UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
For
the fiscal year ended
Or
For the transition period from to
To
Commission File No.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
(Zip Code) | ||
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) |
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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
| Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-third of one redeemable warrant | RCLFU | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||
| The | ||||
| Redeemable warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 | RCLFW | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐
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by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐
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by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports),
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Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule
405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant
was required to submit such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ |
| ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ||
| Emerging growth company |
If
an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying
with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
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by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered
public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act): Yes
The
aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Class A common stock outstanding held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, computed
as of June 30, 2021 (the last business day of the registrants most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was approximately $
As
of March 30, 2021, there were
ROSECLIFF
ACQUISITION CORP I
FORM 10-K FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains statements that are forward-looking and as such are not historical facts. This includes, without limitation, statements under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding our financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following risks, uncertainties and other factors:
| ● | our being a company with no operating history and no operating revenues; |
| ● | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| ● | our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses; |
| ● | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial Business Combination; |
| ● | our directors and officers allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial Business Combination; |
| ● | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial Business Combination; |
| ● | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| ● | our ability to consummate an initial Business Combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters, global hostilities, or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases); |
| ● | the ability of our directors and officers to generate potential Business Combination opportunities; |
| ● | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| ● | the lack of a market for our securities; |
| ● | the use of proceeds not held in the Trust Account (as defined below) 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; and |
| ● | the other risk and uncertainties discussed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). |
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.
ii
PART I.
References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”) to “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” are to Rosecliff Acquisition Corp I, a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “Sponsor” refer to Rosecliff Acquisition Sponsor I LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. References to our “initial stockholders” refer to our Sponsor and each of our independent directors.
Item 1. Business.
Overview
Our management team believes that recent years have brought a wide range of technical breakthroughs that have fundamentally shifted the frontiers of possibility in the ways we live and work. Innovations as diverse as cloud and mobile computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning and cybersecurity, catalyzed by corresponding hardware innovations, have unlocked accelerated cycles of change, radically impacting industries and business models globally. We believe that the transformative effects of these innovations have reshaped both large and small industries across the world. We also believe that because of the impact of COVID-19, there are attractive businesses that may have additional capital needs over the next few years, which could further increase the pipeline of potential opportunities.
Our objective is to generate attractive returns for stockholders by actively supporting the next-generation of exceptional public companies. We expect to target companies with certain industry and business characteristics, including long term growth prospects, strong management team, high barriers to entry, opportunities for consolidation, strong recurring revenues, sustainable operating margins and attractive free cash flow characteristics.
We are a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on November 17, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar Business Combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). We are not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. Our Sponsor is Rosecliff Acquisition Sponsor I LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.
Our registration statement for our Initial Public Offering (the “Initial Public Offering”) was declared effective on February 11, 2021. On February 17, 2021, we consummated our Initial Public Offering of 25,300,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A common stock included in the Units sold, the “Public Shares”), which includes the full exercise by the underwriter of its over-allotment option in the amount of 3,300,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $253,000,000, and incurring transaction costs of approximately $14,373,127, including approximately $8,855,000 in deferred underwriting fees.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 4,706,667 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”), at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement (the “Private Placement”) to the Sponsor generating gross proceeds of $7,060,000.
Following the closing of our Initial Public Offering on February 17, 2021, an amount of $253,000,000 ($10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a Trust Account (the “Trust Account”), located in the United States and will be invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds held in the Trust Account, as described below
Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. We must complete one or more initial Business Combinations with one or more operating businesses or assets that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account). We will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).
1
We intend to effectuate a Business Combination using the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement, and from additional issuances of, if any, our capital stock and our debt, or a combination of cash, stock and debt. We have not engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations until we complete a Business Combination, and we have not generated any operating revenue to date. All activity for the period from November 17, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2021 related to our formation and Initial Public Offering, and subsequent to the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. We will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. Based on our business activities, we are a “shell company” as defined under the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
We will provide the holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “Public Stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us. The Public Stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then held in the Trust Account (initially $10.00 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest then in the Trust Account, net of taxes payable). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Stockholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we pay to the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering.
We will have until February 17, 2023 to complete a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). If we have not completed a Business Combination within the Combination 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 pay taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of 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 the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.
Termination of the Previously Announced Business Combination Agreement
On March 11, 2022, Rosecliff, GT Gettaxi Listco, GT Gettaxi Limited, GT Gettaxi SPV, GT Gettaxi Merger Sub 1, Gett Merger Sub, Inc., and Dooboo Holding Limited, and Merger Sub entered into a Termination of the Business Combination Agreement pursuant to which the parties mutually agreed to terminate the Business Combination Agreement, effective immediately. As per the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on November 11, 2021, Rosecliff requested that the Target’s management undertake a thorough analysis of its financial projections. Following the conclusion of that process, and extensive mutual efforts to negotiate an appropriate valuation adjustment, both parties agreed to terminate the Business Combination Agreement.
As a result of the termination of the Business Combination Agreement, the Business Combination Agreement is of no further force and effect, and certain transaction agreements entered into in connection with the Business Combination Agreement, including, but not limited to, the Investors’ Rights Agreement, dated as of November 9, 2021 and to be effective as of the closing of the Business Combination, by and among Rosecliff, a Delaware limited liability company, and certain holders, will either be terminated or no longer be effective, as applicable, in accordance with their respective terms.
Rosecliff intends to continue to pursue the consummation of a business combination with an appropriate target.
2
Effecting a Business Combination
Our Business Strategy
We are focused on creating sustainable long-term value for our stockholders by identifying potential opportunities that can generate outsized returns. We believe our exceptional network and deep ties across the technology ecosystem will create a competitive advantage in sourcing attractive opportunities. We plan to identify and complete our initial Business Combination with a technology company that complements the experience of our management team and can benefit from its operational expertise and deal sourcing network. We have identified the following general criteria that we believe are important in evaluating prospective partner businesses for our initial Business Combination. We intend to use the following criteria in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial Business Combination with a partner business that does not meet these criteria:
| ● | Focus: We intend to seek companies in the technology industry. We have an accomplished track record of investing in this industry and expect to focus on businesses that engage with technology to serve customers in a novel and transformational manner. We believe our management team’s expertise and understanding of innovative businesses will be paramount in identifying and assessing an initial Business Combination candidate. |
| ● | People driven: Serial entrepreneurs, visionary leaders and trusted partners — we intend to seek management teams with whom we would be proud to partner for the next decade or more and who we believe have the vision, energy and execution capability to deliver on our high expectations for growth and franchise value. This is the standard against which Rosecliff Venture Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and its affiliated entities, excluding our Company and Sponsor (“Rosecliff Venture”), measures all of the management teams with whom it partners, whether they are running public or private companies. |
| ● | Growth: We intend to invest in businesses that are on, or have the potential to be on, what we believe to be a promising growth path. We believe that these businesses, in particular, will benefit from access to incremental capital and over the long term, will benefit from consistent access to public markets. We will seek businesses that we believe have a sustainable competitive advantage and will support and sustain our expectations of their growth. |
| ● | Significant addressable market relative to current company size: We intend to seek companies that we believe have a clear runway for sustained growth in their existing core businesses, well beyond our expected investment horizon. |
| ● | Sustainable competitive differentiation: We believe that identifying and deeply dissecting the “moat” around a company is the most critical element of understanding that company, as true differentiation can provide years of durable, compounding growth and expanding margins. |
| ● | Economic model: Ultimately, a business must have the ability to generate high levels of cashflow over time, even if it chooses to use that cash to reinvest for the future. We expect to spend significant time evaluating a company’s financial model and unit economics to seek to discern the trajectory of its margin profile in the coming years. We will seek to acquire a business that has historically generated, or that we believe has the near-term potential to generate, strong and sustainable free cash flow. |
| ● | Appropriate valuations: We are rigorous, disciplined, and valuation-centric investors, with a keen understanding of market value, upside and potential downside risks. |
3
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial Business Combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general criteria as well as other considerations and factors 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 does not meet the above criteria, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our stockholder communications related to our initial Business Combination, which would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we would file with the SEC. In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspections of facilities, as well as reviewing financial and other information which will be made available to us.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial Business Combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, directors or officers, or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our Sponsor, directors or officers.
Each of the members of our Sponsor, our directors and officers will, directly or indirectly, own Founder Shares and/or Private Placement Warrants 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, such officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular Business Combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial Business Combination.
Past experience or performance of Rosecliff Venture, or any of its funds, investments or portfolio companies, or our Sponsor, directors or management team or their respective affiliates is not a guarantee of either (1) our ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction or (2) success with respect to any Business Combination that we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of Rosecliff Venture, or any of its funds, investments or portfolio companies, or our Sponsor, directors or management team or their respective affiliates as indicative of future performance. See “Risk Factors — Past performance by Rosecliff Venture, or any of its funds, investments or portfolio companies, or our Sponsor, directors or management team or their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.”
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a Business Combination opportunity to such entity subject to his or her fiduciary duties. 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, 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 to materially affect our ability to complete our initial Business Combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides 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.
In addition, our officers or directors may be investors, or have other direct or indirect interests, in a business with which we may enter into a Business Combination agreement and/or in certain funds or other persons that purchased shares in our Initial Public Offering or that may otherwise purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the public market.
Our officers, directors and any of their respective affiliates may sponsor or form, or, in the case of individuals, serve as a director or officer of, other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial Business Combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial Business Combination.
4
Rosecliff Venture may become aware of a potential Business Combination opportunity that may be an attractive opportunity for our Company. However, Rosecliff Venture is not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial Business Combination or refer any such opportunities to our Company or provide any other services to our Company. Rosecliff Venture’s role with respect to our Company is expected to be primarily passive and advisory in nature. Rosecliff Venture may have fiduciary and/or contractual duties to its investment vehicles and to companies in which Rosecliff Venture has invested. As a result, Rosecliff Venture may have a duty to offer Business Combination opportunities to certain Rosecliff Venture funds, other investment vehicles or other entities before other parties, including our Company. Additionally, certain companies in which Rosecliff Venture has invested may enter into transactions with, provide goods or services to, or receive goods or services from an entity with which we seek to complete our initial Business Combination. Transactions of these types may present a conflict of interest because Rosecliff Venture may directly or indirectly receive a financial benefit as a result of such transaction.
We believe that any such potential conflicts of interest of Rosecliff Venture and our officers and directors will be naturally mitigated by the differing nature of targets that Rosecliff Venture typically considers most attractive for its venture capital activities and the types of initial Business Combination opportunities that we expect to be most attractive for our Company.
Our directors and officers are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential Business Combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. See “Risk Factors — Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.”
Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq listing rules require that our initial Business Combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account). We refer to this as the 80% fair market value test. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial Business Combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.
We anticipate structuring our initial Business Combination so that the post-transaction company in which our Public Stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial Business Combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial Business Combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial Business Combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target business or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial Business Combination. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial Business Combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial Business Combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% fair market value test. If our initial Business Combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on Nasdaq for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% fair market value test.
5
Competition
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. Additionally, the number of blank check companies looking for Business Combination targets has increased compared to recent years and many of these blank check companies are sponsored by entities or persons that have significant experience with completing Business Combinations. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, in the event we seek stockholder approval of our initial Business Combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our shares of Class A common stock, it will potentially reduce the resources available to us for our initial Business Combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a Business Combination. If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period, our Public Stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Human Capital Management
We currently have three officers and do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial Business Combination. Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial Business Combination. The amount of time that any such person will devote in any time period will vary based on the status of the proposed Business Combination and, if the proposed Business Combination, is not consummated whether a different target business has been selected for our initial Business Combination and the current stage of the Business Combination process.
Item 1.A. 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 Annual Report, including our financial statements and related notes, before making a decision to invest in our securities. 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. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Risks Relating to Our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial Business Combination, which means we may complete our initial Business Combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial Business Combination unless the Business Combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange rules or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, Nasdaq listing rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a stockholder meeting, but would still require us to obtain stockholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any Business Combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a Business Combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares, we would seek stockholder approval of such Business Combination. However, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed Business Combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial Business Combination even if holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock do not approve of the Business Combination we consummate.
