8-K

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 25, 2023

ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION II

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Cayman Islands	001-41691	98-1592112
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

245 Park Avenue, 44th Floor New York, NY	10167
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

(310) 201-4100

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code

Not Applicable

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

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the Registrant under any of the following provisions:

☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

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 Class A Ordinary Share, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable warrant	AACT.U	New York Stock Exchange
Class A Ordinary Shares included as part of the units	AACT	New York Stock Exchange
Redeemable warrants included as part of the units, each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A Ordinary Share at an exercise price of $11.50	AACT WS	New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

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.  ☐

Item 8.01. Other Events.

On April 25, 2023, Ares Acquisition Corporation II (the “Company”) consummated an initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 50,000,000 units (the “Units”), which included 5,000,000 Units issued pursuant to the partial exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A Ordinary Shares”), and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company (“Warrant”), with each whole Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A Ordinary Share for $11.50 per share. The Units were sold at a price of 10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $500,000,000.

Substantially concurrently with the closing of the IPO, the Company completed the private sale of 14,300,000 private placement warrants to Ares Acquisition Holdings II LP (the “Sponsor”) at a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant, generating gross proceeds of $14,300,000 (the “Private Placement”), and the Sponsor extended a no interest loan to the Company of $5,000,000 (the “Overfunding Loan”).

The net proceeds from the IPO, the Overfunding Loan and certain of the proceeds from the Private Placement, $505,000,000 in the aggregate (the “Offering Proceeds”), were placed in a trust account established for the benefit of the Company’s public shareholders and the underwriters of the IPO with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.

An audited balance sheet as of April 25, 2023 reflecting receipt of the Offering Proceeds has been issued by the Company and is included as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

99.1 Audited Balance Sheet

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: May 1, 2023	ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION II
	By:	/s/ Jarrod Phillips
	Name:	Jarrod Phillips
	Title:	Chief Financial Officer

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION II

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT

	Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm		F-2
Balance Sheet as of April 25, 2023		F-3
Notes to Financial Statement		F-4

F-1

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of

Ares Acquisition Corporation II

Opinion on the Financial Statement

We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Ares Acquisition Corporation II (the “Company”) as of April 25, 2023 and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statement”). In our opinion, the financial statement presents fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of April 25, 2023, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

This financial statement is the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statement based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statement is free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statement, 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 statement. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statement. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.

New York, New York

May 1, 2023

F-2

ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION II

BALANCE SHEET

APRIL 25, 2023

Assets
Current Assets
Cash	$	3,393,197
Prepaid expenses		900
Total current assets		3,394,097
Cash held in Trust Account		505,000,000
Total assets	$	508,394,097
Liabilities and shareholders’ deficit
Current liabilities
Accrued expenses	$	37,970
Total current liabilities		37,970
Overfunding Loans - related party		5,000,000
Deferred underwriting and advisory fees		17,500,000
Total liabilities		22,537,970
Commitments and contingencies
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 50,000,000 shares subject to possible redemption at $10.10 per share at April 25, 2023		505,000,000
Shareholders’ deficit
Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 99,990,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding		—
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 9,000,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding (excluding 50,000,000 shares subject to possible redemption)		—
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 900,000,000 shares authorized; 12,937,500 shares issued and outstanding(1)		1,294
Additional paid-in capital		—
Accumulated deficit		(19,145,167	)
Total shareholders’ deficit		(19,143,873	)
Total liabilities and shareholders’ deficit	$	508,394,097

(1) Includes up to 437,500 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the remaining over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 6).

The accompanying notes are an integral part of this financial statement.

F-3

ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION II

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT

APRIL 25, 2023

1. ORGANIZATION

Ares Acquisition Corporation II (the “Company”) was incorporated in Cayman Islands on March 15, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”).

The Company is not limited to a particular or geographic region for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. The Company is an emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.

As of April 25, 2023, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from March 15, 2021 (inception) through April 25, 2023 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”), which is described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on April 20, 2023. On April 25, 2023, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 50,000,000 (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit, including 5,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments (the “Over-Allotment Units”), at $10.00 per Unit, which is discussed in Note 3, generating gross proceeds of $500,000,000, and incurring offering costs of approximately $28.5 million, of which $17,500,000 was for deferred underwriting commissions (see Note 5).

