S-1/A 1 d40658ds1a.htm S-1/A S-1/A
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As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 1, 2021.

No. 333-252182

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

Gaming & Hospitality Acquisition Corp.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware

 

6770

 

84-5014306

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code Number)

  (I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

3755 Breakthrough Way #300

Las Vegas, Nevada 89135

Telephone: (800) 211-8626

(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

 

 

Andrei Scrivens

Chief Financial Officer

3755 Breakthrough Way #300

Las Vegas, Nevada 89135

Telephone: (800) 211-8626

(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent For Service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Vijay S. Sekhon

Michael P. Heinz

Sidley Austin LLP

555 California Street, Suite 2000

San Francisco, CA 94104

Tel: (415) 772-1200

Fax: (415) 772-7400

 

Jonathan Ko

Paul Hastings LLP

515 South Flower Street, 25th Floor

Los Angeles, CA 90071

Tel: (213) 683-6000

Fax: (213) 996-3188

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:

As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

Title of Each Class of Securities to be Registered  

Amount

to be

Registered

 

Proposed

Maximum

Offering Price

per Security(1)

 

Proposed

Maximum

Aggregate

Offering Price(1)

  Amount of
Registration Fee

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

  17,250,000 Units   $ 10.00   $172,500,000   $ 18,819.75

Shares of Class A common stock included as part of the units(3)

  17,250,000 Shares       (4)

Redeemable warrants included as part of the units(3)

  5,750,000 Warrants       (4)

Total

          $172,500,000   $ 18,819.75(5)

 

 

(1)  

Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee.

(2) 

Includes 17,250,000 units, consisting of 17,250,000 shares of Class A common stock and 5,750,000 redeemable warrants, which may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriter to cover over-allotments, if any.

(3) 

Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act, there are also being registered an indeterminable number of additional securities as may be issued to prevent dilution resulting from stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions.

(4) 

No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g) under the Securities Act.

(5)

Previously paid.

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

 

 

 


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

 

Subject to Completion, Dated February 1, 2021

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS                       

 

$150,000,000

Gaming & Hospitality Acquisition Corp.

15,000,000 Units

 

 

Gaming & Hospitality Acquisition Corp. is a newly organized blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. While our efforts to identify a prospective business combination target will not be limited to a particular geographic region, we intend to focus on a target business in the gaming and hospitality sectors. Concurrently with our initial business combination, we currently plan to merge with Affinity Gaming, a diversified casino gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of our sponsor, Affinity Gaming Holdings, L.L.C. We will not, however, complete an initial business combination with only Affinity Gaming.

This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of our Class A common stock and one-third of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. Only whole warrants are exercisable. The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination or 12 months from the closing of this offering, and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. We have granted the underwriter a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to an additional 2,250,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any. We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of 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 (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding shares of Class A common stock that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to collectively as our public shares throughout this prospectus, subject to the limitations described herein. If we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein.

Our sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 677,500 private units at a price of $10.00 per unit (722,500 private units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), for an aggregate purchase price of $6,775,000 (or $7,225,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full). Each private unit will be identical to the units sold in this offering, except as described in this prospectus. The private units will be sold in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the private units will be placed in the trust account described below.

Our initial stockholders, which include our sponsor, own an aggregate of 4,312,500 shares of our Class B common stock (up to 562,500 shares of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised), which will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, as described herein. Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of shares of our Class B common stock will be entitled to vote on the election of directors.

Currently, there is no public market for our units, Class A common stock or warrants. We intend to apply to list our units on the Nasdaq Capital Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “GHACU.” We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. We expect the Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (“Deutsche Bank”) informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our satisfaction of certain conditions. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “GHAC” and “GHACW,” respectively.

We are an “emerging growth company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 48 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.

 

 

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

 

     Per Unit      Total  

Public offering price

   $  10.00      $  150,000,000  

Underwriting discounts and commissions(1)

   $ 0.55      $  8,250,000  

Proceeds, before expenses, to Gaming & Hospitality Acquisition Corp.

   $ 9.45      $  141,750,000  

 

(1)

Includes $0.35 per unit, or $5,250,000 (or up to $6,037,500, if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate payable to the underwriter for deferred underwriting commissions to be deposited into a segregated trust account located in the United States as described herein. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriter only on completion of an initial business combination, as described in this prospectus. Does not include certain fees and expenses payable to the underwriter in connection with this offering. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Underwriting” beginning on page 213 for a description of underwriting compensation payable to the underwriter.

Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private units described in this prospectus, $150 million or $172.5 million if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit in either case) will be deposited into a trust account in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $1.85 million will be available to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our franchise and income tax obligations, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private units will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of (a) the completion of our initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public stockholders.

The underwriter is offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriter expects to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about                , 2021.

 

Sole Book-Running Manager

 

Deutsche Bank Securities

                    , 2021


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Summary

     1  

Risk Factors

     48  

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

     97  

Use of Proceeds

     99  

Dividend Policy

     104  

Dilution

     105  

Capitalization

     107  

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

     108  

Proposed Business

     116  

Affinity Gaming Business

     158  

Management

     160  

Principal Stockholders

     174  

Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions

     177  

Description of Securities

     182  

U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations

     204  

Underwriting

     214  

Legal Matters

     224  

Experts

     224  

Where You Can Find Additional Information

     224  

Index to Financial Statements

     F-1  


Table of Contents

TRADEMARKS

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

 

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SUMMARY

This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing. Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus, or the context otherwise requires, references to:

 

   

Affinity Gaming” are to Affinity Gaming, a Nevada corporation and an affiliate of our sponsor;

 

   

“amended and restated certificate of incorporation” are to the amended and restated certificate of incorporation of the company, to be in effect upon completion of the offering;

 

   

“common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock, collectively;

 

   

“equity-linked securities” are to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for shares of our Class A common stock issued in connection with our initial business combination, including, but not limited to, a private placement of equity or debt;

 

   

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

 

   

“initial stockholders” are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares prior to this offering (or their permitted transferees);

 

   

“management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors (including our director nominees who will become directors at the consummation of this offering);

 

   

“private units” are to the units issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering, each private unit consisting of one private share and one-third of one private warrant;

 

   

“private shares” are to the shares of Class A common stock included within the private units being purchased separately by our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering;

 

   

“private warrants” are to the warrants included within the private units being purchased separately by our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering;

 

   

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

 

   

“public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial stockholders and management team to the extent our initial stockholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial

 

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stockholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares;

 

   

“public warrants” are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market), to the private warrants if held by third parties other than our sponsor (or permitted transferees), and to any private warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans that are sold to third parties that are not initial purchasers or executive officers or directors (or permitted transferees), in each case, following the completion of our initial business combination;

 

   

“sponsor” are to Affinity Gaming Holdings, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company;

 

   

“warrants” are to our redeemable warrants, which includes the public warrants as well as the private warrants to the extent they are no longer held by the initial purchasers of the private warrants or their permitted transferees;

 

   

“we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Gaming & Hospitality Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation; and

 

   

“ZCG” are to Z Capital Group, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company.

Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one redeemable warrant for each unit purchased. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.

Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriter will not exercise its over-allotment option.

Our Company

We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation on March 4, 2020 and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not identified any potential business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target. As described further below under “—Our Business Combination Process and Possible Merger with Affinity Gaming,” we currently plan to merge with Affinity Gaming, a diversified casino gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of our sponsor, concurrent with the completion of our initial business combination. We will not, however, complete an initial business combination with only Affinity Gaming.

While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any industry or sector, we intend to focus on the gaming and hospitality sectors, which complements our management team’s sector and operating expertise. Target businesses that we are focused on in this sector include, but are not limited to, regional gaming, distributed gaming, online gaming / sports betting and

 

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gaming technology and equipment. In particular, we believe there is a robust addressable market in regional and distributed gaming. Regional gaming is a logical market given the potential synergies with the Affinity Gaming platform. Distributed gaming is characterized by the operation of slot machines in non-casino locations such as restaurants, bars, grocery stores and convenience stores. In our view, distributed gaming is strategic to regional gaming operators and offers distinct advantages over other forms of gaming due to its scalability, low capital requirements, long-term contracts and return on investment. The market dislocation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, together with a fragmented market with few consolidators, will provide a broad range of acquisition opportunities. With the operational and industry experience of our management team, we will be uniquely positioned to execute on one or more opportunities in this market. Our efforts to identify a prospective business combination target will not be limited to a particular geographic region.

We believe that the experience and capabilities of our management team and our affiliates’ licenses to conduct gaming activities in four states will make us an attractive partner to potential target businesses, enhance our ability to complete a successful business combination, and bring value to the post-business combination company. Our management team brings a combination of operating, investing, financial and transactional experience, including decades of leadership in their respective functional areas at multiple gaming- and hospitality-oriented companies. In addition, our management team has also worked closely together and successfully executed several transactions as senior management of Affinity Gaming.

We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We 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.

 

   

Opportunities in the Dynamic Gaming and Hospitality Sectors. The gaming sector is in a period of significant change. Industry consolidation is creating opportunities to acquire assets that have been orphaned, are non-core or for regulatory reasons need to be divested. Gaming channels are expanding nationally and within local jurisdictions. Slot routes (distributed gaming), online gaming and sports wagering are creating high growth opportunities. Additionally, the arrival of real estate investment trust (or REIT)-driven financing to the gaming sector provides new options for capital raising and long-term shareholder value creation. We seek to acquire one or more businesses in the gaming and hospitality sectors to take advantage of these changes and resulting opportunities and, if we deem appropriate, the ability to leverage Affinity Gaming’s platform with increased scale. Identifying these types of opportunities and successfully operating these types of changing businesses is squarely within our management team’s previous investment and leadership history.

 

   

Opportunities That Leverage Our Existing Gaming Licensure. Our management team, Affinity Gaming or its affiliates are currently licensed or have been found suitable to conduct gaming operations in four states—Nevada, Missouri, Iowa, and Florida—and previously maintained licenses in an additional eight states, including Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Mississippi, Indiana, Louisiana and Arizona. We have significant experience collaborating with gaming regulators and managing and operating companies in a highly regulated sector. Our current and former licensure and relationships and familiarity with state gaming regulators represent a significant competitive advantage when identifying, negotiating and executing transactions with potential target businesses in the gaming sector when regulatory approvals are required.

 

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Businesses That Will Benefit From Our Management Operating Expertise. We seek to acquire one or more businesses with assets that are fundamentally sound yet are underperforming their potential. Our management team has extensive experience as hands-on operators in the areas of marketing, operations and finance as well as extensive networks and insights within the gaming and hospitality sectors. We seek to add value by improving the productivity of any underperforming assets and/or growing operations beyond existing capabilities. Our management team and board of directors have decades of experience operating and/or investing in businesses in the gaming and hospitality sectors, and collectively have experience managing 33 casino properties in ten states across the United States. We will look for opportunities where we can leverage our significant experience and expertise to help one or more businesses achieve long-term strategic and operational excellence.

 

   

Businesses That Will Leverage Affinity Gaming’s Existing Platform for Scale, Strategic Growth or Transformative Capital Deployment. We seek to acquire one or more businesses that have significant embedded or underexploited expansion opportunities, have been underinvested in by current owners, or where a strategic relationship or business combination with Affinity Gaming and additional acquisitions could unlock significant potential synergies. We believe our management team’s depth and breadth of transaction experience and capital allocation experience affords them an advantage in identifying undervalued targets with liquidity limitations that would benefit from a capital infusion and renewed management focus. We believe our management team’s assistance would create value for these types of targets by more effectively raising and allocating capital to achieve the company’s growth strategy. Our operating expertise comes from our management team’s and directors’ professional gaming and hospitality sectors experience. We believe that our management team’s transactional and operating expertise is highly transferable.

 

   

Businesses That Will Benefit From Being a Public Company. We intend to acquire one or more businesses that will benefit from being publicly traded. Once becoming a publicly traded company, the acquired business(es) can effectively utilize the broader access to capital, including scalable access to debt capital markets and the public profile that are associated with being a publicly traded company.

We believe that potential target companies will find the opportunity to enter into a business combination with us attractive for the following reasons:

 

   

Sector Acquisition Experience and Existing Gaming Company. Our management team and affiliates have extensive experience in identifying and executing acquisitions. Among other acquisitions, in the early 2000s our Chief Executive Officer, Mary Beth Higgins, acquired the assets that would eventually become Affinity Gaming which was eventually acquired by affiliates of ZCG in 2017. Additionally, in the past two decades, affiliates of ZCG have invested approximately $717 million of private equity capital in gaming and hospitality businesses including approximately $405 million in gaming and $312 million in hospitality. As current regional gaming owners and operators, ZCG and Affinity Gaming management see a consistent deal flow from gaming and hospitality industry participants and professionals.

 

   

Existing Licensure. The current licensure of our affiliates and management is in good standing. Our management team, Affinity Gaming or its affiliates are currently licensed or have been found suitable to conduct gaming operations in four states—Nevada, Missouri, Iowa, and Florida—and previously maintained licenses in an additional eight states including Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Mississippi, Indiana, Louisiana

 

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and Arizona. Potential target companies who are licensed will likely view our existing and previous licensure favorably when seeking to transact as it likely reduces transaction execution risk.

 

   

Significant Relationships. Owing to their professional experience as corporate executives, corporate development leaders or directors, our management team and board of directors possess a network of relationships across the public capital markets and the gaming- and hospitality-related business sectors. Potential merger candidates will likely view such experience as a positive factor in deciding whether to enter into a business combination with us.

 

   

Management Expertise. Our management team and board of directors have unique expertise as investors in and operators of companies in the gaming- and hospitality-based sectors. Our operating expertise comes from our management team’s professional gaming and hospitality sector experience, including at roles with Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc., Everi Holdings Inc. (formerly Global Cash Access Holdings, Inc.), Herbst Gaming, Inc., Tropicana Entertainment, Inc., Resorts International, Advanced Gaming Technology and Affinity Gaming, among others.

Our executive officers have proven track records in identifying undervalued companies and cultivating strategies to maximize their operating results and market potential, thereby generating value for stockholders. Our management team is led by our Chairman, James J. Zenni, Jr.; our Chief Executive Officer, Mary Beth Higgins; our Chief Operating Officer and Secretary, Eric Fiocco; and our Chief Financial Officer, Andrei Scrivens. As noted below, our management team also currently serves as members of the senior management team of Affinity Gaming, a diversified casino gaming company. See “Affinity Gaming Business” for additional information with respect to Affinity Gaming.

Mr. Zenni is Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Committee of ZCG and is responsible for all portfolio management and business operations. Over the last 25 years, Mr. Zenni has had substantial success investing in private equity, mergers & acquisitions and credit strategies. Mr. Zenni is currently Chairman of the Board of Affinity Gaming, Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, LLC, Pink Taco, Premier Thermal Solutions, LLC., Techniks Holdings, LLC, Twin-Star International, Inc., Waldhaus Flims Alpine Resort & Spa, and XRG Xperience Brands. Mr. Zenni also serves on the boards of Carillon Miami Beach, CTM Holding, Inc., Daily Racing Form Intermediate Holdings, LLC. and Modere, Inc. Mr. Zenni was previously Chairman of the Board of MSDP Group, LLC and a member of the boards of Bayou Steel Corporation, Smarte Carte Corp., and Sun World International, LLC, all of which were portfolio companies. Mr. Zenni has managed numerous private equity transactions including Bayou Steel Corporation, Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, LLC, MSDP Group, LLC, PTC Alliance Corp., Smarte Carte Corporation, Sun World International, Inc., and Thomas Nelson, Inc. Prior to founding ZCG, Mr. Zenni was President, Founder and Co-owner of Black Diamond Capital Mgmt., L.L.C. (“BD”), which he founded in 1995. Mr. Zenni was jointly responsible for all portfolio management and business operations at BD. Mr. Zenni divested his interest in an employee-led buyout which led to the formation of ZCG. Prior to founding BD, Mr. Zenni was a Managing Director and senior member of the Capital Markets Department of Kidder, Peabody & Co. Inc. (“Kidder”). Mr. Zenni had a distinguished career while at Kidder in financial asset engineering, acquisitions, and value-oriented investing. Mr. Zenni holds the patent for an in-house data-management software platform and search engine tool developed by Olympus Fintech, L.L.C. (a ZCG affiliate). Mr. Zenni is a graduate of Xavier University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Economics and was the recipient of the Department of Economics Award.

 

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Mr. Zenni also attended Xavier University Graduate School of Business and University of Vienna (Austria) School of Economics and Business Administration.

