 qualify as covered securities under the statute. 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 under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
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 provides 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 the initial public 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 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.
Members of our management team and board of directors have significant experience as founders, board members, officers or executives of other companies. As a result, certain of those persons have been, may be, or may become, involved in proceedings, investigations and litigation relating to the business affairs of the companies with which they were, are, or may in the future be, affiliated. This may have an adverse effect on us, which may impede our ability to consummate an initial business combination.
During the course of their careers, members of our management team and board of directors have had significant experience as founders, board members, officers or executives of other companies. As a result of their involvement and positions in these companies, certain persons were, are now, or may in the future become, involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings relating to the business affairs of such companies or transactions entered into by such companies. Any such litigation, investigations or other proceedings may divert our management team’s and board’s attention and resources away from identifying and selecting a target business or businesses for our initial business combination and may negatively affect our reputation, which may impede our ability to complete an initial business combination.
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Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
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.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the warrants could be converted into cash or stock, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants are 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 for the purpose of curing any ambiguity or to correct any defective provision or mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in the initial public offering prospectus, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of the public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement 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 are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
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This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement 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.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants of no value to you.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send notice of such redemption to the warrant holders and provided certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to (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, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met, including that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of shares of Class A common stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our shares of Class A common stock. 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 Class A common stock received is capped at 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.
None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us (except in limited circumstances) so long as they are held by our Sponsor or the underwriters or their permitted transferees.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders and the underwriters 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 the initial public offering, our initial stockholders and the underwriters and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the private placement units, the private placement shares, the private placement warrants, the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of the founder shares and exercise of the private placement warrants held, or to be held, by them and holders of securities 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 complete. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the securities owned by our initial stockholders, the underwriters or holders of working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered for resale.
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Our warrants and founder shares 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 issued warrants to purchase 8,400,377 shares of our Class A common stock as part of the units offered by the initial public offering prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we issued private placement units, which consist of (i) an aggregate of 1,002,030 private placement shares and (ii) private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 250,507 shares of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments as provided herein. The founder shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our Sponsor or its affiliates, or any of our officers or directors, makes any working capital loans, up to $1,200,000 of such loans may be converted into private placement-equivalent units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such units would be identical to the private placement units, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period of the underlying warrants. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock in connection with our redemption of warrants.
To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate an initial business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive business combination vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A common stock issued to complete the initial business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate an initial business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in the initial public offering except that, so long as they are held by our Sponsor or the underwriters or their permitted transferees, the private placement warrants (i) will not be redeemable by us (except in limited circumstances), (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, (iv) will be entitled to registration rights and (v) for so long as they are held by the underwriters, will not be exercisable more than five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which the initial public offering prospectus forms a part in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8)(A).
Because each unit contains one-fourth 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-fourth 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-fourth 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.
General Risk Factors
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.”
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Accounting Standards Update 2014-15, we have determined that if the Company is unable to complete a business combination by April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this Form 10-K do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to continue as a going concern.
Our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.
Included on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2022 are derivative liabilities related to embedded features contained within our warrants. Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”), provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our consolidated financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors, which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material.
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A new 1% U.S. federal excise tax could be imposed on us in connection with redemptions by us of our shares or our liquidation.
On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which, among other things, imposes a new 1% U.S. federal excise tax on certain repurchases of stock by “covered corporations” (which include publicly traded domestic (i.e., U.S.) corporations) beginning in 2023, with certain exceptions (the “Excise Tax”). The Excise Tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its stockholders from which the stock is repurchased. Because we are a Delaware corporation and our securities are trading on Nasdaq, we are a “covered corporation” for this purpose. The amount of the Excise Tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the Excise Tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year. In addition, certain exceptions apply to the Excise Tax. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) has authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out, and prevent the abuse or avoidance of, the Excise Tax.
On December 27, 2022, the Treasury published Notice 2023-2, which provided clarification on some aspects of the application of the Excise Tax, including with respect to some transactions in which special purpose acquisition companies (each a “SPAC”) typically engage. In the notice, the Treasury appears to have intended to exempt from the excise tax any distributions, including those that occur in connection with redemptions, by a corporation in the same year it completely liquidates, but the guidance is not clearly drafted and arguably could be interpreted to have a narrower application. Consequently, a substantial risk remains that any redemptions would be subject to the Excise Tax, including in circumstances where we either engage in a business combination in 2023 in which we do not issue shares sufficient to offset the earlier redemptions or liquidate later in 2023.
Because the application of the Excise Tax is not entirely clear, any redemption or other repurchase effected by us, in connection with a business combination, extension vote or otherwise, may be subject to the Excise Tax. Whether and to what extent we would be subject to the Excise Tax on a redemption of our shares of Class A common stock or other stock issued by us would depend on a number of factors, including (i) whether the redemption is treated as a repurchase of stock for purposes of the Excise Tax, (ii) the fair market value of the redemption treated as a repurchase of stock in connection with our initial business combination, an extension or otherwise (iii) the structure of the initial business combination, (iv) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances in connection with the initial business combination (or otherwise issued not in connection with the initial business combination but issued within the same taxable year of a redemption treated as a repurchase of stock) and (v) the content of regulations and other guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. As noted above, the Excise Tax would be payable by us, and not by the redeeming holder, and the mechanics of any required payment of the Excise Tax have not yet been determined. The imposition of the Excise Tax could cause a reduction in the cash available on hand to complete an initial business combination or for effecting redemptions and may affect our ability to complete an initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we may be forced to abandon our efforts to complete a business combination and instead be required to liquidate the Company. To mitigate the risk of that result, on or prior to the 24-month anniversary of the effective date of the registration statement relating to our initial public offering, we will instruct Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company to liquidate the securities held in the trust account and instead hold all funds in the trust account in an interest-bearing bank deposit account.
On March 30, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules (the “SPAC Rule Proposals”), relating, among other things, to circumstances in which SPACs such as us could potentially be subject to the Investment Company Act and the regulations thereunder. The SPAC Rule Proposals would provide a safe harbor for such companies from the definition of “investment company” under Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act, provided that a SPAC satisfies certain criteria.
To comply with the duration limitation of the proposed safe harbor, a SPAC would have a limited time period to announce and complete a de-SPAC transaction. Specifically, to comply with the safe harbor, the SPAC Rule Proposals would require a company to file a report on Form 8-K announcing that it has entered into an agreement with a target company for a business combination no later than 18 months after the effective date of the registration statement for its initial public offering. The company would then be required to complete its initial business combination no later than 24 months after the effective date of the registration statement for its initial public offering.
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There is currently uncertainty concerning the applicability of the Investment Company Act to a SPAC, including a company like ours, that does not complete its initial business combination within the proposed time frame set forth in the proposed safe harbor rule. As indicated above, we completed our initial public offering in March 2021 and have operated as a blank check company searching for a target business with which to consummate a business combination since such time (or approximately 23 months after the effective date of our initial public offering, as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K). As a result, it is possible that a claim could be made that we have been operating as an unregistered investment company if the SPAC Rule Proposals are adopted as proposed. If we were deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we might be forced to abandon our efforts to complete a business combination and instead be required to liquidate the Company. If we are required to liquidate the Company, our investors would not be able to realize the benefits of owning shares in a successor operating business, including the potential appreciation in the value of our shares and warrants or rights following such a transaction, and our warrants or rights would expire worthless.
The funds in the trust account have, since our initial public offering, been held only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. government treasury obligations and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. To mitigate the risk of us being deemed to have been operating as an unregistered investment company under the Investment Company Act, we will, on or prior to the 24-month anniversary of the effective date of the registration statement relating to our initial public offering, or March 17, 2023, instruct Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the trustee with respect to the trust account, to liquidate the U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds held in the trust account and thereafter to hold all funds in the trust account in an interest-bearing bank deposit account (i.e., in one or more bank accounts) until the earlier of the consummation of a business combination or our liquidation. Interest on bank deposit accounts is variable and such accounts currently yield interest of approximately 3.0% per annum.
In addition, even prior to the 24-month anniversary of the effective date of the registration statement relating to our initial public offering, we may be deemed to be an investment company. The longer that the funds in the trust account are held in short-term U.S. government securities or in money market funds invested exclusively in such securities, even prior to the 24-month anniversary, the greater the risk that we may be considered an unregistered investment company, in which case we may be required to liquidate. Accordingly, we may determine, in our discretion, to liquidate the securities held in the trust account at any time, even prior to the 24-month anniversary, and instead hold all funds in the trust account in an interest-bearing bank deposit account.
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 with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through the initial public offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning an initial 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.