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If we seek stockholder approval of our initial Business Combination, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial Business Combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Unlike many other blank check companies in which the initial stockholders agree to vote their Founder Shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public stockholders in connection with an initial Business Combination, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their Founder Shares and any Public Shares held by them in favor of our initial Business Combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ Founder Shares, we would need 9,487,501, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted), or 1,581,251, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted), of the 25,300,000 Public Shares sold in the Initial Public Offering to be voted in favor of an initial Business Combination in order to have such initial Business Combination approved. Our directors and officers have also entered into the letter agreement, imposing similar obligations on them with respect to Public Shares acquired by them, if any. We expect that our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock at the time of any such stockholder vote. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial Business Combination, it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if such persons agreed to vote their Founder Shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public stockholders.
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.
Since our board of directors may complete a Business Combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the Business Combination, unless we seek such stockholder approval. Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential Business Combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial Business Combination.
The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential Business Combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a Business Combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a Business Combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the Business Combination. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a Business Combination and such amount of deferred underwriting discount is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial Business Combination. If we are able to consummate an initial Business Combination, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay and the payment of the deferred underwriting commissions. 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 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial Business Combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related Business Combination and may instead search for an alternate Business Combination (including, potentially, with the same target). Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a Business Combination transaction with us.
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The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable Business Combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial Business Combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights and, therefore, we will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial Business Combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the Trust Account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable Business Combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial Business Combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial Business Combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial Business Combination would be unsuccessful increases. If our initial Business Combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the Trust Account until we liquidate the Trust Account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the Trust Account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a Business Combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential Business Combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial Business Combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a Business Combination will be aware that we must complete our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a Business Combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial Business Combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial Business Combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the end of the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial Business Combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation. In July 2021, the SEC charged a SPAC for misleading disclosures, which could have been corrected with more adequate due diligence, and obtained substantial relief against the SPAC and its Sponsor. Although we will invest in due diligence efforts and commit management time and resources to such efforts, there can be no assurance that our due diligence will unveil all potential issues with a target business and that we or our Sponsor will not become subject to regulatory actions related to such efforts.
We may not be able to complete our initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our Public Shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we must complete our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial Business Combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial Business Combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the equity and debt markets and the other risks described herein, including as a result of terrorist attacks, natural disasters, global hostilities, or a significant outbreak of infectious diseases. For example, the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic continues both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial Business Combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters, global hostilities or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. It may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this ‘‘Risk Factors’’ section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border transactions.
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If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within such time period or during any Extension Period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than $10.00 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. Please see “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
Our search for a Business Combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a Business Combination, may be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and other events and the status of debt and equity markets.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in, and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result in, a widespread health crisis and other events (such as terrorist attacks, or natural disasters) that have, and in the future could, adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, business operations and the conduct of commerce generally, and the business of any potential target business with which we may consummate a Business Combination could be and may already have been, materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete an initial Business Combination if concerns relating to COVID-19 or other events restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors, limit the ability to conduct due diligence or limit the ability of a potential target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for an initial Business Combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of and perceptions to COVID-19 and its variants and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) continue for a prolonged period of time, our ability to consummate a Business Combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a Business Combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic or other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters, global hostilities or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border transactions.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial Business Combination, our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders or warrant holders, which may influence a vote on a proposed Business Combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase Public Shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial Business Combination.
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Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial Business Combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial Business Combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material non-public information), our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire Public Shares, vote their Public Shares in favor of our initial Business Combination or not redeem their Public Shares. However, our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates are under no obligation or duty to do so and 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. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of our initial Business Combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of our 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. This may result in the completion of our initial Business Combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our securities and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our Public Shares in connection with our initial Business Combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our Public Shares in connection with our initial Business Combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem Public Shares. For example, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer or proxy materials documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial Business Combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
You are not entitled to certain protections afforded to investors of some other blank check companies.
We are exempt from certain rules promulgated by the SEC related to certain blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors are not afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial Business Combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the Initial Public Offering was 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.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the Initial Public Offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. 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 shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
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Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for Business Combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial Business Combination. If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. Additionally, the number of blank check companies looking for Business Combination targets has increased compared to recent years and many of these blank check companies are sponsored by entities or persons that have significant experience with completing Business Combinations. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, in the event we seek stockholder approval of our initial Business Combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our shares of Class A common stock, it will potentially reduce the resources available to us for our initial Business Combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a Business Combination. If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless. Please see “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies increases, there may be more competition to find an attractive target for an initial Business Combination. This could increase the costs associated with completing our initial Business Combination and may result in our inability to find a suitable target for our initial Business Combination and/or complete our initial Business Combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many companies have entered into Business Combinations with special purpose acquisition companies, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial Business Combination, as well as many additional special purpose acquisition companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, effort and resources to identify a suitable target for an initial Business Combination and/or complete our initial Business Combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial Business Combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close Business Combinations or operate targets post-Business Combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find a suitable target for and/or complete our initial Business Combination.
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If the funds not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we may be unable to complete our initial Business Combination.
The funds available to us outside of the Trust Account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of the Initial Public Offering, assuming that our initial Business Combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in “Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.
Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed Business Combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we enter 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 have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless. Please see “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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.
Recently, 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 and complete an initial Business Combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-Business Combination entity might need to incur greater expense and/or accept less favorable terms. Furthermore, 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, after completion of any initial Business Combination, our directors and officers could be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to such 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.
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If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Our placing of funds in the Trust Account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the Trust Account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the 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 enter into an agreement with a third-party that has not executed a waiver only if management believes that such third-party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third-party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason. Upon redemption of our Public Shares, if we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period, 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 ten years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per Public Share initially held in the Trust Account, due to claims of such creditors.
Our Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third-party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (1) $10.00 per Public Share or (2) such lesser amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third-party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third-party, our Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our Sponsor’s only assets are securities of our Company. Our Sponsor may not have sufficient funds available to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our Sponsor to reserve for such obligations, and therefore, no funds are currently set aside to cover any such obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the Trust Account, the funds available for our initial Business Combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per Public Share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial Business Combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your Public Shares. None of our directors or officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our Sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the Trust Account are reduced below the lesser of (1) $10.00 per Public Share or (2) such lesser amount per share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our Sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
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The securities in which we invest the funds held in the Trust Account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
The proceeds held in the Trust Account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our public stockholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the Trust Account, plus any interest income, net of taxes paid or payable (less, in the case we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination, $100,000 of interest). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share. Negative interest rates could also reduce the amount of funds we have available to complete our initial Business Combination.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith by paying public stockholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or 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 winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the Trust Account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our public stockholders in connection with our liquidation would be reduced.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial Business Combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| ● | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| ● | restrictions on the issuance of securities; |
each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial Business Combination.
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In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| ● | registration as an investment company with the SEC; |
| ● | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| ● | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to. |
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. The proceeds held in the Trust Account may be invested by the trustee only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Because the investment of the proceeds will be restricted to these instruments, we believe we will meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a Business Combination. If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations or how such laws or regulations are interpreted or applied, or a failure to comply with any laws or 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, our Business Combination may be contingent on our ability to comply with certain laws and regulations and any post-Business Combination company may be subject to additional laws and regulations. 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, including as a result of changes in economic, political, social and government policies, and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial Business Combination, 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.
If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within 24 months of the closing of the Initial Public Offering or during any Extension Period, our public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond such 24 months before redemption from our Trust Account.
If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or during any Extension Period, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), pro rata to our public stockholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein. Any redemption of public stockholders from the Trust Account shall be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to windup, liquidate the Trust Account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public stockholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution are subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the initial 24 months 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, prior thereto, we consummate our initial Business Combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and then only in cases where investors have properly sought to redeem their shares of Class A common stock. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public stockholders be entitled to distributions if we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto.
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Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our Trust Account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our Public Shares in the event we do not complete our initial Business Combination within the required time period may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
However, it is our intention to redeem our Public Shares as soon as reasonably possible following the 24th month from the closing of the Initial Public Offering (or the end of any Extension Period) in the event we do not complete our initial Business Combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
Because we do not intend to comply with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the ten years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, consultants, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our Trust Account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our Public Shares in the event we do not complete our initial Business Combination within the required time period is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
We may not hold an annual stockholder meeting until after the consummation of our initial Business Combination. Our public stockholders will not have the right to elect or remove directors prior to the consummation of our initial Business Combination.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial Business Combination and thus may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting of stockholders be held for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with a company’s bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to our consummation of our initial Business Combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL. Until we hold an annual meeting of stockholders, public stockholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss Company affairs with management. In addition, prior to our initial Business Combination, (a) as holders of our Class A common stock, our public stockholders will not have the right to vote on the election of our directors, and (b) holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove a member of our board of directors for any reason.
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The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees 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 a registration rights agreement entered into in connection with the Initial Public Offering, att or after the time of our initial Business Combination, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their Founder Shares after those shares convert to shares of our Class A common stock. In addition, our Sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the Private Placement Warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants, and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register the resale of such warrants or the shares of 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 shares of common stock owned by our initial stockholders or their permitted transferees, our Private Placement Warrants or warrants issued in connection with working capital loans are registered for resale.
Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector or geography or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial Business Combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We may seek to complete a Business Combination with an operating company of any size (subject to our satisfaction of the 80% fair market value test) and in any industry, sector or geography. However, we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our initial Business Combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. 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 development stage entity. Although our directors and officers 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 securities will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to our investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a Business Combination target. Accordingly, any stockholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a stockholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial Business Combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may seek acquisition opportunities in acquisition targets that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a Business Combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if such Business Combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our Company. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors relevant to such acquisition. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial Business Combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
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Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial Business Combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial Business Combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial Business Combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial Business Combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective Business Combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other 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 have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early-stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings.
To the extent we complete our initial Business Combination with an early-stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our directors and officers 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 may engage the underwriters from our Initial Public Offering or any of their affiliates to provide additional services to us. The underwriters are entitled to receive deferred commissions that will be released from the trust only on a completion of an initial Business Combination. These financial incentives may cause the underwriters to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after the Initial Public Offering.
We may engage the underwriters from our Initial Public Offering or any of their affiliates to provide additional services to us, 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 underwriters or any of their affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial Business Combination. The fact that the underwriters or any of their 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.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm regarding fairness. Consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our Company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial Business Combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our Company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial Business Combination.
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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 80,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2021, there were 54,700,000 and 13,675,000 authorized but unissued shares of Class A and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance, which amount takes into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not upon conversion of the Class B common stock. 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. As of December 31, 2021, there were no preferred shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock, and may issue shares of preferred stock, in order to complete our initial Business Combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial Business Combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock to redeem the warrants or upon conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial Business Combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that prior to our initial Business Combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the Trust Account or (2) vote pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation on any initial Business Combination or any amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
| ● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of public investors, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock; |
| ● | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if shares of preferred stock are issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
| ● | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present directors and officers; |
| ● | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; |
| ● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Units, Class A common stock and/or warrants; and |
| ● | may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. |
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial Business Combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on stockholders.
We may effect a Business Combination with a target company in another jurisdiction, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located, or reincorporate in another jurisdiction. Such transactions may result in tax liability for a stockholder in the jurisdiction in which the stockholder is a tax resident (or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity), in which the target company is located, or in which we reincorporate. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to stockholders to pay such taxes. Stockholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
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Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial Business Combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial Business Combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may engage in a Business Combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our Sponsor, directors or officers which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our Sponsor, directors and officers with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our Sponsor, directors and officers. Certain of our directors and officers also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including those described under “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for Business Combination opportunities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for a Business Combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement that we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another valuation or appraisal firm that regularly renders fairness opinions on the type of target business we are seeking to acquire, regarding the fairness to our Company from a financial point of view of a Business Combination with one or more businesses affiliated with our Sponsor, directors or officers, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the Business Combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Since our initial stockholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial Business Combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular Business Combination target is appropriate for our initial Business Combination.
Our initial stockholders hold 6,325,000 Founder Shares as of the date of this Annual Report, including 6,325,000 held by our Sponsor. The Founder Shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial Business Combination.
In addition, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,706,667 Private Placement Warrants, each exercisable for one share of our Class A common stock, for a purchase price of $7,060,000 in the aggregate or $1.50 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete a Business Combination. Each Private Placement Warrant may be exercised for one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment.