Ms. Higgins joined us in March 2020. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Affinity Gaming, a position she has held since April 2019. Over the last 20 years, Ms. Higgins has had success in the gaming sector, focusing on strategic financial management, capital formation, acquisition strategies and investor relations. Before joining Affinity Gaming in 2018 as interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, she was instrumental in establishing VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI), a REIT spinoff from Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc. (“CEOC”), serving as Chief Financial Officer in 2017 and as an advisor in 2018. From July 2014 to October 2017, she was the Chief Financial Officer of CEOC, the largest subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment Corporation, where she oversaw finances across 38 casino locations in 14 U.S. states as well as in 5 countries. Earlier in her career, Ms. Higgins served as Chief Financial Officer at companies such as Global Cash Access Holdings, Inc. (now Everi Holdings Inc. (NYSE: EVERI)), Herbst Gaming, Inc. and Camco, Inc. Since December 2018, Ms. Higgins has served as a member of the board of trustees of Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE: CLDT). Ms. Higgins is a graduate of the University of Southern California where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree. Ms. Higgins also earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from University of Memphis.

Mr. Fiocco joined us in March 2020. He currently serves as the Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer of Affinity Gaming. Mr. Fiocco was hired at Affinity Gaming in November 2018 as Chief Marketing Officer and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in May 2019. Over the last 40 years, Mr. Fiocco has had success in marketing, brand identity, casino operations and revenue management. Prior to joining Affinity Gaming, Mr. Fiocco served as Chief Marketing Officer for Tropicana Entertainment Inc. from November 2011 to September 2018, where he was responsible for all marketing operations across eight Tropicana properties in six jurisdictions and led the development and execution of marketing initiatives and brand strategy. Mr. Fiocco also served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Tropicana Atlantic City and Senior Vice President of Marketing and Casino Operations at Resorts Atlantic City and Atlantic City Hilton. Mr. Fiocco began his career in the gaming industry as a casino dealer and over the years has been promoted to various positions of increased responsibility in casino operations and marketing at both the property and corporate levels. Mr. Fiocco is a graduate of Stockton State College in Pomona, New Jersey and holds a degree in Business Studies.

Mr. Scrivens joined us in March 2020. He currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Affinity Gaming, a position he has held since May 2019. Mr. Scrivens has substantial experience in operational and value-oriented private equity and mergers and acquisitions. Before joining Affinity Gaming, Mr. Scrivens served as a Managing Director on the private equity investment team with Z Capital Partners, L.L.C. since 2012, while serving on the boards of Daily Racing Form Intermediate Holdings, LLC, WF Swiss Hospitality GmBH, Carillon Hotel, LLC and Affinity Gaming. He focused on investments in gaming and hospitality, leading teams of professionals that specialized in pursuing opportunities that required hands-on financial and operational leadership, including Affinity Gaming. Prior to Z Capital, from 2001-2012, Mr. Scrivens was a Director at Chilmark Partners, a middle market private equity firm and boutique investment bank. During his tenure at Chilmark, among other broader industry assignments, in the leisure sector he advised on the sale of interests in two NHL hockey arenas and valued broadcast contract provisions on behalf of the NFL Players Association. Mr. Scrivens also participated in the investments of International Knife and Saw and Simonds Industries where the two companies were ultimately combined in a merger transaction. Earlier in his career, Mr. Scrivens

 

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served as a Senior Manager at the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen LLP in its restructuring group. Mr. Scrivens received his Bachelors of Science from the University of Illinois and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).

We believe that our management team is well-positioned to identify an attractive target business within the gaming and hospitality industries and that our proprietary deal sourcing network—including fellow industry executives, private owners, private equity funds, and investment bankers—will enable us to pursue a broad range of opportunities across the gaming and hospitality industry landscape. We believe that our ability to identify and implement operating improvements will be central to our differentiated acquisition strategy, and that our relationships in the industry and network of past colleagues and associates will greatly assist our transaction due diligence and execution.

Business Strategy and Competitive Strengths

Our acquisition and value creation strategy will be to identify, acquire and build a company in the gaming and hospitality sectors that complements the experience of our management team and can benefit from its operational expertise. After our initial business combination, we envision our strategy may include additional mergers and acquisitions with a focus on generating attractive returns for our stockholders. We will leverage our management team’s network of potential proprietary and public transaction sources where we believe a combination of our relationships, knowledge and experience in the gaming and hospitality sectors could effect a positive transformation or augmentation of existing businesses to improve their overall value.

We plan to utilize the network and industry experience of our management team, our sponsor and their respective affiliates and our board of directors in sourcing business combination opportunities and employing our acquisition strategy. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team and their affiliates have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships that we believe will serve as a useful source in identifying potential target companies. This network has been developed through our management team’s extensive experience in:

 

   

both investing in and operating across the gaming and hospitality sectors;

 

   

setting and adjusting strategies for businesses;

 

   

identifying, mentoring and recruiting world-class talent;

 

   

sourcing, structuring, acquiring, operating, developing, growing, financing and selling businesses;

 

   

accessing the public capital markets;

 

   

executing transactions in multiple geographies;

 

   

relationships with sellers, intermediaries, financing providers and target management teams; and

 

   

executing transactions in the gaming and hospitality sectors under varying economic and financial market conditions.

We expect these networks will provide our management team with a robust flow of acquisition opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, which may include investment

 

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market participants, certain of our stockholders, private equity groups, investment banking firms, consultants, accounting firms and large business enterprises. Upon completion of this offering, members of our management team will communicate with their networks of relationships to articulate the parameters for our search for a target company and a potential business combination and begin the process of pursuing and reviewing potentially interesting leads.

Past performance of our management team is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical performance record of such parties as indicative of our future performance or the future performance of any business that we may acquire. Such parties have not had experience with blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies in the past.

Our Business Combination Process and Possible Merger with Affinity Gaming

In evaluating prospective business combinations, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review process that may encompass, among other things, a review of historical and projected financial and operating data, meetings with management and their advisors (if applicable), on-site inspection of facilities and assets to the extent practicable, discussion with customers and suppliers, legal reviews and other reviews as we deem appropriate.

We will also leverage our operational and capital allocation experience in order to:

 

   

Conduct rigorous research and analysis: Performing disciplined, bottom-up fundamental research and analysis is core to our strategy, and we intend to conduct extensive due diligence to evaluate the impact that a transaction may have on the target business;

 

   

Acquire the target company at an attractive price relative to our view of its intrinsic value: Combining rigorous bottom-up analysis as well as our industry expertise, the management team intends to develop its view of the intrinsic value of the potential business combination. In doing so, the management team will evaluate future cash flow potential, relative industry valuation metrics and precedent transactions to inform its view of intrinsic value, with the intention of creating a business combination at an attractive price relative to such view;

 

   

Implement operating and financial structuring opportunities: We intend to construct an operating and financial plan which optimizes the potential to grow stockholder value. We believe our management team has the ability to structure and execute a business combination which will provide the combined business with a capital structure that will support growth in stockholder value and give the combined company the flexibility needed to grow organically and/or through strategic acquisitions or divestitures. We intend to also develop and implement strategies and initiatives to improve the business’s operating and financial performance and create a platform for growth; and

 

   

Seek follow-on strategic acquisitions and divestitures to further grow stockholder value: The management team intends to analyze the strategic direction of the company and evaluate non-core asset sales to create financial and/or operating flexibility needed for the company to engage in organic or inorganic growth. Specifically, the management team intends to evaluate opportunities for industry consolidation in the company’s core lines of business as well as opportunities to vertically or horizontally integrate with other industry participants.

 

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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or Z Capital. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or Z Capital, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to our company and our stockholders from a financial point of view.

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

In addition, certain of our officers and directors may presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity subject to his or her fiduciary duties. As a result, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, subject to such officer’s and director’s fiduciary duties under Delaware law, he or she will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. However, we do not expect these duties or obligations to materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any business combination opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. For a list of our executive officers, directors and entities for which a conflict of interest may or does exist between such persons and the company, as well as the priority and preference that such entity has with respect to performance of obligations and presentation of business opportunities to us, please refer to the table and subsequent explanatory paragraph under “Management—Conflicts of Interest”.

Further, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. See “Risk Factors—Our executive 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.”

Concurrently with our initial business combination, we currently intend to merge with Affinity Gaming. The resulting combined company would inherit our Nasdaq listing and its common stock and warrants would be publicly traded. We currently anticipate that the combined company will be managed by our existing management team (who also serve as

 

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members of the senior management team of Affinity Gaming). We believe the combination of Affinity Gaming, us and a target business in the gaming and hospitality sectors under the Affinity Gaming umbrella will allow the resulting combined company to leverage Affinity Gaming’s existing licenses, experienced management team and geographic footprint and offer significant synergy and long-term value creation opportunities for our investors and serve as a platform for further growth.

We have not entered into any letter of intent or definitive agreement with Affinity Gaming, nor have we agreed to valuation or other key terms and conditions with respect to such a possible combination transaction. As a result, even though we currently intend to merge with Affinity Gaming concurrent with the completion of our initial business combination, we cannot provide any assurance that such a merger with Affinity Gaming will occur at all, or, if it does, we cannot provide any assurance as to the timing or terms thereof. We will not, however, complete an initial business combination with only Affinity Gaming. In addition, we will likely not consummate a merger with Affinity Gaming if the target business with respect to our initial business combination is not within the gaming or hospitality related sectors. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Affinity Gaming Business” for additional information with respect to Affinity Gaming. If we pursue a merger with Affinity Gaming concurrent with our initial business combination, a committee of our independent directors will negotiate the terms and conditions of such merger (including the valuation of Affinity Gaming) on our behalf. Such committee of independent directors would also obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the proposed merger with Affinity Gaming is fair to our company and our stockholders from a financial point of view. Our public stockholders will have the same voting and redemption rights with respect to any merger with Affinity Gaming as are applicable to our initial business combination and described elsewhere in this prospectus.

Our Sponsorship and Structure

Gaming & Hospitality Acquisition Corp. is sponsored by Affinity Gaming Holdings, L.L.C., the indirect sole stockholder of Affinity Gaming. Full voting control of our sponsor is held by entities managed by affiliates of Z Capital.

 

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The current organizational structure of our sponsor, Affinity Gaming and us is as follows:

 

 

ZCG Affiliates Affinity Gaming Holdings, L.L.C. (sponsor) Affinity Gaming Owner, LLC Affinity Gaming Affinity Gaming operating subsidiaries Gaming & Hospitality Acquisition on Corp. (issuer) 100%100%100% 100% 100% LOGO

Affinity Gaming

Affinity Gaming is a diversified casino gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada that owns and operates eight casino properties across the United States, five of which are located in Nevada, two in Missouri and one in Iowa. Our management team, Affinity Gaming or its affiliates are currently licensed or have been found suitable to conduct gaming operations in four states—Nevada, Missouri, Iowa, and Florida—and previously maintained licenses in an additional eight states including Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Mississippi, Indiana, Louisiana and Arizona. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Affinity Gaming Business” for additional information with respect to Affinity Gaming. Affinity Gaming was acquired by entities managed by affiliates of ZCG in 2017. Affinity Gaming is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Affinity Gaming Owner, LLC, which in turn is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of our sponsor.

ZCG and Z Capital

Z Capital Group, L.L.C. (“ZCG”) is a leading, privately held global investment firm with approximately $3 billion of assets under management across complementary private equity and private credit businesses. ZCG’s investors are some of the largest and most sophisticated global institutional investors including pension funds, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, central banks, and insurance companies.

 

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Z Capital Partners, LLC (“ZCP” or “Z Capital”) is the private equity platform of ZCG, which pursues control investments in middle market companies that involve growth platforms, corporate carve-outs, buy & build, and go-private transactions. ZCP principals have invested over twenty years in numerous industries including consumer products, consumer food, restaurants, gaming, hospitality, manufacturing, media, publishing, metals and business services. ZCP has an operational focused strategy and has a team of operating professionals who assist in value-creation initiatives across all portfolio companies. ZCP’s current portfolio companies have aggregate worldwide annual revenues of approximately $1.5 billion and have 200,000 employees and associates directly and through joint ventures.

Z Capital Credit Partners, LLC (“ZCCP”) is the private credit platform of ZCG, which invests across a range of credit investments including leveraged loans, private debt, and opportunistic / stressed credit. ZCCP manages funds including collateralized loan obligations, closed end and open-ended fund structures.

Both investment platforms share ZCG common resources, including infrastructure, legal, and cross global intelligence.

Acquisition Criteria

We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines which we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We seek to acquire a company which:

 

   

is a foreign, international, national, regional or local gaming property or business, orphaned or REIT owned gaming or hospitality property, distributed gaming platform, online gaming / sports wagering, gaming technology and equipment or other gaming or hospitality business;

 

   

exhibits high barriers to entry and competition;

 

   

has strong drivers of revenue and earnings growth;

 

   

occupies relatively fast-growing and resilient markets (i.e., “top line growth”);

 

   

has the potential to generate strong and stable free cash flow;

 

   

is underperforming its operating potential and underutilizing its balance sheet; and/or

 

   

by “creating strategic value” offers an attractive risk-adjusted return for our stockholders.

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

Initial Business Combination

As required by Nasdaq rules, our initial business combination will be approved by a majority of our independent directors. Nasdaq rules also require that we must complete one or

 

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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 income earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. We refer to this as the 80% of fair market value test. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public stockholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% of fair market value test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board of directors is not able independently to determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions 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, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.

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 sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to 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 and, if applicable, Affinity Gaming. 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 Nasdaq’s 80% of fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of fair

 

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market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable. Subject to the foregoing, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. If we merge with Affinity Gaming concurrently with our initial business combination, we will not include the fair market value of Affinity Gaming for purposes of satisfying the 80% of fair market value test.

Corporate Information

We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation on March 4, 2020. Our executive offices are located at 3755 Breakthrough Way #300, Las Vegas, Nevada 89135 and our telephone number is (800) 211-8626. We will maintain a corporate website at www.gamingandhospitality.net. The information that may be contained on or accessible through our corporate website or any other website that we may maintain is not part of this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

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

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

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

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations,

 

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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 aggregate worldwide market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the aggregate worldwide market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th.

 

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THE OFFERING

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

 

Securities offered

15,000,000 units, at $10.00 per unit (or 17,250,000 units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), each unit consisting of:

 

   

one share of Class A common stock; and

 

   

one-third of one redeemable warrant.

 

Proposed Nasdaq symbols

Units: “GHACU”

 

  Class A Common Stock: “GHAC”

 

  Warrants: “GHACW”

 

Trading commencement and separation of Class A common stock and warrants


The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We expect the Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Deutsche Bank informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the shares of Class A common stock and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into shares of Class A common stock and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.

 

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

 

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

Units:

 

Number outstanding before this offering

0

 

Number outstanding after this offering

15,677,5001

Common stock:

 

Number outstanding before this offering

4,312,500 shares of Class B common stock2

 

Number outstanding after this offering

19,427,500 shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock3

Redeemable Warrants:

 

Number of warrants before this offering

0

 

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


5,225,833

 

Exercisability

Each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A common stock, subject to adjustment as provided herein, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.

 

(1)

Assumes no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option, and includes, accordingly, an aggregate of 677,500 private units (or 722,500 private units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is fully exercised in full) sold concurrently with the closing of this offering and the forfeiture by our sponsor of 562,500 founder shares.

(2)

Includes up to 562,500 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised.

(3)

Assumes no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option, and is comprised of 15,677,500 shares of Class A common stock (including 677,500 private shares) and 3,750,000 shares of Class B common stock (or founder shares). The Class B common stock is automatically convertible at the time of our initial business combination into shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.”

 

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  We structured each unit to contain one-third of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A common stock, as compared to units issued by some other similar blank check companies which contain whole warrants exercisable for one whole share, in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of an initial business combination as compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive initial business combination partner for target businesses.

 

Exercise price

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

 

  In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares of our Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of our Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 and $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described adjacent to “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00”” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 100% and 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, respectively.

 

Exercise period

The warrants will become exercisable on the later of:

 

   

30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, or

 

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12 months from the closing of this offering;

 

  provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or holders are permitted to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement as a result of (i) our failure to have an effective registration statement by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial business combination as described in the immediately following paragraph or (ii) a notice of redemption described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”). If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

 

 

We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and we will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those shares of our Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement; provided that 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 it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. If a registration statement covering the shares of our Class A

 

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common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis.

 

  The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account.

 

Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00



Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private 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, which we refer to as the 30-day redemption period; and

 

   

if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities).

 

  We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. Any such exercise would not be on a “cashless basis” and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised.

 

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  Except as set forth below, none of the private warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees.

 

Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00



Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private 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 determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities—WarrantsPublic Stockholders’ Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined below);

 

   

if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities); and

 

   

if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities), the private warrants must also concurrently be called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above.