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Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team or businesses associated with them, including Forum I and Forum II, is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance of our management team is not a guarantee either (i) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (ii) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of the performance of our management team or businesses associated with them, including Forum I and Forum II, as indicative of our future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We will 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 ability to consummate an initial business combination.
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 common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an 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.
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Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, 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 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, (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction, or (D) any action arising under the Securities Act, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall have concurrent 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 provides 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. 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 have agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which the initial public offering prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement with the SEC and to have declared effective a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, but such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
We 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 commercially reasonable efforts to file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which the initial public offering prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement with the SEC, and within 60 business days following our initial business combination to have declared effective, a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration 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 the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
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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 accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. If holders exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, the number of shares of Class A common stock that you will receive upon such cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum amount of 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.
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 do not 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 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 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. Exercising the warrants on a cashless basis could have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of shares of Class A common stock upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold than they would have upon a cash exercise.
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 the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of Class A common stock included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of units sold in the initial public offering. In such an instance, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the shares of Class A common stock underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying shares of common stock. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying shares of Class A common stock for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
Item 2. Properties.
Our executive offices are located at 1615 South Congress Avenue, Suite 103, Delray Beach, Florida 33445. Our executive offices are provided to us by an affiliate of the Sponsor and we have agreed to pay such affiliate of the Sponsor a total of $30,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support (which payments will be accelerated if we consummate our initial business combination prior to the end of our 24-month term, or $720,000 in the aggregate). We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to our knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against us or any of our officers or directors in their corporate capacity.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Market Information
Our units, Class A common stock and warrants are traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “FMIVU,” “FMIV” and “FMIVW,” respectively.
Holders
As of March 31, 2023, there were three holders of record of our units, one holder of record of our Class A common stock and one holder of record of our warrants.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of an 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 conditions subsequent to completion of an initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to an initial 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.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
On March 22, 2021, we consummated the initial public offering of 30,000,000 units. The units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating total gross proceeds of $300,000,000. On March 30, 2021, in connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option, we consummated the sale of an additional 3,601,509 units at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating total gross proceeds of $36,015,090. Jefferies LLC acted as sole book-running manager. The securities in the offering were registered under the Securities Act on registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-253216). The SEC declared the registration statement effective on March 17, 2021.
Simultaneous with the consummation of the initial public offering, we consummated the private placement of an aggregate of 930,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per private placement unit, generating total proceeds of $9,300,000. Simultaneous with the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option, we consummated the private placement of an aggregate of 72,031 additional private placement units at a price of $10.00 per private placement unit, generating additional proceeds of $720,310. The issuances were made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
The private placement units are identical to the units sold in the initial public offering, except that the Sponsor and Jefferies LLC have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private placement units, (except to certain permitted transferees) until 30 days after the completion of the Company’s initial business combination. The warrants underlying the private placement units are also not redeemable by the Company and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the Sponsor, Jefferies LLC or their permitted transferees. In addition, for as long as the warrants underlying the private placement units are held by Jefferies LLC or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement.
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Of the gross proceeds received from the initial public offering, the exercise of the over-allotment option and the private placement units, an aggregate of $336,015,090 was placed in the trust account.
We paid a total of $6,720,300 in underwriting discounts and commissions and $517,944 for other offering costs and expenses related to the initial public offering. In addition, the underwriters agreed to defer $11,760,528 in underwriting discounts and commissions.
Item 6. [Reserved]
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
References to the “Company,” “Forum Merger IV Corporation,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Forum Merger IV Corporation. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. For information identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors set forth under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Company’s securities filings can be accessed on the EDGAR section of the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as expressly required by applicable securities law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Overview
We are a blank check company formed under the laws of the State of Delaware on January 15, 2021 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We intend to effectuate our business combination using cash from the proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.
We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete a business combination will be successful.
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Recent Developments
Extension
Our initial public offering prospectus and amended and restated certificate of incorporation provided that we had until March 22, 2023 (the date which was 24 months after the consummation of the initial public offering) to complete an initial business combination. As stated in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed with SEC on March 9, 2023, we held a special meeting of stockholders and approved the Extension Amendment to extend the date by which we have to consummate an initial business combination from March 22, 2023 to April 22, 2023 or such earlier date as determined by our board of directors and to allow us, without another stockholder vote, to elect to extend the completion window to consummate a business combination on a monthly basis up to seven times by an additional one month each time after the Extended Date, by resolution of our board of directors, if requested by the Sponsor, and upon five days’ advance notice prior to the applicable completion window, until November 22, 2023 or a total of up to eight months after the Current Outside Date, unless the closing of a business combination shall have occurred prior thereto. In connection with the approval of the Extension, stockholders elected to redeem an aggregate of 27,240,210 public shares, of which we paid cash from the trust account in the aggregate amount of approximately $276,640,526.86 (approximately $10.16 per share) to redeeming stockholders.
Extension Promissory Note
We agreed to deposit from our working capital account into the trust account, for each such Additional Charter Extension Date, the lesser of (a) $175,000 or (b) $0.05 for each public share then outstanding, which we agreed to deposit into the trust account at the beginning of each month, for an aggregate deposit of up to the lesser of (a) $1,225,000 or (b) $0.05 for each public share then outstanding (if all additional extensions are exercised). In the event our working capital account has been depleted, the Lender agreed to lend us the Monthly Deposit in the form of a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note, which we agreed to deposit into the trust account. If we complete a business combination and have borrowed money from the Lender under the Note, we will, at the option of the Lender, repay the amounts loaned under the Note or convert a portion or all of the amounts loaned under such Note into units of the post-business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the Lender, which units will be identical to the private placement units. Additionally, if we do not complete a business combination by the Extended Date (or Additional Charter Extension Date, if applicable), and a Note has been issued to us by the Lender, such Note will be repaid only from funds held outside of the trust account or will be forfeited, eliminated or otherwise forgiven. If the Sponsor designates a third party as Lender, we may negotiate with the Lender and vary the terms of the Note and its conversion, issue securities and pay certain fees to the Lender in connection with the Note. In the event our working capital account has been depleted, the Lender agreed to lend us the Monthly Deposit in the form of the Note, which we shall deposit into the trust account.
Letter of Intent
As disclosed in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 14, 2023, we have entered into a letter of intent with a target that is non-binding with respect to all its material terms, except with respect to provisions regarding a limited period of exclusivity. We are currently in discussions with the LOI Target to extend the limited period of exclusivity in the letter of intent. The LOI Target is a profitable and growing company in the online gaming industry, providing its customers with an expansive portfolio of digital gaming products and services. Subject to completion of its related audit, for the calendar year ended December 31, 2022, the LOI Target expects adjusted revenue in excess of $300 million and expects adjusted EBITDA margins of approximately 30%. The LOI Target also expects strong free cash flow conversion for fiscal year 2023 substantially in excess of 2022 levels. The execution and negotiation of a definitive business combination agreement is subject to several conditions, including the completion of due diligence, securing certain concurrent financing and negotiation and preparation of related definitive documentation. We cannot assure stockholders that it will be able to enter into a definitive business combination agreement with the LOI Target on terms acceptable to us or the LOI Target prior to the Extended Date. In the event we and the LOI Target enter into a business combination agreement and related definitive documents, we can also not provide any assurance that the business combination agreement will be consummated prior to the Extended Date.
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Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations (other than searching for a business combination after our initial public offering) nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities through December 31, 2022 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the initial public offering, described below, and identifying a target company for a business combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our business combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held in the trust account. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, we had a net income of $7,642,377, which consisted of interest earned on marketable securities held in the trust account of $5,066,781 and a gain on the change in fair value of warrants of $6,834,200, offset by general and administrative expenses of $3,059,119 and provision for income taxes of $1,199,485.
For the period from January 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, we had a net loss of $2,091,085, which consisted of formation and operating costs of $1,891,019, transaction costs allocated to warrants of $399,286, offset by interest earned on marketable securities held in trust account of $26,202 and a change in fair value of warrants of $173,018.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
On March 22, 2021, we consummated the initial public offering of 30,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $300,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we completed the private sale of 930,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per private placement unit in which the Sponsor purchased 780,000 private placement units and Jefferies LLC purchased 150,000 private placement units, generating gross proceeds of $9,300,000.
On March 30, 2021, in connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option, we consummated the sale of an additional 3,601,509 units at a price of $10.00 per unit and the sale of an additional 72,301 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per private placement unit, generating total gross proceeds of $36,738,100. In connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option, the Sponsor purchased an additional 54,022 private placement units and Jefferies LLC purchased an additional 18,008 private placement units. Each private placement unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-fourth of one warrant.