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The Founder Shares are identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units except that: (1) prior to our initial Business Combination, only holders of our Class B common stock have the right to vote on the election of directors and holders of a majority of our outstanding shares of Class B common stock may remove a member of our board of directors for any reason; (2) the Founder Shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in a letter agreement that our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into with us; (3) pursuant to such letter agreement, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive: (i) their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and Public Shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial Business Combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and Public Shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Founder Shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or during any Extension Period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame); (4) the Founder Shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial Business Combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described herein; and (5) the Founder Shares are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial Business Combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their Founder Shares and any Public Shares held by them purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of our initial Business Combination. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to or waiver of the letter agreement or registration rights agreement prior to our initial Business Combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to or waivers of such agreements in connection with the consummation of our initial Business Combination. Any such amendments or waivers would not require approval from our stockholders, may result in the completion of our initial Business Combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
The personal and financial interests of our Sponsor, directors and officers may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target Business Combination, completing an initial Business Combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial Business Combination. This risk may become more acute as the deadline for completing our initial Business Combination nears.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a Business Combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
We may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial Business Combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the Trust Account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the Trust Account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| ● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial Business Combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| ● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| ● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
| ● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| ● | our inability to pay dividends on our common stock; |
| ● | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| ● | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
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| ● | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| ● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may be able to complete only one Business Combination with the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
We 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 financial, economic, competitive and regulatory risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several Business Combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| ● | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
| ● | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous financial, economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial Business Combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete Business Combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial Business Combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other Business Combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial Business Combination. With multiple Business Combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial Business Combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a Business Combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial Business Combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial Business Combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a Business Combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
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We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a Business Combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our Public Shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that 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, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Public Shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed Business Combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the Business Combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate Business Combination (including, potentially, with the same target).
In order to effectuate an initial Business Combination, blank check companies have, in the past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments, including our warrant agreement, in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial Business Combination that some of our stockholders or warrant holders may not support.
In order to effectuate an initial Business Combination, blank check companies have, in the past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of Business Combination, increased redemption thresholds, extended the time to consummate an initial Business Combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments, including the warrant agreement, or extend the time to consummate an initial Business Combination in order to effectuate our initial Business Combination. To the extent any such amendment would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through our registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.
Certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-Business Combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account) may be amended with the approval of holders of at least 65% of our outstanding common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial Business Combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions (other than amendments relating to the election or removal of directors prior to our initial Business Combination, which require the approval by holders of a majority of at least 90% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting) related to pre-Business Combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement 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 at least 65% of our issued and outstanding common stock, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our issued and outstanding common stock. Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders, and, prior to our initial Business Combination, the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of our Class B common stock is required to approve the election or removal of directors. We may not issue additional securities that can vote pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation on any initial Business Combination or any amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our initial stockholders, who beneficially own 20% of our common stock, may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which will govern our pre-Business Combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete our initial Business Combination with which you do not agree.
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Our initial stockholders have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our Sponsor, directors and officers. Our public stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, this agreement and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our Sponsor, directors or officers for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our public stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
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.
If the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants available to us prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial Business Combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial Business Combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial Business Combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed Business Combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial Business Combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular Business Combination and seek an alternative target business candidate.
In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial Business Combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our directors, officers or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial Business Combination. If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our initial stockholders will control the election of our board of directors until consummation of our initial Business Combination and will hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they will elect all of our directors prior to our initial Business Combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock. In addition, prior to our initial Business Combination, holders of the Founder Shares will have the right to elect all of our directors and may remove members of our board of directors for any reason. Holders of our Public Shares will have no right to vote on the election of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by holders of a majority of at least 90% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the election of directors prior to our initial Business Combination.
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In addition, as a result of their substantial ownership in our Company, our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of Class A common stock in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring a stockholder vote at least until the completion of our initial Business Combination.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial Business Combination.
Unlike some blank check companies, if
| ● | we issue additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), |
| ● | 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 |
| ● | the volume weighted average trading price of our shares of Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
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 and $10.00 per share redemption trigger prices applicable to our warrants and our Class A common stock will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% and 100%, respectively, of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price applicable to our warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial Business Combination with a target business.
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 have issued warrants to purchase 8,433,333 shares of Class A common stock, at a price of $11.50 per whole share (subject to adjustment), as part of the Units and, simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we issued in a Private Placement an aggregate of 4,706,667 Private Placement Warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. Our initial stockholders currently hold 6,325,000 shares of Class B common stock. The shares of Class B common stock 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, an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our directors and officers make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate a Business Combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants or conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock and reduce the value of the Class A common stock issued to complete the Business Combination. Therefore, our warrants and Founder Shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a Business Combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the Units except that, so long as they are held by our Sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us (except under certain limited exceptions); (2) they (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these 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; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
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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 a Business Combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or U.S. GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial Business Combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial Business Combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial Business Combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such combination, and if we effect such initial Business Combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial Business Combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border Business Combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial Business Combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign market, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial Business Combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| ● | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
| ● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| ● | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
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| ● | laws governing the manner in which future Business Combinations may be effected; |
| ● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| ● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| ● | longer payment cycles; |
| ● | changes in local regulations as part of a response to the COVID-19 outbreak; |
| ● | tax consequences, such as tax law changes, including termination or reduction of tax and other incentives that the applicable government provides to domestic companies, and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| ● | currency fluctuations and exchange controls, including devaluations and other exchange rate movements; |
| ● | rates of inflation, price instability and interest rate fluctuations; |
| ● | liquidity of domestic capital and lending markets; |
| ● | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| ● | cultural and language differences; |
| ● | employment regulations; |
| ● | energy shortages; |
| ● | crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, wars and other forms of social instability; |
| ● | deterioration of political relations with the United States; |
| ● | obligatory military service by personnel; and |
| ● | government appropriation of assets. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such combination or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
Rosecliff Venture is not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial Business Combination or refer any such opportunities to our Company or provide any other services to our Company.
Rosecliff Venture may become aware of a potential Business Combination opportunity that may be an attractive opportunity for our Company. However, Rosecliff Venture is not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial Business Combination or refer any such opportunities to our Company or provide any other services to our Company. Rosecliff Venture’s role with respect to our Company is expected to be primarily passive and advisory in nature. Rosecliff Venture may have fiduciary and/or contractual duties to its investment vehicles and to companies in which Rosecliff Venture has invested. As a result, Rosecliff Venture may have a duty to offer Business Combination opportunities to certain Rosecliff Venture funds, other investment vehicles or other entities before other parties, including our Company. Additionally, certain companies in which Rosecliff Venture has invested may enter into transactions with, provide goods or services to, or receive goods or services from an entity with which we seek to complete our initial Business Combination. Transactions of these types may present a conflict of interest because Rosecliff Venture may directly or indirectly receive a financial benefit as a result of such transaction.
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Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company
We may face risks related to tech-enabled companies and companies in the technology industry.
Business Combinations with tech-enabled companies and companies in the technology industry 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:
| ● | if we do not develop successful new products or improve existing ones, our business will suffer; |
| ● | we may invest in new lines of business that could fail to attract or retain users or generate revenue; |
| ● | we will face significant competition and if we are not able to maintain or improve our market share, our business could suffer; |
| ● | the loss of one or more members of our management team, or our failure to attract and retain other highly qualified personnel in the future, could seriously harm our business; |
| ● | if our security is compromised or if our platform is subjected to attacks that frustrate or thwart our users’ ability to access our products and services, our users, advertisers, and partners may cut back on or stop using our products and services altogether, which could seriously harm our business; |
| ● | mobile malware, viruses, hacking and phishing attacks, spamming, and improper or illegal use of our products could seriously harm our business and reputation; |
| ● | if we are unable to successfully grow our user base and further monetize our products, our business will suffer; |
| ● | if we are unable to protect our intellectual property, the value of our brand and other intangible assets may be diminished, and our business may be seriously harmed; |
| ● | we may be subject to regulatory investigations and proceedings in the future, which could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in a way that could seriously harm our business; |
| ● | components used in our products may fail as a result of a manufacturing, design, or other defect over which we have no control, and render our devices inoperable; |
| ● | an inability to manage rapid change, increasing consumer expectations and growth; |
| ● | an inability to build strong brand identity and improve subscriber or customer satisfaction and loyalty; |
| ● | an inability to deal with our subscribers’ or customers’ privacy concerns; |
| ● | an inability to license or enforce intellectual property rights on which our business may depend; |
| ● | an inability by us, or a refusal by third parties, to license content to us upon acceptable terms; |
| ● | potential liability for negligence, copyright, or trademark infringement or other claims based on the nature and content of materials that we may distribute; |
| ● | competition for the leisure and entertainment time and discretionary spending of subscribers or customers, which may intensify in part due to advances in technology and changes in consumer expectations and behavior; and |
| ● | disruption or failure of our networks, systems or technology as a result of misappropriation of data or other malfeasance, as well as outages, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, accidental releases of information or similar events. |
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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 tech-enabled businesses or the technology industry. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, we will be subject to 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.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial Business Combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write down or write off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any stockholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a stockholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial Business Combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
After our initial Business Combination, our results of operations and prospects could be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political, social and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial Business Combination and if we effect our initial Business Combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial Business Combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial Business Combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will complete such Business Combination only if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for 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 our initial Business Combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post Business Combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial Business Combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of common stock in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial Business Combination. In this case, we would acquire a 100% 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 issued and outstanding common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.
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We may have limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may complete our initial Business Combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of completing 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 stockholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a stockholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial Business Combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The directors and officers of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial Business Combination. The departure of a Business Combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial Business Combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial Business Combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Our letter agreements with our initial stockholders, officers and directors may be amended without stockholder approval.
Our letter agreements with our initial stockholders, officers and directors contains provisions relating to, among other things, restrictions on transfer of our Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants, indemnification of the Trust Account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidating distributions from the Trust Account. The letter agreement may be amended without stockholder approval. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to the letter agreement prior to our initial Business Combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to the letter agreements. Any such amendments to the letter agreement would not require approval from our stockholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
If our management following our initial Business Combination is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial Business Combination, any or all of our management could resign from their positions as officers of the Company, and the management of the target business at the time of the Business Combination could remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with U.S. securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
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Risks Relating to Our Management Team
We are dependent upon our directors and officers and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our directors and officers, at least until we have completed our initial Business Combination. In addition, our directors and officers are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business endeavors, including identifying potential Business Combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. For a discussion of certain of our officers’ and directors’ other business endeavors, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officer and Corporate Governance.” We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial Business Combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial Business Combination. The loss of our or a target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial Business Combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial Business Combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial Business Combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
In addition, the directors and officers of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial Business Combination. The departure of a Business Combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial Business Combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial Business Combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular Business Combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial Business Combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular Business Combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our Company after the completion of our initial Business Combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the Business Combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the Business Combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the Business Combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial Business Combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential Business Combination, as we do not expect that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial Business Combination. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial Business Combination.
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Our directors and officers will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial Business Combination.
Our directors and officers are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a Business Combination and their other responsibilities. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our Business Combination. Each of our directors and officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation and our directors and officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors will also serve as officers and/or board members for other entities. If our directors’ and officers’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial Business Combination. Please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.” for a discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs.
Each of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
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 directors and officers are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business. Our Sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies including in connection with their initial Business Combinations, prior to us completing our initial Business Combination, and any such involvement may result in conflicts of interests as described herein. Moreover, entities in which our directors and officers are affiliated with may enter into agreements or other arrangements with businesses, which agreements or arrangements may limit or restrict our ability to enter into a Business Combination with such business.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other interests, obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a Business Combination opportunity to such entities. Our directors and officers 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 contraction duties or otherwise have an interest in, including Rosecliff Venture and any other special purpose acquisition company in which they may become involved with. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a Business Combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other interests, obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such Business Combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our Company and such opportunity is one reasonable for us to pursue.
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 “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.” “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest” and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Support Services Agreement.”
Our directors, officers, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a Business Combination with a target business that is affiliated with our Sponsor, our directors or officers. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
In particular, affiliates of our Sponsor have invested in a diverse set of industries. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable Business Combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for such other affiliates.