 

 

The “fair market value” of our Class A common stock shall mean the volume-weighted average price of our Class A common stock for the ten trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in other blank check offerings. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-day trading period described above ends. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in

 

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connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 shares of our Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment).

 

  No fractional shares of our Class A common stock will be issued upon redemption. If, upon redemption, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued to the holder. Please see the section entitled “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants” for additional information.

 

  Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to Class A common stock shall include a security other than Class A common stock into which the Class A common stock has been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination.

 

Founder shares

In June 2020, our sponsor purchased 4,312,500 shares of our Class B common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per share. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. Concurrent with the closing of this offering, our sponsor will transfer 7,500 founder shares to each of our director nominees (other than Ms. Higgins). These 37,500 shares shall not be subject to forfeiture in the event the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering (excluding the private shares). As such, our initial stockholders will collectively own 22.8% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (including the private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering and assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised).

Neither our sponsor nor any of our officers or directors have expressed an intention to purchase any units in this offering. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount

 

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as to maintain the ownership of our initial stockholders at 20.0% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 562,500 founder shares will be subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised so that our initial stockholders will maintain ownership of 20% of our common stock after this offering (excluding the private shares).

 

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

 

   

prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the election of directors and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason;

 

   

the founder shares are shares of Class B common stock that automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or at any time prior thereto at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described herein;

 

   

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

 

   

our sponsor, officers, director and director nominees have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private shares and public shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within

 

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24 months from the closing of this offering, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame;

 

   

pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers, director and director nominees have agreed to vote any founder shares and private shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. Further, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares and private shares, we would need only 5,286,251, or 35.2% (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 429,376, or 2.9% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 15,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved; and

 

   

the founder shares are entitled to registration rights.

 

Transfer restrictions on founder shares

Our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, 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 (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder

 

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Shares and Private Units”). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up.

 

Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights


The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in this prospectus and related to the closing of the initial business combination, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon the completion of this offering plus (ii) the sum of (a) all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued by the company in connection with the initial business combination (excluding any shares of our Class A common stock or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination, the private units and any private placement-equivalent units issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to us), minus (ii) the number of public shares redeemed by public stockholders in connection with our initial business combination. Holders of founder shares may also elect to convert their shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment as provided above, at any time. Securities could be “deemed issued” for purposes of the conversion rate adjustment if such shares are issuable upon the conversion or exercise of convertible securities, warrants or similar securities.

 

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Election of Directors; Voting Rights

Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the election of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by a resolution passed by holders of a majority of our Class B common stock. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law or the applicable rules of Nasdaq then in effect, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.

 

  Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our board of directors will be divided into three classes, with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term.

 

Private units

Our sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 677,500 private units at a price of $10.00 per unit (722,500 private units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), for an aggregate purchase price of $6,775,000 (or $7,225,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full). Each private unit will be identical to the units sold in this offering, except as described in this prospectus. The private units will be sold in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. A portion of the purchase price of the private units will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account such that at the time of closing $150.0 million (or $172.5 million if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to the founder shares or the private shares and the private warrants will expire worthless if we do not consummate an initial business combination within the allotted 24 month period. Our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their private shares (i) in connection with the consummation of a business combination, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the

 

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substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination, to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering or with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) if we fail to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering or if we liquidate prior to the expiration of the 24 month period. However, our initial stockholders will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares held by them if we fail to consummate a business combination or liquidate within the 24 month period.

 

  The private units are identical to the public units, except that the underlying private warrants: (i) will not be redeemable by us (except as set forth under “Description of Securities—Warrants—Redemption of Warrants When the Price Per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00”), (ii) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (including the Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the private warrants) and (iii) may be exercised on a cashless basis, as described in this prospectus, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. If the private warrants included in the private units are held by holders other than our sponsor or any of its permitted transferees, then the private warrants included in the private units will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the public warrants. In the event of a liquidation prior to our initial business combination, the private warrants included in the private units will expire worthless.

Transfer restrictions on private

warrants

The private warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except as described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Units”).

Redeemability and exercise of

private warrants

The private warrants will be non-redeemable (except as set forth under “Description of Securities—Warrants—Redemption of Warrants When the Price Per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00”) and

 

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exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. If the private units are held by someone other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. If holders of private warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Class A common stock for the ten trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following an initial business combination. If they remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information.

 

  Accordingly, unlike public stockholders who could sell the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants freely in the open market, the insiders could be significantly restricted from doing so. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.

 

Proceeds to be held in trust account

Nasdaq rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private units be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units, $150,000,000 (or $172,500,000, if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $10.00 per unit, will be placed into a trust account in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. These

 

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proceeds include $5,250,000 (or up to $6,037,500 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions.

 

  Except for interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our franchise and income tax obligations (less up to $100,000 interest to pay dissolution expenses), the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private units will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of (a) the completion of our initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Public stockholders who redeem their shares of our Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote described in clause (b) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, with respect to such shares of our Class A common stock so redeemed. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public stockholders.

 

Anticipated expenses and funding sources

Except as described above with respect to the payment of franchise and income taxes, unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We will disclose in each quarterly and annual report filed with the SEC prior to our initial business combination whether

 

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the proceeds deposited in the trust account are invested in U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds or a combination thereof.

 

  Based upon current interest rates, we expect the trust account to generate approximately $150,000 of interest annually assuming an interest rate of 0.10% per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from:

 

   

the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $1.85 million in working capital after the payment of approximately $1.93 million in expenses relating to this offering; and

 

   

any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or their affiliates or other third parties, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or invest in us, and provided that any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of an initial business combination.

 

Conditions to completing our initial business combination


As required by Nasdaq rules, our initial business combination will be approved by a majority of our independent directors. Nasdaq rules also 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 income earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on Nasdaq for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of fair market value test.

 

 

Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the

 

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standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public stockholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% of fair market value test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board of directors is not able independently to determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor or any of our 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 or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such initial business combination is fair to our company and our stockholders from a financial point of view. In addition, if we merge with Affinity Gaming concurrently with our initial business combination, we will obtain a fairness opinion with respect to such merger. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Our stockholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion(s) nor will they be able to rely on such opinion(s).

 

  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. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination.

 

  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.

 

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  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 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 Nasdaq’s 80% of fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable. If we merge with Affinity Gaming concurrently with our initial business combination, we will not include the fair market value of Affinity Gaming for purposes of satisfying the 80% of fair market value test. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Affinity Gaming Business” for additional information with respect to Affinity Gaming.

 

Permitted purchases of public shares and public warrants by our affiliates


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

 

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initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination. See “Proposed Business—Permitted purchases of our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.

 

 

The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our shares of Class A common stock or warrants may be reduced and the number of

 

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

 

Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination



We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein.

 

 

The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriter. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor, officers, director and director nominees have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and private shares held by them and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or otherwise. We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the initial vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public

 

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shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements.

 

Manner of conducting redemptions

We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) 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 the 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 require stockholder approval. We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with such rules.

 

  If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

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  Such provisions may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon.

 

  Whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on Nasdaq, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above. Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

 

  In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.

 

  If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, 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 outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for

 

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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, director and director nominees have agreed to vote their founder shares, private shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. 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. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares and private shares, we would need only 5,286,251, or 35.2% (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 429,376, or 2.9% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 15,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and 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.

 

 

We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the initial vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming public stockholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed initial business combination is not approved and we continue to search for

 

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a target company, we will promptly return any certificates delivered, or shares tendered electronically, by public stockholders who elected to redeem their shares.

 

  Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriting commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.

 

Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding 15% or more of the shares sold in this offering if we hold stockholder vote




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

 

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management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against an initial business combination 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 to no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with 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 all shares held by those stockholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination.

 

Redemption rights in connection with proposed amendments to our certificate of incorporation



Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 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 Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, or applicable stock exchange rules. Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, we may not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or on our initial business combination or that

 

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would entitle holders thereof to receive funds from the trust account. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 22.8% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (including the private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Our sponsor, executive 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 allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other 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 shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares. Our sponsor, officers, director and director nominees have entered into a letter agreement with us pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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


On the completion of our initial business combination, the funds held in the trust account will be used to pay amounts due to any public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination.” We will use the remaining funds to pay the underwriter its deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in

 

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connection with our initial business combination, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

 

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



Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such 24-month period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 24-month time period.

 

  Our sponsor, officers, director and director nominees have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and private shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.

 

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  However, if our initial stockholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time period.

 

  The underwriter has agreed to waive its rights to their deferred underwriting commissions held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and subsequently liquidate and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares.

 

Limited payments to insiders

There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursement, consulting fee, non-cash payments, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation paid by us to our sponsor, officers, directors or director nominees, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, the following payments will be made to our sponsor, officers, directors or director nominees, or our or their affiliates (including Affinity Gaming), none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:

 

   

repayment of up to an aggregate of $500,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering related and organizational expenses;

 

   

payment to Affinity Gaming of approximately $33,333 per month, for up to 24 months, for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services, reimbursement of an allocable portion of the cash compensation paid by Affinity Gaming to our officers in consideration of the time dedicated to us by each of Ms. Higgins, our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Fiocco, our Chief Operating Officer and Secretary, and Mr. Scrivens, our Chief Financial Officer, and reimbursement of expenses, pursuant to an administrative support agreement between us and Affinity Gaming;

 

   

payment of a $75,000 one-time cash bonus payable upon the closing of this offering to each of our director nominees (other than Ms. Higgins);

 

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repayment to Affinity Gaming of one-time cash retention and transaction bonuses in aggregate amounts equal to $1.875 million, $1.0 million and $1.0 million payable to each of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively, upon the successful completion of our initial business combination;

 

   

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

 

   

repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private units. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.

 

  Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates.

 

Audit Committee

We will establish and maintain an audit committee, which will be composed entirely of independent directors to, among other things, monitor compliance with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to immediately take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Committees of the Board of Directors—Audit Committee.”

 

Indemnity

Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have 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

 

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trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of amounts to pay our franchise and income tax obligations, 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 underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers, directors or members of our sponsor will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

RISKS

We are a newly formed company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business—Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.” You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 48 of this prospectus, including, but not limited to, the following:

 

   

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

 

   

Past performance by our sponsor and its affiliates, including Affinity Gaming and Z Capital, and our management team may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in our company or in the future performance of any business that we may acquire.

 

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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.

 

   

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.

 

   

Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of such business combination.

 

   

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

 

   

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 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.

 

   

The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating an initial business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets 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 COVID-19 pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets.

 

   

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.

 

   

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 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 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.

 

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

 

   

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

 

   

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of 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.

 

   

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 this offering and the sale of the private units not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

   

If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search for an initial business combination, to pay our franchise and income taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.

 

   

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.

 

   

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.

 

   

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

 

   

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.

 

   

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

 

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SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA

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

 

     December 31,
2020
 

Balance Sheet Data:

  

Working capital (deficiency)

   $ (535,995

Total assets

     575,046  

Total liabilities

     560,995  

Stockholder’s equity

   $ 14,051  

 

 

 

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RISK FACTORS

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

Risks Related to Searching for and Consummating 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 unless the initial business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons. Except as required by law and stock exchange listing requirements, 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 public shares do not approve of the initial business combination we complete. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders 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, director and director nominees have agreed to vote their founder shares and private shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions), in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares and private shares, we would need only 5,286,251, or 35.2% (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 429,376, or 2.9% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 15,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Our initial stockholders will own shares representing 22.8% of our outstanding shares of common stock immediately following the completion of this offering. 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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Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the initial business combination.

At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of 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, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.

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

We may seek to enter into an initial business combination agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the initial business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into an initial business combination with us.

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,

 

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this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B common stock result in the issuance of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock at the time 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 underwriter 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 commissions and after such redemptions, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.

The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares 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 within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating an initial business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets 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 within 24 months from the closing of this offering. 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.

We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $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 will provide that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. We may not

 

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be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Additionally, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the measures being taken to counter it, and volatility in valuations in the financial markets that are resulting from the imposition of such measures and the pending health crisis, may make it harder for us to find a suitable target business and consummate our initial business combination within such time period. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. 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 below.

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

In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies preparing for an initial public offering, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available to consummate an initial business combination.

In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause 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.

 

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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.

Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The 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 warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.

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.

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

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

The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to

 

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incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.

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

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

We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, 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 redeem public shares, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself. For example, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the initial vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business—Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination—Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights.”

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

Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (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 allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other 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 this offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Public stockholders who

 

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redeem their shares of our Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, with respect to such shares of our Class A common stock so redeemed. In addition, if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this 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 this 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.

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 intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources to ours 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 this offering and the sale of the private 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, because we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of Class A common stock which our public stockholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. This may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating 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 below.

 

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If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months; 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 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 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 below.

If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search for an initial business combination, to pay our franchise and income taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.

Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units, only approximately $1,850,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,925,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. The amount held in the trust account will not be impacted as a result of such increase or decrease. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,925,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team, their affiliates 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 $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private units. Prior to the completion of our initial business

 

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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 approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. 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 below.

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

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

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;

 

   

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;

 

   

adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and

 

   

reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.

In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not

 

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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. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other 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 this 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.

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.

 

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The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.

Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private units, the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of the founder shares and upon exercise of the private warrants held, or to be held, by them and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the securities owned by our initial stockholders or holders of working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.

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 will seek to complete an initial business combination with companies in the gaming and hospitality sectors but may also pursue other business combination opportunities, 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. If our target business with respect to the initial business combination is not within the gaming or hospitality related sectors, we will likely not consummate a merger with Affinity Gaming. See “Affinity Gaming Business.” Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities.

 

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

Although we intend to focus on identifying companies in the gaming and hospitality sectors, we will consider an initial business combination outside of our management’s area 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 this sector 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 this offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in an initial business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a business combination outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

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

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. 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 below.

 

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We may seek business combination opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue, cash flow or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.

To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include volatile revenues or earnings 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 are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to us and our stockholders from a financial point of view.

Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity (including, concurrently with our initial business combination, a merger with Affinity Gaming), we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, that the price we are paying is fair to our company and our stockholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.

We may engage the underwriter or one of its affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. The underwriter is entitled to receive deferred commissions that will released from the trust only on a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause the underwriter to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.

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

 

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We may issue additional shares of Class A common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions 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. Immediately after this offering, there will be 84,322,500 and 6,250,000 (assuming, in each case, that the underwriter has not exercised its over-allotment option) 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 this offering, there will be 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 but subject to adjustment as set forth herein, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A common stock or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination. Shares of Class B common stock are also convertible at the option of the holder at any time.

We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination (although our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we may not issue securities that can vote with common stockholders on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity). We may also issue 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 contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to stockholder approval prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with the approval of our stockholders. However, our executive officers, director and director nominees have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other 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 common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares.

 

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The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:

 

   

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering;

 

   

may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;

 

   

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

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 prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account.

As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:

 

   

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

 

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

our inability to pay dividends on our 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;

 

   

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 disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private 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 this offering and the sale of the private units, $150,000,000 (or $172,500,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be available to complete our initial business combination and pay related fees and expenses (after taking into account the approximately $5,250,000 (or $6,037,500 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account and payment of estimated offering expenses).

We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory 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. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:

 

   

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

 

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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. We do not, however, intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with 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.

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 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

 

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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.

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 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 will require the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 65% of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding private 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 allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other 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.

The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), 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 65% of our common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions related to pre-initial business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein and including to permit us to withdraw funds from the

 

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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 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 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 securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 22.8% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (including the private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering and assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-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, director and director nominees 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 allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor, officers, director and director nominees. 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, director or director nominees 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.

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 this offering and the sale of the private 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

 

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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. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or 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 only receive approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, as described in the risk factor entitled “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,” under certain circumstances our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon the liquidation of the trust account.

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 this offering, our initial stockholders will own shares representing 22.8% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock (including the private shares and assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering and assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised). 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 this 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 three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. 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 and only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors prior to our initial business combination. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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

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

We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or 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

 

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issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of 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 the prior June 30, and (2) our annual revenues 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 prior June 30. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.

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. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target 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.

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 COVID-19 pandemic 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 COVID-19 coronavirus disease 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 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

 

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ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers, limit our ability to thoroughly conduct due diligence, or restrict our ability to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. 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.

