DRS 1 filename1.htm DRS

As submitted confidentially with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 13, 2021. This draft registration statement has not been publicly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and all information herein remains strictly confidential.

Registration No. 333-                

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Cayman Islands    6770    98-1590107
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
   (Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number)
   (I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)

P.O. Box 309,

Ugland House

Grand Cayman KY1-1104,

Cayman Islands

Telephone: +1 345 949 8066

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Donald J. Puglisi, Esq.

Puglisi & Associates

850 Library Avenue #204

Newark, Delaware 19711

Telephone: +1 302 738 6680

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Gregg A. Noel, Esq.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
525 University Avenue,
Suite 1400
Palo Alto, California 94301
(650) 470-4500

 

Pranav Trivedi, Esq.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP

40 Bank Street, Canary Wharf

London E14 5DS

United Kingdom

+44 (20) 7519 7000

   Ali Shaikley

Abdulwahid Alulama

Joel Rubinstein

White & Case LLP

1221 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY10020

(212) 819-8200

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

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


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

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

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

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

 

Large accelerated filer  

 

Accelerated filer  

 

Non-accelerated filer  

 

Smaller reporting company  

Emerging growth company  

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

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

 

Title of Each Class of
Security Being Registered
  Amount Being
Registered
    Proposed
Maximum
Offering Price
per Security
    Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Offering
Price(1)
    Amount of
Registration Fee
 

Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value per share, and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant(1)

    23,000,000     $ 10.00 (2)    $ 230,000,000     $ 25,093.00  

Class A ordinary shares included as part of the units(3)(4)

    23,000,000       —         —         —   (5) 

Redeemable warrants included as part of the units(3)(4)

    5,750,000       —         —         —   (5) 

Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of redeemable warrants included as part of the units(3)

    5,750,000       11.50 (6)      66,125,000       7,214.24 (4) 

Total

                  $ 296,125,000     $ 32,307.24  

 

 

(1)

Includes 3,000,000 units, consisting of 3,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and 750,000 warrants, which may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any.

(2)

Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(a) under the Securities Act.

(3)

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

(4)

Number of Class A ordinary shares and redeemable warrants, as applicable, included in the units described above, including those that may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriters.

(5)

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

(6)

Calculated pursuant to Rule 457(g) under the Securities Act, based on the exercise price of the warrants.

 

 

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

 

 

 


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

 

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED May 13, 2021

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS    

$200,000,000

Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I

20,000,000 Units

 

 

Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I is a newly incorporated blank check company, incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or geographic location (subject to certain limitations described in this prospectus), we intend to focus our search for a target business operating in the media and content industries.

This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of  $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of  $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. We have also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to collectively as our public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and as further described herein.

Our sponsor, Blue Whale Sponsor I LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (which we refer to as our “sponsor” throughout this prospectus), has committed to purchase an aggregate of 3,000,000 warrants (or 3,300,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of  $2.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate or $6,600,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. We refer to these warrants throughout this prospectus as the private placement warrants. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein.

MIC Capital Partners (Public) Parallel Cayman, LP, an affiliate of our sponsor, will enter into a forward purchase agreement with us that will provide for the purchase by it of up to an aggregate of 5,000,000 units for an aggregate purchase price of up to $50,000,000, or $10.00 per unit, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The forward purchase investor will determine in its sole discretion the specific number of forward purchase units it will purchase, if any, pursuant to the forward purchase agreement. Each forward purchase unit will consist of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. The terms of the forward purchase units will generally be identical to the terms of the units being issued in this offering, except that the securities underlying the forward purchase units will be subject to certain registration rights, as described herein.

Our initial shareholders currently hold 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares (which we refer to as “founder shares” as further described herein), up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares 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 as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities (as described herein), are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution 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, 20% of the sum of all Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering, plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the business combination. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of the Class B ordinary shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of the board of directors for any reason. On any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, holders of the Class B ordinary shares and holders of the Class A ordinary shares will vote together as a single class, except as required by law.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants. We intend to apply to list our units on the Nasdaq Stock Market (the “Nasdaq”) under the symbol “BWCAU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) containing an audited balance sheet of the company reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the securities constituting the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “BWC ” and “BWCAW,” respectively.

We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 46. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.

 

     Price to
Public
     Underwriting
Discounts and
Commissions(1)
     Proceeds, Before
Expenses, to Us
 

Per Unit

   $ 10      $ 0.55      $ 9.45  

Total

   $ 200,000,000      $ 11,000,000      $ 189,000,000  

 

(1)

Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate, payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. Does not include certain fees and expenses payable to the underwriters in connection with this offering. See also “Underwriting” for a description of compensation payable to the underwriters.

Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $200.0 million or $230.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit), will be deposited into a non-interest bearing U.S.-based trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. The funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ 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 this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders.

The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. Delivery of the units will be made on or about                 , 2021.

Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

No invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our securities.

 

Book-Running Managers

 

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC      BofA Securities  

 

 

The date of this prospectus is                , 2021.


We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus. We and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the units offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

SUMMARY

     1  

THE OFFERING

     11  

SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA

     44  

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     45  

RISK FACTORS

     46  

USE OF PROCEEDS

     89  

DIVIDEND POLICY

     94  

DILUTION

     95  

CAPITALIZATION

     97  

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

     98  

PROPOSED BUSINESS

     105  

MANAGEMENT

     139  

PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

     151  

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

     155  

DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

     159  

INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

     184  

UNDERWRITING

     195  

LEGAL MATTERS

     204  

EXPERTS

     204  

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

     204  

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

     F-1  

 

 

Until                     , 2021, all dealers that effect transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to unsold allotments or subscriptions.

Trademarks

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

 

i


SUMMARY

This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.

General

We are a blank check company newly incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination (“the Initial Business Combination”). We have not selected any potential business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target.

Our sponsor is affiliated with Mubadala Capital. Mubadala Capital was established in 2011 as the asset management arm of Mubadala Investment Company PJSC (“Mubadala”), an Abu Dhabi government-owned sovereign investor, with more than $232 billion of assets under management.

Mubadala Capital invests across a range of asset classes including private equity, public equity, venture capital, and credit. Each business employs a fundamentals-driven investment strategy, prioritizing capital preservation and long-term value creation.

Mubadala Capital is a differentiated and value-added investor that leverages both the Mubadala network and the relationships embedded within the investment team to source proprietary investment opportunities on a global basis. The firm has a cohesive and tenured investment team led by senior leadership who have worked together for more than twelve years.

Mubadala Capital has a long track record of successfully identifying category leaders suitable for investment, especially in media, entertainment, and premium content and services sectors. Representative transactions the firm has consummated in the recent past include EMI Music Publishing (acquired in 2012 and successfully exited in 2018, making Mubadala Capital one of the few institutional investors to successfully structure, purchase, and exit a major music asset in the last decade), Endeavor (acquired in 2014), Reigning Champs (acquired in 2014), Imagine Entertainment (acquired in 2016), YES Network (acquired in 2019), and Looping Group (acquired in 2019). In total, these transactions and others in the media, entertainment, and premium content and services sectors represent more than $1 billion of capital deployed. These investments and many more have helped Mubadala Capital build a unique network of relationships and access to management teams in the industry, which we believe will help facilitate a successful merger with a target.

We intend to pursue a merger with a high-quality company in our target sectors, especially one where our strategic expertise will add value to the target’s businesses post-merger. As a well-capitalized investor with demonstrated domain expertise and a historical preference for partnering with strong management teams to deliver growth and create value, we believe that our sponsor is distinguished from other potential investors and well positioned to succeed in consummating an initial business combination.

In addition, we believe our ability to complete our initial business combination will be enhanced by our having entered into the forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase



 

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investors will agree to purchase up to an aggregate of 5,000,000 units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit, or $50,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination.

Industry Trends

The continued growth of connected devices and the increased popularity of digital streaming services globally has supercharged the growth and value of entertainment content. Advancements in technology and cellular bandwidth have given more consumers the ability to stream media both in and out-of-home, leading to innovation as to how content is delivered. The industry model transition from “ownership” to “access” allows for highly predictable subscription-based revenue streams, creating investment opportunities at various points in the value chain.

For example, the structural shift in music consumption and paid streaming across the music industry over the last decade is expected to accelerate as a result of the shift from offline to online music, the increased reliance on social media streaming for music discovery and promotion, and increased direct-to-consumer initiatives in merchandising and live streaming.

Geographically, growth opportunities in emerging markets, especially in China and India are particularly promising. Even more mature markets like North America present a strong opportunity to drive growth by converting ad-supported users into paid streaming subscribers.

We will seek a business combination with a company that we believe has significant growth opportunities with the potential to generate attractive future returns for our shareholders. We believe that the combination of our management team, professional network, strong track record, investment expertise, proprietary transaction sourcing and due diligence processes combined with our knowledge of valuation dynamics in the industry sectors in which we have an interest all position us uniquely in the entertainment and media content ecosystems.

MIC Capital Partners (Public) Parallel Cayman, LP, an affiliate of our sponsor, will enter into a forward purchase agreement with us that will provide for the purchase by it of up to an aggregate of 5,000,000 units for an aggregate purchase price of up to $50,000,000, or $10.00 per unit, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The forward purchase investor will determine in its sole discretion the specific number of forward purchase units it will purchase, if any, pursuant to the forward purchase agreement. Each forward purchase unit will consist of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. The terms of the forward purchase units will generally be identical to the terms of the units being issued in this offering, except that the securities underlying the forward purchase units will be subject to certain registration rights, as described herein.