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In addition, our officers or directors may be investors, or have other direct or indirect interests, in a business with which we may enter into a Business Combination agreement and/or in certain funds or other persons that may purchase shares of our Class A common stock.
Our Sponsor, officers, directors and any of their respective affiliates may sponsor or form, or, in the case of individuals, serve as a director or officer of, other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial Business Combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target.
Members of our management team and board of directors have significant experience as founders, board members, officers, executives or employees of other companies. Certain of those persons have been, may be, or may become, involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings, including related to those companies or otherwise. This may have an adverse effect on us, which may impede our ability to consummate an initial Business Combination.
During the course of their careers, members of our management team and board of directors have had significant experience as founders, board members, officers, executives or employees of other companies. Certain of those persons have been, may be or may in the future become involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings, including relating to the business affairs of such companies, transactions entered into by such companies, or otherwise, including Michael P. Murphy, our Chief Executive Officer and a director, who in 2020 was fined $20,000 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and suspended for six months from association with any FINRA member, as a result of not timely updating his broker-dealer registration form (Form U4) to disclose personal tax matters. FINRA’s decision in the matter included findings of willful violations, which Mr. Murphy had denied and contested. The Form U4 was updated, the personal tax matters have been satisfied, the status of the matter as reported by FINRA is final and the suspension ended as of January 19, 2021.
Any litigation, investigations or other proceedings may divert the attention and resources of our management team and board of directors away from identifying and selecting a target business or businesses for our initial Business Combination and may negatively affect our reputation, which may impede our ability to complete an initial Business Combination.
Risks Relating to our Securities
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the Trust Account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your Public Shares and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the Trust Account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial Business Combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any Public Shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our Public Shares if we have not completed an initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the Trust Account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the Trust Account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your Public Shares and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial Business Combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. In general, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum of 300 public holders. Additionally, in connection with our initial Business Combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the applicable exchange’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
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If any of our securities are delisted from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect such securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
| ● | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| ● | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| ● | a determination that our Class A common stock are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| ● | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| ● | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or pre-empts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Our Units, Class A common stock and warrants currently qualify as covered securities under such statute. Although the states are pre-empted from regulating the sale of covered securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under such statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, which may negatively impact our ability to consummate our initial Business Combination.
You will not be permitted to exercise your warrants unless we register and qualify the issuance of the underlying shares of Class A common stock or certain exemptions are available.
Pursuant to terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial Business Combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement covering the issuance of such shares, and we will use our commercially reasonable 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 Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, in which case, the number of shares of Class A common stock that you will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum amount of shares equal to 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment). However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our shares of Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of Units will have paid the full Unit purchase price solely for the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our Private Placement Warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants that were included as part of the Units. In such an instance, our Sponsor and its permitted transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the shares of Class A common stock underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying shares of Class A common stock. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying shares of Class A common stock for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.
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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 for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in the prospectus related to the Initial Public Offering, or defective provision or (ii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the interest of the registered holders of the warrants, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants is required 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 and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the Private Placement Warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the Private Placement Warrants, 65% of the number of the then outstanding Private Placement Warrants. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant if, among other things, the last reported sale price of shares of Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted). If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants as described above could force you to: (1) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so; (2) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (3) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
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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). In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of shares of Class A common stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A common stock. Any such redemption may have similar consequences to a cash redemption described above. In addition, such redemption may occur at a time when the warrants are “out-of-the-money,” in which case you would lose any potential embedded value from a subsequent increase in the value of the Class A common stock had your warrants remained outstanding. The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of shares of Class A common stock received is capped at 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.
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. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units, and only whole warrants will trade. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of Class A common stock and one whole warrant or a greater fraction of one whole warrant to purchase one share. We have established the components of the Units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a Business Combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for a third of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive Business Combination partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this Unit structure may cause our Units to be worth less than if they included one whole warrant or a greater fraction of one whole warrant to purchase one whole share.
Our management’s ability to require holders of our public warrants to exercise such public warrants on a cashless basis will cause holders to receive fewer shares of Class A common stock upon their exercise of the public warrants than they would have received had they been able to exercise their public warrants for cash.
If we call our public warrants for redemption after the redemption criteria described elsewhere in this Annual Report have been satisfied, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its warrant (including any warrants held by our Sponsor, officers, directors or their permitted transferees) to do so on a “cashless basis.” If our management chooses to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, the number of shares of Class A common stock received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his, her or its warrant for cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our Company.
Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our Company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, 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 do not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “NY 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 (a “NY enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such NY enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the NY foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
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This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our Company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include 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 our shares of Class B common stock, which are held by our initial stockholders, are entitled to vote on the election of directors, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
General Risk Factors
We are a newly incorporated company with no operating history and no operating revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a newly incorporated company with no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial Business Combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a Business Combination and may be unable to complete our initial Business Combination. If we fail to complete our initial Business Combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Past performance by any member or members of our management team, any of their respective affiliates, or Rosecliff may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
Information regarding performance by our management team and their respective affiliates, including Rosecliff Venture, or any of its funds, investments or portfolio companies, or our Sponsor or directors is presented for informational purposes only. Not all of the companies in which our team has invested have achieved the same level of value creation. Past performance by any member or members of our management team, any of their respective affiliates, including Rosecliff Venture, or any of its funds, investments or portfolio companies, or our Sponsor or directors is not a guarantee either (1) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial Business Combination or (2) of success with respect to any Business Combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of any member or members of our management team, any of their respective affiliates, including Rosecliff Venture, or any of its funds, investments or portfolio companies, or our Sponsor or directors or any of the foregoing’s related investment’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.
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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.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of any second quarter of a fiscal year, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the end of such fiscal year. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues equalled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will designate the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our Company or our Company’s directors, officers or other employees.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for any (1) derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our Company, (2) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, employee or agent of our Company to our Company or our stockholders, or any claim for aiding and abetting any such alleged breach, (3) action asserting a claim against our Company or any director, officer or employee of our Company arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our bylaws, or (4) action asserting a claim against us or any director, officer or employee of our Company governed by the internal affairs doctrine except for, as to each of (1) through (4) above, any claim (a) as to which the Court of Chancery determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (b) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery or (c) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act against us or our directors, officers, other employees or agents. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us and may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If any action the subject matter of which is within the scope of the forum provisions is filed in a court other than a court located within the State of Delaware (a “foreign action”) in the name of any stockholder, such stockholder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of Delaware in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such stockholder in any such enforcement action by service upon such stockholder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such stockholder.
Our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.
On April 12, 2021, the staff of the SEC issued a public statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (‘SPACs’)” (the “SEC Statement”). Specifically, the SEC Statement focused on certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers following a Business Combination, which terms are similar to those contained in the warrant agreement governing our Warrants. As a result of the SEC Statement, we reevaluated the accounting treatment of our 8,433,333 Public Warrants and 4,706,667 Private Placement Warrants, and determined to classify the Warrants as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings.
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As a result, included on our condensed balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 contained elsewhere in this Annual Report are derivative liabilities related to embedded features contained within our warrants. Accounting Standards Codification 815, “Derivatives and Hedging,” provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our consolidated financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors, which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities.
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting for complex financial instruments as described herein. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis. As a result of these material weaknesses, our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2021.
Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. We continue to evaluate steps to remediate the material weakness. These remediation measures may be time consuming and costly and there is no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
If we identify any new material weaknesses in the future, any such newly identified material weakness could limit our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of our accounts or disclosures that could result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements. In such case, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and our stock price may decline as a result. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures we may take in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses.
We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
As a result of such material weakness described herein, certain restatements of our prior financials, and other matters raised or that may in the future be raised by the SEC, we face potential for litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition or our ability to complete a Business Combination.
Item 1.B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
Item 2. Properties.
We currently maintain our executive offices are located at 767 5th Avenue 34th Floor, New York, New York 10153. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee that we will pay our Sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
None.
We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to our knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against us or any of our officers or directors in their corporate capacity.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
None.
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PART II.
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Market Information
Our Units began trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) on February 12, 2021. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share. On March 25, 2021, we announced that holders of the Units may elect to separately trade the Shares of Class A common stock and redeemable warrants included in the Units commencing on or about March 26, 2021. Any Units not separated continue to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol “RCLFU”. Any underlying Shares of Class A common stock and redeemable warrants that were separated trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the symbols “RCLF” and “RCLFW”, respectively.
Holders
As of March 30, 2022, there was one holder of record of our Units, approximately one holder of record of our separately traded Class A ordinary shares, and approximately two holders of record of our redeemable warrants.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our Shares of Class A common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial Business Combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial Business Combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial Business Combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future. 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.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Performance Graph
The performance graph has been omitted as permitted under rules applicable to smaller reporting companies.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
Unregistered Sales
Founder Shares
During the period ended December 31, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 5,750,000 shares of our Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”). On February 11, 2021, we a 1:1.1 stock split of our Class B common stock, resulting in an aggregate of 6,325,000 shares outstanding. All share and per-share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the stock split. The Founder Shares included an aggregate of up to 825,000 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment was not exercised in full or in part, so that the number of Founder Shares would equal, on an as-converted basis, approximately 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock upon the consummation of the Initial Public Offering. As a result of the underwriter’s election to fully exercise its over-allotment option, no Founder Shares are currently subject to forfeiture.
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The Sponsor has agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Private Placement
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,706,667 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant ($7,060,000 in the aggregate) from us in a private placement.
These issuance was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
Use of Proceeds
On February 17, 2021, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 25,300,000 Units, including the issuance of 3,300,000 Units as a result of the underwriter’s exercise in full of its option to purchase additional Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $253,000,000. BTIG, LLC acted as sole book-running manager and I-Bankers Securities, Inc. acted as co-manager in the Initial Public Offering. The securities sold in the Initial Public Offering were registered under the Securities Act on a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-252478). The SEC declared the registration statements effective on February 12, 2021.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,706,667 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant ($7,060,000 in the aggregate) from us in a private placement.
In connection with the Initial Public Offering, we incurred offering costs of approximately $14,373,127 (including deferred underwriting commissions of approximately $8,855,000). Other incurred offering costs consisted principally of preparation fees related to the Initial Public Offering. After deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions (excluding the deferred portion, which amount will be payable upon consummation of the initial Business Combination, if consummated) and the Initial Public Offering expenses, $253,000,000 of the net proceeds from our Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds from the private placement of the Private Placement Warrants (or $10.00 per Unit sold in the Initial Public Offering) was placed in the Trust Account. The net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants are held in the Trust Account and invested as described elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
There has been no material change in the planned use of the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement as is described in the Company’s final prospectus related to the Initial Public Offering. For a description of the use of the proceeds generated from the Initial Public Offering, see “Item 1. Business.”
Item 6. [Reserved].
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
References to the “Company,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Rosecliff Acquisition Corp I. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factor Summary,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
We are a blank check company formed under the laws of the State of Delaware on November 17, 2020 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash from the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrant, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.
We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete a Business Combination will be successful.
Recent Developments
On March 11, 2022, Rosecliff, GT Gettaxi Listco, GT Gettaxi Limited, GT Gettaxi SPV, GT Gettaxi Merger Sub 1, Gett Merger Sub, Inc., and Dooboo Holding Limited, and Merger Sub entered into a Termination of the Business Combination Agreement pursuant to which the parties mutually agreed to terminate the Business Combination Agreement, effective immediately. As per the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on November 11, 2021, Rosecliff requested that the Target’s management undertake a thorough analysis of its financial projections. Following the conclusion of that process, and extensive mutual efforts to negotiate an appropriate valuation adjustment, both parties agreed to terminate the Business Combination Agreement.
As a result of the termination of the Business Combination Agreement, the Business Combination Agreement is of no further force and effect, and certain transaction agreements entered into in connection with the Business Combination Agreement, including, but not limited to, the Investors’ Rights Agreement, dated as of November 9, 2021 and to be effective as of the closing of the Business Combination, by and among Rosecliff, a Delaware limited liability company, and certain holders, will either be terminated or no longer be effective, as applicable, in accordance with their respective terms.
Rosecliff intends to continue to pursue the consummation of a business combination with an appropriate target.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, described below, and identifying a target company for a Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our Business Combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held in the Trust Account. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, we had a net loss of $2,148,278, which consists of formation and operating costs of $3,420,593 and transaction costs allocated to warrant liability of $438,283, offset by change in fair value of warrant liabilities of $1,683,358 and interest earned on investment held in Trust Account of $27,240.