Risks Related to Our Securities

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

We intend to apply to have our units listed on Nasdaq. We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Following the date the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants will be separately listed on Nasdaq. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the Nasdaq listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, 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 and our stockholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million. Further, recent Nasdaq rules changes that went into effect in August 2019 may make it more difficult to maintain our listing after our business combination. Under these new rules, restricted securities, including those subject to a contractual lock-up, will not count toward the $5.0 million stockholder equity minimum. Additionally, we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders (with at least 50% of such round lot holders holding securities with a market value of at least $2,500) of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time. If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

 

   

a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

 

   

reduced liquidity for our securities;

 

   

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

 

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a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

 

   

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

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

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

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

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

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the

 

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“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.

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 surface all material issues that may be present inside 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 may 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. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares.

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. Withum Smith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriter of the offering, will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.

 

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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 Exhibit 10.1 to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or 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 share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of amounts to pay our franchise and income tax obligations, 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 underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and 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, directors or members of our sponsor will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

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

The net proceeds of this offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the private units, in the amount of $150,000,000, will be held in the trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account may only in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. Treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative

 

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interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event of very low or negative yields, the amount of interest income (which we are permitted to use for payment of our tax obligations and up to $100,000 of dissolution expenses) would be reduced. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income. If the balance of the trust account is reduced below $150,000,000 as a result of negative interest rates, 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 we and our board may be exposed 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 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, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.

If, before distributing the 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 have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, our public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond such 24 month period before redemption from our trust account.

If we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of the interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public stockholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind-up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public

 

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stockholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the DGCL. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 24 months from the closing of this offering before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we complete our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A common stock. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public stockholders be entitled to distributions if we do not complete our initial business combination. Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.

Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the 24th month from the closing of this offering 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 within 24 months from the closing of this offering 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.

 

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We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the completion 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 no later than 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 completion of our initial business combination and thus 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 our consummation of a 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.

Holders of Class A common stock will not be entitled to vote on any election of directors we hold prior to our initial business combination.

Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the election of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the consummation of an initial business combination.

We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless.

We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration under the Securities Act of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and we will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those shares of our Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in 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 or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, in which case the number of shares of our Class A common stock that you will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum number of shares equal to 0.361 shares of our Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment).

 

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However, no such warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, unless an exemption from state registration is available.

Notwithstanding the above, if the shares of our Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will be required to use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.

In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws and there is no exemption available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will 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 warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the warrants included as part of units sold in this offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to sell the common stock underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying 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 securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Our ability to require holders of our warrants to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis after we call the warrants for redemption or if there is no effective registration statement covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants will cause holders to receive fewer shares of our Class A common stock upon their exercise of the warrants than they would have received had they been able to pay the exercise price of their warrants in cash.

If we call the warrants for redemption, we will have the option, in our sole discretion, to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis in the circumstances described in “Description of SecuritiesWarrantsRedemption of Warrants When the Price Per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00.” If we choose to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis or if holders elect to do so when there is no effective registration statement, the number of shares of our Class A common stock received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his or her warrant for cash. For example, if the holder is exercising 875 public warrants at $11.50 per share through a cashless exercise when the shares of our Class A common stock have a fair market value of $17.50 per share when there is no effective registration statement, then upon the cashless exercise, the holder will receive 300 shares of our Class A common stock. The holder would have received 875 shares of our Class A common stock if the exercise price was paid in cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential

 

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“upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of shares of our Class A common stock upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold.

The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the shares of our 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 our 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 twenty business days of the closing of an initial business combination.

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 will not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriting commissions (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or 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.

Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class A common stock.

The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the Class A common stock and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public stockholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 90.5% (or $9.05 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option), the

 

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difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.95 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. In addition, because of the anti-dilution rights of the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A common stock.

Unlike many other similarly structured blank check companies, our initial stockholders will receive additional shares of Class A common stock if we issue shares to consummate an initial business combination.

The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holders, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities convertible or exercisable for Class A common stock, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in this prospectus and related to the closing of the initial business combination, the ratio at which founder shares shall convert into Class A common stock will be adjusted so that the number of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the total number of all outstanding shares of common stock upon completion of the initial business combination, excluding the private shares and any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the business combination, the private units and any private placement-equivalent units issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to us. This is different from most other similarly structured blank check companies in which the initial stockholder will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to the initial business combination. Additionally, the aforementioned adjustment will not take into account any shares of Class A common stock redeemed in connection with the business combination. Accordingly, the holders of the founder shares could receive additional shares of Class A common stock even if the additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities convertible or exercisable for Class A common stock, are issued or deemed issued solely to replace those shares that were redeemed in connection with the business combination. The foregoing may make it more difficult and expensive for us to consummate an initial business combination.

We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.

Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.

 

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Our warrant agreement will designate 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 will provide that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under 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 courts of the United States of America have exclusive jurisdiction. 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 of 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.

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.

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 Class A 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 completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and

 

  (iii)

the Market Value is below $9.20 per share,

 

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then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.

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

We have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, if, among other things, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). See “Description of SecuritiesWarrantsRedemption of Warrants When the Price Per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00.” If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants as described above could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the Market Value of your warrants. None of the private warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.

In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant if, among other things, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of shares of our Class A common stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A common stock. See “Description of SecuritiesWarrantsRedemption of Warrants When the Price Per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00.” 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 common stock received is capped at 0.361 shares of our Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.

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 will be issuing warrants to purchase 5,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock (or up to 5,750,000 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement, as part of the private units sold to our sponsor, warrants to purchase an aggregate of 225,833 shares of Class A common stock (or 240,833 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) at $11.50 per share. Our initial stockholders currently own an aggregate of 4,312,500 founder shares. 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 makes any working capital

 

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loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into units, at the price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such units would be identical to the private units.

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 units are identical to the public units, except that with respect to the underlying warrants (i) they will not be redeemable by us, (ii) they (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis, as described in this prospectus, so long as they are held by out sponsor or its permitted transferees.

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

Each unit contains one-third of one redeemable warrant. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. 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 an initial business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-third of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.

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

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

 

   

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

 

   

prior offerings of those companies;

 

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our prospects for acquiring an operating business;

 

   

a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions;

 

   

our capital structure;

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

other factors as were deemed relevant.

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

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

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

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A common stock and could entrench management.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions will 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 stock, and the fact that prior to the completion of our initial business combination only holders of shares of our Class B common stock, which have been issued to our sponsor, are entitled to vote on the election of directors, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

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.

 

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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that (i) derivative actions brought in our name, (ii) actions asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders, (iii) actions 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) actions 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 and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel, which may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers or other employees.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require (unless our board, acting on our behalf, consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum (which consent may be given at any time, including during the pendency of litigation)), to the fullest extent permitted by law, 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 current or former 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, (iv) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware or (v) any other action asserting an “internal corporate claim” as defined in Section 115 of the DGCL may, in each case, be brought by a stockholder (including a beneficial owner) only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any action (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) arising under the Securities Act, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall concurrently be the sole and exclusive forums. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this paragraph will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America have exclusive jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. 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, and Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations

 

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thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.

Risks Related to our Sponsor, Management, Directors and Employees

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 share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of amounts to pay our franchise and income tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.

While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment 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.

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally 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 employ 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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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 executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.

Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements as well as reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, if any, with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation or reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, if any, 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. Additionally, they may negotiate reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred on our behalf prior to the completion of our initial business combination, should they choose to do so. 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, or as reimbursement for such out-of-pocket expenses. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.

When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

 

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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 and commitments. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. All of our officers also currently serve as members of the senior management team of Affinity Gaming and, as a result, devote a substantial amount of time to Affinity Gaming’s business. See “Affinity Gaming Business” for additional information with respect to Affinity Gaming. In addition, 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. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Officers, Director and Director Nominees.”

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 this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and officers and directors are, 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. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target.

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 will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.

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

 

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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, our 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.

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, existing holders or ZCG which may raise potential conflicts of interest.

In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers, director and director nominees with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or ZCG. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers, director and director nominees 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 for an initial business combination as set forth in the section of this 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 another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, regarding the fairness to our company and our stockholders from a financial point of view of an initial business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our officers, directors, existing holders or Z Capital, 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.

Since our sponsor will lose its 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.

In June 2020, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,312,500 shares of our Class B common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering (excluding the private shares). Concurrent with the closing of this offering, our sponsor will transfer 7,500 founder shares to each of our director nominees (other than Ms. Higgins). These 37,500 shares shall not be subject to forfeiture in the event the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Our sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 677,500 private units at a price of $10.00 per unit (722,500 private units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), for an aggregate purchase price of $6,775,000 (or $7,225,000 if the over-allotment option is

 

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exercised in full). Each private unit will be identical to the units sold in this offering, except as described in this prospectus. The private units will be sold in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Holders of founder shares 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 in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination. 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.

Risks Related to the Company after a Business Combination

If we merge with Affinity Gaming concurrent with our initial business combination, we will become subject to risks affecting Affinity Gaming’s business.

Although we can provide no assurances, we currently intend to merge with Affinity Gaming concurrent with the closing of our initial business combination. See “Proposed Business—Our Business Combination Process and Possible Merger with Affinity Gaming.” If we successfully complete the merger with Affinity Gaming, we will become subject to risks affecting Affinity Gaming’s business, including, without limitation, the following:

 

   

the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on Affinity Gaming’s business, operations, revenues, cash flows and liquidity, including previous and possible future closures of Affinity Gaming’s casino properties and major disruptions in Affinity Gaming’s operations, uncertain demand for gaming and non-gaming activities at Affinity Gaming’s properties and reduced demand for hotels, meetings, conventions, exhibitions and travel in general, even upon re-opening;

 

   

Affinity Gaming has a substantial amount of indebtedness, which could have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and its ability to obtain financing in the future and to react to changes in its business;

 

   

the state of the financial markets may impact Affinity Gaming’s ability to obtain sufficient financing and credit in the future;

 

   

the failure to maintain a regular schedule of capital improvements, whether that includes expansion or renovation projects, could put Affinity Gaming at a competitive disadvantage, and its expansion and renovation projects may face significant risks inherent in construction projects;

 

   

Affinity Gaming’s operations, and the gaming industry as a whole, are particularly sensitive to reductions in consumer spending as a result of downturns in the economy and other factors;

 

   

Affinity Gaming faces intense competition from other gaming operations and Internet gaming, including due to the legalization of gaming in or near the jurisdiction in which Affinity Gaming competes, and may experience a loss of market share;

 

   

some Native American casinos have a lower minimum age requirement for gambling, which may increase their market share at the expense of our market share;

 

   

any increase in the price of gasoline may have an adverse impact on the results of Affinity Gaming’s operations;

 

   

Affinity Gaming may be subject to litigation which, if adversely determined, could expose it to significant liabilities, damage its reputation and result in substantial losses;

 

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acquisitions, new venture investments and divestitures may not be successful;

 

   

several provisions of Nevada corporate law, Affinity Gaming’s articles of incorporation, and its bylaws could discourage, delay or prevent a merger or acquisition, even in situations that may be viewed as desirable by its stockholders;

 

   

Affinity Gaming’s operations may be adversely impacted by increases in the prices of electricity, natural gas and other forms of energy or utility availability;

 

   

Affinity Gaming depends upon its key employees and certain members of its management;

 

   

if Affinity Gaming is unable to protect the security of confidential customer information, including credit card data, it could be exposed to data loss, litigation and liability and Affinity Gaming’s reputation could be significantly harmed;

 

   

Affinity Gaming faces extensive regulation from gaming and other government authorities;

 

   

reductions in regulations or expansions of gaming licensure allowing new entrants into the gaming sector in jurisdictions in which Affinity Gaming operates could increase competition;

 

   

increases labor-related costs and regulations such as minimum wage requirements, overtime, healthcare, working conditions and work permit requirements could have an adverse impact on Affinity Gaming’s financial performance;

 

   

compliance with environmental laws and other government regulations could impose material costs;

 

   

adverse weather conditions in the Midwest, the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Reno-Lake Tahoe area have had, and could in the future have, a material adverse effect on Affinity Gaming’s results of operations and financial condition;

 

   

Extreme weather, natural disasters and other catastrophic events, such as the severe flooding that led to the temporary closing of Affinity Gaming’s St. Jo Frontier Casino in St. Joseph, Missouri in 2019, have had, and could in the future have, a material adverse impact on Affinity Gaming’s business, results of operations and financial condition; and

 

   

riverboats and dockside facilities are subject to additional risks that may adversely affect their operations.

The information included in this prospectus with respect to Affinity Gaming is very limited and is subject to change and, accordingly, your evaluation of Affinity Gaming and ability make an investment decision may be limited.

Although we can provide no assurances, we currently intend to merge with Affinity Gaming concurrent with the closing of our initial business combination. See “Proposed Business—Our Business Combination Process and Possible Merger with Affinity Gaming.” The information with respect to Affinity Gaming included in the “Affinity Gaming” section and elsewhere in this prospectus is very limited and subject to change and does not include all of the disclosures that would be required if Affinity Gaming were pursuing an initial public offering of its common stock or in a proxy statement relating to a potential merger with Affinity Gaming. If, as part of our initial business combination, we pursue a merger with Affinity Gaming, the proxy statement relating to our initial business combination and proposed merger with Affinity Gaming will include all required and SEC-compliant disclosures with respect to Affinity Gaming. As a result, investors should not place undue reliance on the Affinity Gaming disclosures included herein and refer instead to the proxy statement we subsequently file in connection with our initial

 

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business combination, assuming, as is currently planned, that we decide to pursue a merger with Affinity Gaming in connection with our initial business combination.

The challenges associated with completing a proposed merger concurrent with our initial business combination may result in increased transaction execution risk, introduce significant delays and/or may preclude us from being able to timely complete an initial business combination within the required 24-month period.

Concurrently with our initial business combination, we currently intend to merge with Affinity Gaming. We have not entered into any letter of intent or definitive agreement with Affinity Gaming, nor have we agreed to valuation or other key terms and conditions with respect to such a possible combination transaction. Accordingly, we cannot provide any assurance that such a merger with Affinity Gaming will occur at all, or, if it does, we cannot provide any assurance as to the timing or terms thereof. We will not, however, complete an initial business combination with only Affinity Gaming. If we pursue a merger with Affinity Gaming concurrent with our initial business combination, a committee of our independent directors will negotiate the terms and conditions of such merger (including the valuation of Affinity Gaming) on our behalf. Such committee of independent directors would also obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the proposed merger with Affinity Gaming is fair to our company and our stockholders from a financial point of view. As a result, we cannot provide any assurance that such committee of our independent directors may be able to reach an agreement with Affinity Gaming as to the proposed valuation of Affinity Gaming or other terms and conditions of such proposed merger on a timely basis or at all, or, even if they do reach such an agreement, that an independent investment banking firm will be able to render such a fairness opinion. In addition, the proposed merger with Affinity Gaming may necessitate significant third party debt and/or equity financing incremental to what may be required to complete our initial business combination with a target business in the gaming and hospitality sectors, and such financing may not be available on attractive terms, on a timely basis or at all (due to market conditions or otherwise). Moreover, the proposed merger with Affinity Gaming may not be approved by our stockholders or there may not be sufficient funds in our trust account after redemptions to complete such proposed merger. Additionally, such a merger may be subject to certain regulatory approvals related to the gaming and hospitality industries. Furthermore, such a merger will require substantial attention from our management and may impede pursuit of other opportunities that could have been beneficial to that organization. Therefore, completing the proposed merger with Affinity Gaming concurrent with the closing of our initial business combination with a proposed target business introduces significant complexities and increased transaction risk, which could result in significant delays and/or may preclude us from being able to timely complete an initial business combination within the required 24-month period (as may be extended subject to stockholder approval).

If we are successful in consummating a merger with Affinity Gaming concurrent with our initial business combination, our management may face significant integration challenges. There can be no assurance that this integration, and the synergies expected to result from that integration, will be achieved as rapidly or to the extent currently anticipated.

If we are successful in consummating a merger with Affinity Gaming concurrent with our initial business combination, the concurrent integration of both Affinity Gaming and a target business may be complex, challenging, time-consuming. The combined company may encounter potential difficulties in the integration process including the following:

 

   

the inability to successfully integrate the businesses, including operations, technologies, products and services, in a manner that permits the resulting company to achieve the

 

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cost savings and operating synergies anticipated to result from such merger, which could result in the anticipated benefits of such merger not being realized partly or wholly in the time frame currently anticipated or at all;

 

   

the potential coordination geographically separated organizations, systems and facilities;

 

   

potential unknown liabilities and unforeseen expenses, delays or regulatory conditions associated with the merger;

 

   

the integration of personnel with diverse business backgrounds and business cultures, while maintaining focus on providing consistent, high-quality services;

 

   

the consolidation and rationalization of information technology platforms and administrative infrastructures as well as accounting systems and related financial reporting activities;

 

   

the potential weakening of relationships with regulators; and

 

   

the challenge of preserving important relationships of Affinity Gaming and the initial business combination target and resolving potential conflicts that may arise.