Our Management Team

Our management team and Board of Directors consist of seasoned executives that have collaborated and worked together for many years. We believe they collectively possess a deep understanding of and experience in the entertainment content industry, transaction dynamics, general management, and the public markets. They will be supported by the Mubadala Capital investment team, the broader Mubadala Capital organization, and Mubadala’s global network of advisors, as deemed necessary.

Maxime Franzetti, 40, our Chief Executive Officer and Board Member, joined Mubadala in 2008 and was a founding member of Mubadala Capital in 2011 where he currently is the Head of Public



 

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Equities and SPACs. Mr. Franzetti is also a Director at MIC Capital Partners (Public). Mr. Franzetti is responsible for Mubadala Capital’s public market initiatives founded in 2019 that manages portfolios following a concentrated research-intensive fundamental value strategy. Mr. Franzetti is also a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. Prior to joining Mubadala in 2008, Mr. Franzetti worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions group of Dresdner Kleinwort and R.W. Baird in London. Mr. Franzetti graduated with First Class Honors from Queen Mary College, University of London.

Adib Mattar, 43, a Board Member, joined Mubadala in 2008 and was a founding member of Mubadala Capital in 2011 where he currently is the Head of Private Equity. Mr. Mattar is also a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. As Head of Private Equity for Mubadala Capital his investment track record includes over 30 deals and $3 billion of equity investment, with over $1 billion invested in Sports, Media and Entertainment. His most notable media investment was EMI Music Publishing, where he developed the investment thesis, led the sourcing and execution of world’s largest music publishing catalog in partnership with Sony. As Chairman of EMI Music Publishing from 2012 to 2018, Mr. Mattar was instrumental in hiring EMI Music Publishing’s management team, optimizing EMI Music Publishing’s capital structure, driving growth through catalog re-investment and successful contract renegotiations with all major music distribution providers. In addition, Mr. Mattar is also a member of the Board of REEF Technology, The Raine Group and Peterson Farms. Prior to joining Mubadala, Mr. Mattar was an investment banker at Credit Suisse in New York. Mr. Mattar graduated cum laude from the College of William & Mary in Virginia with a B.A. in International Relations and he received an MBA and Masters of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Mr. Mattar is also an Aspen Institute Fellow.

Russ Pillar, 55, our Chief Financial Officer, has spent most of the last three decades running some of the world’s best-loved and well-known consumer brands. He founded and currently is Executive Chairman of Reigning Champs, the world’s largest NCAA-compliant path-to-college company for student-athletes, where he has served since 2011. Mr. Pillar also is Senior Advisor to Mubadala, where he initiates, evaluates, and manages direct investment opportunities globally. Prior to founding Reigning Champs, Mr. Pillar was President and Director of the Los Angeles Marathon; President of the Viacom Digital Media Group; President and Chief Executive Officer of the CBS Internet Group; President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Entertainment Group; President and Chief Executive Officer of Prodigy Internet and Vice Chairman of Prodigy Communications Corporation; and President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Paul Allen’s Precision Systems. He began his career as an investment banker in Merrill Lynch Capital Markets’ Japan Banking Group and then served as President of international merchant bank Japanese Capital Affiliates. Over the course of his career, Mr. Pillar has been a member of the Board of Directors of more than three dozen for-profit public and private consumer-facing sports, media, entertainment, and technology companies as well as a host of non-profit organizations. A Henry Crown Fellow at The Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, Mr. Pillar graduated Phi Beta Kappa, cum laude from Brown University with an A.B. in East Asian Studies.

Our Investment Team

In addition to Mr. Franzetti, Mr. Mattar, and Mr. Pillar, the Mubadala Capital’s investment team includes more than 40 individuals.

Our Investment Team is further complemented by world-class support functions across legal, compliance, tax, and finance. That team has deep experience in:

 

   

Sourcing, structuring, and executing a wide range of investment opportunities.



 

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Providing constructive strategic and operational guidance to management teams and boards of directors, enabling long-term shareholder value creation.

 

   

Leveraging insights from their substantial investment, financial, operational oversight, and governance experience to help optimize the financial structure, operating performance, and strategy of a company.

 

   

Accessing their extensive network of professional relationships to complement the skills and networks of a company’s senior management team or board of directors.

Our Independent Director Nominees

Our independent director nominees bring significant operating and investing experience and relationships, particularly in the entertainment content industry:

David H. Johnson, 74, our chairman, has been a lawyer and executive in the music business for 45 years. During that time, he has been the CEO of two of the major music publishers (Warner Chappell and EMI Music Publishing) and General Counsel of two of the major record companies (Sony Music and Warner Music). He started his career as a lawyer for CBS Records, the predecessor of Sony Music. Mr. Johnson was the first person to move directly from the Board of the RIAA (the recorded music trade association) to the Board of the NMPA (the music publishers’ trade association). He has also served on the Boards of ASCAP, the Harry Fox Organization, IFPI and the TJ Martell Foundation for Cancer Research. He is currently on the Board of Rainshine Entertainment, an Indian mobile entertainment company. In the course of his career Mr. Johnson has played a significant role in numerous landmark transactions in the worldwide music business including the sale of CBS Songs to SBK Entertainment; the sale of CBS Records to Sony Corporation; the formation of Sony/ATV, the music publishing joint venture between Michael Jackson and Sony Corporation; the sale of Warner Music to Edgar Bronfman Jr and a private equity consortium; the IPO of Warner Music; and the sale of Warner Music to Access Industries. In 2011, Mr. Johnson was a consultant to Mubadala in connection with its joint bid with Sony for EMI Music Publishing. Upon the completion of that transaction in 2012, he became CEO of EMI Music Publishing, a position he held until November 2018 when Mubadala sold its majority interest to Sony. During his tenure at EMI Music Publishing, Mr. Johnson led numerous successful refinancings of EMI Music Publishing’s debt, including the first ever high yield bond offering by a music publisher. Mr. Johnson received his Bachelor of Arts from Yale College, J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and LLM from the NYU Law School.

Zahavah Levine, 52, is a digital music and media pioneer, with two decades of experience on the technology side of the business. She spent 13 years at Google, in several roles. As the first lawyer and General Counsel of YouTube she helped negotiate its sale to Google in 2006. She stayed on as Associate General Counsel of Google and Chief Counsel of YouTube, where she oversaw music licensing and hammered out new business models with the music industry for user-uploaded content. Ms. Levine also directed copyright and rights-management policies, including the development of YouTube’s landmark Content ID platform. Then, as VP Partnerships for Google Play, she helped launch Google Play Music, and managed global partnerships, licensing and distribution. Most recently Ms. Levine managed Android’s partnerships with wireless carriers in North America. Before YouTube, Ms. Levine helped develop the music streaming licensing model for Rhapsody, the first on-demand music streaming subscription service. After RealNetworks acquired the company (Listen.com), Ms. Levine served as Director of Music Licensing and Associate General Counsel for RealNetworks, Inc. Throughout her career, Ms. Levine has been active in public policy and licensing reform initiatives. Ms. Levine’s accomplishments have been recognized with awards from Billboard Magazine (2012, 2013, 2014), Hollywood Reporter (2012) and Digital Media Wire (2011). Ms. Levine graduated Order of



 

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the Coif from Berkeley Law School and received her Bachelor of Arts from Brown University. She spent last year as a DCI Fellow at Stanford’s Distinguished Career Institute. Ms. Levine currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Kitchen, a vibrant startup synagogue in San Francisco. Ms. Levine is also a Coordinator on the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project.

Gregg Walker, 49, has been the Managing Member of G.A. Walker, LLC since July 2016 when he left his position as the Senior Vice President for Corporate Development at Sony Corporation of America (Sony), a position he had held since March 2009. At Sony, Mr. Walker helped lead many major transactions and strategic efforts, including the acquisition of EMI Music Publishing and the acquisition of Ericsson’s stake in smartphone manufacturer Sony Ericsson (now Sony Mobile) as well as Sony’s purchase of the 50% of Sony/ATV Music Publishing previously owned by the Michael Jackson Estate. Mr. Walker served on the Board of Directors of movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) as well as on the boards of EMI Music Publishing and Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Prior to joining Sony, Mr. Walker was the Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions at Viacom for three years. Before, Viacom, Mr. Walker was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in the investment banking division where he worked for nearly a decade. Mr. Walker earned an undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a law degree from Yale Law School. Mr. Walker is the former President of the Levitt Foundation, the former Chairman of the Harlem YMCA, and a member of the Board of Harlem RBI. In 2010, he was chosen by Crain’s New York Business as one of New York City’s 40 Under 40 Rising Stars.

Jordan Zachary, 38, was appointed Chief Strategy Officer of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) in 2015. Mr. Zachary currently serves as Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Live Nation Concerts and Chief Operating Officer, Talent & Touring. In these capacities he has had a broad range of responsibilities including overseeing various strategic initiatives, business functions, and acquisitions spanning Live Nation’s Concert business, Venue development activities, Festival portfolio, as well as its Media and Sponsorship and Artist Nation divisions. Prior to joining Live Nation Entertainment, Mr. Zachary spent over 10 years in the financial services industry focused on global media, entertainment and technology Companies. Mr. Zachary served as Managing Director at The Raine Group, a global merchant bank focused on technology, media and telecommunications, and has a successful track record working with some of the industry’s most notable burgeoning brands, as well as with Fortune 500 companies. He has a successful track record originating, executing and monetizing investments across the media, digital media and entertainment industries. Mr. Zachary served on the Board of Directors of Margaritaville Holdings and C3 Presents and was a Board Observer on the Board of Directors of VICE Media and Important Studios. Prior to The Raine Group, Mr. Zachary advised clients on a wide range of Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets transactions as part of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Corporate Finance teams at UBS Investment Bank, Lehman Brothers, and Banc of America Securities. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University.