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For the period from November 17, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $675, which consists of formation and operating costs.
Liquidity, Capital Resources and Going Concern
On February 17, 2021, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 25,300,000 Units at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $253,000,000 which is described in Note 3. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 4,706,667 Private Placement Warrant at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $7,060,000, which is described in Note 4.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, cash used in operating activities was $825,593. Net loss of $2,148,278 was affected by transaction costs associated with Initial Public Offering of $438,283, change in fair value of warrant liabilities of $1,683,358 and interest income on investment held in the Trust Account of $27,240. Changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $2,595,000 of cash for operating activities.
For the period November 17, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, cash used in operating activities was $0. Net loss of $675 was affected by changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $675 of cash for operating activities.
As of December 31, 2021, we had U.S. Treasury Funds held in the Trust Account of $253,027,240 consisting of fixed income securities. Interest income on the balance in the Trust Account may be used by us to pay taxes. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account (less income taxes payable), to complete our Business Combination. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our Business Combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
As of December 30, 2021, we had cash of $769,432. We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete a Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit, at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants.
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 205-40, “Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” the Company has until February 17, 2023 to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that the Company will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. Additionally, the Company may not have sufficient liquidity to fund the working capital needs of the Company through one year from the issuance of these financial statements. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company. Management has determined that the liquidity condition and mandatory liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution, raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after February 17, 2023. The Company intends to complete the proposed Business Combination before the mandatory liquidation date. However, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to consummate any Business Combination by February 17, 2023. In addition, the Company may need to raise additional capital through loans or additional investments from its Sponsor, stockholders, officers, directors or third parties. The Company’s officers, directors and Sponsor may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion, to meet the Company’s working capital needs. Accordingly, the Company may not be able to obtain additional financing. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital, the Company may be required to take additional measures to conserve liquidity, which could include, but not necessarily be limited to, curtailing operations, suspending the pursuit of a potential transaction, and reducing overhead expenses. the Company cannot provide any assurance that new financing will be available to it on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern through the liquidation date of February 17, 2023
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The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in above to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs as well as complete a Business Combination by the close of business on February 17, 2022, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. This date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Off-Balance Sheet Financing Arrangements
We have no obligations, assets or liabilities, which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2021. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an agreement to pay an affiliate of one of our executive officers a monthly fee of $10,000 for office space, support and administrative services. We began incurring these fees on February 11, 2021 and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlier of the completion of the Business Combination and our liquidation.
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $8,855,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have not identified any critical accounting policies.
Warrant Liabilities
We do not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. We evaluate all of our financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and ASC 815. The Company accounts for warrants in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480 and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”) and determined that the Warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder. The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own common stock, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.
Accordingly, the Company recognizes the 8,433,333 Public Warrants and 4,706,667 Private Placement Warrants as liabilities at fair value and adjusts the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in the Company’s statement of operations. The estimated fair value of the Public Warrants were measured at fair value using a binomial lattice model incorporating the Cox-Ross-Rubenstein methodology.
The measurement of the Public Warrants after the separation of the Public Warrants from the Units is classified as Level 1 due to the use of an observable market quote in an active market. For periods subsequent to the separation of the Public Warrants from the Units, the closing price of the Public Warrant was used as the fair value for the warrants as of each relevant date. At December 31, 2021 the Private Placement Warrants transferred to Level 2 due to the use of an observable market quote for a similar asset in an active market. See Notes 8 and 10.
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Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480. Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that feature redemption rights that is either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. Our Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, 25,300,000 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our balance sheets.
Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” The Company has two classes of ordinary shares, which are referred to as Class A common stock and Class B common stock. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of stock.. Net income (loss) per common share is calculated by dividing the net income (loss) by the weighted average shares of common stock outstanding for the respective period. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A common stocks is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Not required for smaller reporting companies.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
This information appears following Item 15 of this Report and is included herein by reference.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective, due solely to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the Company’s accounting for complex financial instruments. As a result, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Form 10-K present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented.
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Management intends to implement remediation steps to improve our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we intend to expand and improve our review process for complex securities and related accounting standards. We have improved this process by enhancing access to accounting literature, identification of third-party professionals with whom to consult regarding complex accounting applications and consideration of additional staff with the requisite experience and training to supplement existing accounting professionals.
Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
The firm of WithumSmith+Brown, PC, or Withum, acts as our independent registered public accounting firm. The following is a summary of fees paid to Withum for services rendered.
Audit Fees. For the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from November 17, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, fees for our independent registered public accounting firm were approximately $116,248 and $20,600, respectively, for the services Withum performed in connection with our Initial Public Offering and the audit of our December 31, 2021 and 2020 financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Audit-Related Fees. For the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from November 17, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, our independent registered public accounting firm did not render assurance and related services related to the performance of the audit or review of financial statements.
Tax Fees. For the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from November 17, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, our independent registered public accounting firm did not render services to us for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.
All Other Fees. For the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from November 17, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, there were no fees billed for products and services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm other than those set forth above.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our Initial Public Offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
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Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Form 10-K: |
| (1) | Financial Statements: |
| (2) | Financial Statement Schedules: |
None.
| (3) | Exhibits |
We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such material can also be obtained from the Public Reference Section of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates or on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
Item 7.A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.
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Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
ROSECLIFF ACQUISITION CORP I
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm PCAOB ID Number 100 | F-2 |
| Financial Statements: | |
| Balance Sheets | F-3 |
| Statements of Operations | F-4 |
| Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) | F-5 |
| Statements of Cash Flows | F-6 |
| Notes to Financial Statements | F-7 to F-21 |
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of
Rosecliff Acquisition Corp I
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Rosecliff Acquisition Corp I (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ (deficit) equity and cash flows for year ended December 31, 2021 and for period from November 17, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for year ended December 31, 2021 and for period from November 17, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs as well as complete a Business Combination by the close of business on February 17, 2023, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The liquidity concerns and date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
March 30, 2022
PCAOB ID Number
F-2
ROSECLIFF ACQUISITION CORP I
BALANCE SHEETS
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| Current assets | ||||||||
| Cash | $ | $ | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses | ||||||||
| Total Current Assets | ||||||||
| Deferred offering costs | ||||||||
| Investment held in Trust Account | ||||||||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | $ | ||||||
| LIABILITIES CLASS A ORDINARY SHARES SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION AND STOCKHOLDERS’ (DEFICIT) EQUITY | ||||||||
| Current liabilities | ||||||||
| Accrued expenses | $ | $ | ||||||
| Accrued offering costs | ||||||||
| Due to Sponsor | ||||||||
| Promissory note – related party | ||||||||
| Total Current Liabilities | ||||||||
| Warrant liabilities | ||||||||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | ||||||||
| Total Liabilities | ||||||||
| Commitments and contingencies | ||||||||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | ||||||||
| Stockholders’ (Deficit) Equity | ||||||||
| Preferred stock, $ | ||||||||
| Class A common stock, $ | ||||||||
| Class B common stock, $ | ||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | ||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Total Stockholders’ (Deficit) Equity | ( | ) | ||||||
| LIABILITIES CLASS A ORDINARY SHARES SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION AND STOCKHOLDERS’ (DEFICIT) EQUITY | $ | $ | ||||||
| (1) | |||
| (2) | |||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-3
ROSECLIFF ACQUISITION CORP I
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
| Year Ended December 31, | For the Period from November 17, 2020 (Inception) Through December 31, | |||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| General and administrative expenses | $ | $ | ||||||
| Loss from operations | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||
| Change in fair value of warrants | ||||||||
| Transaction costs allocated to warrant liabilities | ( | ) | ||||||
| Interest earned on investment held in Trust Account | ||||||||
| Total other income, net | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| Weighted average shares outstanding, Class A common stock | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class A common stock | $ | ( | ) | $ | ||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding, Class B common stock | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B common stock | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-4
ROSECLIFF ACQUISITION CORP I
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
| Class
A Common Stock | Class
B (1)(2) Common Stock | Additional Paid-in | Accumulated | Total Stockholders’ Equity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | (Deficit) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance — November 17, 2020 | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance – December 31, 2020 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash paid in excess of fair value of Private Placement warrants | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accretion for Class A common stock to redemption amount | — | $ | — | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance – December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
| (1) |
| (2) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-5
ROSECLIFF ACQUISITION CORP I
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
| Year Ended December 31, | For the Period from November 17, 2020 (Inception) Through December 31, | |||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liabilities | ( | ) | ||||||
| Transaction costs allocated to warrant liabilities | ||||||||
| Interest earned on investments held in Trust Account | ( | ) | ||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
| Prepaid expenses | ( | ) | ||||||
| Accrued expenses | ||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | ( | ) | $ | ||||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||||||
| Investment of cash in Trust Account | $ | ( | ) | $ | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | $ | ( | ) | $ | ||||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||||||
| Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid | $ | $ | ||||||
| Proceeds from sale of Private Placements Warrants | ||||||||
| Proceeds from promissory note – related party | ||||||||
| Repayments of promissory note – related party | ( | ) | ||||||
| Payment of offering costs | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | $ | $ | ||||||
| Net Change in Cash | $ | $ | ||||||
| Cash – Beginning of period | ||||||||
| Cash – End of period | $ | $ | ||||||
| Non-Cash investing and financing activities: | ||||||||
| Offering costs included in accrued offering costs | $ | $ | ||||||
| Offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of founder shares | $ | $ | ||||||
| Offering costs paid through promissory note | $ | $ | ||||||
| Payment of accrued expenses through promissory note | $ | $ | ||||||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | $ | $ | ||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-6
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Rosecliff Acquisition Corp I (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on November 17, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”).
The Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from November 17, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”), which is described below, and subsequent to the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The registration statement for the Company’s
Initial Public Offering was declared effective on February 11, 2021. On February 17, 2021 the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering
of
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial
Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of
Transaction costs amounted to $
Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering
on February 17, 2021, an amount of $
The Company’s management has broad discretion
with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants,
although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There
is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial
Business Combinations with one or more operating businesses or assets that together have a fair market value equal to at least
F-7
The Company will provide the holders of the
outstanding Public Shares (the “Public Stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public
Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the
Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a
Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company. The Public Stockholders will be entitled to redeem their
Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then held in the Trust Account (initially $
The Company will only proceed with a Business
Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company
seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Certificate
of Incorporation will provide that a Public Stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom
such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of
The Sponsor has agreed (a) to waive its redemption
rights with respect to the Founder Shares and Public Shares held by it in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and
(b) not to propose an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation
to allow redemptions in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem
The Company will have until February 17, 2023
to complete a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). If the Company has not completed a Business Combination within
the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably
possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the
aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously
released to pay taxes (less up to $
The Sponsor has agreed to waive its rights
to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to the Founder Shares it will receive if the Company fails to
complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Sponsor or any of its respective affiliates acquire
Public Shares, such Public Shares will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account if the Company fails to
complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred
underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination
within the Combination Period, and in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that
will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share
value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per Unit ($
F-8
Liquidity, Capital Resources and Going Concerns
On February 17, 2021, we consummated the Initial
Public Offering of
For the year ended December 31, 2021, cash used
in operating activities was $
For the period November 17, 2020 (inception) through
December 31, 2020, cash used in operating activities was $
As of December 31, 2021, we had U.S. Treasury
Funds held in the Trust Account of $
As of December 30, 2021, we had cash of $
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 205-40, “Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” the Company has until February 17, 2023 to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that the Company will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. Additionally, the Company may not have sufficient liquidity to fund the working capital needs of the Company through one year from the issuance of these financial statements. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company. Management has determined that the liquidity condition and mandatory liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution, raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. The Company intends to complete the proposed Business Combination before the mandatory liquidation date. However, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to consummate any Business Combination by February 17, 2023. In addition, the Company may need to raise additional capital through loans or additional investments from its Sponsor, stockholders, officers, directors or third parties. The Company’s officers, directors and Sponsor may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion, to meet the Company’s working capital needs. Accordingly, the Company may not be able to obtain additional financing. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital, the Company may be required to take additional measures to conserve liquidity, which could include, but not necessarily be limited to, curtailing operations, suspending the pursuit of a potential transaction, and reducing overhead expenses. The Company cannot provide any assurance that new financing will be available to it on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern through the liquidation date of February 17, 2023
F-9
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in above to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs as well as complete a Business Combination by the close of business on February 17, 2022, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. This date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the accounting and disclosure rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. One of the more significant accounting estimates included in these financial statements is the determination of the fair value of the warrant liabilities. Such estimates may be subject to change as more current information becomes available and accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Investment Held in Trust Account
At December 31, 2021, the majority of the assets held in the Trust Account were held in money market funds, which are invested primarily in U.S. Treasury securities. At December 31, 2020, there were no assets held in the Trust Account. The Company presents its investments in treasury securities on the balance sheet at amortized cost and adjusted for the amortization or accretion of premiums or discounts. The Company presents its investments in money market funds on the balance sheet at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these securities are included in interest income in the accompanying statements of operations. The estimated fair value of investments held in the Trust Account is determined using available market information.