Furthermore, it is possible that the integration process could result in the loss of talented employees or skilled workers of Affinity Gaming and the initial business combination target. The process of integrating operations could cause an interruption of, or loss of momentum in, the activities of Affinity Gaming and the initial business combination target. If the resulting company experiences difficulties with the integration process, the anticipated benefits of the merger and the initial business combination may not be realized fully or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected. These integration matters could have an adverse effect on the business, results of operations, financial condition or prospects of the resulting company during this transition period and for an undetermined period after completion of the merger and the initial business combination.

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

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

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

An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the units we are issuing in this offering, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the share of Class A common stock and the one-third of one redeemable warrant to purchase one share of our Class A common stock included in each

 

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unit could be challenged by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or “IRS,” or the courts. Furthermore, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants included in the units we are issuing in this offering is unclear under current law, and the adjustment to the exercise price and/or redemption price of the warrants could give rise to dividend income to investors without a corresponding payment of cash. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our shares of common stock suspend the running of a U.S. holder’s holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of common stock is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be considered “qualified dividends” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. See the section titled “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to an investment in our securities. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences applicable to their specific circumstances when purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities.

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;

 

   

data privacy;

 

   

changes in industry, regulatory or environmental standards within the jurisdictions where we operate;

 

   

crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;

 

   

deterioration of political relations with the United States; and

 

   

government appropriations of assets.

 

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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.

Because we intend to seek a business combination with a target business in the gaming and hospitality sectors, we expect our future operations to be subject to risks associated with this industry.

Business combinations with companies in the gaming and hospitality sectors entail special considerations and risks. If we are successful in completing a business combination with such a target business, we may be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks:

 

   

the gaming-related governmental or regulatory approvals necessary to complete our initial business combination;

 

   

the gaming regulations and gaming tax laws in the jurisdictions in which we will operate following our initial business combination;

 

   

the level of customer unemployment;

 

   

changes in the number of hotels we operate following our initial business combination and the number of rooms in, and occupancy and room rates achieved by, such hotels;

 

   

changes in the relative mix of hotels we operate following our initial business combination within the industry’s price categories;

 

   

desirability of hotel geographic location;

 

   

changes in general and local economic and market conditions, which can adversely affect the level of business and leisure travel, and therefore the demand for lodging and related services;

 

   

travelers’ fears of exposure to contagious diseases or insect infestations in hotel rooms;

 

   

an inability to compete effectively in a highly competitive environment with many incumbents having substantially greater resources;

 

   

an inability to manage rapid change, increasing consumer expectations, changing gaming regulation and growth;

 

   

an inability to attract and retain customers;

 

   

an inability to build strong brand identity and improve customer satisfaction and loyalty;

 

   

limitations on a target business’ ability to protect its intellectual property rights, including its trade secrets, that could cause a loss in revenue and any competitive advantage;

 

   

an inability to license or enforce intellectual property rights on which our business may depend;

 

   

the high cost or unavailability of materials, equipment, supplies and personnel that could adversely affect our ability to execute our operations or make capital expenditures; and

 

   

seasonality and weather conditions that may cause our operating results to vary from quarter to quarter.

In certain jurisdictions, forms of wagering, betting and lottery may be expressly authorized and governed by law and in other jurisdictions forms of wagering, betting and lottery may be

 

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expressly prohibited by law. If expressly authorized, such activities are typically subject to extensive and evolving governmental regulation. Gaming regulatory requirements vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Therefore, we would be subject to a wide range of complex gaming laws, rules and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we would be licensed or may seek to be licensed. Most jurisdictions require that gaming companies be licensed and/or authorized, or that key personnel and certain of our security holders are found to be suitable or are licensed, and that products are reviewed, tested and certified or approved before placement. For example, under the Nevada Gaming Control Act, any person that acquires 10% of a publicly traded corporation that holds a gaming license must file an application with the Nevada Gaming Commission for a finding of suitability. If a license, approval, certification or finding of suitability is required by a regulatory or national authority and we fail to seek or do not receive the necessary approval, license, certification or finding of suitability, then we may be prohibited from distributing our products for use in the respective jurisdiction. Furthermore, the licensing, certificate or suitability process may place certain restrictions on our business which may limit the types of business activities in which we may engage. Additionally, such prohibition could trigger reviews by regulatory bodies in other jurisdictions.

If we seek to acquire a gaming company, we or our acquired business may be required to obtain and maintain licenses from various state and local jurisdictions in order to operate certain aspects of the business and may be subject to extensive background investigations and suitability standards. We may also become subject to regulation in any other jurisdiction where our customers are permitted to operate in the future. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain new licenses or renew any of our existing licenses, and the loss, denial or non-renewal of any of our licenses could have a material adverse effect on our business. Generally, regulatory authorities have broad discretion when granting, renewing or revoking approvals and licenses. Our failure, or the failure of any of our key personnel, systems or machines, in obtaining or retaining a required license or approval in one jurisdiction could negatively impact our ability (or the ability of any of our key personnel, systems or gaming machines) to obtain or retain required licenses and approvals in other jurisdictions. The failure to obtain or retain a required license or approval in any jurisdiction would decrease the geographic area where we may operate and generate revenues, decrease our share in the gaming marketplace and put us at a disadvantage compared with our competitors.

In addition, given the extensive regulations concerning the gaming industry, an initial business combination in this industry may require significant governmental or regulatory approvals that could delay the completion of our initial business combination. In such case, we may be unable to complete an initial business combination in the expected timeframe and may require one or more extensions to complete such business combination.

Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to the gaming sector. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks will be subject to other risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, which may or may not be different than those risks listed above.

Other Risks

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

We are a newly formed company with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history,

 

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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.

Past performance by our sponsor and its affiliates, including Affinity Gaming and Z Capital, and our management team may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in our company or in the future performance of any business that we may acquire.

Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our sponsor and its affiliates, including Affinity Gaming, ZCG and Z Capital, is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our sponsor, including Affinity Gaming, ZCG and Z Capital, and by our management team is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of ZCG’s, Z Capital’s, Affinity Gaming’s or our management team’s performance as indicative of the future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward. Our officers, director and director nominees have not had experience with blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies in the past. Furthermore, an investment in us is not an investment in ZCG, Z Capital or Affinity Gaming.

 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

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

 

   

our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses;

 

   

our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in light of disruption that may result from limitations imposed by the COVID-19 outbreak;

 

   

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, director and director nominees allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements;

 

   

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

 

   

our pool of prospective target businesses;

 

   

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

 

   

our financial performance following this offering; or

 

   

our ability to complete a merger with Affinity Gaming, and risks related to the business of Affinity Gaming.

The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors

 

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described under the section of this prospectus 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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USE OF PROCEEDS

We are offering 15,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private units will be used as set forth in the following table.

 

     Without  Over-
Allotment Option
    Over-Allotment
Option Exercised
 

Gross proceeds

    

Gross proceeds from units offered to public

   $ 150,000,000     $ 172,500,000  

Gross proceeds from private units offered in the private placement

     6,775,000       7,225,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total gross proceeds

   $ 156,775,000     $ 179,725,000  

Offering expenses(1)

    

Underwriting commissions (2.0% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(2)

   $ 3,000,000     $ 3,450,000  

Legal fees and expenses

     600,000       600,000  

Accounting fees and expenses

     45,000       45,000  

SEC/FINRA expenses

     49,465       49,465  

Nasdaq listing and filing fees

     75,000       75,000  

Director & officer liability insurance premiums

     600,000       600,000  

Directors fees

     375,000       375,000  

Printing and engraving expenses

     40,000       40,000  

Miscellaneous(3)

     140,535       140,535  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions)

     1,925,000       1,925,000  

Proceeds after offering expenses

     151,850,000       174,350,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Held in trust account

   $ 150,000,000     $ 172,500,000  

% of public offering size

     100     100

Not held in trust account

   $ 1,850,000     $ 1,850,000  

The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,850,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account(3).

 

     Amount          % of Total  

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

   $ 500,000        27.0

Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations

     150,000        8.1

Payment for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services, and reimbursement of allocable portion of management team compensation

     800,000        43.3

Nasdaq continued listing fees

     55,000        3.0

Reserve for liquidation expenses

     100,000        5.4

Other miscellaneous expenses

     245,000        13.2
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 1,850,000        100.0

 

(1)

A portion of the offering expenses have been paid from the proceeds of loans from our sponsor of up to $500,000 as described in this prospectus. As of December 31, 2020, we had no borrowings outstanding under the promissory note with our sponsor. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the proceeds that have been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) and amounts not to be held in the trust account. In the event that offering expenses are less than as set forth in this

 

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table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses. In the event that the offering expenses are more than as set forth in this table, we may fund such excess with funds not held in the trust account.

(2)

The underwriter has agreed to defer underwriting commissions equal to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon completion of our initial business combination, $5,250,000 (or $6,037,500 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), which constitutes the underwriter’s deferred commissions will be paid to the underwriter from the funds held in the trust account, and the remaining funds, less amounts released by the trustee to pay redeeming stockholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriter will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.

(3)

These expenses are estimates only and do not include interest which may be available to us from the trust account. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring our initial business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify an initial business combination target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses.

Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units, $150,000,000 (or $172,500,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), including $5,250,000 (or up to $6,037,500 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions, will be deposited into a segregated trust account located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and will be invested only in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $150,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.10% per year; however, we can provide no assurance regarding this amount. Except for funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our franchise and income tax obligations, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private units will not be released from the trust account until 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 allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other 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 our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law.

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

 

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We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective business combination, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of an initial business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.

Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay Affinity Gaming a total of approximately $33,333 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services, reimbursement of an allocable portion of the cash compensation paid by Affinity Gaming to our officers in consideration of the time dedicated to us by each of Ms. Higgins, our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Fiocco, our Chief Operating Officer and Secretary, and Mr. Scrivens, our Chief Financial Officer, and reimbursement of expenses, pursuant to an administrative support agreement between us and Affinity Gaming. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $500,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of December 31, 2020, we had no borrowings outstanding under the promissory note with our sponsor to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of June 30, 2021 or the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of offering proceeds not held in the trust account.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private units. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor 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 seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules.

 

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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 not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination. See “Proposed Business—Permitted purchases of our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.

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

We may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) and the agreement for our initial business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with the redemption of our public shares or the initial business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.

A public stockholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other 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 our initial business combination within 24 months following the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein

 

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and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.

Our sponsor, officers, director and director nominees have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares private shares, shares underlying any warrants included in the private units and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our sponsor or any of our officers, directors or affiliates acquires public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.

 

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

 

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DILUTION

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

At December 31, 2020, our net tangible book deficit was $535,995, or approximately $(0.12) per share of common stock. After giving effect to the sale of 15,000,000 shares of Class A common stock included in the units we are offering by this prospectus (or 17,250,000 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), the sale of the private units and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at December 31, 2020 would have been $5,000,001, or approximately $0.95 per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of the approximately 14,161,405 shares of Class A common stock that may be redeemed for cash in connection with our initial business combination and assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option) of $1.07 per share to our stockholders as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution of $9.05 per share or 90.5% to our public stockholders not exercising their redemption rights. The dilution to all stockholders if the underwriter exercises the over-allotment option in full would be an immediate dilution of $9.16 per share or 91.6%.

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

 

     Exercise of
over-allotment
option in full
 

Public offering price

   $ 10.00  

Net tangible book value before this offering

   $ (0.12

Increase attributable to public stockholders and sale of the private units

   $ 1.07  
  

 

 

 

Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering

   $ 0.95  
  

 

 

 

Dilution to public stockholders

   $ 9.05  
  

 

 

 

For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option) by $141,614,050 because holders of up to approximately 94.4% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or stockholders meeting, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes), divided by the number of shares of Class A common stock sold in this offering.

 

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

 

     Shares Purchased     Total Consideration     Average Price
Per Share
 
     Number      Percentage     Amount      Percentage        

Initial stockholders(1)

     3,750,000        19.30   $ 25,000        0.02   $ 0.01  

Private shares

     677,500        3.49     6,775,000        4.32   $ 10.00  

Public stockholders

     15,000,000        77.21     150,000,000        95.66   $ 10.00  
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   
     19,427,500        100.00   $ 156,800,000        100.00  

 

(1)

Assumes no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of an aggregate of 562,500 shares of Class B common stock held by our sponsor.

The pro forma net tangible book value per share after the offering is calculated as follows:

 

     Without
Over-allotment
 

Numerator:

  

Net tangible book deficit before this offering

   $ (535,995

Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private units, net of expenses(1)

     151,850,000  

Plus: Offering costs excluded from tangible book value before this offering

     550,046  

Less: Deferred underwriting commissions

     (5,250,000

Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets of $5,000,001(2)

     (141,614,050
   $ 5,000,001  

Denominator:

  

Shares of Class B common stock outstanding prior to this offering

     4,312,500  

Shares of Class A common stock included in the units offered

     15,000,000  

Less: Shares subject to possible redemption

     (14,161,405

Shares of common stock included in the private placement units offered

     677,500  

Less: Shares subject to forfeiture

     (562,500
  

 

 

 
     5,266,095  
  

 

 

 

 

(1)

Expenses applied against gross proceeds include offering expenses of $1,925,000 and underwriting commissions of $3,000,000 (excluding deferred underwriting fees). See “Use of Proceeds.”

(2)

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

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our capitalization at December 31, 2020, and as adjusted to give effect to the filing of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the sale of our units in this offering and the sale of the private units and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:

 

     December 31, 2020  
     Actual     As Adjusted(1)  

Notes payable to related party(1)

   $     $  

Deferred underwriting commissions

           5,250,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, 100,000,000 shares authorized; 0 and 14,161,405 shares subject to possible redemption, actual and as adjusted, respectively(2)

           141,614,050  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted

            

Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, 100,000,000 shares authorized; 0 and 1,516,095 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 0 and 14,161,405 shares subject to possible redemption), actual and as adjusted, respectively(3)

           152  

Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, 10,000,000 shares authorized, 4,312,500 and 3,750,000 shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively

     431       375  

Additional paid-in capital

     24,569       5,010,423  

Accumulated deficit

     (10,949     (10,949
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity

     14,051       5,000,001  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total capitalization

   $ 14,051     $ 151,864,051  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $500,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. The “as adjusted” information gives effect to the repayment of any loans made under this note out of the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private units. As of December 31, 2020, we had no borrowings outstanding under the promissory note with our sponsor to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering.

(2)

Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account 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, subject to the limitations described herein whereby our net tangible assets will be maintained at a minimum of $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed initial business combination.

(3)

Actual share amount is prior to any forfeiture of founder shares by our sponsor and as adjusted amount assumes no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option.

 

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF

FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview

We are a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. While our efforts to identify a prospective business combination target will not be limited to a particular geographic region, we intend to focus on a target business in the gaming and hospitality sectors. As described further under “Proposed BusinessOur Business Combination Process and Possible Merger with Affinity Gaming,” we currently plan to merge with Affinity Gaming, a diversified casino gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of our sponsor, concurrent with the completion of our initial business combination. We will not, however, complete an initial business combination with only Affinity Gaming.

We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private units, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination, shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing.

The issuance of additional shares in connection with an initial business combination to the owners of the target or other investors:

 

   

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of Class A common stock 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;

 

   

could cause a change in 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 Class A common stock and/or warrants.

Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or the owners of a target, it could result in:

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

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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;

 

   

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.

As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at December 31, 2020, we had $25,000 in cash and deferred offering costs of $550,046. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.

Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events

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

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at December 31, 2020, we had $25,000 in cash and a working capital deficit of $535,995. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this uncertainty through this offering are discussed above. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial business combination will be successful.

 

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Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to completion of this offering through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the founder shares to our sponsor and up to $500,000 in loans from our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note. As of December 31, 2020, we had no borrowings outstanding under the unsecured promissory note. We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $1,925,000 and underwriting commissions of $3,000,000, or $3,450,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $5,250,000 (or up to $6,037,500 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full)), and (ii) the sale of the private units for a purchase price of $6,775,000 (or $7,225,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be $151,850,000 (or $174,350,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $150,000,000 or $172,500,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full, including $5,250,000 (or up to $6,037,500 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions will be deposited into a trust account. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in specified U.S. government securities or in specified money market funds. The remaining $1,850,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,925,000 we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,925,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (less deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw funds held in the trust account to pay franchise and income taxes. We estimate our annual franchise tax obligations, based on the number of shares of our common stock authorized and outstanding after the completion of this offering, to be $200,000, which is the maximum amount of annual franchise taxes payable by us as a Delaware corporation per annum, which we may pay from funds from this offering held outside of the trust account or from interest earned on the funds held in our trust account and released to us for this purpose. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account.