Following the initial public offering, the partial exercise of the over-allotment option, and the sale of the private placement units, a total of $336,015,090 was placed in the trust account. We incurred $18,998,772 in initial public offering related costs, including $6,720,300 of underwriting fees, $11,760,528 of deferred underwriting fees and $517,944 of other costs.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, cash used in operating activities was $2,530,154. Net income of $7,642,377 was affected by changes in fair value of warrant liabilities of $6,834,200 and interest earned on investments held in the trust account of $5,066,781. Changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $1,728,450 of cash for operating activities.
For the period from January 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, cash used in operating activities was $1,282,875. Net loss of $2,091,085 was affected by transaction costs allocable to warrants of $399,286, change in fair value of warrant liabilities of $173,018 and interest earned on marketable securities held in trust account of $26,202. Changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $608,144 of cash for operating activities.
On December 31, 2022, assets held in the trust account were comprised of $350 in cash and $339,676,781 invested in U.S. Treasury Bills. Total investments in marketable securities as of December 31, 2022 is $371,022. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company had withdrawn $1,059,920 of interest income from the trust account. Income on the balance in the trust account may be used by us to pay taxes. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (less income taxes payable), to complete our business combination. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
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As of December 31, 2022, we had cash of $53,947. We intend to use the funds held outside the trust account primarily to 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.
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 will 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 $1,200,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such units would be identical to the private placement units, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period of the underlying warrants. The terms of such working capital loans by our Sponsor or its affiliates, or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our Sponsor 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.
The Company may not have sufficient liquidity to fund the working capital needs of the Company. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination.
Going Concern
As of December 31, 2022, we had $53,947 in our operating bank account, $340,048,153 in securities held in the trust account to be used for a business combination or to repurchase or redeem our common stock in connection therewith and a working capital deficit of $1,782,415, which excludes franchise and income taxes payable as such amounts can be paid from the interest earned in the trust account. As of December 31, 2022, $4,033,063 of the amount on deposit in the trust account represented interest income, which is available to pay our tax obligations.
Until the consummation of a business combination, we will be using the funds not held in the trust account for identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the business combination.
In connection with our assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board’s ASU 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” we have until April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable, to consummate a business combination. It is uncertain that we will be able to consummate a business combination by this time. Additionally, we may not have sufficient liquidity to fund our working capital needs until one year from the issuance of these financial statements. If a business combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company. Management has determined that the liquidity condition and mandatory liquidation, should a business combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution, raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should we be required to liquidate after April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable. We intend to complete a business combination before the mandatory liquidation date.
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Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On January 15, 2021, the Sponsor purchased 8,625,000 shares of our Class B common stock for an aggregate price of $25,000. The founder shares included an aggregate of up to 1,125,000 shares of Class B common stock subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment was not exercised in full or in part, so that the Sponsor will own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after the initial public offering (assuming the Sponsor does not purchase any public shares in the initial public offering and excluding the private placement shares). As a result of the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their over-allotment option on March 30, 2021, a total of 224,623 founder shares were forfeited and 900,377 founder shares are no longer subject to forfeiture, resulting in an aggregate of 8,400,377 founder shares issued and outstanding.
The Sponsor has agreed, subject to certain limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of its founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a business combination or (B) subsequent to a business combination, (x) if the closing price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Administrative Support Agreement
We entered into an agreement, commencing on March 17, 2021, to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor a total of $30,000 per month for 24 months, or $720,000 in the aggregate, for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support (which payments will be accelerated if we consummate our initial business combination prior to the end of our 24-month term, or $720,000 in the aggregate). For the year ended December 31, 2022, we incurred $360,000 and paid $330,000 in fees for these services, of which $30,000 is included in accrued expenses in the accompanying balance sheet. For the period from January 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, we incurred $278,000 and paid $308,000 in fees for these services, of which $30,000 is included in prepaid expenses in the accompanying balance sheet.
Related Party Loans
On January 28, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan us an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the initial public offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “promissory note”). The promissory note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the completion of the initial public offering. The outstanding balance under the promissory note of $110,000 was repaid at the closing of the initial public offering on March 22, 2021. Borrowings under the promissory note are no longer available to us.
Due to Sponsor
The Sponsor advanced $675,038 to us in anticipation of the amount to be paid for the purchase of additional private placement units in the event the underwriters’ exercise their over-allotment option. The advance is non-interest bearing and due on demand. As of December 31, 2022, $34 remains outstanding.
Indemnification Advances
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company incurred and paid $857,000 of legal expenses related to advances made pursuant to indemnity agreements on behalf of the Company’s Co-Chief Executive Officers.
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Other Contractual Obligations
Other than as described herein, we do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities.
Registration Rights Agreement
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on March 17, 2021, the holders of the founder shares (including any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of the founder shares), private placement units, private placement shares, private placement warrants (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants), and securities that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans are entitled to registration rights requiring us to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to Class A common stock). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the underwriters may not exercise their demand and “piggyback” registration rights after five and seven years after the effective date of the registration statement related to the initial public offering and may not exercise their demand rights on more than one occasion. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
We granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the initial public offering to purchase up to 4,500,000 additional units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On March 30, 2021, the underwriters elected to partially exercise their over-allotment option to purchase an additional 3,601,509 units and forfeited their option to purchase an additional 898,491 units.
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per unit, or $11,760,528 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will be forfeited by the underwriters solely in the event that we fail to complete a business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting estimates:
Warrant Liabilities
We do not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. We evaluate all of our financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”) and ASC 815. We account for the warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40 under which the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment and must be recorded as liabilities. Accordingly, we classify the warrants as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the warrants to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statements of operations. The private placement warrants and the public warrants for periods where no observable traded price was available are valued using a Monte Carlo simulation. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the public warrants from the units, the public warrant quoted market price was used as the fair value as of each relevant date.
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Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480. Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that feature redemption rights that is either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ deficit. Our public Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ deficit section of our balance sheets.
Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share
Net income (loss) per common share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. The Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A common stock and Class B common stock. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A common stock is excluded from income (loss) per common share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
Recent Accounting Standards
In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-13”), which requires entities to measure all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. ASU 2016-13 also requires additional disclosures regarding significant estimates and judgments used in estimating credit losses, as well as the credit quality and underwriting standards of an entity’s portfolio. We expect to adopt the provisions of this guidance on January 1, 2023. The adoption is not expected to have a material impact on our financial statements.
Beside the above, our management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
This information appears following Item 15 of this Report and is included herein by reference.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
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Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
As required by SEC rules and regulations implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15- d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
(1) | pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our company, |
(2) | provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and |
(3) | provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. |
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect errors or misstatements in our financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree or compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at December 31, 2022. In making these assessments, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013). Based on our assessments and those criteria, management determined that we maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
During the year ended December 31, 2022, there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not applicable.
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PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
Directors and Executive Officers
Our officers and directors are as follows:
NAME | AGE | POSITION | ||
Marshall Kiev | 55 | Co-Chief Executive Officer, President and Director | ||
David Boris | 62 | Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director | ||
Neil Goldberg | 70 | Director | ||
Richard Katzman | 66 | Director | ||
Steven Berns | 58 | Director | ||
Tory Kiam | 63 | Director |
Marshall Kiev has been our Co-Chief Executive Officer, President and Director since inception. He has over 28 years of deal sourcing and principal investment experience in both family office and private equity settings. He has been the President and Founder of MK Capital Partners, a private investment firm, since 2016. The firm’s primary investment strategies include direct private equity, growth equity and venture capital. Mr. Kiev was Co-Chief Executive Officer, President and Director of Forum Merger Corporation (“Forum I”) until its business combination with ConvergeOne (Nasdaq: CVON), was Co-Chief Executive Officer, President and Director of Forum Merger II Corporation (“Forum II”) until its business combination with Tattooed Chef (Nasdaq: TTCF), and was the Co-Chief Executive Officer, President and Director of Forum Merger III Corporation (“Forum III”) until its business combination with Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: ELMS). Mr. Kiev was previously a Director of Cohen Private Ventures, or CPV, from 2013 to 2016. CPV is a family office investing long-term capital in direct private investments and other opportunistic transactions. Prior to his position with CPV, Mr. Kiev was Chief of Staff at S.A.C. Capital Advisors, L.P., an investment firm, from 2010 to 2013. Prior to joining S.A.C., Mr. Kiev was President of Alternative Investments at Family Management Corporation, a multi-family office, from 2007 to 2009, where he oversaw a portfolio of investments in hedge funds and private equity funds. Previously, Mr. Kiev was a Partner at Main Street Resources, a middle-market private equity firm, from 2000 to 2007. He began his career in 1989 at Family Management Corporation where he held a variety of roles over more than a decade. Mr. Kiev is an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. Mr. Kiev received an MBA degree from the Stern School of Business at New York University and a BA degree also from New York University. We believe Mr. Kiev is well-qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his extensive financial experience, his asset management experience and his experience as an executive officer and director of Forum I, Forum II and Forum III.