Our Business Strategy

Our objective is to identify and complete a business combination that generates substantial long-term value for our shareholders. We will seek a target company that demonstrates the characteristics described below.

We will consider high-quality growth companies in the media and content industry, with an emphasis on those where our strategic expertise will be value-added to the potential target business.



 

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Following the completion of this offering, we intend to begin the process of communicating with the network of relationships of our investment team and their affiliates to articulate the parameters for our search for a potential target initial business combination and begin the process of pursuing and reviewing potential opportunities.

Our Acquisition Criteria

Consistent with our core investment principles and business strategy, we expect to identify a high-quality merger target that may have a number of the following characteristics:

 

   

Easy to understand business model: We will seek to focus on targets with a proven track record of growth and profitability, and seek a company that is mature enough to have a history of financial and operating data that we can use to conduct a thorough financial analysis and build a detailed financial forecast. We will seek to avoid early stage venture companies where there is either insufficient information to complete our due diligence process or where the business model is still unproven.

 

   

Demonstrable and durable free cash flow: We will seek targets with a proven track record of generating predictable, sustainable, and growing cash flows over a reasonably long term which can either be re-invested in the business at high returns on capital (see below) or returned back to shareholders via dividends or share repurchases;

 

   

High potential returns on capital: We will seek companies that generate high returns on capital as we believe that a business’ value creation potential resides in its ability to generate returns well above its weighted-average cost of capital over time.

 

   

Long runway for growth: We will seek companies operating in large and growing addressable markets. We will seek companies that have a clear runway for sustained growth in their existing core businesses and / or the optionality to expand into market adjacencies that may provide additional growth opportunities;

 

   

High quality management teams: We seek to invest in companies that are run by highly competent, respected, and talented management teams.

 

   

Strong corporate governance: We will seek a target that has a history of strong corporate governance, ideally with strong ESG practices.

Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors, and criteria that our management and our investment team may deem relevant.

Our investment principles are further complemented by Mubadala Capital’s investment philosophy:

 

   

Focus on preserving capital and protecting downside: Mubadala Capital seeks to invest in strong and resilient business opportunities with a significant margin of safety imbedded in each opportunity. Mubadala Capital is focused on preservation of capital and finding opportunities with asymmetric risk/reward profiles that combine high upside potential with strong downside protection.

 

   

Partnership-oriented mentality: Mubadala Capital has a long history of forging partnerships with management teams and like-minded investors globally. Mubadala Capital’s partnership oriented investment approach typically resonates well with management teams who want the flexibility to operate their businesses whilst having a strong shareholder to support them over the long term.



 

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Fundamental-driven analysis: Mubadala Capital’s investment process is based on a deep and thorough due diligence analysis. Its due diligence process typically entails management meetings, market studies, and the use of a wide variety of third party resources to turn its investment intuition into investment conviction. Mubadala Capital’s goal is to be an expert on the businesses in which they invest.

 

   

Mubadala Capital backs market leaders: Mubadala Capital is focused on finding market leaders with world-class management teams, deep competitive moats, large addressable markets and attractive unit economics. Mubadala Capital undertakes significant analysis to understand the competitive landscape globally for the companies it invests in, and seeks to invest in businesses that are superior both on an absolute and relative basis.

 

   

Long-term investment horizon: Mubadala Capital takes a long-term approach to investing and has a history of owning businesses over long periods of time. While market multiples can change over time, Mubadala Capital believes that high quality businesses with strong returns on capital will prove to be valuable and scarce over time.

Our Acquisition Process

In evaluating a potential target business, we expect to conduct a comprehensive due diligence review to seek to determine a company’s quality and its intrinsic value. That due diligence review may include, among other things, financial statement analysis; detailed document reviews; meetings with management; consultations with relevant industry experts, competitors, customers, and suppliers; and a review of additional information that we may obtain as part of our analysis of a target company.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

Members of our and Mubadala Capital’s management teams, including our officers and directors, will directly or indirectly own our securities following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target company is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Each of our officers and directors, as well as our and Mubadala Capital’s management teams, may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers, directors, and management team members was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to such business combination.

We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.

Most of our directors, director nominees and officers 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 or provide other services. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such



 

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opportunity to such entity. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Adib Mattar serves as Head of Private Equity and is a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. In this role he has oversight of all private equity investing across Mubadala Capital’s Private Equity Funds and investment strategies which may overlap with investment targets of the Company. Maxime Franzetti is Head of Public Equities and SPACs and is a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. In this role, he is responsible for Mubadala Capital’s public market initiatives, which may involve investing in investment vehicles and strategies that compete with the Company.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer on the one hand, and us, on the other.

Our sponsor, officers, and directors may sponsor, form, or participate in 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, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. However, we do not currently expect that any such other blank check company would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. In addition, our founders, sponsor, officers, and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring any related due diligence.

Initial Business Combination

The Nasdaq listing rules require that we must consummate an initial business combination with one or more operating businesses or assets that together have an aggregate fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust and taxes payable) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our Board of Directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our Board of Directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our Board of Directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our Board of Directors will have discretion to select the standards employed.

In addition, the application of those standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of our Board of Directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public shareholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% fair market value test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our Board of Directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an



 

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opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.

While we consider it likely that our Board of Directors will be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the target’s assets or prospects. If our securities are not listed on Nasdaq after this offering, we would not be required to satisfy the 80% requirement.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the 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 shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target 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”). Even if the post transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination.

For example, we may pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.

Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.

Corporate Information

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), reduced



 

9


disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

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

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.

Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies wishing to conduct business outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and have received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands Government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable (1) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (2) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.

We are a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated on March 10, 2021. Our executive offices are located at Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1 -1104, Cayman Islands and our telephone number is +1 345 949 8066. Upon completion of this offering, our corporate website address will be www.bluewhaleipo.com. 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 prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to invest in our securities.



 

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THE OFFERING

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

 

Securities offered

20,000,000 units (or 23,000,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of:

 

   

one Class A ordinary share; and

 

   

one-fourth of one redeemable warrant.

 

Proposed Nasdaq symbols

Units: “BWCAU”

 

  Class A ordinary shares: “BWC”

 

  Warrants: “BWCW”

 

Trading commencement and separation of Class A ordinary shares and warrants

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

 

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


 

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Separate trading of the Class A ordinary shares and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K

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

 

Units:

 

 

Number issued and outstanding before this offering

0

 

Number issued and outstanding after this offering

20,000,000(1)

Ordinary shares:

 

Number issued and outstanding before this offering

5,750,000(2),(3)

 

Number issued and outstanding after this offering

25,000,000(1),(3),(4)

 

Warrants:

 

 

Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering

3,000,000(1)

 

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

8,000,000(1)

 

  

 

(1) 

Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and, if applicable, the forfeiture by our sponsor of 750,000 founder shares.

(2) 

Consists solely of founder shares and includes up to 750,000 ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

(3) 

Founder shares are currently classified as Class B ordinary shares, which shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.”

(4) 

Includes 20,000,000 public shares and 5,000,000 founder shares.



 

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Exercisability

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

 

  We structured each unit to contain one-fourth of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, as compared to units issued by some other similar blank check companies that each contain one whole warrant or a greater fraction of one whole warrant to purchase one whole share, in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of our initial business combination as compared to units that each contain one whole warrant or a greater faction of one whole warrant to purchase one whole share, which we believe will make us a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses.

 

Exercise price

$11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein.

 

 

In addition, if (x) we issue, other than in connection with our forward purchase agreement, additional ordinary shares 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 ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares 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



 

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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 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.

 

Exercise period

The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; provided that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement, including as a result of a notice of redemption described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”).

 

 

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 with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the



 

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closing of our 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; provided that if our 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, 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.

 

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

 

Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00

Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private 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 only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-dilution Adjustments”).

 

 

We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the



 

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Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. 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.

 

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

 

Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00

Once the warrants become exercisable, we 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 determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined below) except as otherwise described in “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants”;

 

   

if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-dilution Adjustments”); and

 

   

if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities—



 

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Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-dilution Adjustments”), the private placement warrants must also concurrently be called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above.

 

  The “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares for the above purpose shall mean the volume weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in other blank check offerings. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment).

 

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

 

Forward Purchase Agreement

Prior to this offering, we will enter into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investors will agree to subscribe for an aggregate of up to 5,000,000 units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit, or up to $50,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The forward purchase investor will determine in its sole discretion the specific number of forward purchase units it will purchase, if any, pursuant to the forward purchase agreement. Each forward purchase unit will consist of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. The terms of the forward purchase units will generally



 

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be identical to the terms of the units being issued in this offering.

 

  The forward purchase agreement also will provide that the forward purchase investors are entitled to registration rights with respect to (A) the forward purchase shares, (B) the forward purchase warrants, (C) the shares underlying the forward purchase warrants and (D) any other shares of Class A ordinary shares or warrants acquired by the forward purchase investors, including any acquired after we complete our initial business combination. Please see “Description of Securities—Registration Rights” for additional information.