We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our franchise and income taxes. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.

Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the approximately $1,850,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds 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 an initial business combination.

In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event

 

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that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private units. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $500,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with any business combination; $150,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $55,000 for Nasdaq fees; $800,000 for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support and reimbursement of an allocable portion of the cash compensation paid by Affinity Gaming to our officers in consideration of the time dedicated to us by each of Ms. Higgins, our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Fiocco, our Chief Operating Officer and Secretary, and Mr. Scrivens, our Chief Financial Officer; $100,000 as a reserve for liquidation expenses; and approximately $245,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves net of estimated interest income.

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

We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. In addition, we intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units, and may as a result be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.

 

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Controls and Procedures

We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.

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

 

   

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

 

   

reconciliation of accounts;

 

   

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

 

   

evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions;

 

   

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

 

   

documentation of accounting policies and procedures.

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

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

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money

 

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market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.

Related Party Transactions

In June 2020, our sponsor purchased 4,312,500 shares of our Class B common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering (excluding the private shares). The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. Concurrent with the closing of this offering, our sponsor will transfer 7,500 founder shares to each of our director nominees (other than Ms. Higgins). If we increase or decrease the size of the offering we will effect a stock dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial stockholders at 20.0% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering.

Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay Affinity Gaming a total of approximately $33,333 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services, reimbursement of an allocable portion of the cash compensation paid by Affinity Gaming to our officers in consideration of the time dedicated to us by each of Ms. Higgins, our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Fiocco, our Chief Operating Officer and Secretary, and Mr. Scrivens, our Chief Financial Officer, and reimbursement of expenses, pursuant to an administrative support agreement between us and Affinity Gaming. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

Pursuant to employment agreements between Affinity Gaming and each of our executive officers, Affinity Gaming will pay each of Ms. Higgins, our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Fiocco, our Chief Operating Officer and Secretary, and Mr. Scrivens, our Chief Financial Officer, (i) a one-time cash retention and successful transaction bonus in an aggregate amount equal to $937,500, $500,000 and $500,000, respectively, and (ii) a one-time cash retention bonus in an amount equal to $937,500, $500,000 and $500,000, respectively (the “Retention Bonuses”), in each case, upon the successful completion of our initial business combination and provided the individual remains employed by Affinity Gaming through the closing of such initial business combination and, with respect to the Retention Bonuses, has not given notice of his or her termination as of the closing date.

Our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.

Prior to the consummation of this offering, an affiliate of our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $500,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of December 31, 2020,

 

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we had no borrowings outstanding under the promissory note with our sponsor to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are payable upon completion of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions).

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private units. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor 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.

Our sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 677,500 private units at a price of $10.00 per unit (722,500 private units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), for an aggregate purchase price of $6,775,000 (or $7,225,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full). Each private unit will be identical to the units sold in this offering, except as described in this prospectus. The private units will be sold in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to the private shares, and the private warrants will expire worthless if we do not consummate a business combination within the allotted 24 month period. Our sponsor has agreed to waive its redemption rights with respect to the founder shares and private shares (i) in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the completion of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the close of this offering. However, our sponsor will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares held by it if we fail to consummate a business combination or liquidate within the 24 month period. The foregoing purchases will only be made by our founders if they are able to do so in accordance with Regulation M and Sections 9(a)(2) and 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. A portion of the purchase price of the private units will be added to the proceeds of this offering to be held in the trust account.

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

As of December 31, 2020, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus, as we have conducted no operations to date.

 

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JOBS Act

On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

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

 

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PROPOSED BUSINESS

Our Company

We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation on March 4, 2020 and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not identified any potential business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target. As described further below under “— Our Business Combination Process and Possible Merger with Affinity Gaming,” we currently plan to merge with Affinity Gaming, a diversified casino gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of our sponsor, concurrent with the completion of our initial business combination. We will not, however, complete an initial business combination with only Affinity Gaming.

While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any industry or sector, we intend to focus on the gaming and hospitality sectors, which complements our management team’s sector and operating expertise. Target businesses that we are focused on in this sector include, but are not limited to, regional gaming, distributed gaming, online gaming / sports betting and gaming technology and equipment. In particular, we believe there is a robust addressable market in regional and distributed gaming. Regional gaming is a logical market given the potential synergies with the Affinity Gaming platform. Distributed gaming is characterized by the operation of slot machines in non-casino locations such as restaurants, bars, grocery stores and convenience stores. In our view, distributed gaming is strategic to regional gaming operators and offers distinct advantages over other forms of gaming due to its scalability, low capital requirements, long-term contracts and return on investment The market dislocation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, together with a fragmented market with few consolidators, will provide a broad range of acquisition opportunities. With the operational and industry experience of our management team, we will be uniquely positioned to execute on one or more opportunities in this market. Our efforts to identify a prospective business combination target will not be limited to a particular geographic region.

We believe that the experience and capabilities of our management team and our affiliates’ licenses to conduct gaming activities in four states will make us an attractive partner to potential target businesses, enhance our ability to complete a successful business combination, and bring value to the post-business combination company. Our management team brings a combination of operating, investing, financial and transactional experience, including decades of leadership in their respective functional areas at multiple gaming- and hospitality-oriented companies. In addition, our management team has also worked closely together and successfully executed several transactions as senior management of Affinity Gaming.

We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We 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.

 

   

Opportunities in the Dynamic Gaming and Hospitality Sectors. The gaming sector is in a period of significant change. Industry consolidation is creating opportunities to acquire assets that have been orphaned, are non-core or for regulatory reasons need to be divested. Gaming channels are expanding nationally and within local jurisdictions. Slot routes (distributed gaming), online gaming and sports wagering are creating high

 

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growth opportunities. Additionally, the arrival of real estate investment trust (or REIT)-driven financing to the gaming sector provides new options for capital raising and long-term shareholder value creation. We seek to acquire one or more businesses in the gaming and hospitality sectors to take advantage of these changes and resulting opportunities and, if we deem appropriate, the ability to leverage Affinity Gaming’s platform with increased scale. Identifying these types of opportunities and successfully operating these types of changing businesses is squarely within our management team’s previous investment and leadership history.

 

   

Opportunities That Leverage Our Existing Gaming Licensure. Our management team, Affinity Gaming or its affiliates are currently licensed or have been found suitable to conduct gaming operations in four states – Nevada, Missouri, Iowa, and Florida –and previously maintained licenses in an additional eight states, including Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Mississippi, Indiana, Louisiana and Arizona. We have significant experience collaborating with gaming regulators and managing and operating companies in a highly regulated sector. Our current and former licensure and relationships and familiarity with state gaming regulators represent a significant competitive advantage when identifying, negotiating and executing transactions with potential target businesses in the gaming sector when regulatory approvals are required.

 

   

Businesses That Will Benefit From Our Management Operating Expertise. We seek to acquire one or more businesses with assets that are fundamentally sound yet are underperforming their potential. Our management team has extensive experience as hands-on operators in the areas of marketing, operations and finance as well as extensive networks and insights within the gaming and hospitality sectors. We seek to add value by improving the productivity of any underperforming assets and/or growing operations beyond existing capabilities. Our management team and board of directors have decades of experience operating and/or investing in businesses in the gaming and hospitality sectors, and collectively have experience managing 33 casino properties in ten states across the United States. We will look for opportunities where we can leverage our significant experience and expertise to help one or more businesses achieve long-term strategic and operational excellence.

 

   

Businesses That Will Leverage Affinity Gaming’s Existing Platform for Scale, Strategic Growth or Transformative Capital Deployment. We seek to acquire one or more businesses that have significant embedded or underexploited expansion opportunities, have been underinvested in by current owners, or where a strategic relationship or business combination with Affinity Gaming and additional acquisitions could unlock significant potential synergies. We believe our management team’s depth and breadth of transaction experience and capital allocation experience affords them an advantage in identifying undervalued targets with liquidity limitations that would benefit from a capital infusion and renewed management focus. We believe our management team’s assistance would create value for these types of targets by more effectively raising and allocating capital to achieve the company’s growth strategy. Our operating expertise comes from our management team’s and directors’ professional gaming and hospitality sectors experience. We believe that our management team’s transactional and operating expertise is highly transferable.

 

   

Businesses That Will Benefit From Being a Public Company. We intend to acquire one or more businesses that will benefit from being publicly traded. Once becoming a publicly traded company, the acquired business(es) can effectively utilize the broader access to capital, including scalable access to debt capital markets and the public profile that are associated with being a publicly traded company.

 

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We believe that potential target companies will find the opportunity to enter into a business combination with us attractive for the following reasons:

 

   

Sector Acquisition Experience and Existing Gaming Company. Our management team and affiliates have extensive experience in identifying and executing acquisitions. Among other acquisitions, in the early 2000s our Chief Executive Officer, Mary Beth Higgins, acquired the assets that would eventually become Affinity Gaming which was eventually acquired by affiliates of ZCG in 2017. Additionally, in the past two decades, affiliates of ZCG have invested approximately $717 million of private equity capital in gaming and hospitality businesses including approximately $405 million in gaming and $312 million in hospitality. As current regional gaming owners and operators, ZCG and Affinity Gaming management see a consistent deal flow from gaming and hospitality industry participants and professionals.

 

   

Existing Licensure. The current licensure of our affiliates and management is in good standing. Our management team, Affinity Gaming or its affiliates are currently licensed or have been found suitable to conduct gaming operations in four states – Nevada, Missouri, Iowa, and Florida – and previously maintained licenses in an additional eight states including Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Mississippi, Indiana, Louisiana and Arizona. Potential target companies who are licensed will likely view our existing and previous licensure favorably when seeking to transact as it likely reduces transaction execution risk.

 

   

Significant Relationships. Owing to their professional experience as corporate executives, corporate development leaders or directors, our management team and board of directors possess a network of relationships across the public capital markets and the gaming- and hospitality-related business sectors. Potential merger candidates will likely view such experience as a positive factor in deciding whether to enter into a business combination with us.

 

   

Management Expertise. Our management team and board of directors have unique expertise as investors in and operators of companies in the gaming- and hospitality-based sectors. Our operating expertise comes from our management team’s professional gaming and hospitality sector experience, including at roles with Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc., Everi Holdings Inc. (formerly Global Cash Access Holdings, Inc.), Herbst Gaming, Inc., Tropicana Entertainment, Inc., Resorts International, Advanced Gaming Technology and Affinity Gaming, among others.

Our executive officers have proven track records in identifying undervalued companies and cultivating strategies to maximize their operating results and market potential, thereby generating value for stockholders. Our management team is led by our Chairman, James J. Zenni, Jr.; our Chief Executive Officer, Mary Beth Higgins; our Chief Operating Officer and Secretary, Eric Fiocco; and our Chief Financial Officer, Andrei Scrivens. As noted below, our management team also currently serves as members of the senior management team of Affinity Gaming, a diversified casino gaming company. See “Affinity Gaming Business” for additional information with respect to Affinity Gaming.

Mr. Zenni is Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Committee of ZCG and is responsible for all portfolio management and business operations. Over the last 25 years, Mr. Zenni has had substantial success investing in private equity, mergers & acquisitions and credit strategies. Mr. Zenni is currently Chairman of the Board of Affinity Gaming, Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, LLC, Pink Taco, Premier Thermal Solutions, LLC., Techniks Holdings, LLC, Twin-Star International, Inc., Waldhaus Flims Alpine Resort & Spa, and XRG Xperience Brands. Mr. Zenni also serves on the boards of Carillon Miami Beach, CTM Holding, Inc., Daily Racing Form Intermediate Holdings, LLC. and Modere, Inc. Mr. Zenni was

 

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previously Chairman of the Board of MSDP Group, LLC and a member of the boards of Bayou Steel Corporation, Smarte Carte Corp., and Sun World International, LLC, all of which were portfolio companies. Mr. Zenni has managed numerous private equity transactions including Bayou Steel Corporation, Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, LLC, MSDP Group, LLC, PTC Alliance Corp., Smarte Carte Corporation, Sun World International, Inc., and Thomas Nelson, Inc. Prior to founding ZCG, Mr. Zenni was President, Founder and Co-owner of Black Diamond Capital Mgmt., L.L.C. (“BD”), which he founded in 1995. Mr. Zenni was jointly responsible for all portfolio management and business operations at BD. Mr. Zenni divested his interest in an employee-led buyout which led to the formation of ZCG. Prior to founding BD, Mr. Zenni was a Managing Director and senior member of the Capital Markets Department of Kidder, Peabody & Co. Inc. (“Kidder”). Mr. Zenni had a distinguished career while at Kidder in financial asset engineering, acquisitions, and value-oriented investing. Mr. Zenni holds the patent for an in-house data-management software platform and search engine tool developed by Olympus Fintech, L.L.C. (a ZCG affiliate). Mr. Zenni is a graduate of Xavier University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Economics and was the recipient of the Department of Economics Award. Mr. Zenni also attended Xavier University Graduate School of Business and University of Vienna (Austria) School of Economics and Business Administration.

Ms. Higgins joined us in March 2020. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Affinity Gaming, a position she has held since April 2019. Over the last 20 years, Ms. Higgins has had success in the gaming sector, focusing on strategic financial management, capital formation, acquisition strategies and investor relations. Before joining Affinity Gaming in 2018 as interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, she was instrumental in establishing VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI), a REIT spinoff from Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc. (“CEOC”), serving as Chief Financial Officer in 2017 and as an advisor in 2018. From July 2014 to October 2017, she was the Chief Financial Officer of CEOC, the largest subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment Corporation, where she oversaw finances across 38 casino locations in 14 U.S. states as well as in 5 countries. Earlier in her career, Ms. Higgins served as Chief Financial Officer at companies such as Global Cash Access Holdings, Inc. (now Everi Holdings Inc. (NYSE: EVERI)), Herbst Gaming, Inc. and Camco, Inc. Since December 2018, Ms. Higgins has served as a member of the board of trustees of Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE: CLDT). Ms. Higgins is a graduate of the University of Southern California where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree. Ms. Higgins also earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from University of Memphis.

Mr. Fiocco joined us in March 2020. He currently serves as the Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer of Affinity Gaming. Mr. Fiocco was hired at Affinity Gaming in November 2018 as Chief Marketing Officer and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in May 2019. Over the last 40 years, Mr. Fiocco has had success in marketing, brand identity, casino operations and revenue management. Prior to joining Affinity Gaming, Mr. Fiocco served as Chief Marketing Officer for Tropicana Entertainment Inc. from November 2011 to September 2018, where he was responsible for all marketing operations across eight Tropicana properties in six jurisdictions and led the development and execution of marketing initiatives and brand strategy. Mr. Fiocco also served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Tropicana Atlantic City and Senior Vice President of Marketing and Casino Operations at Resorts Atlantic City and Atlantic City Hilton. Mr. Fiocco began his career in the gaming industry as a casino dealer and over the years has been promoted to various positions of increased responsibility in casino operations and marketing at both the property and corporate levels. Mr. Fiocco is a graduate of Stockton State College in Pomona, New Jersey and holds a degree in Business Studies.

 

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Mr. Scrivens joined us in March 2020. He currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Affinity Gaming, a position he has held since May 2019. Mr. Scrivens has substantial experience in operational and value-oriented private equity and mergers and acquisitions. Before joining Affinity Gaming, Mr. Scrivens served as a Managing Director on the private equity investment team with Z Capital Partners, L.L.C. since 2012, while serving on the boards of Daily Racing Form Intermediate Holdings, LLC, WF Swiss Hospitality GmBH, Carillon Hotel, LLC and Affinity Gaming. He focused on investments in gaming and hospitality, leading teams of professionals that specialized in pursuing opportunities that required hands-on financial and operational leadership, including Affinity Gaming. Prior to Z Capital, from 2001-2012, Mr. Scrivens was a Director at Chilmark Partners, a middle market private equity firm and boutique investment bank. During his tenure at Chilmark, among other broader industry assignments, in the leisure sector he advised on the sale of interests in two NHL hockey arenas and valued broadcast contract provisions on behalf of the NFL Players Association. Mr. Scrivens also participated in the investments of International Knife and Saw and Simonds Industries where the two companies were ultimately combined in a merger transaction. Earlier in his career, Mr. Scrivens served as a Senior Manager at the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen LLP in its restructuring group. Mr. Scrivens received his Bachelors of Science from the University of Illinois and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).