David Boris has been our Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director since inception. He served as Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director of Forum I from its inception in November 2016 until Forum I’s business combination with ConvergeOne and served as a member of ConvergeOne’s board of directors from the business combination until ConvergeOne’s acquisition by CVC in January 2019 at $12.50 per share. He has also served as Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director of Forum II from its inception in May 2018 until Forum II’s business combination with Tattooed Chef and continues to serve on the board of directors of Tattooed Chef. He has also served as the Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director of Forum III from its inception in June 2019 until Forum III’s business combination with Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. and had continued to serve on the board of directors of Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. until Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. and its subsidiary, Electric Last Mile, Inc. ceased operations and commenced bankruptcy proceedings on June 14, 2022. He has over 30 years of Wall Street experience in mergers and corporate finance and has been involved in approximately 20 SPAC transactions as an advisor, investment banker and/or officer or board member, including ten business combinations totaling over $5.0 billion. Mr. Boris served as Senior Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking at Pali Capital, Inc., an investment banking firm, from 2007. Mr. Boris served as President of Ladenburg Thalmann Group Inc. from 1999 to 2000, and was also Executive Vice President and Head of Investment Banking at Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. from 1998 to 2000. In addition, he was a co-founder, director, and a principal stockholder of Brenner Securities Corporation and its successors. Prior to Brenner, Mr. Boris was at Oppenheimer & Company Inc., as a Senior Vice President and Limited Partner. Mr. Boris began his career as a member of the Business Development Group of W.R. Grace & Company, from 1984 to 1985. He is an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization, an organization with over 25,000 members who are in the top position of a qualifying company or division and are directly responsible for all operations of such business or division. Mr. Boris received a M.B.A. from Columbia University Business School and a B.A. from Vassar College, cum laude. We believe Mr. Boris is well qualified to serve as a member of the board due to his wide range of experience in capital market activities as well as his activities in special purpose acquisition companies and asset management, including his experience as an executive officer and director of Forum I, Forum II and Forum III.
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Neil Goldberg has served on our Board since the initial public offering and is an independent director. Mr. Goldberg served as a director of Forum I from its initial public offering until the business combination with ConvergeOne, as a director of Forum II from its initial public offering until the business combination with Tattooed Chef and as a director of Forum III from its initial public offering until the business combination with Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. Mr. Goldberg had continued to serve on the board of directors of Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. until Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. and its subsidiary, Electric Last Mile, Inc. ceased operations and commenced bankruptcy proceedings on June 14, 2022. He has 45 years of retailing, merchandising, general management and real estate experience. Mr. Goldberg has served as President and CEO of Raymour and Flannigan Furniture and Holdings, one of the largest furniture retailers in the United States, since 1972. He has led the growth of Raymour and Flannigan from three local stores to its current 106 locations across seven Northeast states employing more than 4,700 people. In addition, Mr. Goldberg has been active on numerous national industry boards including the National Home Furnishing Association, the Home Furnishing Council, the American Furniture Hall of Fame and FurnitureFan.com. He has also participated on the board of local and national charitable organizations including the HSBC Bank Regional Board, the Metropolitan Development Association, Say Yes to Education, the Salvation Army of Central New York and the Syracuse University School of Management. Mr. Goldberg has been honored for his work as a recipient of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, the City of Hope Spirit of Life Award and the Anti-Defamation League American Heritage Award. Mr. Goldberg received a B.S. in accounting from the Syracuse University School of Management. We believe Mr. Goldberg is well-qualified to serve as a member of the board due to his experience in operations and real estate and his experience as a director of Forum I, Forum II and Forum III.
Richard Katzman has served on our Board since the initial public offering and is an independent director. Mr. Katzman served as a Director of Forum Merger I, II and III Corporations and is a private investor in early-stage companies and a member of the New York Angels investing group. He is also an Executive Director and board member of Noodle Education, a leading provider of online Masters programs and other education services, based in New York City. Mr. Katzman was previously a director of ConvergeOne. Mr. Katzman was Chairman & CEO of Kaz, Incorporated, a multinational consumer appliance company, until its sale in December 2010. Kaz’s products include humidifiers, vaporizers, digital thermometers, hot/cold therapy, heaters, fans, and air cleaners. Under his leadership, the company grew from $4 million in annual sales to $500 million by expanding its product offerings, developing international distribution, and pioneering brand extension licensing with global power brands Vicks, Honeywell and Braun. Mr. Katzman also co-founded Terra Firma Software, a provider of enterprise solutions and an early developer of Macintosh applications. Mr. Katzman was a board member of Brown University’s Entrepreneurship Program, the Executive in Residence for the first cohort of the IE-Brown Executive MBA program in 2011-12 and has been a judge in several business plan competitions. Mr. Katzman is on the NY board of Generation Citizen, which provides action civics curriculums to high schools. He was a board member of Princeton Review from its founding in 1982 until 2012 and was a trustee of Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, NY. He is also a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. Mr. Katzman graduated with an A.B. from Brown University and attended the Singularity University Executive Program. We believe Mr. Katzman is well-qualified to serve as a member of the board due to his experience in finance and operations and his experience as a director of Forum I, Forum II and Forum III.
Steven Berns has served on our Board since the initial public offering and is an independent director. He has also served as a director of Forum II from its initial public offering until the business combination with Tattooed Chef, as a director of Forum III from its initial public offering until the business combination with Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc., and has served as a director of Forum I. Mr. Berns was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of TripleLift, an advertising technology company reinventing ad placement at the intersection of creative, media and data, from September 2021 to December 2022. Previously, Mr. Berns was the Chief Financial Officer of GTT Communications, Inc. (NYSE: GTT), a leading global cloud networking provider for multinational clients, from April 2020 to December 2020. GTT Communications filed for voluntary reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in October 2021, approximately 10 months after Mr. Berns resigned. From September 2015 through June 2019, Mr. Berns served as the Co-Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK), a leading global provider of high-quality licensed photographs, vectors, illustrations, videos and music to businesses, marketing agencies and media organizations around the world. From July 2013 through August 2015, Mr. Berns served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Tribune Media (formerly Tribune Company), one of the country’s leading multimedia companies, operating businesses in broadcasting, publishing and digital media. Prior to that time, Mr. Berns was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Revlon, Inc. (NYSE: REV), a worldwide cosmetics and beauty products company, from May 2009 to July 2013. Prior to that time, Mr. Berns was Chief Financial Officer of Tradeweb, LLC, a leading over-the-counter, multi-asset class online marketplace for securities trading and trade processing, from November 2007 until May 2009. From November 2005 until July 2007, Mr. Berns served as President, Chief Financial Officer and Director of MDC Partners Inc. (Nasdaq: MDCA) and from September 2004 to November 2005, Mr. Berns served as Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President of MDC Partners. Prior to that, Mr. Berns was the Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG), an organization of advertising agencies and marketing services companies from August 1999 until September 2004. Before that, Mr. Berns held a variety of positions in finance at Revlon, Inc. from April 1992 until August 1999, becoming Vice President and Treasurer in 1996. Prior to joining Revlon in 1992, Mr. Berns worked at Paramount Communications Inc. and at a predecessor public accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche. Mr. Berns serves on the Board of Directors of Tradeweb Markets (NYSE:TW), and has served on several boards including Shutterstock, Inc. (from 2012 to 2015 as Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee), LivePerson, Inc. (Nasdaq: LPSN from 2002 to 2011 as Director and Chairman of the Compensation Committee). Mr. Berns received a BS from Lehigh University and an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University. We believe Mr. Berns is well-qualified to serve as a member of the board due to his extensive experience in finance and operations and his experience as a director of Forum I, Forum II and Forum III.
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Tory Kiam has served on our Board since the initial public offering and is an independent director. Mr. Kiam has been president of Kiam Ventures LLC and Kiam Equities Corporation since 1996. These are holding companies consisting of diversified passive investments and one operating division, Cirrus Healthcare Products LLC, a manufacturer and distributor of patented and proprietary consumer health products such as Earplanes and WeatherX. Mr. Kiam also serves as Managing Partner of Slasticarna LLC and Slasticarna II LLC, investment funds focused on venture/growth equity companies since 2016. From 2001 to 2014, Mr. Kiam served as CEO and President of lia sophia, the largest direct seller of fashion jewelry in the world prior to the rise of online shopping. He had previously run the Lady Remington Company, the predecessor of lia sophia, and served in a variety of positions at Remington Products since 1986. Mr. Kiam began his career in 1982 as an analyst in the corporate finance department at Drexel Burnham Lambert. Mr. Kiam serves on the Board of Advisors of the Northcreek Mezzanine fund, on the Boards of the Trinity School, New York Junior Tennis and Learning, and is on the Board of Governors of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and YPO Gold since 1997. Mr. Kiam holds a BA in Government from Harvard College and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. We believe Mr. Kiam is well-qualified to serve as a member of the board due to his extensive experience in finance and operations.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
We have six directors. Our board of directors is divided into two classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a two-year term. 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. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Goldberg, Katzman and Berns, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Kiev, Boris and Kiam, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman of the Board, Co-Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officer, President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretaries and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules, 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, and the rules of Nasdaq require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.
Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Messrs. Berns, Goldberg, Katzman serve as members of our audit committee, and Mr. Berns chairs the audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of Messrs. Berns, Goldberg, Katzman meet the independent director standard under Nasdaq listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Berns qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
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We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
● | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
● | pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
● | setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm, including but not limited to, as required by applicable laws and regulations; |
● | 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 (i) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures, (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues and (iii) all relationships between the independent registered public accounting firm and us to assess the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence; |
● | 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. |
Compensation Committee
We have established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Messrs. Berns, Katzman, Goldberg serve as members of our compensation committee and Mr. Katzman chairs the compensation committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. Messrs. Berns, Katzman, Goldberg are independent.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Co-Chief Executive Officers’ compensation, if any is paid by us, evaluating our Co-Chief Executive Officers’ performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Co-Chief Executive Officers based on such evaluation; |
● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation, if any is paid by us, of all of our other officers; |
● | reviewing on an annual basis our executive compensation policies and plans; |
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● | 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; |
● | if required, 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 accrual of the payment to an affiliate of our Sponsor of $30,000 per month for 24 months for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support (which payments will be accelerated if we consummate our initial business combination prior to the end of our 24-month term, or $720,000 in the aggregate) 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 other than any business development consultant or personnel we may engage or employ in connection with our search for and/or consummation of our initial business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be 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, 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.
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 Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to all of our directors, executive officers and employees that complies with the rules and regulations of Nasdaq. The Code of Ethics codifies the business and ethical principles that govern all aspects of our business. We have previously filed copies of our form of Code of Ethics, our form of Audit Committee Charter and our form of Compensation Committee Charter as exhibits to our registration statement in connection with our initial public offering. You may review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request to us in writing at 1615 South Congress Avenue, Suite 103, Delray Beach, Florida 33445 or by telephone at (212) 739-7860.
Conflicts of Interest
Members of our management team do not have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, unless presented to such member solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
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Our officers and directors have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act, until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination by April 22, 2023, or the Extended Date, if applicable. Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
● | None of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities. |
● | In the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. |
● | Our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and private placement shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares or private placement shares held by them if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of the initial public offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement units held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement units (and the underlying securities) will expire worthless. With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable by our Sponsor until the earlier of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement units, private placement shares and private placement warrants and the Class A common stock underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or saleable by our Sponsor or its permitted transferees until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our Sponsor and officers and directors may directly or indirectly own common stock and warrants following the initial public offering, our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
● | Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. |
● | Our Sponsor, officers or directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or any of our officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,200,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such units would be identical to the private placement units, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period of the underlying warrants. |
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The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
● | the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity; |
● | the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and |
● | it would not be fair to our company and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation. |
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Furthermore, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
In addition, our Sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
Individual | Entity | Entity’s Business | Affiliation | |||
David Boris | Tattooed Chef, Inc. | Food Service | Director | |||
Neil Goldberg | Raymour and Flannigan Furniture and Holdings | Furniture Retailer | President and CEO | |||
Steven Berns | Tradeweb Markets | Financial Services | Director | |||
Tory Kiam | Kiam Ventures LLC | Holding Company | President | |||
Kiam Equities Corporation | Holding Company | President | ||||
Slasticarna LLC | Investment Fund | Managing Partner | ||||
Slasticarna II LLC | Investment Fund | Managing Partner |
Accordingly, if any of the above executive officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities to which he or she has current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with the Sponsor, our officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with such a company, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
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In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, pursuant to the letter agreement, the Sponsor, our officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares or private placement shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides 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 provides 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 will 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 will 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.
These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against 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 officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
None of our executive officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered. We will reimburse an affiliate of the Sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team in an amount not to exceed $30,000 per month in the event such space and/or services are utilized and we do not pay directly for such services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease making these payments. In addition, the Sponsor, executive 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 the Sponsor, our officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to the Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
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 with the post-transaction company after our initial business combination. Any such arrangements will be disclosed in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination, to the extent they are known at such time.
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The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, but we do not believe that such arrangements will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 31, 2023 by:
● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock; |
● | each of our executive officers and directors; and |
● | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement units as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this Form 10-K.
As of December 31, 2022, there were 43,003,916 shares of common stock issued and outstanding, consisting of 34,603,539 shares of Class A common stock and 8,400,377 shares of Class B common stock. In connection with the proposals approved at the Company’s special meeting of stockholders held on March 7, 2023, 27,240,210 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock were redeemed. The beneficial ownership of our common stock is based on 15,763,706 shares of common stock issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2023, consisting of 7,363,329 shares of Class A common stock and 8,400,377 shares of Class B common stock.
NAME AND ADDRESS OF BENEFICIAL OWNER(1) | SHARES OF CLASS A COMMON STOCK BENEFICIALLY OWNED | SHARES
OF CLASS B COMMON STOCK BENEFICIALLY OWNED(2) | APPROXIMATE PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL VOTING POWER | ||||||||||
Directors, Executive Officers and Founders | |||||||||||||
Forum Investors IV LLC(3) | 834,022 | 8,400,377 | 58.58 | % | |||||||||
Marshall Kiev(3) | 834,022 | 8,400,377 | 58.58 | % | |||||||||
David Boris(3) | 834,022 | 8,400,377 | 58.58 | % | |||||||||
Neil Goldberg(4) | - | - | - | ||||||||||
Richard Katzman(4) | - | - | - | ||||||||||
Steven Berns(4) | - | - | - | ||||||||||
Tory Kiam(4) | - | - | - | ||||||||||
All executive officers and directors as a group (six individuals) | 834,022 | 8,400,377 | 58.58 | % |
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NAME AND ADDRESS OF BENEFICIAL OWNER | NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED | APPROXIMATE PERCENTAGE OF OUTSTANDING COMMON STOCK | |||||||
Five Percent Holders | |||||||||
Saba Capital Management, LLC (5) | 2,982,879 | 18.92 | % | ||||||
Citadel Advisors(6) | 1,475,000 | 9.36 | % |
(1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Forum Merger IV Corporation, 1615 South Congress Avenue, Suite 103, Delray Beach, Florida 33445. |
(2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as shares of Class B common stock. Such shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section of the initial public offering prospectus entitled “Description of Securities” and with respect to the interests held after the initial public offering, 834,022 Class A shares issuable pursuant to a private placement. |
(3) | Represents shares held by Forum Investors IV LLC, our Sponsor. Each of our officers and directors, and a trust held for the benefit of family members of David Boris, is a member of our Sponsor. Forum Capital Management IV LLC is the managing member of our Sponsor and has voting and investment discretion with respect to the common stock held by our Sponsor. Marshall Kiev and David Boris are the managing members of Forum Capital Management IV LLC and may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the common stock held directly by our Sponsor. Each such person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly. |
(4) | Does not include any shares held by our Sponsor. This individual is a member of our Sponsor, as described in footnote 3, but does not have voting or dispositive control over the shares held by our Sponsor. |
(5) | According to a Schedule 13G/A filed on February 14, 2023 on behalf of Saba Capital Management, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“Saba Capital”), Saba Capital Management GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Saba GP”), and Mr. Boaz R. Weinstein (collectively with Saba Capital and Saba GP, “Saba”). Saba shares beneficial ownership of the shares reported. The business address of Saba is 405 Lexington Avenue, 58th Floor, New York, New York 10174. |
(6) | According to a Schedule 13G/A filed on February 14, 2023 on behalf of Citadel Advisors LLC (“Citadel Advisors”), Citadel Advisors Holdings LP (“CAH”), Citadel GP LLC (“CGP”), Citadel Securities LLC (“Citadel Securities”), CALC IV LP (“CALC4”), Citadel Securities GP LLC (“CSGP”) and Mr. Kenneth Griffin (collectively with Citadel Advisors, CAH, CGP, Citadel Securities, CALC4 and CSGP, “Citadel”) with respect to shares of Class A common stock owned by Citadel Multi-Strategy Equities Master Fund Ltd., a Cayman Islands company (“CM”), and Citadel Securities. Citadel Advisors is the portfolio manager for CM. CAH is the sole member of Citadel Advisors. CGP is the general partner of CAH. CALC4 is the non-member manager of Citadel Securities. CSGP is the general partner of CALC4. Mr. Griffin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of CGP, and owns a controlling interest in CGP and CSGP. Citadel shares beneficial ownership of the shares reported. The business address of Citadel is 131 S. Dearborn Street, 32nd Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60603. |
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
Founder Shares
On January 15, 2021, our Sponsor purchased 8,625,000 founder shares for an aggregate price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share.