 

  The proceeds from the sale of the forward purchase units may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-business combination company. These purchases will be required to be made regardless of whether any shares of Class A ordinary shares are redeemed by our public shareholders and are intended to provide us with a minimum funding level for our initial business combination. The forward purchase units will be issued only in connection with the closing of the initial business combination.

 

Founder shares

On March 11, 2021, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. On April 1, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of David H. Johnson, Gregg Walker, Jordan Zachary, and Zahavah Levine (our independent director nominees) and Russ Pillar (our Chief Financial Officer).

 

 

Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of these founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to us by the number of founder shares issued. Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other



 

18


 

appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

 

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

 

   

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

 

   

the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in a letter agreement that our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into with us, as described in more detail below;

 

   

pursuant to such letter agreement, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive: (1) 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; (2) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) 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



 

19


 

of this offering or during any extended time that we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months as a result of a shareholder vote to amend our certificate of incorporation (an “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). If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote any founder shares and public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,250,001, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved;

 

   

the founder shares will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares 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 in more detail below; and

 

   

the founder shares are entitled to registration rights.

 

Transfer restrictions on founder shares

Pursuant to a letter agreement with us, our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading



 

20


 

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, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up.

 

Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights

We have 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, issued and outstanding. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares 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 for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, including pursuant to the forward purchase agreement or a specified future issuance, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution 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 all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in



 

21


 

connection with our initial business combination, including the forward purchase shares (net of the number of shares of Class A ordinary shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination), excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for our Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt.

 

Appointment of directors; Voting rights

Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.

 

Private placement warrants

Our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 3,000,000 warrants (or 3,300,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of  $2.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate or $6,600,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering.

 

 

Each private placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. For a portion of the purchase price, private placement warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares. If



 

22


 

we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension 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 (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us (except as described above under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”) so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. Our sponsor, as well as its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis.

 

Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants

The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as described herein under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.”

 

Proceeds to be held in trust account

The Nasdaq rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the $206,000,000 in proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, or $236,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, $200,000,000 ($10.00 per unit), or $230,000,000 ($10.00 per unit) if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full (including $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions), will be deposited into a segregated non-interest



 

23


 

bearing trust account located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $2.0 million will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. The proceeds to be placed into the trust account include $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions.

 

  The funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ 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 this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders.

 

Anticipated expenses and funding sources

Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use, except the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes, if any such interest is available, or to redeem our public shares in connection with an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as described above. Immediately following the completion of this offering, the proceeds will not be invested and will be held in non-interest bearing trust account. If, in the future, the proceeds held in the trust account are invested, then the proceeds will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or



 

24


 

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. Assuming an interest rate of 0.10% per year, the trust account may generate approximately $200,000 of interest annually; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount or that we will invest in U.S. government treasury obligations. Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from:

 

   

the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $1,000,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $1,000,000 in expenses relating to this offering;

 

   

loans under the promissory note that we will enter into with our sponsor prior to the consummation of this offering, which provides for loans in an aggregate amount of up to $2,500,000 (our sponsor will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to such borrowings unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our initial business combination); and

 

   

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

 

Conditions to completing our initial business combination

There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. The Nasdaq rules require that an 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 net assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the



 

25


 

trust account). 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. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on Nasdaq for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net assets test.

 

  If our board of directors is not able independently to determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We will complete our initial business combination only if the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 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 shareholders 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. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test; provided that in the event that our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.

 

Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities

If we seek shareholder 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



 

26


 

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. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder 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 nonpublic 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. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. Such persons will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. See “Proposed Business—Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will select which shareholders to enter into private transactions with. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will be restricted from making any purchases if such purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.



 

27


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

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein.

 

  The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

 

Manner of conducting redemptions

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (1) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue



 

28


 

more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless shareholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.

 

  If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

  Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

 

 

In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than



 

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$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. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.

 

  If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will:

 

   

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

 

   

file proxy materials with the SEC.

 

  We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any shareholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our Nasdaq listing or Exchange Act registration.

 

 

If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. In such case, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. We expect that at the time of any shareholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued



 

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and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon. Our directors and officers also have agreed to vote in favor of our initial business combination with respect to any public shares acquired by them. These voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares without voting. If they do vote, they may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.

 

  Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require:

 

  (1)

cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners;

 

  (2)

cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. 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 ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

 

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

We may require our public shareholders 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



 

31


 

transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve our initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, rather than simply voting against the initial business combination. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares.

 

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

Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder 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 memorandum and articles of association provide 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 Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-



 

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current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those shareholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination.

 

 

Redemption rights in connection with proposed amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association

Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain charter provisions. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting), including those related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances), may be amended if approved by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders, who will beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose.



 

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Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares 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, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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

On the completion of our initial business combination, all amounts held in the trust account will be disbursed directly by the trustee or released to us to pay amounts due to any public shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination,” to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes,



 

34


 

including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

 

 

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

Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 24-month 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 10 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, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (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 shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 24-month time period or during any Extension Period.

 

 

Our initial shareholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to



 

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liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time frame. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares.

 

  Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public ordinary shares 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, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions.

 

Limited payments to insiders

There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:

 

   

repayment of an aggregate of up to $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;



 

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payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services;

 

   

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

 

   

repayment of loans under the promissory note that we will enter into with our sponsor prior to the consummation of this offering, which provides for loans in an aggregate amount of up to $2,500,000, and repayment of any additional loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $2,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $2.00 per warrant at the option of the lender.

 

  These payments may be funded using the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account or, upon completion of the initial business combination, from any amounts remaining from the proceeds of the trust account released to us in connection therewith.

 

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

 

Audit committee

Prior to the effectiveness of this registration statement, we will have established and will maintain an audit committee to, among other things, monitor compliance with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section entitled “Management—Committees of the Board of Directors Audit Committee.”

 

Conflicts of interest

All of our officers and certain of our directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I and to certain



 

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companies in which either of them has invested or are otherwise affiliated with. Adib Mattar serves as Head of Private Equity and is a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. In this role he has oversight of all private equity investing across Mubadala Capital’s Private Equity Funds and investment strategies which may overlap with investment targets of the Company. Maxime Franzetti is Head of Public Equities and SPACs and is a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. In this role, he is responsible for Mubadala Capital’s public market initiatives, which may involve investing in investment vehicles and strategies that compete with the Company. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. Subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, none of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing 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 above. Our management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors (including other special purpose acquisition companies they are or may become involved with), may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging



 

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directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. For more information, see the section entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”

 

  Our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities (including other special purpose acquisition companies they are or may become involved with) 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, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Management Team and Conflicts of Interest—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.”

 

  We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.

 

Indemnity

Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) 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



 

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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, 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 this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. 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 and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations.

Definitions

Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus or the context otherwise requires, references to:

 

   

“amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be in effect upon completion of this offering;

 

   

“Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time;

 

   

“directors” are to our current directors and our director nominees named in this prospectus;

 

   

“founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering and our Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the conversion thereof as provided herein;

 

   

“forward purchase agreement” are to the agreement providing for the sale of forward purchase units to the forward purchase investors in a private placement that will close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination;

 

   

“forward purchase investors” are to the fund affiliated with Mubadala Capital that is party to the forward purchase agreement;

 

   

“forward purchase shares” are to the shares of Class A ordinary shares included in the forward purchase units;

 

   

“forward purchase units” are to the units that may be issued to the forward purchase investors pursuant to the forward purchase agreement;

 

   

“forward purchase warrants” are to the redeemable warrants to purchase shares of our Class A ordinary shares included in the forward purchase units;



 

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“initial shareholders” are to our sponsor and the other holders of our founder shares prior to this offering (if any);

 

   

“letter agreement” are to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part;

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

“private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering;

 

   

“public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor, directors and officers to the extent our sponsor, directors or officers purchase public shares, provided their status as a “public shareholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares;

 

   

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

 

   

“sponsor” are to Blue Whale Sponsor I LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company and an affiliate of Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I;

 

   

“warrants” are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market); and

 

   

“we,” “us,” “our” or our “company” are to Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I, a Cayman Islands exempted company.

All references in this prospectus to shares of the company being forfeited shall take effect as surrenders for no consideration of such shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. All references to the conversion of our Class B ordinary shares shall take effect as a redemption of such Class B ordinary shares and issuance of the corresponding Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any share dividends described in this prospectus shall take effect as share capitalizations as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option and the forfeiture by our sponsor of 750,000 founder shares.

Summary of Risk Factors

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Such risks include, but are not limited to:

 

   

In evaluating a prospective target business for our initial business combination, our management may rely on the availability of funds from the sale of the forward purchase units to be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the initial business combination. If the sale of some or all of the forward purchase units fails to close, for any reason, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination.



 

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Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.

 

   

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.

 

   

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

 

   

The ability of our public shareholders 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.

 

   

The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

 

   

The ability of our public shareholders 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.

 

   

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 shareholders.

 

   

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 shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

   

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 coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak and other events and the status of debt and equity markets.

 

   

If we seek shareholder 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 shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

If we seek shareholder 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 shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.



 

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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 shareholders 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.

 

   

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.

 

   

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

 

   

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.

 

   

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

 

   

Our directors, officers, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.

 

   

The other risks and uncertainties discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.