We believe that our management team is well-positioned to identify an attractive target business within the gaming and hospitality industries and that our proprietary deal sourcing network—including fellow industry executives, private owners, private equity funds, and investment bankers—will enable us to pursue a broad range of opportunities across the gaming and hospitality industry landscape. We believe that our ability to identify and implement operating improvements will be central to our differentiated acquisition strategy, and that our relationships in the industry and network of past colleagues and associates will greatly assist our transaction due diligence and execution.

Business Strategy and Competitive Strengths

Our acquisition and value creation strategy will be to identify, acquire and build a company in the gaming and hospitality sectors that complements the experience of our management team and can benefit from its operational expertise. After our initial business combination, we envision our strategy may include additional mergers and acquisitions with a focus on generating attractive returns for our stockholders. We will leverage our management team’s network of potential proprietary and public transaction sources where we believe a combination of our relationships, knowledge and experience in the gaming and hospitality sectors could effect a positive transformation or augmentation of existing businesses to improve their overall value.

We plan to utilize the network and industry experience of our management team, our sponsor and their respective affiliates and our board of directors in sourcing business combination opportunities and employing our acquisition strategy. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team and their affiliates have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships that we believe will serve as a useful source in identifying potential target companies. This network has been developed through our management team’s extensive experience in:

 

   

both investing in and operating across the gaming and hospitality sectors;

 

   

setting and adjusting strategies for businesses;

 

   

identifying, mentoring and recruiting world-class talent;

 

   

sourcing, structuring, acquiring, operating, developing, growing, financing and selling businesses;

 

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accessing the public capital markets;

 

   

executing transactions in multiple geographies;

 

   

relationships with sellers, intermediaries, financing providers and target management teams; and

 

   

executing transactions in the gaming and hospitality sectors under varying economic and financial market conditions.

We expect these networks will provide our management team with a robust flow of acquisition opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, which may include investment market participants, certain of our stockholders, private equity groups, investment banking firms, consultants, accounting firms and large business enterprises. Upon completion of this offering, members of our management team will communicate with their networks of relationships to articulate the parameters for our search for a target company and a potential business combination and begin the process of pursuing and reviewing potentially interesting leads.

Past performance of our management team is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical performance record of such parties as indicative of our future performance or the future performance of any business that we may acquire. Such parties have not had experience with blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies in the past.

Our Business Combination Process and Possible Merger with Affinity Gaming

In evaluating prospective business combinations, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review process that may encompass, among other things, a review of historical and projected financial and operating data, meetings with management and their advisors (if applicable), on-site inspection of facilities and assets to the extent practicable, discussion with customers and suppliers, legal reviews and other reviews as we deem appropriate.

We will also leverage our operational and capital allocation experience in order to:

 

   

Conduct rigorous research and analysis: Performing disciplined, bottom-up fundamental research and analysis is core to our strategy, and we intend to conduct extensive due diligence to evaluate the impact that a transaction may have on the target business;

 

   

Acquire the target company at an attractive price relative to our view of its intrinsic value: Combining rigorous bottom-up analysis as well as our industry expertise, the management team intends to develop its view of the intrinsic value of the potential business combination. In doing so, the management team will evaluate future cash flow potential, relative industry valuation metrics and precedent transactions to inform its view of intrinsic value, with the intention of creating a business combination at an attractive price relative to such view;

 

   

Implement operating and financial structuring opportunities: We intend to construct an operating and financial plan which optimizes the potential to grow stockholder value. We believe our management team has the ability to structure and execute a business combination which will provide the combined business with a capital structure that will support growth in stockholder value and give the combined company the flexibility needed to grow organically and/or through strategic acquisitions or divestitures. We intend to also develop and implement strategies and initiatives to improve the business’s operating and financial performance and create a platform for growth; and

 

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Seek follow-on strategic acquisitions and divestitures to further grow stockholder value: The management team intends to analyze the strategic direction of the company and evaluate non-core asset sales to create financial and/or operating flexibility needed for the company to engage in organic or inorganic growth. Specifically, the management team intends to evaluate opportunities for industry consolidation in the company’s core lines of business as well as opportunities to vertically or horizontally integrate with other industry participants.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or Z Capital. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or Z Capital, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to our company and our stockholders from a financial point of view.

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

In addition, certain of our officers, director and director nominees may presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer, director or director nominee is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity subject to his or her fiduciary duties. As a result, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, subject to such officer’s and director’s fiduciary duties under Delaware law, he or she will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. However, we do not expect these duties or obligations to materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any business combination opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. For a list of our executive officers, director, director nominees and entities for which a conflict of interest may or does exist between such persons and the company, as well as the priority and preference that such entity has with respect to performance of obligations and presentation of business opportunities to us, please refer to the table and subsequent explanatory paragraph under “Management—Conflicts of Interest”.

Further, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. See “Risk Factors—Our executive 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.”

 

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Concurrently with our initial business combination, we currently intend to merge with Affinity Gaming. The resulting combined company would inherit our Nasdaq listing and its common stock and warrants would be publicly traded. We currently anticipate that the combined company will be managed by our existing management team (who also serve as members of the senior management team of Affinity Gaming). We believe the combination of Affinity Gaming, us and a target business in the gaming and hospitality sectors under the Affinity Gaming umbrella will allow the resulting combined company to leverage Affinity Gaming’s existing licenses, experienced management team and geographic footprint and offer significant synergy and long-term value creation opportunities for our investors and serve as a platform for further growth.

We have not entered into any letter of intent or definitive agreement with Affinity Gaming, nor have we agreed to valuation or other key terms and conditions with respect to such a possible combination transaction. As a result, even though we currently intend to merge with Affinity Gaming concurrent with the completion of our initial business combination, we cannot provide any assurance that such a merger with Affinity Gaming will occur at all, or, if it does, we cannot provide any assurance as to the timing or terms thereof. We will not, however, complete an initial business combination with only Affinity Gaming. In addition, we will likely not consummate a merger with Affinity Gaming if the target business with respect to our initial business combination is not within the gaming or hospitality related sectors. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Affinity Gaming Business” for additional information with respect to Affinity Gaming. If we pursue a merger with Affinity Gaming concurrent with our initial business combination, a committee of our independent directors will negotiate the terms and conditions of such merger (including the valuation of Affinity Gaming) on our behalf. Such committee of independent directors would also obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the proposed merger with Affinity Gaming is fair to our company and our stockholders from a financial point of view. Our public stockholders will have the same voting and redemption rights with respect to any merger with Affinity Gaming as are applicable to our initial business combination and described elsewhere in this prospectus.

Our Sponsorship and Structure

Gaming & Hospitality Acquisition Corp. is sponsored by Affinity Gaming Holdings, L.L.C., the indirect sole stockholder of Affinity Gaming. Full voting control of our sponsor is held by entities managed by affiliates of Z Capital.

 

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The current organizational structure of our sponsor, Affinity Gaming and us is as follows:

 

 

ZCG Affiliates Affinity Gaming Holdings, L.L.C. (sponsor) Affinity Gaming Owner, LLC Affinity Gaming Affinity Gaming operating subsidiaries Gaming & Hospitality Acquisition on Corp. (issuer) 100%100%100% 100% 100% LOGO

Affinity Gaming

Affinity Gaming is a diversified casino gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada that owns and operates eight casino properties across the United States, five of which are located in Nevada, two in Missouri and one in Iowa. Our management team, Affinity Gaming or its affiliates are currently licensed or have been found suitable to conduct gaming operations in four states – Nevada, Missouri, Iowa, and Florida – and previously maintained licenses in an additional eight states including Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Mississippi, Indiana, Louisiana and Arizona. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Affinity Gaming Business” for additional information with respect to Affinity Gaming. Affinity Gaming was acquired by entities managed by affiliates of ZCG in 2017. Affinity Gaming is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Affinity Gaming Owner, LLC, which in turn is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of our sponsor.

ZCG and Z Capital

Z Capital Group, L.L.C. (“ZCG”) is a leading, privately held global investment firm with approximately $3 billion of assets under management across complementary private equity and private credit businesses. ZCG’s investors are some of the largest and most sophisticated global institutional investors including pension funds, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, central banks, and insurance companies.

 

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Z Capital Partners, LLC (“ZCP” or “Z Capital”) is the private equity platform of ZCG, which pursues control investments in middle market companies that involve growth platforms, corporate carve-outs, buy & build, and go-private transactions. ZCP principals have invested over twenty years in numerous industries including consumer products, consumer food, restaurants, gaming, hospitality, manufacturing, media, publishing, metals and business services. ZCP has an operational focused strategy and has a team of operating professionals who assist in value-creation initiatives across all portfolio companies. ZCP’s current portfolio companies have aggregate worldwide annual revenues of approximately $1.5 billion and have 200,000 employees and associates directly and through joint ventures.

Z Capital Credit Partners, LLC (“ZCCP”) is the private credit platform of ZCG, which invests across a range of credit investments including leveraged loans, private debt, and opportunistic / stressed credit. ZCCP manages funds including collateralized loan obligations, closed end and open-ended fund structures.

Both investment platforms share ZCG common resources, including infrastructure, legal, and cross global intelligence.

Acquisition Criteria

We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines which we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We seek to acquire a company which:

 

   

is a foreign, international, national, regional or local gaming property or business, orphaned or REIT owned gaming or hospitality property, distributed gaming platform, online gaming / sports wagering, gaming technology and equipment or other gaming or hospitality business;

 

   

exhibits high barriers to entry and competition;

 

   

has strong drivers of revenue and earnings growth;

 

   

occupies relatively fast-growing and resilient markets (i.e., “top line growth”);

 

   

has the potential to generate strong and stable free cash flow;

 

   

is underperforming its operating potential and underutilizing its balance sheet; and/or

 

   

by “creating strategic value” offers an attractive risk-adjusted return for our stockholders.

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

Initial Business Combination

As required by Nasdaq rules, our initial business combination will be approved by a majority of our independent directors. Nasdaq rules also require that we must complete one or

 

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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 income earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. We refer to this as the 80% of fair market value test. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public stockholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% of fair market value test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board of directors is not able independently to determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions 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, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.

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 sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to 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 and, if applicable, Affinity Gaming. 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 Nasdaq’s 80% of fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender

 

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offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable. Subject to the foregoing, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. If we merge with Affinity Gaming concurrently with our initial business combination, we will not include the fair market value of Affinity Gaming for purposes of satisfying the 80% of fair market value test.

Corporate Information

We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation on March 4, 2020. Our executive offices are located at 3755 Breakthrough Way #300, Las Vegas, Nevada 89135 and our telephone number is (800) 211-8626. We will maintain a corporate website at www.gamingandhospitality.net. The information that may be contained on or accessible through our corporate website or any other website that we may maintain is not part of this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

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

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

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

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among 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 aggregate worldwide market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or

 

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exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the aggregate worldwide market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th.

Value Creation Philosophy Post-Merger

Concurrently with our initial business combination, we currently intend to merge with Affinity Gaming. The resulting combined company would inherit our Nasdaq listing and its common stock and warrants would be publicly traded. We currently anticipate that the combined company will be managed by our existing management team (who also serve as members of the senior management team of Affinity Gaming).    We believe the combination of Affinity Gaming, us and a target business in the gaming and hospitality sectors under the Affinity Gaming umbrella will allow the resulting combined company to leverage Affinity Gaming’s existing licenses, experienced management team and geographic footprint and offer significant synergy and long-term value creation opportunities for our investors and serve as a platform for further growth. We have not entered into any letter of intent or definitive agreement with Affinity Gaming, nor have we agreed to valuation or other key terms and conditions with respect to such a possible combination transaction. As a result, even though we currently intend to merge with Affinity Gaming concurrent with the completion of our initial business combination, we cannot provide any assurance that such a merger with Affinity Gaming will occur at all, or, if it does, we cannot provide any assurance as to the timing or terms thereof. We will not, however, complete an initial business combination with only Affinity Gaming. In addition, we will likely not consummate a merger with Affinity Gaming if the target business with respect to our initial business combination is not within the gaming or hospitality related sectors. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Affinity Gaming Business” for additional information with respect to Affinity Gaming.

After the initial business combination and anticipated merger with Affinity Gaming, our management team intends to apply a rigorous approach to enhancing stockholder value, including evaluating the experience and expertise of incumbent management and making changes when appropriate, examining opportunities for revenue enhancement, cost savings, operating efficiencies and strategic acquisitions and divestitures, and accessing the financial markets to optimize the company’s capital structure. Our management team intends to pursue post-merger initiatives through participation on the board of directors, through direct involvement with company operations and/or calling upon former managers and advisors when necessary. We currently expect these initiatives to include the following:

 

   

Corporate governance and oversight: Actively participating as board members can include many activities: (i) monthly or quarterly board meetings; (ii) chairing standing (compensation, audit or investment committees) or special committees; (iii) replacing or supplementing company management teams when necessary; (iv) adding outside directors with industry expertise which may or may not include members of our own board of directors; (v) providing guidance on strategic and operational issues including revenue enhancement opportunities, cost savings, operating efficiencies, reviewing and testing annual budgets, reviewing acquisitions and divestitures; and (vi) assisting in accessing capital markets to further optimize financing costs and fund expansion. As active members on the board of directors of the company, our management team members also intend to evaluate the suitability of the incumbent organization leaders;

 

   

Direct operations involvement: The management team members, through ongoing board service or direct leadership within the business combination, intend to actively engage with company management to effect positive changes in the organization. These activities may include: (i) establishing an agenda for management and instilling a sense

 

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of accountability and urgency; (ii) aligning the interests of management with growing stockholder value; (iii) providing strategic planning and management consulting assistance, particularly as regards re-invested capital and growth capital in order to grow revenues, achieve more optimal operating scale, and eliminate unnecessary costs; and (iv) establishing measurable key performance metrics and accretive internal processes;

 

   

M&A expertise and add-on acquisitions: Our management team has expertise in identifying, acquiring and integrating both synergistic and margin-enhancing businesses. We intend to, wherever possible, utilize M&A as a strategic tool to strengthen both the financial profile of the business we acquire and its competitive positioning. We would only enter into accretive business combinations where our management team or the acquired company’s management team can seamlessly transition to working together as one organization and team; and

 

   

Access to portfolio company managers and advisors: Over their collective history of investing in and controlling businesses, our management team members have developed strong professional relationships with former successful company managers and advisors. When appropriate, we intend to bring in outside directors, managers and consultants to assist in corporate governance and operating turnaround activities.

Status as a Public Company

We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As a public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with stockholders’ interests than it would as a private company. A target business can further benefit by augmenting its profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock in the target business for our shares of Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our shares of Class A common stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers.

Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost-effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with an initial business combination with us.

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

 

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

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

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.

Financial Position

With funds available for an initial business combination initially in the amount of $144,750,000 after payment of the estimated expenses of this offering and $5,250,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $166,462,500 after payment of up to $6,037,500 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), in each case before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.

Effecting Our Initial Business Combination

We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private units, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination, shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the

 

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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.

We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units, and may as a result be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.

Sources of Target Businesses

We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our sponsor and their respective industry and business contacts as well as their affiliates. We may engage the services of professional firms that specialize in business acquisitions, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or

 

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directors, or any entity with which our sponsor or officers are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation by the company prior to, or in connection with any services rendered for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). Although none of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated initial business combination, we do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay Affinity Gaming a total of approximately $33,333 per month in consideration of the time dedicated to us by each of Ms. Higgins, our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Fiocco, our Chief Operating Officer and Secretary, and Mr. Scrivens, our Chief Financial Officer, as well as office space, utilities, secretarial support services and overhead support services and reimbursement of expenses. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, or their respective affiliates. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, or their respective affiliates, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to our company and our stockholders from a financial point of view. In addition, if we merge with Affinity Gaming concurrently with our initial business combination, we will obtain a fairness opinion with respect to such merger. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.

As more fully discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.

Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination

As required by Nasdaq rules, our initial business combination will be approved by a majority of our independent directors. Nasdaq rules also 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 income earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of

 

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directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public stockholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% of fair market value test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board of directors is not able independently to determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions 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. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination in which we own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquire a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% of fair market value test. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.

To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.

In evaluating a prospective business target, we expect to conduct a thorough 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.

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

In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.

 

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Lack of Business Diversification

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team

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

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

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

 

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

We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.

 

Type of Transaction

   Whether Stockholder
Approval is  Required

Purchase of assets

   No

Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company

   No

Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company

   No

Merger of the company with a target

   Yes

Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:

 

   

we issue shares of Class A common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding;

 

   

any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or

 

   

the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control.

Permitted Purchases of Our Securities

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination.