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The founder shares included an aggregate of up to 1,125,000 shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment was not exercised in full or in part, so that the Sponsor would own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the initial public offering (assuming the Sponsor did not purchase any public shares in the initial public offering and excluding the private placement shares). As a result of the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their over-allotment option on March 30, 2021, a total of 224,623 founder shares were forfeited and 900,377 founder shares are no longer subject to forfeiture, resulting in an aggregate of 8,400,377 founder shares issued and outstanding.
The Sponsor has agreed, subject to certain limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of its founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a business combination or (B) subsequent to a business combination, (x) if the last sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a business combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Related Party Loans
On January 28, 2021, we issued an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor, pursuant to which we could borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. The promissory note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2020 or the completion of the initial public offering. The promissory note was repaid upon the consummation of the initial public offering on March 22, 2021.
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 our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete a business combination, we would repay the working capital loans out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. 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. 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. The working capital loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,200,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into units of the post business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per unit. The units would be identical to the private placement units.
Administrative Services Agreement
We entered into an agreement with an affiliate of the Sponsor whereby, commencing on March 17, 2021 through the earlier of the consummation of a business combination and our liquidation, we agreed to pay the affiliate $30,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support (which payments will be accelerated if we consummate our initial business combination prior to the end of our 24-month term, or $720,000 in the aggregate).
We recognized an aggregate of $360,000 in expenses incurred in connection with the aforementioned arrangements with the related parties on our statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022.
63
Extension Promissory Note
We agreed to deposit from our working capital account into the trust account, for each such Additional Charter Extension Date, the lesser of (a) $175,000 or (b) $0.05 for each public share then outstanding, which we agreed to deposit into the trust account at the beginning of each month, for an aggregate deposit of up to the lesser of (a) $1,225,000 or (b) $0.05 for each public share then outstanding (if all additional extensions are exercised). In the event our working capital account has been depleted, the Lender agreed to lend us the Monthly Deposit in the form of a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note, which we agreed to deposit into the trust account. If we complete a business combination and have borrowed money from the Lender under the Note, we will, at the option of the Lender, repay the amounts loaned under the Note or convert a portion or all of the amounts loaned under such Note into units of the post-business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the Lender, which units will be identical to the private placement units. Additionally, if we do not complete a business combination by the Extended Date (or Additional Charter Extension Date, if applicable), and a Note has been issued to us by the Lender, such Note will be repaid only from funds held outside of the trust account or will be forfeited, eliminated or otherwise forgiven. If the Sponsor designates a third party as Lender, we may negotiate with the Lender and vary the terms of the Note and its conversion, issue securities and pay certain fees to the Lender in connection with the Note. In the event our working capital account has been depleted, the Lender agreed to lend us the Monthly Deposit in the form of the Note, which we shall deposit into the trust account.
Indemnification Advances
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company incurred and paid $857,000 of legal expenses related to advances made pursuant to indemnity agreements on behalf of the Company’s Co-Chief Executive Officers. During February 2023, the Company received $857,000 as a capital contribution from the Company’s Co-Chief Executive Officers.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services
The firm of WithumSmith+Brown, PC, or Withum, acts as our independent registered public accounting firm. The following is a summary of fees paid to Withum for services rendered.
Audit Fees. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, fees for our independent registered public accounting firm were approximately $100,672 and $153,280, respectively, for the services Withum performed in connection with our initial public offering, reviews of quarterly financial statements on Form 10-Q and the audit of our December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Tax Fees. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, our independent registered public accounting firm rendered services to us for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning for approximately $8,424 and $6,760, respectively.
All Other Fees. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, there were no fees billed for products and services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm other than those set forth above.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our initial public offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
64
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Form 10-K: |
(1) | Financial Statements: |
(2) | Financial Statement Schedules: |
None.
(3) | Exhibits |
We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such material can also be obtained from the Public Reference Section of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates or on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
65
FORUM MERGER IV CORPORATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of
Forum Merger IV Corporation
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Forum Merger IV Corporation (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ deficit and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 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 December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs and complete a business combination by April 22, 2023, or the extended date of up to November 22, 2023 if approved by the board of directors, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The liquidity condition and date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
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 audits. 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 audits 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 audits, 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 audits 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 audits 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 audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ |
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
March 31, 2023
PCAOB ID Number
F-2
FORUM MERGER IV CORPORATION
BALANCE SHEETS
December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2021 | |||||||
ASSETS | ||||||||
Current assets | ||||||||
Cash | $ | $ | ||||||
Prepaid expenses | ||||||||
Total current assets | ||||||||
Marketable securities held in Trust Account | ||||||||
TOTAL ASSETS | $ | $ | ||||||
LIABILITIES, COMMON STOCK SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||
Current liabilities | ||||||||
Accrued expenses | $ | $ | ||||||
Income tax payable | ||||||||
Due to Sponsor | ||||||||
Total current liabilities | ||||||||
Warrant liabilities | ||||||||
Deferred underwriting fee payable | ||||||||
TOTAL LIABILITIES | ||||||||
Commitments and Contingencies | ||||||||
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, | ||||||||
STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||
Preferred stock, $ | ||||||||
Class A Common stock, $ | ||||||||
Class B Common stock, $ | ||||||||
Additional paid-in capital | ||||||||
Accumulated deficit | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
TOTAL LIABILITIES, COMMON STOCK SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | $ | $ |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-3
FORUM MERGER IV CORPORATION
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Year Ended December 31, | For the Period from January 15, 2021 (Inception) Through December 31, | |||||||
2022 | 2021 | |||||||
General and administrative expenses | $ | $ | ||||||
Loss from operations | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
Other income (expense): | ||||||||
Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account | ||||||||
Transaction costs allocable to the Warrants | ( | ) | ||||||
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities | ||||||||
Total other income (expense), net | ( | ) | ||||||
Income (loss) before provision for income taxes | ( | ) | ||||||
Provision for income taxes | ( | ) | ||||||
Net income (loss) | $ | $ | ( | ) | ||||
$ | $ | ( | ) | |||||
$ | $ | ( | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-4
FORUM MERGER IV CORPORATION
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 15, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
Class A Common Stock | Class B Common Stock | Additional Paid-in | Accumulated | Total Stockholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Deficit | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance – January 15, 2021 (inception) | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sale of | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Forfeiture of Founder Shares | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
Accretion for Class A common stock to redemption value | — | — | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Balance – December 31, 2021 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accretion for Class A common stock to redemption value | — | — | — | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Net income | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance – December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-5
FORUM MERGER IV CORPORATION
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Period from January 15, 2021 (Inception) Through December 31, | |||||||
2022 | 2021 | |||||||
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||||||
Net income (loss) | $ | $ | ( | ) | ||||
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
Transaction costs allocable to Warrants | ||||||||
Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
Prepaid expenses | ( | ) | ||||||
Accrued expenses | ||||||||
Income tax payable | ||||||||
Due to Sponsor | — | |||||||
Repayment of due to Sponsor | ( | ) | ||||||
Net cash used in operating activities | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||||||
Investment of cash into Trust Account | ( | ) | ||||||
Cash withdrawn from Trust Account to pay franchise and income taxes | ||||||||
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | ( | ) | ||||||
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||||||
Proceeds from issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor | ||||||||
Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid | ||||||||
Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Units | ||||||||
Proceeds from Promissory Note – related party | ||||||||
Repayment of Promissory Note – related party | ( | ) | ||||||
Payment of offering costs | ( | ) | ||||||
Net cash provided by financing activities | ||||||||
Net Change in Cash | ( | ) | ||||||
Cash – Beginning of period | ||||||||
Cash – End of period | $ | $ | ||||||
Non-Cash investing and financing activities: | ||||||||
Deferred underwriting fee payable | $ | $ | ||||||
Forfeiture of founder shares | $ | $ | ( | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-6
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Forum Merger IV Corporation (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on January 15, 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 not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity through December 31, 2022 relates to the Company’s formation, the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”), which is described below, and subsequent to the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering.