Risks

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



 

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SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA

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

 

     March 12, 2021  
     Actual     As Adjusted(1)  

Balance Sheet Data:

    

Working capital (deficiency)

   $ (147,000   $                          

Total assets

   $ 167,000     $    

Total liabilities

   $ 147,000     $    

Ordinary shares subject to redemption

     —       $    

Shareholders’ equity

   $ 20,000     $    

 

(1)

The “as adjusted” information gives effect to the sale of the units we are offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, including the application of the related gross proceeds and the payment of the estimated remaining costs from such sale and the repayment of the accrued and other liabilities required to be repaid.

The “as adjusted” total assets amount includes the $201,020,000 to be held in the trust account, including the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $7,000,000 (assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised), plus $1,000,000 in cash of non-reimbursed expenses to be held outside the trust account, plus $20,000 of actual shareholders’ equity as of March 12, 2021. If our initial business combination is not consummated, the funds held in the trust account, less amounts we are permitted to withdraw as described in this prospectus, will be distributed solely to our public shareholders.



 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Some statements contained in this prospectus are forward-looking in nature. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following risks, uncertainties and other factors:

 

   

our being a newly incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues;

 

   

our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses;

 

   

our ability to complete our initial business combination;

 

   

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 and the technology industries;

 

   

our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the recent COVID-19 pandemic and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases);

 

   

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

 

   

the trust account being subject to claims of third parties;

 

   

our financial performance following this offering; and

 

   

the other risk and uncertainties discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

 

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RISK FACTORS

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

Risks Relating to Our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination

In evaluating a prospective target business for our initial business combination, our management may rely on the availability of funds from the sale of the forward purchase units to be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the initial business combination. If the sale of some or all of the forward purchase units fails to close, for any reason, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination.

We will enter into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investor will agree to purchase up to an aggregate of 5,000,000 units for an aggregate purchase price of up to $50,000,000, or $10.00 per unit, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. Any funds from the sale of forward purchase shares may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-transaction company.

Pursuant to the forward purchase agreement, the forward purchase investor will determine in its sole discretion the specific number of forward purchase units, if any, it will purchase. If the sale of some or all of the forward purchase units the forward purchase investors elect to purchase does not close for any reason, including by reason of the failure by the forward purchase investors to fund the purchase price for its forward purchase units, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination. Additionally, the forward purchase investors’ obligations to purchase any forward purchase units will be subject to termination prior to the closing of the sale of the forward purchase units by mutual written consent of the company and the forward purchase investor. The forward purchase investors’ obligations to purchase any forward purchase units it elects to purchase will be subject to fulfillment of customary closing conditions. In the event of any such failure to fund by the forward purchase investor, any obligation is so terminated or any such closing condition is not satisfied and not waived by the forward purchase investor, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination.

Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.

We may not hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange rules or if we decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons. Except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders 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 shareholder approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we consummate. Please see the section entitled “Proposed Business—Effecting Our

 

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Initial Business Combination—Shareholders may not have the ability to approve our initial business combination” for additional information.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.

Unlike some other blank check companies in which the initial shareholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public shareholders in connection with an initial business combination, our initial shareholders, 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 shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,250,001, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this 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 shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares at the time of any such shareholder vote. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary shareholder 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 shareholders.

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 shareholder approval of such business combination.

At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any target businesses. Additionally, since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder approval. Accordingly, if we do not seek shareholder 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 shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.

The ability of our public shareholders 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 shareholders 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 shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay and the payment of the

 

47


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. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.

The ability of our public shareholders 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 shareholders 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 shareholders 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 shareholders.

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 this offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in

 

48


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 24-month period. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.

We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein, including as a result of terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of infectious diseases. For example, the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire.

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 10 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, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (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 shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than $10.00 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders 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 coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak and other events and the status of debt and equity markets.

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced, which has and is continuing to spread throughout parts of the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic.” The COVID-19 outbreak has adversely affected, and other events (such as

 

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terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) could adversely affect, economies and financial markets worldwide, business operations and the conduct of commerce generally, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be, or may already have been, materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel or limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors, or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.

In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases), including as a result of increased market volatility and decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.

Finally, the outbreak of COVID-19 may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border transactions.

If we seek shareholder 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 shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.

If we seek shareholder 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. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder 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 nonpublic 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. See “Proposed Business—Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will select which shareholders to enter into private transactions with. 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 shareholder 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

 

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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 shareholder 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 shareholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such shareholder 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. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See “Proposed Business — Manner of Conducting Redemptions—Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights.”

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

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

If we seek shareholder 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 shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.

If we seek shareholder 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 memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is

 

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acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ 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.

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 shareholders 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 this 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 shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our Class A ordinary shares, 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 shareholders 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. 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 shareholders 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.

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

 

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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.

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.

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 this 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 this 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 this offering, the $2,500,000 promissory note that we will enter into with our sponsor prior to the consummation of this offering and potential additional loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, except for the promissory note discussed above, 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. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for its funding obligation under the promissory note discussed above. Any such event in the future, including our sponsor’s inability to fund borrowings under the promissory note discussed above, may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.

We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of this offering; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent 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 entered into a letter of intent 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 shareholders 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. 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 shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.

 

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

Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $1,000,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,000,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,000,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Other than pursuant to the $2,500,000 promissory note, neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their respective affiliates is under any obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us in such circumstances. Any such loans may be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders 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.

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

The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate 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 shareholders 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 auditors), 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 shareholders, 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 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders 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 auditors) 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 the 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 this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. 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 public share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our directors

 

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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 shareholders.

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 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, 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 director nominees would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent director nominees would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent director nominees in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent director nominees choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.

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 shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.

The proceeds held in the trust account may be invested 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 (the “Permitted Investment”). 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 memorandum and articles of association, our public shareholders 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) solely in the event we invest the proceeds in the trust account in a Permitted Investment. Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, 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 shareholders, 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 shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or insolvency laws as a voidable performance. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. 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 shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.

 

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If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, 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 shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, 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 insolvency law, and may be included in our liquidation estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any liquidation claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders 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.

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. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account will be held in a non-interest bearing trust account. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent our completing an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as

 

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discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public 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 a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.

We are and will be 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, 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 the allotted time period, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such allotted time period before redemption from our trust account.

If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, pro rata to our public shareholders 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 shareholders from the trust account shall be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the allotted time period 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 memorandum and articles of association and then only in cases where investors have properly sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders 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 memorandum and articles of association prior thereto.

Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.

If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which

 

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the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable for a fine of up to approximately $18,300 and to imprisonment for up to five years in the Cayman Islands.

We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination. Our public shareholders 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 no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors prior to consummation of our initial business combination. In addition, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.

The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees and the forward purchase investors 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 ordinary shares.

Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of this offering, at or after the time of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their founder shares after those shares convert to our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. Pursuant to the forward purchase agreement, we will agree that we will use our reasonable best efforts to (i) within 30 days after the closing of the initial business combination, file a registration statement with the SEC for a secondary offering of (A) the forward purchase shares, (B) the forward purchase warrants, (C) the shares underlying the forward purchase warrants and (D) any other shares of Class A ordinary shares acquired by the forward purchase investors, including any acquired after we complete our initial business combination, (ii) cause such registration statement to be declared effective promptly thereafter, but in no event later than 90 days after the closing of the initial business combination and (iii) maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and to ensure the registration statement does not contain a material omission or misstatement, including by way of amendment or other update, as required, until the earlier of (A) the date on which the forward purchase investors cease to hold the securities covered thereby and (B) the date all of the securities covered thereby can be sold publicly without restriction or limitation under Rule 144 under the Securities Act, and without the requirement to be in compliance with Rule 144(c) (1) under the Securities Act, subject to certain conditions and

 

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limitations set forth in the forward purchase agreement. 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 ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to complete. This is because the shareholders 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 ordinary shares that is expected when the ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders or their permitted transferees, the forward purchase shares, the forward purchase warrants, the private placement warrants owned by our sponsor or their permitted transferees or warrants issued in connection with working capital loans are registered for resale.

Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic area 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% of net assets test) and in any industry, sector or geographic area. However, we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or 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 units 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 shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries outside of our management’s areas of expertise.

We will consider a business combination in industries outside of our management’s areas of expertise, if a 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 the information contained in this prospectus regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors relevant to such acquisition. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and 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 shareholders 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 shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder 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 shareholders 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 the underwriters or any of their affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering. 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 this offering.

We may engage the underwriters or any of their affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay the 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; provided that no agreement will be entered into with the underwriters or any of their affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to the underwriters or any of their affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering. 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 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

 

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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 are not required to obtain an opinion 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 shareholders 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.

We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preferred shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the Class B ordinary shares 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 memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 200,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 undesignated preferred shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 180,000,000 and 15,000,000 (assuming in each case that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option and the forfeiture of 750,000 Class B ordinary shares) authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, 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 ordinary shares underlying any forward purchase units. Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein. Immediately after this offering, there will be no preferred shares issued and outstanding.

We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares, and may issue preferred shares, 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 Class A ordinary shares to redeem the warrants as described in “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A Ordinary Share equals or exceeds $10.00” or upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares 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 memorandum and articles of association. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination. The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preferred shares, including the issuance of the forward purchase shares:

 

   

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

 

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Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares;

 

   

may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if preferred shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares;

 

   

could cause a change of control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares 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 share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;

 

   

may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares and/or warrants; and

 

   

may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.