 

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The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our shares of Class A common stock or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or any of their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or any of their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors or any of their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors or any of their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.

Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or any of their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchases are subject to such reporting requirements.

Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination

We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of 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 (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriter. The redemption rights will include the requirement

 

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that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Our sponsor, officers, director and director nominees have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private shares and any public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.

Manner of Conducting Redemptions

We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) 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 the law or stock exchange listing requirement. 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 require stockholder approval. If we structure an initial business combination with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed initial business combination. We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with such rules.

If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:

 

   

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

 

   

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

Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on

 

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public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.

If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:

 

   

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

 

   

file proxy materials with the SEC.

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

If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted 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 toward this quorum and pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers, director and director nominees have agreed to vote their founder shares, private shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. 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. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares and private shares, we would need only 5,286,251, or 35.2% (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 429,376, or 2.9% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 15,000,000 public shares to be sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and 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.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the

 

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agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.

Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Stockholder Approval

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” Such restriction shall 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 this 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 this offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with 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.

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

We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the initial vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer

 

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materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.

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

The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed initial business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the initial business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the initial business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the initial business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the initial business combination is approved.

Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.

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

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

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are

 

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unable to complete our initial business combination within such 24-month period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 24-month time period.

Our sponsor, officers, director and director nominees have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and private shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our sponsor, officers or directors acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time period.

Our sponsor, officers, director and director nominees 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 allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other 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 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 the then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriting commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.

We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $1,850,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to pay any tax obligations we may owe. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance,

 

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we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.

If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.

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

In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have 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 share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of amounts to pay our franchise and income tax obligations, 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 underwriter of this

 

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offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers, directors or members of our sponsor will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

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

We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $1,850,000 from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,925,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,925,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice

 

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period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.

Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, 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. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following our 24th month and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.

Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below 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 share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of amounts to pay our franchise and income tax obligations, and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the

 

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underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.

If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.

Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the initial business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. 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.

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

The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.

 

    

Redemptions in

Connection with our

Initial Business

Combination

  

Other Permitted

Purchases of Public

Shares by our Affiliates

  

Redemptions if we fail
to Complete an Initial
Business Combination

Calculation of redemption price

   Redemptions at the time of our initial business    If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business    If we are unable to complete our initial business

 

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Redemptions in

Connection with our

Initial Business

Combination

  

Other Permitted

Purchases of Public

Shares by our Affiliates

  

Redemptions if we fail
to Complete an Initial
Business Combination

   combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. In either case, our public stockholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, subject to the    combination, our sponsor, directors, officers or any of their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or any of their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. There is no limit to the prices that our sponsor,    combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares.
   limitation that no redemptions will take place, if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination and any   

directors, officers or any of their affiliates may pay in these transactions.

  

 

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Redemptions in

Connection with our

Initial Business

Combination

  

Other Permitted

Purchases of Public

Shares by our Affiliates

  

Redemptions if we fail
to Complete an Initial
Business Combination

   limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed initial business combination.      

Impact to remaining stockholders

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

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

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

 

    

Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

Escrow of offering proceeds

   $150,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private units will be deposited into a trust account in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.    Approximately $127,575,000 of the offering proceeds would be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account.

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

Investment of net proceeds

   $150,000,000 of the net offering proceeds and the sale of the private units held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.    Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States.

Receipt of interest on escrowed funds

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

Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business

   Nasdaq rules 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 interest income earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing of a definitive agreement to enter into the initial business combination.    The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds.

Trading of securities issued

   We expect the units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A common stock and warrants    No trading of the units or the underlying Class A common stock and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

  

comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Deutsche Bank informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, an additional Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option.

 

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

   combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account.

Exercise of the warrants

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

Election to remain an investor

   We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account    A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a stockholder vote. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a stockholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other    company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if it elects to remain a stockholder of the company or require the return of its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account are automatically returned to the stockholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued.
   information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the   

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   tender offer period. If, however, we hold a stockholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. 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.   

Business combination deadline

   If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up,(ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our    If a business combination has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors.

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.   

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

   If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder (including our affiliates), 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 Excess Shares (more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering),    Many blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of stockholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such stockholders in connection with an initial business combination.

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   without our prior consent. Our public stockholders’ inability to redeem Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and they could suffer a material loss on their investment in us if they sell any Excess Shares in open market transactions.   

Tendering stock certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights

   We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders or up to two business days prior to the initial vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy    In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, holders could vote against a proposed initial business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holders were seeking to exercise their redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholders to arrange for them to deliver their certificate to verify ownership.

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights.   

Release of funds

   Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our franchise and income tax obligations, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private units held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until 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 allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) the redemption of 100% of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time frame (subject to the requirements of applicable law). On the completion of our initial business combination, all amounts held in the trust account will be released to    The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time.

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   us, less amounts released to a separate account controlled by the trustee for disbursal to redeeming stockholders. We will use these funds to pay amounts due to any public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination,” to pay the underwriter its deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination.   

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 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.

Facilities

Our executive offices are located at 3755 Breakthrough Way #300, Las Vegas, Nevada 89135 and our telephone number is (800) 211-8626. Our executive offices are provided to us by our sponsor. Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay Affinity Gaming a total of approximately $33,333 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services, reimbursement of an allocable portion of the cash compensation paid by Affinity Gaming to our officers in consideration of the time dedicated to

 

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us by each such officer, and reimbursement of expenses, pursuant to an administrative support agreement between us and Affinity Gaming. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

Employees

We currently have three 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 will register our units, Class A common stock and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.

We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential 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 GAAP or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.

We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, 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. Prior to the date of this prospectus, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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

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

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

Legal Proceedings

There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding in the 12 months preceding the date of this prospectus.

 

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AFFINITY GAMING BUSINESS

Concurrently with our initial business combination, we currently intend to merge with Affinity Gaming. The resulting combined company would inherit our Nasdaq listing and its common stock and warrants would be publicly traded. We currently anticipate that the combined company will be managed by our existing management team (who also serve as members of the senior management team of Affinity Gaming). We believe the combination of Affinity Gaming, us and a target business in the gaming and hospitality sectors under the Affinity Gaming umbrella will allow the resulting combined company to leverage Affinity Gaming’s existing licenses, experienced management team and geographic footprint and offer significant synergy and long-term value creation opportunities for our investors and serve as a platform for further growth.

We have not entered into any letter of intent or definitive agreement with Affinity Gaming, nor have we agreed to valuation or other key terms and conditions with respect to such a possible combination transaction. As a result, even though we currently intend to merge with Affinity Gaming concurrent with the completion of our initial business combination, we cannot provide any assurance that such a merger with Affinity Gaming will occur at all, or, if it does, we cannot provide any assurance as to the timing or terms thereof. We will not, however, complete an initial business combination with only Affinity Gaming. In addition, we will likely not consummate a merger with Affinity Gaming if the target business with respect to our initial business combination is not within the gaming or hospitality related sectors. If we pursue a merger with Affinity Gaming concurrent with our initial business combination, a committee of our independent directors will negotiate the terms and conditions of such merger (including the valuation of Affinity Gaming) on our behalf. Such committee of independent directors would also obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the proposed merger with Affinity Gaming is fair to our company and our stockholders from a financial point of view. Our public stockholders will have the same voting and redemption rights with respect to any merger with Affinity Gaming as are applicable to our initial business combination and described elsewhere in this prospectus.

Affinity Gaming, a portfolio company of an affiliate of our sponsor, is a diversified casino gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Affinity Gaming was organized as Herbst Gaming, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, on March 29, 2010. In May 2011, Herbst Gaming, LLC changed its name to Affinity Gaming, LLC, and then in December 2012, Affinity Gaming, LLC converted to Affinity Gaming, a Nevada corporation. Affinity Gaming’s casino operations consist of eight casinos, five of which are located in Nevada, two in Missouri and one in Iowa.

Midwest Properties.    Affinity Gaming’s Midwest properties consist of Lakeside Hotel & Casino in Osceola, Iowa, Mark Twain Casino in LaGrange, Missouri, and St. Jo Frontier Casino in St. Joseph, Missouri. Collectively, these properties contain a total of 67,000 square feet of gaming floor. As of December 31, 2019, Affinity Gaming operated 1,532 slot machines and 28 gaming tables, as well as a variety of food and beverage options, at the Midwest Properties. Lakeside has a 150-room hotel.

Nevada Properties.    Affinity Gaming’s Nevada properties consist of Silver Sevens Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Rail City Casino in Sparks, Nevada and three casinos in Primm Valley—Primm Valley Resort & Casino, Whiskey Pete’s Hotel & Casino and Buffalo Bill’s Resorts & Casino, each in Primm, Nevada. Collectively, these properties contain a total of 175,000 square feet of gaming floor. As of December 31, 2019, Affinity Gaming operated 2,685

 

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slot machines and 54 gaming tables at the Nevada Properties. Silver Sevens and the Primm properties had 329 and 2,672 hotel rooms, respectively. Additionally, the Primm property has several non-gaming amenities including a retail gas, diesel truck stop and convenience store operation, the closest lottery store to Las Vegas, multiple entertainment and convention venues among a variety of food and beverage options.

In February 2017, Affinity Gaming was acquired by entities managed by affiliates of ZCG, an affiliate of our sponsor. James J. Zenni, Jr., the Chairman of our Board of Directors, serves as Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Management Committee of ZCG and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Affinity Gaming.

COVID-19 Update

Beginning in March 2020, Affinity Gaming’s eight properties were entirely closed for business as a result of the temporary government mandated closures of non-essential businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Affinity Gaming has complied with reopening regulations issued by the gaming control board and/or other applicable governmental authorities of each state in which its casinos operate with respect to limitations on gaming positions and/or the number of guests at each property. Although Affinity Gaming’s casinos other than Buffalo Bill’s have reopened, the gaming industry and Affinity Gaming’s business will continue to be adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

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MANAGEMENT

Officers, Director and Director Nominees

Our officers, director and director nominees are as follows:

 

Name

   Age     

Position

James J. Zenni, Jr.

     66     

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Mary Elizabeth Higgins

     63     

Chief Executive Officer and Director Nominee

Eric Fiocco

     63     

Chief Operating Officer and Secretary

Andrei Scrivens

     49     

Chief Financial Officer

Daniel A. Cassella

     74     

Director Nominee

Richard Glynn

     56     

Director Nominee

Jan Jones Blackhurst

     71     

Director Nominee

Thomas A. Lettero

     64     

Director Nominee

Daniel H. Scott

     65     

Director Nominee

James J. Zenni, Jr.—Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Zenni is Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Committee of ZCG and is responsible for all portfolio management and business operations. Over the last 25 years, Mr. Zenni has had substantial success investing in private equity, mergers & acquisitions and credit strategies. Mr. Zenni is currently Chairman of the Board of Affinity Gaming, Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, LLC, Pink Taco, Premier Thermal Solutions, LLC., Techniks Holdings, LLC, Twin-Star International, Inc., Waldhaus Flims Alpine Resort & Spa, and XRG Xperience Brands. Mr. Zenni also serves on the boards of Carillon Miami Beach, CTM Holding, Inc., Daily Racing Form Intermediate Holdings, LLC. and Modere, Inc. Mr. Zenni was previously Chairman of the Board of MSDP Group, LLC and a member of the boards of Bayou Steel Corporation, Smarte Carte Corp., and Sun World International, LLC, all of which were portfolio companies. Mr. Zenni has managed numerous private equity transactions including Bayou Steel Corporation, Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, LLC, MSDP Group, LLC, PTC Alliance Corp., Smarte Carte Corporation, Sun World International, Inc., and Thomas Nelson, Inc. Prior to founding ZCG, Mr. Zenni was President, Founder and Co-owner of Black Diamond Capital Mgmt., L.L.C. (“BD”), which he founded in 1995. Mr. Zenni was jointly responsible for all portfolio management and business operations at BD. Mr. Zenni divested his interest in an employee-led buyout which led to the formation of ZCG. Prior to founding BD, Mr. Zenni was a Managing Director and senior member of the Capital Markets Department of Kidder, Peabody & Co. Inc. (“Kidder”). Mr. Zenni had a distinguished career while at Kidder in financial asset engineering, acquisitions, and value-oriented investing. Mr. Zenni holds the patent for an in-house data-management software platform and search engine tool developed by Olympus Fintech, L.L.C. (a ZCG affiliate). Mr. Zenni is a graduate of Xavier University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Economics and was the recipient of the Department of Economics Award. Mr. Zenni also attended Xavier University Graduate School of Business and University of Vienna (Austria) School of Economics and Business Administration. We believe Mr. Zenni’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his particular knowledge and expertise in a number of areas, including his significant financial and industry expertise, which we believe provides a sound foundation for understanding strategic and operational issues and challenges. In addition, we believe his prior experience in serving on boards of directors for businesses across a wide range of industries, together with his experience with gaming businesses, will strengthen the Board’s collective knowledge and capabilities.

Mary Elizabeth Higgins—Chief Executive Officer and Director Nominee. Ms. Higgins joined us in March 2020. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Affinity Gaming, a

 

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position she has held since April 2019. Over the last 20 years, Ms. Higgins has had success in the gaming sector, focusing on strategic financial management, capital formation, acquisition strategies and investor relations. Before joining Affinity Gaming in 2018 as interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, she was instrumental in establishing VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI), a REIT spinoff from Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc. (“CEOC”), serving as Chief Financial Officer in 2017 and as an advisor in 2018. From July 2014 to October 2017, she was the Chief Financial Officer of CEOC, the largest subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment Corporation, where she oversaw finances across 38 casino locations in 14 U.S. states as well as in 5 countries. Earlier in her career, Ms. Higgins served as Chief Financial Officer at companies such as Global Cash Access Holdings, Inc. (now Everi Holdings Inc. (NYSE: EVERI)), Herbst Gaming, Inc. and Camco, Inc. Since December 2018, Ms. Higgins has served as a member of the board of trustees of Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE: CLDT). Ms. Higgins is a graduate of the University of Southern California where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree. Ms. Higgins also earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from University of Memphis. We believe Ms. Higgins’ qualifications to serve on our board of directors include her extensive experience in the gaming and hospitality sectors as well as her public company experience.

Eric Fiocco—Chief Operating Officer and Secretary. Mr. Fiocco joined us in March 2020. He currently serves as the Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer of Affinity Gaming. Mr. Fiocco was hired at Affinity Gaming in November 2018 as Chief Marketing Officer and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in May 2019. Over the last 40 years, Mr. Fiocco has had success in marketing, brand identity, casino operations and revenue management. Prior to joining Affinity Gaming, Mr. Fiocco served as Chief Marketing Officer for Tropicana Entertainment Inc. from November 2011 to September 2018, where he was responsible for all marketing operations across eight Tropicana properties in six jurisdictions and led the development and execution of marketing initiatives and brand strategy. Mr. Fiocco also served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Tropicana Atlantic City and Senior Vice President of Marketing and Casino Operations at Resorts Atlantic City and Atlantic City Hilton. Mr. Fiocco began his career in the gaming industry as a casino dealer and over the years has been promoted to various positions of increased responsibility in casino operations and marketing at both the property and corporate levels. Mr. Fiocco is a graduate of Stockton State College in Pomona, New Jersey and holds a degree in Business Studies.

Andrei Scrivens—Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Scrivens joined us in March 2020. He currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Affinity Gaming, a position he has held since May 2019. Mr. Scrivens has substantial experience in operational and value-oriented private equity and mergers and acquisitions. Before joining Affinity Gaming, Mr. Scrivens served as a Managing Director on the private equity investment team with Z Capital Partners, L.L.C. since 2012, while serving on the boards of Daily Racing Form Intermediate Holdings, LLC, WF Swiss Hospitality GmBH, Carillon Hotel, LLC and Affinity Gaming. He focused on investments in gaming and hospitality, leading teams of professionals that specialized in pursuing opportunities that required hands-on financial and operational leadership, including Affinity Gaming. Prior to Z Capital, from 2001-2012, Mr. Scrivens was a Director at Chilmark Partners, a middle market private equity firm and boutique investment bank. During his tenure at Chilmark, among other broader industry assignments, in the leisure sector he advised on the sale of interests in two NHL hockey arenas and valued broadcast contract provisions on behalf of the NFL Players Association. Mr. Scrivens also participated in the investments of International Knife and Saw and Simonds Industries where the two companies were ultimately combined in a merger transaction. Earlier in his career, Mr. Scrivens served as a Senior Manager at the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen LLP in its restructuring group. Mr. Scrivens received his Bachelors of Science from the University of Illinois and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).

 

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Daniel A. Cassella—Director Nominee. Mr. Cassella is expected to be an independent member