The registration statement for the Company’s
Initial Public Offering was declared effective on March 17, 2021. On March 22, 2021, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering
of
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial
Public Offering, the Company completed the private sale of an aggregate of
Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering
on March 22, 2021, an amount of $
On March 30, 2021, in connection with the underwriters’
partial exercise of their over-allotment option, the Company consummated the sale of an additional
Transaction costs amounted to $
F-7
The Company’s management has broad discretion
with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Units,
although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There
is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more
Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least
The Company will provide its holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “public stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The public stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, subject to the limitations described below. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
(the “Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”) provides that in no event will we redeem our Public Shares in an
amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $
If the Company seeks stockholder approval of
a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Amended and Restated Certificate of
Incorporation provides 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
Our Sponsor, officers and directors have entered
into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to any
Founder Shares (as defined below), Private Placement Shares (as defined below) and Public Shares held by them in connection with the
completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares,
Private Placement Shares and Public Shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem
F-8
If the Company is unable to complete a Business
Combination by April 22, 2023, or such later date as determined by the Company’s board of directors, if applicable (the “Combination
Period”) (See Note 11 – Subsequent Events), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up,
(ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price,
payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest (which interest shall be net of
taxes payable and up to $
Our Sponsor, officers and directors have entered
into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust
Account with respect to any Founder Shares and Private Placement Shares held by them if the Company fails to complete its initial Business
Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Company’s initial stockholders or management team acquire Public Shares
in or after the Initial 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 its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have
agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 8) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company
does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other
funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution,
it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Initial Public Offering
price per Unit ($
In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust
Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or
products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality
or similar agreement or Business Combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $
Liquidity and Going Concern
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had $
F-9
Until the consummation of a Business Combination, the Company will be using the funds not held in the Trust Account for identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.
In connection with the Company’s assessment
of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board’s ASU 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties
about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” the Company has until April 22, 2023, or such later date through
November 22, 2023 as determined by the Company’s board of directors, if applicable, to consummate a Business Combination. It is
uncertain that the Company will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. Additionally, the Company may not have sufficient
liquidity to fund the working capital needs of the Company until
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the accounting and disclosure rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (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 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 a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
F-10
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 at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. One of the more significant accounting estimates included in these financial statements is the determination of the fair value of the warrant liabilities. Such estimates may be subject to change as more current information becomes available and, accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Offering Costs
Offering costs consisted of legal, accounting,
underwriting fees and other that were directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs were allocated to the separable
financial instruments issued in the Initial Public Offering based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received.
Offering costs allocated to warrant liabilities were expensed as incurred in the statements of operations. Offering costs associated
with the Class A common stock issued were charged to temporary equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs
amounted to $
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”). Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that is either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ deficit. The Company’s public Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at December 31, 2022 and 2021, Class A common stock subject to possible redemption is presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ deficit section of the Company’s balance sheets.
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable common stock to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable common stock are affected by charges against additional paid in capital and accumulated deficit.
F-11
On December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Class A common stock reflected in the balance sheets is reconciled in the following table:
Gross proceeds | $ | |||
Less: | ||||
Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants | ( | ) | ||
Class A common stock issuance costs | ( | ) | ||
Plus: | ||||
Accretion of carrying value to redemption value | ||||
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, December 31, 2021 | $ | |||
Plus: | ||||
Accretion of carrying value to redemption value | ||||
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, December 31, 2022 | $ |
Warrant Liabilities
The Company does not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. The Company evaluates all of its financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and FASB ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The Company accounts for the Warrants (as defined below) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40 under which the Warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment and must be recorded as liabilities. Accordingly, the Company classifies the Warrants as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the Warrants to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statements of operations. The Private Placement Warrants (as defined below) and the Public Warrants (as defined below) for periods where no observable traded price was available were valued using a Monte Carlo simulation. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units, the Public Warrant quoted market price was used as the fair value as of each relevant date.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
FASB ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2022 and 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.
F-12
Net Income (Loss) per Common Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”. Net income (loss) per common share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. The Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A common stock and Class B common stock. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A common stock is excluded from income per common share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
The calculation of diluted income (loss) per
common share does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the (i) Initial Public Offering, and (ii) the private
placement since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events. The warrants are exercisable to purchase
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per common share (in dollars, except per share amounts):
Year Ended December 31, | For the Period from January 15, 2021 (inception) Through December 31, | |||||||||||||||
2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
Class A | Class B | Class A | Class B | |||||||||||||
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per common share | ||||||||||||||||
Numerator: | ||||||||||||||||
Allocation of net income (loss) | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||
Denominator: | ||||||||||||||||
$ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) |
Concentration of Credit Risk
The Company has significant cash balances at financial institutions
which throughout the year regularly exceed the federally insured limit of $
Investments Held in Trust Account
As of December 31, 2022, substantially all of
assets held in the Trust Account were held in U.S Treasury Bills. As of December 31, 2021, all of the assets held in the Trust Account
were held in money market funds which are invested primarily in U.S. Treasury securities. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the
Company had withdrawn $
Fair value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheets, primarily due to their short-term nature, other than warrant liabilities (see Note 10).
F-13
Recent Accounting Standards
In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-13”), which requires entities to measure all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. ASU 2016-13 also requires additional disclosures regarding significant estimates and judgments used in estimating credit losses, as well as the credit quality and underwriting standards of an entity’s portfolio. We expect to adopt the provisions of this guidance on January 1, 2023. The adoption is not expected to have a material impact on our financial statements.
Besides the above, our management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the
Company sold
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial
Public Offering, the Sponsor and Jefferies LLC purchased an aggregate of
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On January 15, 2021, the Sponsor purchased
F-14
The Sponsor has agreed, subject to certain limited
exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of its Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion
of a Business Combination or (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the closing price of the Class A common stock equals or
exceeds $
Administrative Support Agreement
The Company entered into an agreement, commencing
on March 17, 2021, to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor a total of $
Related Party Loans
On January 28, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan
the Company an aggregate of up to $
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 will repay the Working Capital Loans. 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. 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. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation
of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $
Due to Sponsor
The Sponsor advanced $
Indemnification Advances
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company incurred and paid
$
F-15
NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS
Risks and Uncertainties
In February 2022, the Russian Federation and Belarus commenced a military action with the country of Ukraine. As a result of this action, various nations, including the United States, have instituted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus. Further, the impact of this action and related sanctions on the world economy are not determinable as of the date of these financial statements and the specific impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows is also not determinable as of the date of these financial statements.
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations 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.
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act
of 2022 (the “IR Act”) was signed into federal law. The IR Act provides for, among other things, a new U.S. federal
Any redemption or other repurchase that occurs after December 31, 2022, in connection with a Business Combination, extension vote or otherwise, may be subject to the excise tax. Whether and to what extent the Company would be subject to the excise tax in connection with a Business Combination, extension vote or otherwise would depend on a number of factors, including (i) the fair market value of the redemptions and repurchases in connection with the Business Combination, extension or otherwise, (ii) the structure of a Business Combination, (iii) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances in connection with a Business Combination (or otherwise issued not in connection with a Business Combination but issued within the same taxable year of a Business Combination) and (iv) the content of regulations and other guidance from the Treasury. In addition, because the excise tax would be payable by the Company and not by the redeeming holder, the mechanics of any required payment of the excise tax have not been determined. The foregoing could cause a reduction in the cash available on hand to complete a Business Combination and in the Company’s ability to complete a Business Combination.