F-10
Offering Costs
Offering costs consisted of legal, accounting and other expenses incurred through the Initial Public Offering that were directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs were allocated to the separable financial instruments issued in the Initial Public Offering based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received. Offering costs allocated to warrant liabilities were expensed as incurred in the statements of operations. Offering costs associated with the Class A common stock issued were initially charged to temporary equity and then accreted to common stock subject to redemption upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering.
Class A common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A common stock
subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”
Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value.
Conditionally redeemable Class A common stock (including Class A common stock that features redemption rights that is either within the
control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control)
is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s
Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to
occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at December 31, 2021 and 2020,
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable common stock to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount value. The change in the carrying value of redeemable Class A common stock resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.
At December 31, 2021, the Class A common stock reflected in the balance sheets are reconciled in the following table:
| Gross proceeds | $ | |||
| Less: | ||||
| Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants | ( | ) | ||
| Class A common stock issuance costs | ( | ) | ||
| Plus: | ||||
| Accretion of carrying value to redemption value | ||||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ |
Warrant Liabilities
The Company does not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. The Company evaluates all of its financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and FASB ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The Company accounts for warrants in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480 and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”) and determined that the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder. The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own common stock, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.
F-11
Accordingly, the Company recognizes the
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2021 and 2020. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”. The Company has two classes of ordinary shares, which are referred to as Class A common stock and Class B common stock. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of stock.. Net income (loss) per common share is calculated by dividing the net income (loss) by the weighted average shares of common stock outstanding for the respective period. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A common stocks is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
The calculation of diluted income (loss)
per share does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the (i) Initial Public Offering and (ii) the private
placement since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events. The warrants are exercisable to purchase
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net loss per share of common stock (in dollars, except per share amounts):
| Year Ended December 31, | For the Period from | |||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||
| Class A | Class B | Class A | Class B | |||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share of common stock | ||||||||||||||||
| Numerator: | ||||||||||||||||
| Allocation of net loss, as adjusted | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | ( | ) | ||||||
| Denominator: | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding | ||||||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share of common stock | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | ( | ) | ||||||
F-12
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject
the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times may exceed the Federal
Depository Insurance Corporation coverage limit of $
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximate the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheets, primarily due to their short-term nature, other than the warrant liabilities (see Note 10)
Fair Value Measurements
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:
| ● | Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets; |
| ● | Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and |
| ● | Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable. |
In some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value might be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging.” For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recorded at its fair value on the grant date and is then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period. Derivative liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date.
F-13
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-06, Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) (“ASU 2020-06”) to simplify accounting for certain financial instruments. ASU 2020-06 eliminates the current models that require separation of beneficial conversion and cash conversion features from convertible instruments and simplifies the derivative scope exception guidance pertaining to equity classification of contracts in an entity’s own equity. The new standard also introduces additional disclosures for convertible debt and freestanding instruments that are indexed to and settled in an entity’s own equity. ASU 2020-06 amends the diluted earnings per share guidance, including the requirement to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments. ASU 2020-06 is effective January 1, 2022 and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis, with early adoption permitted beginning on January 1, 2021. The Company is currently assessing the impact, if any, that ASU 2020-06 would have on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s unaudited condensed financial statements.
NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the Company
sold
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial
Public Offering, the Sponsor has purchased an aggregate of
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
During the period ended December 31, 2020, the
Sponsor paid $
The Sponsor has agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
F-14
Amount Due to Sponsor
At December 31, 2021 the Company had advances
owed to the Sponsor in the amount of $
Administrative Services Agreement
Commencing on February 11, 2021 through the earlier
of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination and its liquidation, the Company agreed to pay the Sponsor a total of $
Related Party Loans
In order to fund working capital deficiencies
or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the
Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital
Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds
of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the
Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust
Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans.
Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with
respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest,
or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $
NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Registration Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on February 11, 2021, the holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) will be entitled to registration rights requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion to shares of Class A common stock). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period. The registration rights agreement does not contain liquidated damages or other cash settlement provisions resulting from delays in registering our securities. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
F-15
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee
of $
Termination of the Previously Announced Business Combination Agreement
On March 11, 2022, Rosecliff, GT Gettaxi Listco, GT Gettaxi Limited, GT Gettaxi SPV, GT Gettaxi Merger Sub 1, Gett Merger Sub, Inc., and Dooboo Holding Limited, and Merger Sub entered into a Termination of the Business Combination Agreement pursuant to which the parties mutually agreed to terminate the Business Combination Agreement, effective immediately. As per the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on November 11, 2021, Rosecliff requested that the Target’s management undertake a thorough analysis of its financial projections. Following the conclusion of that process, and extensive mutual efforts to negotiate an appropriate valuation adjustment, both parties agreed to terminate the Business Combination Agreement.
As a result of the termination of the Business Combination Agreement, the Business Combination Agreement is of no further force and effect, and certain transaction agreements entered into in connection with the Business Combination Agreement, including, but not limited to, the Investors’ Rights Agreement, dated as of November 9, 2021 and to be effective as of the closing of the Business Combination, by and among Rosecliff, a Delaware limited liability company, and certain holders, will either be terminated or no longer be effective, as applicable, in accordance with their respective terms.
Rosecliff intends to continue to pursue the consummation of a business combination with an appropriate target.
NOTE 7. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preferred Stock — The Company
is authorized to issue
Class A Common Stock —
The Company is authorized to issue
Class B Common Stock —
The Company is authorized to issue
Holders of Class A common stock and holders of Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders, except as otherwise required by law.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically
convert into Class A common stock at the time of a Business Combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis,
subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment
as provided herein.
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NOTE 8. WARRANTS
As of December 31, 2021, there were
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and the Company will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption is available.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement covering the issuance, under the Securities Act, of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of a Business Combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement.
Notwithstanding the above, if the shares of Class A common stock are, at the time of any exercise of a warrant, not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per share of Class A common stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00 — Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the warrants (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):
| ● | in whole and not in part; |
| ● | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| ● | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if it is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per share of Class A common stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00 — Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:
| ● | in whole and not in part; |
| ● | at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares based on the redemption date and the fair market value of the shares of Class A common stock; |
| ● | if, and only if, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted); and |
The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, extraordinary dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the Public Warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of Class A common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Public Warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of Public Warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their Public Warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such Public Warrants. Accordingly, the Public Warrants may expire worthless.
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In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of its initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the Company’s initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of such initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates its 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, the $18.00 and $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described above will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% and 100%, respectively, of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
At December 31, 2021, there were
NOTE 9. INCOME TAX
The Company’s net deferred tax assets are as follows:
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Deferred tax asset | ||||||||
| Net operating loss carryforward | $ | $ | ||||||
| Startup/Organization Expenses | ||||||||
| Total deferred tax asset | ||||||||
| Valuation allowance | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Deferred tax asset, net of allowance | $ | $ | ||||||
The Company did not have any significant deferred tax assets or liabilities as of December 31, 2021 and 2020.
The income tax provision consists of the following:
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Federal | ||||||||
| Deferred benefit | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| Change in valuation allowance | ||||||||
| Income tax provision | $ | $ |
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company
had $
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In assessing the realization of the deferred tax
assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion of all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which
temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred
tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of
the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred
tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance. For the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from November
17, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the change in the valuation allowance was $
A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate at December 31, 2021 and 2020 is as follows:
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Statutory federal income tax rate | % | % | ||||||
| State taxes, net of federal tax benefit | % | % | ||||||
| Deferred tax liability change in rate | % | % | ||||||
| Change in fair value of warrants | % | % | ||||||
| Transaction costs allocated to warrants | ( | )% | % | |||||
| Change in valuation allowance | ( | )% | ( | )% | ||||
| Income tax provision | % | % | ||||||
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction in various state and local jurisdictions and is subject to examination by the various taxing authorities.
NOTE 10. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The fair value hierarchy (see Note 2) is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities.
At December 31, 2021, assets held in the Trust
Account were comprised of $
F-19
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2021 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value.
| Description | Level | December 31, 2021 | ||||||
| Assets: | ||||||||
| Investments held in Trust Account – U.S. Treasury Fund | 1 | $ | ||||||
| Description | Level | December 31, 2021 | ||||||
| Liabilities: | ||||||||
| Warrant Liability – Public Warrants | 1 | $ | ||||||
| Warrant Liability – Private Placement Warrants | 2 | $ | ||||||
The Warrants were accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40 and are presented within warrant liabilities on our accompanying December 31, 2021 balance sheets. The warrant liabilities are measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value presented within change in fair value of warrant liabilities in the statement of operations.
The Company initially valued its Private Placement
Warrants utilizing a lattice model, specifically a binomial lattice model incorporating the Cox-Ross-Rubenstein methodology and subsequently
valued the Private Placement Warrants through December 31, 2021, with changes in fair value recognized in the statement of operations.
The estimated fair value of the warrant liabilities was determined using Level 3 inputs. Inherent in a binomial options pricing model
are assumptions related to expected share-price volatility, expected life, risk-free interest rate and dividend yield. The Company estimates
the volatility of its shares of common stock based on historical volatility that matches the expected remaining life of the Private Placement
Warrants. The risk-free interest rate was based on the U.S. Treasury zero-coupon yield curve on the grant date for a maturity similar
to the expected remaining life of the Private Placement Warrants. The expected life of the warrants were assumed to be equivalent to their
remaining contractual term. The dividend rate is based on the historical rate, which the Company anticipates to remain at
The measurement of the Public Warrants after the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units is classified as Level 1 due to the use of an observable market quote in an active market. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units, the closing price of the Public Warrant was used as the fair value for the Warrants as of each relevant date. At December 31, 2021 the Private Placement Warrants transferred to Level 2 due to the use of an observable market quote for a similar asset in an active market.
F-20
The following table presents the key inputs to value the warrants under the Binomial Lattice valuation model as of February 17, 2021, and as of December 31, 2021:
| February 17, 2021 | ||||
| Risk-free interest rate | % | |||
| Expected term (years) | ||||
| Expected volatility | % | |||
| Exercise Price | $ | |||
| Implied Fair Value of Class A Common Stock | $ | |||
The following table presents the changes in the fair value of the warrant liabilities (Level 3 measurements):
| Private Placement | Public | Warrant Liabilities | ||||||||||
| Fair value as of January 1, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Initial measurement on February 17, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Change in fair value | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Transfer to Level 1 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Transfer to Level 2 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Fair value as of December 31, 2021 | $ | |||||||||||
Transfers to/from Levels 1, 2 and 3 are recognized
at the end of the reporting period in which a change in valuation technique or methodology occurs. The estimated fair value of the Public
Warrants previously transferred from a Level 3 measurement to a Level 1 fair value measurement for the year ended December 31, 2021 was
$
NOTE 11. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, other than described below, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
On March 11, 2022, Rosecliff, GT Gettaxi Listco, GT Gettaxi Limited, GT Gettaxi SPV, GT Gettaxi Merger Sub 1, Gett Merger Sub, Inc., and Dooboo Holding Limited, and Merger Sub entered into a Termination of the Business Combination Agreement pursuant to which the parties mutually agreed to terminate the Business Combination Agreement, effective immediately. See Note 6 for further detail.
F-21
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.
Item 9.A. Controls and Procedures.
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and our principal financial and accounting officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) were not effective, solely due to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the Company’s accounting for complex financial instruments. As a result, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
We made changes in our internal control processes over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act), other than the circumstances described above, to issues that have materially affected, or, in anticipation, to reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting. Management implemented steps to improve our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we expanded and improved our review process for complex securities and related accounting standards. The foregoing actions, were completed as of September 30, 2021.
In light of the material weakness, we enhanced our processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements to better evaluate and understand the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our financial statements, including providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. We will continue to evaluate whether additional measures should be implemented with respect to such material weakness. As we continue to evaluate and improve our financial reporting process, we may take additional actions to modify certain of the measures described above. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures we may take in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses.
Internal Control over Financial Reporting
This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies.