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 14,300,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”), including 1,000,000 additional Private Placement Warrants to cover over-allotments, for an aggregate purchase price of $14,300,000, in a private placement to Ares Acquisition Holdings II LP, a Cayman Islands limited partnership (the “Sponsor”).

On April 25, 2023, concurrently with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor extended a $4,500,000 non-interest bearing promissory note (the “Base Overfunding Loan”) to the Company. On April 25, 2023, simultaneously with the sale of the over-allotment units, the Sponsor further extended a promissory note of $500,000 to the Company under the same terms (the “Over-allotment Overfunding Loan” and together with the Base Overfunding Loan, the “Overfunding Loans”), for a total outstanding balance of $5,000,000 (see Note 4).

Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, $505,000,000 ($10.10 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private Placement and the Overfunding Loans were placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”) located in the United States and will be invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting the conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account, as described below.

The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. The Company’s initial Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting fees and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into a Business Combination. The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully.

F-4

ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION II

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT

APRIL 25, 2023

The Company will provide its holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “public shareholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the consummation of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The public shareholders’ will be entitled to convert their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially $10.10 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. The Public Shares subject to redemption will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”

The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if it obtains the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of shareholders’ holding a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a shareholder meeting. If a shareholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, shareholder approval of the transactions is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor, officers and directors (the “initial shareholder”) have agreed (i) to vote their Founder Shares (as defined in Note 4) and any Public Shares acquired in or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination, and (ii) not to convert any shares owned by them in connection therewith. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to convert their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or abstain from voting on the proposed transaction.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company seeks shareholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct conversion pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder 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 converting its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% or more of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company.

The initial shareholders’ have agreed (i) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares held by them in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) not to propose an amendment to (a) modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide for the redemption of its Public Shares in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Company’s Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination by the Combination Period (as defined below) or (b) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless the Company provides the public shareholders’ with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.

The Company has until April 25, 2025 to complete a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). If the Company is unable to complete 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 thereon (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest income to pay liquidation expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders’ (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and to the other requirements of 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.

The initial shareholders’ have agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial shareholders acquire Public Shares in or after the Initial Public Offering, 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 commissions (see Note 5) 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 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 ($10.00).

F-5

ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION II

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT

APRIL 25, 2023

In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the Trust Account to below (i) $10.10 per Public Share or (ii) such lesser amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes. This liability will not apply with respect 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 the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all material vendors, service providers (except the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.

Risks and Uncertainties

Management continues to evaluate the impact of increases in inflation and interest rates, the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine and the surrounding region, and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the risks and uncertainties related to or resulting from these events 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 this financial statement. The financial statement does not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of these risks and uncertainties.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of April 25, 2023, the Company had working capital of approximately $3.4 million.

The Company’s liquidity needs to date have been satisfied through a contribution of $25,000 from Sponsor to cover for certain expenses in exchange for the issuance of the Founder Shares, a loan of $366,781 from the Sponsor pursuant to the Promissory Note (see Note 4). The Company repaid the Promissory Note in full on April 25, 2023. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the Private Placement of 14,300,000 Private Placement Warrants, including 1,000,000 additional Private Placement Warrants to cover over-allotments, for an aggregate purchase price of $14,300,000 in a private placement to the Sponsor (see Note 4). Also concurrently with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor extended the Base Overfunding Loan in the amount of $4,500,000 to the Company and the Sponsor further extended the Over-allotment Overfunding Loan in the amount of $500,000 to the Company, for an aggregate outstanding principal amount of $5,000,000 (see Note 4). In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide the Company Working Capital Loans (see Note 4). As of April 25, 2023, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loan.

Based on the foregoing, management believes that the Company will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity from the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, the Company will be using these funds for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial Business Combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying financial statement is presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Emerging Growth Company

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging 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 shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

F-6

ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION II

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT

APRIL 25, 2023

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 statement 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.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statement 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 statement.

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 statement, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company had no cash equivalents as of April 25, 2023.