F-16
Registration Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered
into on March 17, 2021, the holders of the Founder Shares (including any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of the
Founder Shares), Private Placement Units, Private Placement Shares, Private Placement Warrants (and any shares of Class A common stock
issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants), and securities that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans
are entitled to registration rights requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only
after conversion to Class A common stock). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short
form demands, that the Company register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back”
registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination and rights to
require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day
option from the date of the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee
of $
NOTE 7. STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Preferred Stock — The Company
is authorized to issue
Class A Common Stock — The
Company is authorized to issue up to
Class B Common Stock — The
Company is authorized to issue
Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders, except as required by law.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically
convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the consummation of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject
to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment. In
the case that additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in connection with a
Business Combination, the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will
equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis,
F-17
NOTE 8. WARRANTS
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable, and the Company will not be obligated to issue any shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless the 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.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement registering the issuance, under the Securities Act, of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. The Company will use its 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 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 60th business day after the closing of a Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during the period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise the warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Notwithstanding the above, if the Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
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 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 to each warrant holder; and |
● | if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and for certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities as described below) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, it may exercise its redemption right even if the Company is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:
● | in whole and not in part; |
● | at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares, based on the redemption date and the fair market value of the Class A common stock; |
● | if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted per stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, reclassifications, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within the 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; and |
F-18
● | if the closing price of the Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within the 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 is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted per stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, reclassifications, recapitalizations and the like), the Private Placement Warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding Public Warrants, as described above. |
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption for cash, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuance of common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional
shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination
at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were
F-19
NOTE 9. INCOME TAX
The Company’s net deferred tax assets (liabilities) at December 31, 2022 and 2021 are as follows:
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2022 | 2021 | |||||||
Deferred tax asset | ||||||||
Net operating loss carryforward | $ | $ | ||||||
Organizational costs/Startup expenses | ||||||||
Total deferred tax asset | ||||||||
Valuation allowance | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
Deferred tax asset, net of valuation allowance | $ | $ |
The income tax provision consists of the following:
December 31, | For the period from January 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, | |||||||
2022 | 2021 | |||||||
Federal | ||||||||
Current | $ | $ | ||||||
Deferred | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
State | ||||||||
Current | ||||||||
Deferred | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
Change in valuation allowance | ||||||||
Income tax provision | $ | $ |
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company
has $
In assessing the realization of the deferred tax
assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion of all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which
temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred
tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of
the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred
tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance. For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from January
15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the change in the valuation allowance was $
F-20
A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate at December 31, 2022 and 2021 is as follows:
December 31, | For the period from January 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, | |||||||
2022 | 2021 | |||||||
Statutory federal income tax rate | % | % | ||||||
State taxes, net of federal tax benefit | % | % | ||||||
Change in fair value of warrants | ( | )% | % | |||||
Transaction costs allocated to warrants | % | ( | )% | |||||
Change in valuation allowance | % | ( | )% | |||||
Income tax provision | % | % |
The Company’s effective tax rates for the periods presented differ from the expected (statutory) rates due to changes in fair value in warrants, transaction costs associated with warrants and the recording of full valuation allowances on deferred tax assets.
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction in various state and local jurisdictions and is subject to examination by the various taxing authorities.
The Company’s tax returns for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 remain open and subject to examination.
NOTE 10. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:
Level 1: | Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. | |
Level 2: | Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active. | |
Level 3: | Unobservable inputs based on our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. |
F-21
The Company holds a portion of its assets in the
Trust Account in U.S. Treasury securities and a portion in money market funds which are primarily invested in U.S. Treasury securities.
At December 31, 2022, assets held in the Trust Account were comprised of $
At December 31 2022, the Company had withdrawn $1,059,920 of interest income from the Trust Account to pay its taxes.
At December 31, 2021, assets held in the
Trust Account were comprised of $
The following tables present information about the Company’s assets that are measured on a recurring basis on December 31, 2022 and 2021 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
Date | Held-To-Maturity | Level | Amortized Cost | Gross Holding Gain | Fair Value | ||||||||||||||
December 31, 2022 | 1 | $ | $ | $ | |
Description | Level | December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2021 | |||||||||
Investments and Cash held in Trust Account – U.S. Treasury Securities Money Market Fund | 1 | $ | $ |
The following tables present information about the Company’s liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis on December 31, 2022 and 2021 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value.
Description | Level | December 31, 2022 | ||||||
Liabilities: | ||||||||
Warrant Liability – Public Warrants | 2 | $ | ||||||
Warrant Liability – Private Placement Warrants | 2 | $ |
Description | Level | December 31, 2021 | ||||||
Liabilities: | ||||||||
Warrant Liability – Public Warrants | 1 | $ | ||||||
Warrant Liability – Private Placement Warrants | 2 | $ |
The Warrants are accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40 and are presented within warrant liabilities the accompanying balance sheets. The warrant liabilities are measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value presented within change in fair value of warrant liabilities in the statements of operations.
F-22
As of March 22, 2021, the warrants were valued using a Monte Carlo simulation, which is considered to be a Level 3 fair value measurement. The Monte Carlo simulation’s primary unobservable input utilized in determining the fair value of the warrants is the expected volatility of the common stock. The expected volatility as of March 22, 2021 was derived from observable public warrant pricing on comparable ‘blank-check’ companies without an identified target. The subsequent measurements of the Public Warrants after the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units are classified as Level 2 due to the use of an observable market quote in an active market under the ticker FMIVW. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units, the close price of the Public Warrant price was used as the fair value of the Warrants as of each relevant date. The subsequent measurements of the Private Placement Warrants after the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units are classified as Level 2 due to the use of an observable market quote for a similar asset in an active market.
The following table presents the changes in the fair value of Level 3 warrant liabilities:
Private Placement | Public | Warrant Liabilities | ||||||||||
Initial measurement on March 22, 2021 (inclusive of the over-allotment) | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
Change in fair value | ||||||||||||
Transfer to Level 1-June 30, 2021 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
Transfer to Level 2-June 30, 2021 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
Fair value as of December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ |
Transfers to/from Levels 1, 2 and 3 are recognized at the end of the reporting period in which a change in valuation technique or methodology occurs.
The estimated fair value of the public warrants
transferred from a Level 3 measurement to a Level 1 fair value measurement during the period ended December 31, 2021 was $
NOTE 11. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, other than as described below, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
During February 2023, the Company received $
On February 14, 2023, the Company entered into a letter of intent with
a target (the “LOI Target”) that is non-binding with respect to all its material terms, except with respect to provisions
regarding a limited period of exclusivity. We are currently in discussions with the LOI Target to extend the limited period of exclusivity
in the letter of intent. The LOI Target is a profitable and growing company in the online gaming industry, providing its customers with
an expansive portfolio of digital gaming products and services. Subject to completion of its related audit, for the calendar year ended
December 31, 2022, the LOI Target expects adjusted revenue in excess of $
F-23
On March 8, 2023, the Company filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation. The Company’s stockholders approved the amendment at a special meeting of stockholders of the Company on March 7, 2023 (the “Special Meeting”).
At the Special Meeting, the Company’s stockholders voted on and approved the following proposals:
(a) to amend the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses from March 22, 2023 to April 22, 2023 or such earlier date as determined by the Company’s board of directors, and such later date, the “Extended Date”, and to allow the Company, without another stockholder vote, to elect to extend the completion window to consummate a business combination on a monthly basis up to seven times by an additional one month each time after the Extended Date, by resolution of the Board, if requested by the Sponsor, and upon five days’ advance notice prior to the applicable completion window, until November 22, 2023 or a total of up to eight months after the Current Outside Date, unless the closing of a business combination shall have occurred prior thereto; (“Extension Proposal”)
(b) to elect Neil Goldberg, Richard Katzman and Steven Berns to serve as Class I directors on the Board until the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders or until his successor is elected and qualified.
(c)
to amend the charter to provide holders of Class B common stock, par value $
(d)
to amend the charter to delete the limitation that the Company shall not redeem public shares that would cause the Company’s net
tangible assets to be less than $
In
conjunction with the proposals approved at the Special Meeting on March 8, 2023,
As a part of our
Extension Proposal above, the Company agreed to deposit from the working capital account into the trust account, for each such
Additional Charter Extension Date, the lesser of (a) $
F-24
Exhibit Index
Exhibit Number |
Description | |
4.2 | Description of Securities. | |
24 | Power of Attorney (included on signature page of this report). | |
31.1 | Certification of the Chief Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a). | |
31.2 | Certification of the Chief Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a). | |
32.1 | Certification of the Chief Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350. | |
32.2 | Certification of the Chief Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350. | |
101.INS | Inline XBRL Instance Document. | |
101.SCH | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document. | |
101.CAL | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document. | |
101.DEF | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document. | |
101.LAB | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document. | |
101.PRE | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document. | |
104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101). |
66
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date: March 31, 2023 | FORUM MERGER IV CORPORATION | ||
By: | /s/ Marshall Kiev | ||
Name: | Marshall Kiev | ||
Title: |
Co-Chief Executive Officer, President and Director (Principal Executive Officer) |
Date: March 31, 2023 | |||
By: | /s/ David Boris | ||
Name: | David Boris | ||
Title: |
Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Marshall Kiev and David Boris, and each or any one of them, his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or his or her substitutes or substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
/s/ Marshall Kiev | Co-Chief Executive Officer, President and Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
Marshall Kiev | (principal executive officer) | |||
/s/ David Boris | Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
David Boris | (principal financial and accounting officer) | |||
/s/ Neil Goldberg | Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
Neil Goldberg | ||||
/s/ Richard Katzman | Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
Richard Katzman | ||||
/s/ Steven Berns | Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
Steven Berns | ||||
/s/ Tory Kiam | Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
Tory Kiam |
67