Our initial business combination or reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders or warrant holders.

We may, subject to requisite shareholder approval by special resolution under the Companies Act, 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 shareholder or warrant holder in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder 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. In the event of a reincorporation pursuant to our initial business combination, such tax liability may attach prior to any consummation of redemptions. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to pay such taxes.

Shareholders or warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after such business combination or reincorporation.

We may reincorporate or re-domicile in, or transfer our tax residence to, another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights. In addition, the effect of such reincorporation, re-domiciliation or change of tax residence may result in taxes being imposed on us or our shareholders or warrant holders.

In connection with our initial business combination, we may reincorporate or re-domicile in, or transfer our tax residence to, another jurisdiction or merge into a new entity in such jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the Cayman Islands or the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital. In addition, the effect of such reincorporation, re-domiciliation, transfer of tax residence or merger, may result in taxes imposed on us or our shareholders or warrant holders.

Such transactions may require a shareholder or warrant holder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder 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, re-domicile, transfer our tax residence or merge. We do not intend to make any cash

 

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distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay any such taxes. Shareholders or warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation, re-domiciliation, transfer of tax residence or merger.

Failure to maintain our status as tax resident solely in the Cayman Islands could adversely affect our financial and operating results.

Our intention is that prior to our initial business combination we should be resident solely in the Cayman Islands. Continued attention must be paid to ensure that major decisions by the Company are not made from another jurisdiction, since this could cause us to lose our status as tax resident solely in the Cayman Islands. The composition of the Board, the place of residence of the individual members of the Board and the location(s) in which the Board makes decisions will all be important factors in determining and maintaining our tax residence in the Cayman Islands. If we were to be considered as tax resident within another jurisdiction, we may be subject to additional tax in that jurisdiction, which could negatively affect our financial and operating results, and/or our shareholders’ or warrant holders’ investment returns could be subject to additional or increased taxes (including withholding taxes).

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 shareholders 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 shareholders 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 “Management—Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, directors and officers are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business—Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial

 

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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 shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.

Since our initial shareholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.

On March 2021, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. On April 1, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of David H. Johnson, Gregg Walker, Jordan Zachary, and Zahavah Levine (our independent director nominees) and Russ Pillar, (our Chief Financial Officer). Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.

Our sponsor has also committed to purchase an aggregate of 3,000,000 (or 3,300,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, for a purchase price of $6,000,000 in the aggregate or $6,600,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, or $2.00 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete a business combination. Each private placement warrant may be exercised for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein.

In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, we entered into a promissory note with our sponsor prior to the consummation of this offering that will provide for borrowings of up to $300,000.

Furthermore, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us additional funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $2,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $2.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. 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 24-month deadline following the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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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 shareholders’ investment in us.

Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:

 

   

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

 

   

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 ordinary shares;

 

   

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 ordinary shares 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;

 

   

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 this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and the forward purchase units, 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.

The net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and the sale of up to $50,000,000 of forward purchase units will provide us with $206,000,000 (or $236,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) that we may use to complete our initial business combination (which includes $7,000,000, or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account, and excludes estimated offering expenses of $1,000,000).

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

 

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forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory 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 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.

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 shareholders do not agree.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do 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 shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender

 

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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 ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the 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 memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.

In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law. A resolution is deemed to be a special resolution as a matter of Cayman Islands law where it has been approved by either (1) holders of at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s ordinary shares at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given or (2) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law) (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders. The warrant agreement provides that (a) 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 this prospectus, 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 rights of the registered holders of the warrants and (b) all other modifications or amendments require the vote or written consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, at least 65% of the then outstanding private placement warrants. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.

 

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Certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting, 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 memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.

Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by holders of a certain percentage of the company’s shares. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by holders holding between 90% and 100% of the company’s public shares. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions, including those related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances), may be amended if approved by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our ordinary shares (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting). Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 memorandum and articles of association which 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. In certain circumstances, our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

Certain agreements related to this offering may be amended without shareholder approval.

Certain agreements, including the letter agreement among us and our sponsor, officers and directors, and the registration rights agreement among us and our initial shareholders, may be amended without shareholder approval. These agreements contain various provisions, including transfer restrictions on our founder shares, that our public shareholders might deem to be material. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendments would not require approval from our shareholders, 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.

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.

Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and forward purchase units will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business

 

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combination, because we have not yet selected any target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and forward purchase units 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 forward purchase investors elect not to purchase any forward purchase units, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders 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 shareholders 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 shareholders 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 shareholders will control the appointment 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 appoint all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.

Upon the closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of the founder shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of the board of directors for any reason. Holders of our public shares will have no right to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination. The forward purchase shares underlying the forward purchase units will not be issued until completion of our initial business combination and, accordingly, will not be included in any shareholder vote until such time.

Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our directors or officers, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, as a result of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial shareholders may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial shareholders purchase any Class A ordinary shares in this offering or in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring a shareholder vote at least until the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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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

 

  (i)

we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share,

 

  (ii)

the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and

 

  (iii)

the Market Value is below $9.20 per share,

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, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” and “ Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “ Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” 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 ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.

We will be issuing warrants to purchase 5,000,000 Class A ordinary shares (or up to 5,750,000 Class A ordinary shares depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised), at a price of $11.50 per whole share (subject to adjustment as provided herein), as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement an aggregate of 3,000,000 (or 3,300,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. Our initial shareholders currently hold 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares (up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised). The Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares 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, including under the $300,000 promissory note discussed herein, up to $2,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of $2.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. To the extent we issue Class A ordinary shares to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares 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.

 

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The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us (except as described below under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”); (2) they (including the Class A ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.

Because we must furnish our shareholders 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-

 

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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 how relevant governments respond to such factors), 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;

 

   

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;

 

   

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.

Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company

We may face risks related to companies in the media industries.

Business combinations with companies in the media industries 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:

 

   

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

 

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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;

 

   

a reliance on proprietary technology to provide services and to manage our operations, and the failure of this technology to operate effectively, or our failure to use such technology effectively;

 

   

an inability to deal with our subscribers’ or customers’ privacy concerns;

 

   

an inability to attract and retain subscribers or customers;

 

   

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

 

   

any significant disruption in our computer systems or those of third parties that we would utilize in our operations;

 

   

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 advertising revenue;

 

   

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;

 

   

disruption or failure of our networks, systems or technology as a result of computer viruses, “cyber-attacks,” misappropriation of data or other malfeasance, as well as outages, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, accidental releases of information or similar events;

 

   

an inability to obtain necessary hardware, software and operational support; and

 

   

reliance on third-party vendors or service providers.

Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to the technology industries. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks 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 subsequently 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

 

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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 shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders 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 shareholders 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 shareholders 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 ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders 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.

We may have limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.

When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management,

 

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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 shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders 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.

After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all or substantially all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.

It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all or substantially all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.

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.

Risks Relating to Our Management Team and Conflicts of Interest

We are dependent upon our directors and officers and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.

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 activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. Moreover, certain of our directors and officers have time and attention requirements for investment funds of which affiliates of our sponsor are the investment managers. 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.

 

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Members of our management team and affiliated companies have been, and may from time to time be, involved in legal proceedings or governmental investigations unrelated to our business.

Members of our management team have been involved in a wide variety of businesses. Such involvement has, and may lead to, media coverage and public awareness. As a result of such involvement, members of our management team may from time to time be, involved in legal proceedings or governmental investigations unrelated to our business. Any such proceedings or investigations may be detrimental to our reputation and could negatively affect our ability to identify and complete an initial business combination and may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.

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 the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the 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 our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is

 

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no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

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 businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers and directors may be engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to, or otherwise expect to receive, substantial compensation or other economic benefit and our officers and directors are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. In particular, all of our officers and certain of our directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I and to Mubadala Capital. Certain of our independent director nominees also serve as officers and/or board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs, which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business endeavors, please see “Management—Directors, Director Nominees and Officers.”

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.

Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and directors and officers are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business. For example, Adib Mattar serves as Head of Private Equity and is a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. In this role he has oversight of all private equity investing across Mubadala Capital’s Private Equity Funds and investment strategies which may overlap with investment targets of the Company. Maxime Franzetti is Head of Public Equities and SPACs and is a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. In this role, he is responsible for Mubadala Capital’s public market initiatives, which may involve investing in investment vehicles and strategies that compete with the Company, and each of the foregoing owes fiduciary duties to these entities under the laws of their incorporation. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing 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 above. Moreover, certain of our directors and officers have time and attention requirements for investment funds of which affiliates of our sponsor are the investment managers.

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 contractual duties, including Mubadala Capital’s Private Equity Funds and any other special purpose

 

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acquisition company in which they may become involved with. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to other entities prior to its presentation to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.

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 “Management—Directors, Director Nominees and Officers,” “Management—Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”

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 their respective 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, although we do not intend to do so. 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. Additionally, the forward purchase investors are affiliates of a fund managed by Mubadala Capital. In particular, affiliates of our sponsor have invested in industries as diverse as healthcare, education, financial services, artificial intelligence and social media. 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.

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 shareholders 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 Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ 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 this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder 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.