Cash Held in Trust Account

At April 25, 2023, the Company had $505,000,000 in cash held in the Trust Account.

Financial Instruments

The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company evaluates its equity-linked financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging.” For derivative financial instruments that are classified as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recognized at fair value with subsequent changes in fair value recognized in the statement of operations each reporting period. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be classified as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period.

The Company accounts for the warrants issued in the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement Warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815. Such guidance provides that the warrants are not precluded from equity classification. Equity-classified contracts are initially measured at fair value (or allocated value). Subsequent changes in fair value are not recognized as long as the contracts continue to be classified in equity.

F-7

ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION II

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT

APRIL 25, 2023

Offering Costs Associated with the Initial Public Offering

Offering costs consisted of legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs incurred that were directly related to the Initial Public Offering and that were charged to shareholders’ equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The Company incurred offering costs amounting to $28.5 million as a result of the Initial Public Offering (consisting of $10.0 million of underwriting fees, $17.5 million of deferred underwriting fees, and $1 million of other offering costs).

Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption

The Company accounts for its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A ordinary shares features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at April 25, 2023, 50,000,000 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ deficit section of the Company’s balance sheet. The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable ordinary shares are affected by charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.

Income Taxes

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 has determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. 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 April 25, 2023. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.

There is currently no taxation imposed on income by the Government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman Islands income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statement.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. Any loss incurred or a lack of access to such funds could have a significant asverse impact on the Company’s financial condition.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statement.

3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

On April 25, 2023, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of its 50,000,000 Units, including 5,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments (the “Over-Allotment Units”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $500,000,000, and incurring offering costs of approximately $28.5 million, of which $17,500,000 was for deferred underwriting commissions (see Note 5).

4. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Founder Shares

On March 19, 2021, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering and formation costs of the Company in consideration of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”). Through April 25, 2023, the Company effectuated a share surrender and share recapitalizations resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 12,937,500 Founder Shares as of the date the financial statement was available to be issued, which would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of the offering. The Sponsor had agreed to forfeit up to 1,687,500 Founder Shares to the extent that the

F-8

ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION II

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT

APRIL 25, 2023

underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full so that the Founder Shares will represent, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering. On April 25, 2023, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option to purchase 5,000,000 Units; thus, an aggregate of 1,250,000 shares of Class B ordinary shares are no longer subject to forfeiture. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares upon consummation of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to certain adjustments, as described in Note 6.

The initial shareholders’ have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares (except to certain permitted transferees) until the earlier of (i) one year after the date of the consummation of a Business Combination, or (ii) subsequent to the consummation of a Business Combination, (a) if the last reported sale price of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Business Combination, or (b) subsequent to a Business Combination, the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of the Company’s shareholders’ having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.

Promissory Note

On March 19, 2021, the Company issued a promissory note to the Sponsor, pursuant to which the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to an aggregate of $300,000 to be used for the payment of costs related to the Initial Public Offering (the “Promissory Note”). In February 2023, the Company amended the Promissory Note with effect as of December 31, 2021 to increase the principal up to an aggregate of $400,000. The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing, unsecured and payable upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The Company had borrowed $366,781 under the Promissory Note and fully repaid the Promissory Note on April 25, 2023. Borrowings under the Promissory Note are no longer available.

Private Placement Warrants

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the Private Placement of 14,300,000 Private Placement Warrants, including 1,000,000 additional Private Placement Warrants to cover over-allotments, for an aggregate purchase price of $14,300,000 in a private placement to the Sponsor. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A ordinary shares at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants was added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants 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.

Overfunding Loans

On April 25, 2023, concurrently with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor extended the Base Overfunding Loan in the amount of $4,500,000 to the Company. On April 25, 2023, simultaneously with the sale of the over-allotment units, the Sponsor further extended the Over-allotment Overfunding Loan in the amount of $500,000 to the Company, for an aggregate outstanding principal amount of $5,000,000. The Overfunding Loans will be repaid upon the closing of the initial Business Combination or converted into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant (or any combination thereof), at the Sponsor’s discretion, which warrants will be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. The Overfunding Loans are being extended in order to ensure that the amount in the Trust Account is $10.10 per public share. If the Company does not complete an initial Business Combination, the Company will not repay the Overfunding Loans from amounts held in the Trust Account, however, the Company may repay the Overfunding Loans if there are funds available outside the Trust Account.