Item 9.B. Other Information.
None.
Item 9.C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspection.
Not Applicable.
49
PART III.
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
Our current directors and executive officer are as follows:
Directors and Officers
| Name | Age | Title | ||
| Michael P. Murphy | 50 | Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
| Jordan Zimmerman | 66 | President and Director | ||
| Kieran Goodwin | 52 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Brian Radecki | 51 | Director | ||
| Frank S. Edmonds | 52 | Director | ||
| Heather Bellini | 52 | Director |
Executive Officers
Michael P. Murphy has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board of Directors since our inception. Mr. Murphy began his investing career over 25 years ago. His career has been focused on being an entrepreneur in the investing and financial service industry. In the past, he was the Founder of a wealth management firm, hedge fund and multiple commercial real estate portfolios. In 2016, Mr. Murphy founded Rosecliff Venture and has served as its Managing Partner since its inception. Over the past four years, Rosecliff Venture has made over 80 investments, raised over $800 million in assets under management, launched seven investment funds and experienced multiple portfolio company exits. A few select transactions from the Rosecliff Venture portfolio include; Allbirds, Casper, Postmates, Ro, Thirty Madison, Petal and Wheels Up. Mr. Murphy is currently a board member of multiple private, venture capital backed companies including Cargo Systems, Squarefoot, ForDays and Agile Stacks. Mr. Murphy previously was a contributor on CNBC and regularly appeared on the network’s FASTMONEY segment. Currently, Mr. Murphy is a regular contributor on Fox Network and makes appearances each week on Varney & Co, Mornings with Maria & Cavuto. Mr. Murphy earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Hofstra University.
We believe that Mr. Murphy’s significant investment experience, contacts and relationships make him well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Jordan Zimmerman has served as our President and a member of our Board of Directors since our inception. Mr. Zimmerman currently serves as the Chairman and Founder of Zimmerman Advertising, which he founded in 1984. Mr. Zimmerman trademarked his advertising strategy, “Brandtailing®,” a maverick combination of long-term brand building and short-term sales boosting that delivers measurable results. Highly respected within the advertising world, Mr. Zimmerman is often asked to address industry groups and participate in panel discussions across the country. Zimmerman Advertising has worked with highly recognizable and successful businesses in the consumer sector, such as Nissan, McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Five Below, Party City, Kay Jewelers, AutoNation, Michaels, Advance America, TBC/Tire Kingdom, Office Depot, and Carfax. The agency works with these companies to help increase brand awareness, market share and overall company growth.
Outside of work, Mr. Zimmerman is an author, a philanthropist, a Horatio Alger Award recipient and a Golden Circle Member of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
In March 2015, with a donation of $10 million dollars from the Jordan Zimmerman Family Foundation, Mr. Zimmerman established the University of South Florida Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications and its highly regarded Zimmerman Advertising Program. Mr. Zimmerman was appointed by the Governor of Florida for a second term to sit on the Board of Trustees at the University of South Florida where he has served as the Chairman of the Board since 2019. Mr. Zimmerman earned a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and an MBA from the University of South Florida and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University.
50
We believe Mr. Zimmerman’s entrepreneurial and senior leadership experience as well as his broad network makes him well qualified to serve on our board of directors.
Kieran Goodwin has served as our Chief Financial Officer since our inception. Mr. Goodwin previously founded Panning Capital Management, L.P. (“Panning”) in 2012 and was Co-Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager until 2018. Panning was a long/short credit hedge fund with a peak AUM of $2.5 billion during Mr. Goodwin’s tenure. From 2004 to 2010, Mr. Goodwin was the Head of Trading and one of five partners and four members of the Global Investment Committee at King Street Capital Management (“King Street”). As Head of Trading, Mr. Goodwin was responsible for managing King Street’s twenty traders. During his time at King Street, the firm’s AUM grew from $4 billion to approximately $20 billion. Mr. Goodwin previously was a Managing Director at both UBS and Merrill Lynch, where he ran proprietary trading books. Since 2018, Mr. Goodwin has invested his own capital in both private and public markets. He is an investor in many early-stage companies and currently serves on the board of directors of Tradewell Technologies Inc. and Zoomi Inc. Additionally, he serves on the board of directors Voya Prime Rate Trust, a public closed-end loan fund. Mr. Goodwin received a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science, cum laude, from Duke University in 1991.
Board of Directors
Brian Radecki has served as the Chairman of our Board of Directors since our inception. Mr. Radecki currently serves as the Founder, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Rapa Therapeutics (“Rapa”), a clinical stage start-up biotechnology company, spun out of the National Cancer Institute in September 2017. Mr. Radecki is an active angel investor in, or advisor to, several companies across various industries — from start-ups with zero revenue, to pre-IPO and large public companies. He has over 20 years of experience building both small private and large public companies. He works closely with many top-tier private equity, venture capital and institutional investors along with entrepreneurs, boards of directors and senior management teams to build disruptive and innovative platform companies by executing strategic plans to get things done.
Mr. Radecki is currently an investor and director on the board of Wheels Up. Previously, Mr. Radecki was an early investor in, and served on the board of directors of, Rain King Software, Inc., a leading sales and marketing intelligence platform, when it was acquired in August 2017 by Zoom Info (NASDAQ: ZI) (formerly DiscoverOrg); Docutech, a document, eSign, eClosing and compliance technology provider, when it was acquired by First American (NYSE: FAF) for $350 million in March 2020; and Optimal Blue, a digital marketplace in the residential mortgage industry, which was recently acquired by Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE: BKI). Also, Mr. Radecki invested pre-IPO in other companies including Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND) and Skillz Inc. (NYSE: SKLZ), which is merging (via SPAC) with Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: FEAC). After working approximately 20 years at public companies, Mr. Radecki retired in 2016 from CoStar Group Inc. (“CoStar”) (NASDAQ: CSGP), a provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces, where he held several senior operational and financial roles over 18 years, including Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and VP of Research Operations (the company’s largest operating area). While at CoStar, Mr. Radecki oversaw or played a major role in CoStar’s accounting and finance operations in the U.S. and U.K. — from internal audit, tax and budgeting to SEC reporting, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and due diligence. Additionally, Mr. Radecki helped lead CoStar’s 1998 Initial Public Offering, multiple follow on equity offerings and international expansion, as well as leading several acquisitions and the integration of public companies, including Comps.com (NASDAQ: CDOT) in 2000 for $102 million, and LoopNet (NASDAQ: LOOP) in 2012 for $860 million. Also, Mr. Radecki was named the Washington Business Journal’s “CFO of the Year” in the large company category for 2012. During 2014, he led and raised nearly $1.1 billion of debt and equity. Mr. Radecki also played a major role in acquisitions of Apartments.com in 2014 for $585 million and ApartmentFinder in 2015 for $170 million, which allowed CoStar to successfully enter a new strategic vertical and significantly expanded CoStar’s total addressable market. Mr. Radecki was instrumental in building CoStar from a small pre-IPO start-up to a multi-billion dollar public company. Before joining CoStar, Mr. Radecki worked at Axent Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: AXNT), an international security software company; Azerty, Inc. and the public accounting firm, Lumsden & McCormick, LLP, both based in Buffalo, NY.
Mr. Radecki earned a Bachelor of Science from University of New York at Buffalo, with a dual degree in Accounting and Finance.
We believe Mr. Radecki’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his extensive experience working at public companies in senior level operational, business development, accounting and financial roles, coupled with his substantial experience as a private angel investor, entrepreneur and advisor to organizations and executives, along with his track record in deal making and capital markets.
51
Heather Bellini has served as one of our directors since February 2021. She has been the Chief Financial Officer of Deep Instinct, a New York and Israeli based cyber security software company since 2020. Prior to Deep Instinct, Ms. Bellini was a Partner at Goldman Sachs since 2012. At Goldman Sachs, she was the Business Unit Leader of the Technology Research Group, as well as an equity research analyst covering the Software sector and select Internet-related companies. Ms. Bellini’s universe of research coverage had a significant market capitalization. Ms. Bellini was also responsible on the research side in bringing to market 20 of the companies in her coverage universe through their Initial Public Offerings, including Anaplan, Atlassian, Cloudflare, Crowdstrike, Dropbox, Dynatrace, Elastic NV, Facebook, MongoDB, Okta, Ping Identity, Rackspace Holdings, Salesforce, Slack Technologies, Snowflake, Solarwinds, Twilio, Unity, VMware, Workday and Zoom Video Communications. Ms. Bellini was named to the inaugural Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in Finance in 2020.
Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Ms. Bellini was a senior managing director and head of technology research at International Strategy and Investment from 2009 to 2011. Earlier, she was head of technology research as well as a software analyst at UBS from 2003 to 2009. Ms. Bellini earned a BA in Economics from Denison University and an MBA in Finance from Columbia University. Ms. Bellini is a CFA charterholder.
We believe that Ms. Bellini’s significant investment and Initial Public Offering experience, research background and relationships make her well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Frank S. Edmonds has served as one of our directors since February 2021. He has been a Partner at Panning Capital Management, L.P. since 2013, where he served as Co-Managing Partner and Head of Research from 2013 to 2018. From 2002 to 2012, Mr. Edmonds was a Senior Research Analyst at King Street, where he served as one of five partners and four members of the Global Investment Committee. Prior to King Street, Mr. Edmonds was a research analyst at Oak Hill Advisors. He serves on the boards of Shane’s Rib Shack, a fast casual barbeque restaurant business with 65 locations in the southeast United States, as well as the Darden Graduate School of Business and the Jefferson Scholars Foundation. He is currently the Chair of the Investment Committee at Woodberry Forest School. Mr. Edmonds received a B.A. in History/American Studies and joint M.B.A. / J.D. degrees from the University of Virginia.
We believe that Mr. Edmonds’ significant investment experience, contacts and relationships make him well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Director Independence
Nasdaq listing rules require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our Initial Public Offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person that, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, stockholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). We have two “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing rules and applicable SEC rules. Our board has determined that each of Frank S. Edmonds and Heather Bellini is an independent director under applicable SEC and Nasdaq listing rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Number, Terms of Office and Election of Officers and Director
Our board of directors consists of five members.
Prior to our initial Business Combination, holders of our Founder Shares will have the right to elect all of our directors and remove members of the board of directors for any reason, and holders of our Public Shares will not have the right to vote on the election of directors during such time. Our directors are appointed for a term of two years. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended if approved by holders of a majority of at least 90% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting. Approval of our initial Business Combination will require the affirmative vote of a majority of our board directors, which must include a majority of our independent directors. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the stockholders, prior to our initial Business Combination, any vacancies on our board of directors may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present and voting at the meeting of our board of directors, or by holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of our Class B common stock.
52
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chief Executive Officer, a President, a Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, a Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, a Treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee; a compensation committee; and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Each of our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee are composed solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that was approved by our board of directors and has the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website.
Audit Committee
The members of our audit committee are Brian Radecki, Frank S. Edmonds and Heather Bellini. Brian Radecki serves as chairman of the audit committee.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the purpose and principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| ● | assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent registered public accounting firm; |
| ● | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
| ● | pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
| ● | reviewing and discussing with the independent registered public accounting firm all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; |
| ● | setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| ● | setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| ● | obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (1) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; |
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| ● | meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”; |
| ● | reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
| ● | reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
The members of our compensation committee are Brian Radecki, Frank S. Edmonds and Heather Bellini. Ms. Bellini serves as chair of the compensation committee.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibility of the compensation committee, including:
| ● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
| ● | reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive-compensation and equity-based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other officers; |
| ● | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| ● | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| ● | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| ● | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
| ● | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| ● | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other adviser and is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Brian Radecki, Frank S. Edmonds and Heather Bellini. Mr. Edmonds serves as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
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We have adopted a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
| ● | identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board of directors, and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for election at the annual stockholder meeting or to fill vacancies on the board of directors; |
| ● | developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
| ● | coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the Company; and |
| ● | reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary. |
The charter also provides that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and is directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders. Prior to our initial Business Combination, holders of our Public Shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a code of ethics and business conduct (our “Code of Ethics”) applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our form of our Code of Ethics as an exhibit to this Annual Report. We have also posted a copy of our Code of Ethics and the charters of our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee on our website under https://rosecliffspac.com/governance/ . Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this Annual Report. You are able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of our Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Conflicts of Interest
Our management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our Sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential Business Combinations to the related entities described below, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our Sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the Company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.