 

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

We intend to have our units listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus and our Class A ordinary shares and warrants listed on or promptly after their date of separation. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet the minimum initial listing requirements set forth in the Nasdaq rules, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public shareholders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, in order for our Class A ordinary shares to be listed upon the consummation of our initial business combination, at such time, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders (with at least 50% of such round lot holders holding securities with a market value of at least $2,500) of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.

If Nasdaq delists any of our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect 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 ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;

 

   

a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

 

   

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

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants will qualify as covered securities under such statute. Although the states are preempted 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 special purpose acquisition companies, 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.

 

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You will not be permitted to exercise your warrants unless we register and qualify the issuance of the underlying Class A ordinary shares or certain exemptions are available.

If the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, holders of warrants will not be entitled to exercise such warrants and such warrants may have no value and expire worthless.

While we have registered the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act as part of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we do not plan on keeping a prospectus current until required to do so pursuant to the warrant agreement. 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 with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new 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 Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares that you will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum amount of shares equal to 0.361 Class A ordinary shares 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 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, 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 Class A ordinary shares included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of units sold in this offering. 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 ordinary shares underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying ordinary shares. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify

 

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the underlying Class A ordinary shares 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.

Our warrants are expected to be accounted for as derivative liabilities and will be recorded at fair value upon issuance with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.

We will be issuing 5,000,000 warrants (or up to 5,750,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement, 3,000,000 private placement warrants (or up to 3,300,000 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). We expect to account for both the warrants underlying the units offered by this prospectus and the private placement warrants as a warrant liability. At each reporting period (1) the accounting treatment of the warrants will be re-evaluated for proper accounting treatment as a liability or equity and (2) the fair value of the liability of the public and private warrants will be remeasured and the change in the fair value of the liability will be recorded as other income (expense) in our income statement. Changes in the inputs and assumptions for the valuation model we use to determine the fair value of such liability may have a material impact on the estimated fair value of the embedded derivative liability. The share price of our common stock represents the primary underlying variable that impacts the value of the derivative instruments. Additional factors that impact the value of the derivative instruments include the volatility of our stock price, discount rates and stated interest rates. As a result, our consolidated financial statements and results of operations will fluctuate quarterly, based on various factors, such as the share price of our common stock, many of which are outside of our control. In addition, we may change the underlying assumptions used in our valuation model, which could in result in significant fluctuations in our results of operations. If our stock price is volatile, we expect that we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our warrants or any other similar derivative instruments 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 common stock. In addition, potential targets may seek a SPAC that does not have warrants that are accounted for as a liability, which may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.

Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000 in exchange for 5,750,000 founder shares, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution upon the purchase of our Class A ordinary shares.

The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the ordinary shares and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately [        ]% (or $[        ] per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $[        ] and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public shareholders seek redemptions from the trust. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A ordinary shares.

 

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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.

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 (a) 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 this prospectus, 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 rights of the registered holders of the warrants under the warrant agreement and (b) all other modifications or amendments require the vote or written consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants; provided that any amendment that solely affects the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement solely with respect to the private placement warrants will also require at least 65% of the then outstanding private placement warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant. Additionally, upon effectiveness of a registration statement covering the resale of the forward purchase warrants and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such forward purchase warrants, the public warrants and the forward purchase warrants will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the holders of the warrants.

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

We have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant if, among other things, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-dilution Adjustments”). Please see “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00.” If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. 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. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us (except as described below under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”) so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.

In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant if, among other things, the

 

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Reference Value equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-dilution Adjustments”). In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A ordinary shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares. Please see “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00.” The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.

Because each unit contains one-fourth 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-fourth 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 ordinary share 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 fourth 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.

The determination of the size of this offering and the terms of the securities offered is more arbitrary than the size of an offering and the terms of the securities offered of an operating company in a particular industry.

Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering and terms of the units, including the Class A ordinary shares and warrants underlying the units, include:

 

   

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

 

   

prior offerings of those companies;

 

   

our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values;

 

   

a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions;

 

   

our capital structure;

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

other factors as were deemed relevant.

 

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

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

Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.

Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.

We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (1) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (2) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

 

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As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.

Our warrant agreement will designate the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.

Our warrant agreement will provide that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal 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 of the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.

This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.

Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include two-year director terms and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, 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.

 

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General Risk Factors

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

We are a newly incorporated company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning 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 our management team and their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.

Information regarding performance by our management team and their respective affiliates, is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team and their respective affiliates 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 our management team or their respective affiliates, or any related investment’s performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.

We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this prospectus captioned “Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Federal Income Taxation—U.S. Holders”) of our ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our subsequent taxable years may depend upon the status of an acquired company pursuant to a business combination and whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this prospectus captioned “Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Federal Income Taxation—U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”). The application of the start-up exception and the determination of our PFIC status may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, moreover, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor on written request to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would likely be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. Holders to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules to holders of our ordinary shares and warrants. For a more detailed explanation of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see “Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Federal Income Taxation—U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

 

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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 shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders 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 ordinary shares held by non-affiliates 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 ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our ordinary shares 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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USE OF PROCEEDS

We are offering 20,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants will be used as set forth in the following table.

 

     Without
Over-Allotment
Option
    Over-Allotment
Option Exercised
 

Gross proceeds

    

Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1)

   $ 200,000,000     $ 230,000,000  

Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement

     6,000,000       6,600,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total gross proceeds

   $ 206,000,000     $ 236,600,000  

Estimated offering expenses(2)

    

Underwriting commissions (2.0% of gross proceeds from shares offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(3)

   $ 4,000,000     $ 4,600,000  

Legal fees and expenses

     350,000       350,000  

Accounting fees and expenses

     60,000       60,000  

Printing and engraving expenses

     25,000       25,000  

SEC expenses

     32,307       32,307  

FINRA expenses

     35,000       35,000  

Directors and officers insurance premiums(4)

     400,000       400,000  

Nasdaq listing and filing fees

     75,000       75,000  

Miscellaneous expenses(5)

     22,693       22,693  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total estimated offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions)

   $ 1,000,000     $ 1,000,000  

Proceeds after estimated offering expenses

   $ 201,000,000     $ 231,000,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Held in trust account(3)

   $ 200,000,000     $ 230,000,000  

% of public offering size

     100     100

Not held in trust account(2)

   $ 1,000,000     $ 1,000,000  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,000,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account(6).

 

     Amount      % of Total  

Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combination(7)

   $ 400,000        40.0

Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations

     150,000        15.0

Payment for office space, administrative and support services

     240,000        24.0

Nasdaq continued listing fees

     75,000        7.5

Other miscellaneous expenses

     135,000        13.5
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 1,000,000        100.0
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1)

Includes amounts payable to public shareholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination.

(2)

A portion of the offering expenses have been paid from the proceeds of a loan from our sponsor of $300,000 as described in this prospectus. As of March 12, 2021, we have not borrowed under the promissory note with our sponsor. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,000,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. These expenses are estimates only. In the event that offering expenses are less than as set forth in this table, any

 

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  such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses. In the event that the offering expenses are more than as set forth in this table, we may fund such excess with funds not held in the trust account.
(3)

The underwriters have agreed to defer underwriting commissions equal to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon completion of our initial business combination, $7,000,000, which constitutes the underwriters’ deferred commissions (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriters from the funds held in the trust account, and the remaining funds, less amounts used to pay redeeming shareholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.

(4)

This amount represents the approximate amount of annualized director and officer liability insurance premiums we anticipate paying following the completion of this offering and until we complete a business combination.

(5)

Includes organizational and administrative expenses, travel and roadshow expenses, if any, and may include amounts related to above-listed expenses in the event actual amounts exceed estimates.

(6)

These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring a business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify an acquisition target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses. The amount in the table above does not include interest available to us from the trust account. Immediately following the completion of this offering, the proceeds held in the trust account will not be invested and will be held in a non-interest bearing trust account. If, in the future, the proceeds held in the trust account are invested, then the proceeds will be invested 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. Assuming an interest rate of 0.10% per year, the trust account may generate approximately $200,000 of interest annually; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount or that we will invest in U.S. government treasury obligations. In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, we entered into a promissory note with our sponsor prior to the consummation of this offering that will provide for borrowings of up to $300,000.

Furthermore, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us additional funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $2,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $2.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor.

 

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  We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
(7)

Includes estimated amounts that may also be used in connection with our initial business combination to fund a “no shop” provision and commitment fees for financing.

The rules of Nasdaq provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $200,000,000 (or $230,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), including $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions, will, upon the consummation of this offering, be placed in a non-interest bearing U.S.-based trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. If, in the future, the proceeds held in the trust account are invested, then the proceeds will be invested 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. Assuming an interest rate of 0.10% per year, the trust account may generate approximately $200,000 of interest annually; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount or that we will invest in U.S. government treasury obligations. We will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the trust account except for the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes, if any. The funds held in the trust account will not otherwise be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ 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 this offering, subject to applicable law. Based on current interest rates, we expect that interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay taxes.

The net proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete our initial business combination and to pay the deferred underwriting commissions. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

We believe that amounts not held in trust and available under the $2,500,000 promissory note that we will enter into with our sponsor will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective acquisition, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital

 

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through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their respective affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us.

We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of March 12, 2021, we have not borrowed under the $300,000 promissory note with our sponsor. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,000,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account.

In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, we entered into a promissory note with our sponsor prior to the consummation of this offering that will provide for borrowings of up to $300,000.