Working Capital Loans

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s directors and officers 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

F-9

ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION II

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT

APRIL 25, 2023

Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $2,000,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. At April 25, 2023, the Company had no outstanding borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.

Administrative Service Fee

The Company has agreed, commencing on the date of the prospectus, to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor, a monthly fee of $16,667 for office space, utilities, secretarial support and administrative support. This arrangement will terminate upon completion of a Business Combination or the distribution of the Trust Account to the public shareholders’.

Advisory Agreement

The Company engaged Ares Management Capital Markets LLC, an affiliate of the Company’s Sponsor, to provide consulting and advisory services to the Company in connection with the Initial Public Offering and the initial Business Combination, for which it would receive: (i) an advisory fee of $2,000,000, paid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, and (ii) a deferred advisory fee of $3,500,000, payable solely in the event that the Company completes the initial Business Combination. The underwriters reimbursed a portion of their fees to cover for the fees payable to Ares Management Capital Markets LLC.

5. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Registration Rights

The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants (and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such Private Placement Warrants) and Private Placement Warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and Overfunding Loans were entitled to registration rights to require the Company to register a sale of any of its securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed upon consummation of the Initial Public Offering. The holders of these securities were entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders were entitled to “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed by the Company, subject to certain limitations. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Underwriting Agreement and Advisory Agreement

The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the final prospectus relating to the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to 6,750,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Initial Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On April 25, 2023, the underwriters partially exercised its over-allotment option for an additional 5,000,000 Units.

The underwriters were entitled to a cash underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $10,000,000 in the aggregate, paid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering. In addition, the underwriters will be entitled to a deferred underwriting commissions of $0.35 per Unit, or $17,500,000 in the aggregate. The deferred underwriting commissions 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.

The Company has also engaged Ares Management Capital Markets LLC, an affiliate of the Company’s Sponsor, to provide consulting and advisory services to the Company in connection with the Initial Public Offering, for which it would receive: (i) an advisory fee of $2,000,000, paid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, and (ii) a deferred advisory fee of $3,500,000, payable solely in the event that the Company completes the initial Business Combination. The underwriters reimbursed a portion of their fees to cover for the fees payable to Ares Management Capital Markets LLC.

6. SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

Preference Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 99,990,000 preference shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s Board of Directors. At April 25, 2023, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.

F-10

ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION II

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT

APRIL 25, 2023

Class A Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 9,000,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. At April 25, 2023, there were no Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding, excluding 50,000,000 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption and are presented as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ deficit section of the balance sheet.

Class B Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 900,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each ordinary share. On April 25, 2023, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option to purchase 5,000,000 Units; thus, an aggregate of 1,250,000 shares of Class B ordinary shares are no longer subject to forfeiture. At April 25, 2023, there were 12,937,500 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding, including 437,500 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture.

Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all other matters submitted to a vote of shareholders’ except as required by law.

The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in the Initial Public Offering and related to the closing of a Business Combination, the ratio at which Class B ordinary shares shall convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of the Initial Public Offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business Combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in a Business Combination and any private placement-equivalent warrants issued to the Sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to the Company).

7. WARRANTS

Warrants

Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Public Warrants. The Public Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of a warrant unless the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants.

The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the registration statement to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of its initial business combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement provided that if its Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, it will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th day after the closing of the initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, but the Company 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.

F-11

ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION II

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT

APRIL 25, 2023

Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public 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 given after the warrants become exercisable to each warrant holder; and

• if, and only if, the closing price of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.

In addition, if (i) the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (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 its affiliates, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of a Business Combination on the date of the consummation of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (iii) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates a Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.

The Private Placement Warrants (Note 4) are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and be non-redeemable.

If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuance of ordinary shares at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.

8. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Management has evaluated subsequent events to determine if events or transactions occurring through the date the financial statement was issued require potential adjustment to or disclosure in the financial statement. The Company concluded that there have been no events that have occurred that would require adjustments to the financial statement.

F-12