In addition, our officers or directors may be investors, or have other direct or indirect interests, in a business with which we may enter into a Business Combination agreement and/or in certain funds or other persons that may purchase shares in the Initial Public Offering or that may otherwise purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the public market.
Our officers, directors and any of their respective affiliates may sponsor or form, or, in the case of individuals, serve as a director or officer of, other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial Business Combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial Business Combination.
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Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a Business Combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a Business Combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such Business Combination opportunity to such entity. See “Risk Factors — Each of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.”
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to complete our initial Business Combination.
Our directors and officers may become involved with subsequent special purpose acquisition companies similar to our Company. Potential investors should also be aware of the following potential conflicts of interest:
| ● | None of our directors or officers is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities. |
| ● | In the course of their other business activities, our directors and officers may become aware of investment and business opportunities that may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. For a complete description of our management’s other affiliations, see information below. |
| ● | Our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and Public Shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial Business Combination. Additionally, our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares if we fail to consummate our initial Business Combination within 24 months after the closing of the Initial Public Offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial stockholders (or any of our directors, officers or affiliates) acquire Public Shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if we fail to consummate our initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial Business Combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of our Public Shares, and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. Pursuant to a letter agreement that our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into with us, with certain limited exceptions, the Founder Shares will not be transferable, assignable or saleable by our initial stockholders until the earlier of: (1) one year after the completion of our initial Business Combination; and (2) subsequent to our initial Business Combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20-trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial Business Combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the Private Placement Warrants and the shares of Class A common stock underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or saleable by our Sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial Business Combination. Since our Sponsor and directors and officers may directly or indirectly own our securities following the Initial Public Offering, our directors and officers may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial Business Combination. |
| ● | Our directors and officers may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular Business Combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial Business Combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether to proceed with a particular Business Combination. |
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| ● | Our directors and officers may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular Business Combination if the retention or resignation of any such directors and officers was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial Business Combination. |
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
| ● | the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity; |
| ● | the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and |
| ● | it would not be fair to the corporation and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation. |
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our directors and officers have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Furthermore, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the doctrine of corporate opportunity will not apply with respect to any of our directors or officers in circumstances where the application of the doctrine would conflict with any fiduciary duties or contractual obligations they may have, and there will not be any expectancy that any of our directors or officers will offer any such corporate opportunity of which he or she may become aware to us. Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our directors and officers currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
| Individual | Entity | Entity’s Business | Affiliation | |||
| Michael P. Murphy | Rosecliff Venture Management, LLC | Venture Capital | Founder and Managing Partner | |||
| Cargo Systems, Inc. | Rideshare Advertising | Director | ||||
| Squarefoot | Commercial Real Estate | Director | ||||
| ForDays | Fashion | Director | ||||
| Agile Stacks | Technology | Director | ||||
| Jordan Zimmerman | Zimmerman Advertising | Advertising | Founder & Chairman | |||
| Kieran Goodwin | Zoomi, Inc. | Education/Artificial Intelligence | Director | |||
| Tradewell Technologies | Financial Technology | Director | ||||
| Voya Prime Rate Loan Trust | Closed-End Fund | Director | ||||
| Brian Radecki | Rapa Therapeutics, LLC | Biotechnology | Founder, Chief Executive | |||
| Officer and Director | ||||||
| Wheels Up Partners Holdings LLC | Transportation/Aviation | Director | ||||
| Frank S. Edmonds | Panning Capital Management, L.P. | Financial Services | Co-Managing Partner | |||
| Shane’s Rib Shack | Fast-Casual Restaurant | Director | ||||
| Heather Bellini | Deep Instinct | Cyber security | Chief Financial Officer |
Accordingly, if any of the above directors or officers become aware of a Business Combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such Business Combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the Company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. We do not believe, however, that any of the foregoing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue Business Combination opportunities or complete our initial Business Combination.
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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial Business Combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, directors or officers.
In addition, our Sponsor or any of its affiliates may make additional investments in the Company in connection with the initial Business Combination, although our Sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation or current intention to do so. If our Sponsor or any of its affiliates elects to make additional investments, such proposed investments could influence our Sponsor’s motivation to complete an initial Business Combination.
In the event that we submit our initial Business Combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote any Founder Shares (and their permitted transferees will agree) and Public Shares held by them in favor of our initial Business Combination.
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
None of our directors or officers has received directly from us any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities were first listed on Nasdaq through the earlier of consummation of our initial Business Combination and our liquidation, pursuant to our support services agreement with our Sponsor, we will pay our Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office, support and administrative services. In addition, our Sponsor, directors and officers, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable Business Combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our Sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their respective affiliates.
After the completion of our initial Business Combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other compensation from the combined company. All compensation will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed Business Combination. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers after the completion of our initial Business Combination will be determined by a compensation committee constituted solely of independent directors.
We are not party to any agreements with our directors and officers that provide for benefits upon termination of employment. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, and we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial Business Combination should be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential Business Combination. ***
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The following table sets forth information available to us at March 30, 2022 with respect to our common stock held by:
| ● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock; |
| ● | each of our executive officers and directors; and |
| ● | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
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Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the Private Placement Warrants as these are not exercisable within 60 days of March 30, 2022.
| Class A Common Stock | ||||||||
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(2) | Beneficially Owned | Approximate Percentage of Class Issued and Outstanding Common Stock | ||||||
| Rosecliff Acquisition Sponsor I LLC (our Sponsor) (1)(3) | 6,195,000 | 19.7 | % | |||||
| Michael P. Murphy(1)(3) | 6,195,000 | 19.7 | % | |||||
| Brian Radecki | 50,000 | * | ||||||
| Jordan Zimmerman | - | |||||||
| Kieran Goodwin | - | |||||||
| Frank S. Edmonds | 40,000 | * | ||||||
| Heather Bellini | 40,000 | * | ||||||
| All directors and officers as a group (six individuals) | 130,000 | * | ||||||
| Glazer Capital, LLC(4) | 1,872,031 | 7.4 | % | |||||
| Saba Capital Management, L.P. (5) | 1,276,201 | 5.0 | % | |||||
| * | Less than one percent. |
| (1) | Shares of Class B common stock will convert into Shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities” in our prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) (File No. 333-252478). |
| (2) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Rosecliff Acquisition Corp I, 767 5th Avenue, 34th Floor, New York, New York 10153. |
| (3) | Rosecliff Acquisition Sponsor I LLC, our Sponsor, is the record holder of 6,195,000 shares of Class B common stock. Michael P. Murphy is the managing member of Rosecliff Credit Opportunity Fund I GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, which is the general partner of Rosecliff Credit Opportunity Fund I, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, which is the managing member of our Sponsor. By virtue of his control over the managing member our Sponsor, Mr. Murphy may be deemed to beneficially own shares held by our Sponsor. |
| (4) | Information is based solely on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2022 by Glazer Capital, LLC and Paul J. Glazer, each of whom have shared voting power over 1,872,031 shares of Class A common stock and shared dispositive power over 1,872,031 shares of Class A common stock. Glazer Capital, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, serves as investment manager to certain funds and managed accounts (collectively, the “Glazer Funds”). Glazer Capital, LLC has the authority to dispose of and vote the shares of Class A common stock directly held by the Glazer Funds. Paul J. Glazer is the managing member of Glazer Capital, LLC. Glazer Capital, LLC and Paul J. Glazer’s address is 250 West 55th Street, Suite 30A, New York, New York 10019. |
| (5) | Information is based solely on a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 14, 2022 by Saba Capital Management, L.P., Saba Capital Management GP, LLC and Boaz R. Weinstein, each of whom have shared voting power over 1,276,201 shares of Class A common stock and shared dispositive power over 1,276,201 shares of Class A common stock. Saba Capital Management, L.P., Saba Capital Management GP, LLC and Boaz R. Weinstein’s address is 405 Lexington Avenue, 58th Floor, New York, New York 10174. |
Our initial stockholders beneficially own approximately 20.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares and have the right to elect all of our directors prior to our initial Business Combination as a result of holding all of the Founder Shares. Holders of our Public Shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial Business Combination. In addition, because of their ownership block, our initial stockholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
Founder Shares
During the period ended December 31, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of the Company’s offering costs in exchange for 5,750,000 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”). On February 11, 2021, the Company effected a 1:1.1 stock split of its Class B common stock, resulting in an aggregate of 6,325,000 shares outstanding. All share and per-share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the stock split. The Founder Shares included an aggregate of up to 825,000 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment was not exercised in full or in part, so that the number of Founder Shares would equal, on an as-converted basis, approximately 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock upon the consummation of the Initial Public Offering. As a result of the underwriter’s election to fully exercise its over-allotment option, no Founder Shares are currently subject to forfeiture.
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The Sponsor has agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Amount Due to Sponsor
At December 31, 2021, the Company had advances owed to the Sponsor in the amount of $16,152. At December 31, 2020, there were no advances owed to the Sponsor.
Private Placement Warrants
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor has purchased an aggregate of 4,706,667 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant ($7,060,000 in the aggregate) from the Company in a private placement. Each whole Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were added to the net proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If we do not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
Registration Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on February 11, 2021, the holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) will be entitled to registration rights requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion to shares of Class A common stock). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period. The registration rights agreement does not contain liquidated damages or other cash settlement provisions resulting from delays in registering our securities. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Related Party Notes
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If we completes a Business Combination, we would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to us. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, we may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-Business Combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. As of December 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under the Working Capital Loans.
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Administrative Services Agreement
Commencing on February 11, 2021 through the earlier of our consummation of a Business Combination and its liquidation, we agreed to pay our Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, support and administrative services. For the year-ended December 31, 2021, we accrued $110,000 in fees for these services, of which such amount is included in accrued expenses in the accompanying condensed balance sheet. During the period-ended December 31, 2020 we did not accrue office space, support and administrative expenses.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
Fees for professional services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm for the last two fiscal years include:
| For the Year ended December 31, 2021 | For the Year ended December 31, 2020 | |||||||
| Audit Fees(1) | $ | 103,911 | $ | — | ||||
| Audit-Related Fees(2) | $ | — | $ | — | ||||
| Tax Fees(3) | $ | — | $ | — | ||||
| All Other Fees(4) | $ | — | $ | — | ||||
| Total | $ | 103,911 | $ | — | ||||
| (1) | Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by our independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings. |
| (2) | Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our year-end financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultation concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. |
| (3) | Tax Fees. Tax fees consist of fees billed for professional services relating to tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice. |
| (4) | All Other Fees. All other fees consist of fees billed for all other services including permitted due diligence services related potential Business Combination. |
Policy on Board Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of the Independent Auditors
The audit committee is responsible for appointing, setting compensation and overseeing the work of the independent auditors. In recognition of this responsibility, the audit committee shall review and, in its sole discretion, pre-approve all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors as provided under the audit committee charter.
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PART IV.
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K: Financial Statements: See “Item 8. Index to Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” herein. |
| (b) | Exhibits: The exhibits listed in the accompanying index to exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. |
| * | Filed herewith. |
| ** | Furnished herewith. |
| (1) | Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 17, 2021. |
Item 16. Item 15. Form 10-K Summary.
None.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| ROSECLIFF ACQUISITION CORP i | ||
| Date: March 31, 2022 | /s/ Michael P. Murphy | |
| By: | Michael P. Murphy | |
| Chief Executive Officer | ||
| (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
| Date: March 31, 2022 | /s/ Kieran Goodwin | |
| By: | Kieran Goodwin | |
| Chief Financial Officer | ||
| (Principal Financial Officer and | ||
| Principal Accounting Officer) | ||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| /s/ Michael P. Murphy | ||
| Name: | Michael P. Murphy | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer and Director | |
| (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
| Date: | March 31, 2022 | |
| /s/ Kieran Goodwin | ||
| Name: | Kieran Goodwin | |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer | |
| (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) | ||
| Date: | March 31, 2022 | |
| /s/ Jordan Zimmerman | ||
| Name: | Jordan Zimmerman | |
| Title: | President and Director | |
| Date: | March 31, 2022 | |
| /s/ Brian Radecki | ||
| Name: | Brian Radecki | |
| Title: | Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director | |
| Date: | March 31, 2022 | |
| /s/ Heather Bellini | ||
| Name: | Heather Bellini | |
| Title: | Director | |
| Date: | March 31, 2022 | |
| /s/ Frank S. Edmonds | ||
| Name: | Frank S. Edmonds | |
| Title: | Director | |
| Date: | March 31, 2022 | |
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