Furthermore, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us additional funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $2,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $2.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

Prior to this offering, we will enter into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investor will agree to subscribe for an aggregate of up to 5,000,000 units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit, or up to $50,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The forward purchase investor will determine in its sole discretion the specific number of forward purchase units it will purchase, if any, pursuant to the forward purchase agreement. Each forward purchase unit will consist of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. The terms of the forward purchase units will generally be identical to the terms of the units being issued in this offering.

The forward purchase agreement also will provide that the forward purchase investors are entitled to registration rights with respect to (A) the forward purchase shares, (B) the forward purchase warrants, (C) the shares underlying the forward purchase warrants and (D) any other shares of Class A ordinary shares or warrants acquired by the forward purchase investors, including any acquired after we complete our initial business combination. Please see “Description of Securities—Registration Rights” for additional information.

The proceeds from the sale of the forward purchase shares may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-transaction company. These purchases will be required to be made regardless of whether any shares of Class A ordinary shares are redeemed by our public shareholders and are intended to provide us with minimum funding level for our initial business combination.

 

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If we seek shareholder 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 also purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Please see “Proposed Business—Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how such persons will determine from which shareholders to seek to acquire shares. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. However, such persons have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. Such persons will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.

We may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions and the agreement for our initial business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination, and may instead search for an alternate business combination.

Our public shareholders 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 Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ 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 this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder 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.

Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as described elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.

 

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares 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, except if we increase the size of this offering, in which case we will effect a capitalization or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

 

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DILUTION

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

At March 12, 2021, our net tangible book value was a deficiency of $(147,000), or approximately $[] per Class B ordinary share. After giving effect to the sale of 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus, the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at March 12, 2021 would have been $[] or $[] per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of the [] Class A ordinary shares that may be redeemed for cash and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) of $[] per share to our initial shareholders as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution of $[] per share or []% to our public shareholders not exercising their redemption rights. The dilution to new investors if the underwriters exercise the over-allotment option in full would be an immediate dilution of $[] per share or []%.

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

 

     Without
Over-allotment
    With
Over-allotment
 

Public offering price

     $ 10.00       $ 10.00  

Net tangible book deficit before this offering

     (0.03       [  

Increase attributable to public shareholders

   $         []       $         []    
  

 

 

     

 

 

   

Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants

     $ [     $ [
    

 

 

     

 

 

 

Dilution to public shareholders

     $ [     $ [
    

 

 

     

 

 

 

Percentage of dilution to public shareholders

       [ ]%        []%  

For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) by $[] because holders of up to approximately []% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per-share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, divided by the number of Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering.

 

95


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

 

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

Initial Shareholders(1)

     5,000,000        20.00   $ 25,000        0.01   $ 0.005  

Public Shareholders

     20,000,000        80.00     200,000,000        99.99   $ 10.00  
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   
     25,000,000        100.0   $ 200,025,000        100.0  
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

(1)

Assumes the full forfeiture of 750,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

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

 

     Without
Over-
allotment
    With
Over-
allotment
 

Numerator:

    

Net tangible book deficit before this offering

   $ (147,000   $ (147,000

Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants

     []       []  

Plus: Offering costs paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value before this offering

     []       []  

Less: Warrant liability

     []       []  

Less: Deferred underwriting commissions

     []       []  

Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption

     []       []  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
   $ []     $ []  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Denominator:

    

Class B ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering

     []       []  

Class B ordinary shares forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised

     []       []  

Class A ordinary shares included in the units offered

     []       []  

Less: Shares subject to redemption

     []       []  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
     []       []  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our capitalization at March 12, 2021, and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our 20,000,000 units in this offering for $200,000,000 (or $10.00 per unit) and the sale of 3,000,000 private placement warrants for $6,000,000 (or $2.00 per warrant) and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities (and excludes gross proceeds from the sale of forward purchase units that may close substantially simultaneously with the closing of our initial business combination):

 

     March 12, 2021  
     Actual     As Adjusted  

Note payable to related party

   $ —       $ —    

Warrant liability(2)

     —         []  

Deferred underwriting commissions

     —         []  

Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption; [] and [] shares, actual and as adjusted, respectively

     —         []  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Preference shares, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted

     —         —    

Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 200,000,000 shares authorized; [] and [] shares issued and outstanding (excluding -0- and 18,902,000 shares subject to possible redemption), actual and as adjusted, respectively

     —         []  

Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 and 5,000,000 shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively

     575       []  

Additional paid-in capital

     24,425       []  

Accumulated deficit

     (5,000     []  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total shareholders’ equity

   $ 20,000     $             []  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total capitalization

   $ 20,000     $ []  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 750,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our sponsor.

(2)

We will account for the [] warrants to be issued in connection with this offering (the [] warrants included in the units and the 3,000,000 private placement warrants, assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, we will classify each warrant as a liability at its fair value. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such remeasurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in our statement of operations.

(3)

Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of March 12, 2021, we have not drawn under the promissory note with our sponsor to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering.

(4)

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

 

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview

We are a newly incorporated blank check company, incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and the forward purchase units, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt.

The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preferred shares in a business combination, including the issuance of the forward purchase units:

 

   

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares;

 

   

may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if preferred shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares;

 

   

could cause a change of control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares 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 share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;

 

   

may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares and/or warrants; and

 

   

may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. Similarly, if we issue debt or otherwise incur significant indebtedness, it could result in:

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

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 ordinary shares;

 

   

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 ordinary shares 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.

Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events

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

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through the receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the founder shares to our sponsor in exchange for issuance of founder shares and up to $300,000 in loans from our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note. As of March 12, 2021, we have not borrowed under the promissory note with our sponsor. We estimate that the net proceeds from (1) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $1,000,000 and underwriting commissions of $4,000,000 ($4,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of 7,000,000, or $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), and (2) the sale of the private placement warrants for a purchase price of $6,000,000 (or $6,600,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $201,000,000 (or $231,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $200,000,000 or $230,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, including $7,000,000 (or up to 8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions will be deposited into the trust account. Immediately following the completion of this offering, the proceeds held in the trust account will not be invested and will be held in a non-interest bearing trust account. If, in the future, the proceeds held in the trust account are invested, then the proceeds will be invested 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. The remaining $1,000,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,000,000 we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,000,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and excluding deferred underwriting commissions) and the proceeds from the sale of the forward purchase units to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes, if any. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the

 

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amounts held in the trust account. Immediately following the completion of this offering, the proceeds held in the trust account will not be invested and will be held in a non-interest bearing trust account. If, in the future, the proceeds held in the trust account are invested, we expect the interest income earned on the amount in the trust account (if any) will be sufficient to pay our taxes. We expect the only taxes payable by us out of the funds in the trust account will be income and franchise taxes, if any. To the extent that our ordinary shares or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.

Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds 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, structure, negotiate and complete a business combination, and to pay taxes to the extent the interest earned on the trust account is not sufficient to pay our taxes.

In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, we entered into a promissory note with our sponsor prior to the consummation of this offering that will provide for borrowings of up to $300,000.

Furthermore, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us additional funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $2,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $2.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $400,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combinations; $150,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $75,000 for Nasdaq continued listing fees; $240,000 for office space, administrative and support services; and $135,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves net of estimated interest income.

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

 

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We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination.

As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, March 12, 2021 we did not have cash, we had a working capital deficit of $147,000 and deferred offering costs of $167,000. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.

Controls and Procedures

We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control reporting requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.

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

 

   

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

 

   

reconciliation of accounts;

 

   

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

 

   

evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions;

 

   

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

 

   

documentation of accounting policies and procedures.

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

 

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

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

Immediately following the completion of this offering, the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will not be invested and will be held in a non-interest bearing trust account. Therefore, immediately following the completion of this offering, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.

Related Party Transactions

On March 11, 2021, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. On April 1, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of David H. Johnson, Gregg Walker, Jordan Zachary, and Zahavah Levine (our independent director nominees) and Russ Pillar (our Chief Financial Officer). Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will also pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

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 and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.

Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of March 12, 2021, we have not borrowed under the promissory note with our sponsor. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,000,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account.

In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, we will enter into a promissory note with our sponsor prior to the consummation of this offering that will provide for borrowings of up to $2,500,000. These loans will be non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of the closing of our initial business combination and our liquidation if we have not completed an initial business

 

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combination with the allotted time period. Our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us additional funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $2,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $2.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. Other than as described above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

Our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 3,000,000 (or 3,300,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants at a price of $2.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate or $6,600,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us (except as described below under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”); (2) they (including the Class A ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.

Prior to this offering, we will enter into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investor will agree to subscribe for an aggregate of up to 5,000,000 units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit, or up to $50,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The forward purchase investor will determine in its sole discretion the specific number of forward purchase units it will purchase, if any, pursuant to the forward purchase agreement. Each forward purchase unit will consist of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. The terms of the forward purchase units will generally be identical to the terms of the units being issued in this offering.

The forward purchase agreement also will provide that the forward purchase investors are entitled to registration rights with respect to (A) the forward purchase shares, (B) the forward purchase warrants, (C) the shares underlying the forward purchase warrants and (D) any other shares of Class A ordinary shares or warrants acquired by the forward purchase investors, including any acquired after we complete our initial business combination. Please see “Description of Securities—Registration Rights” for additional information.

Pursuant to a registration rights agreement that we will enter into with our initial shareholders on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. These holders, and holders of warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the

 

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securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. See “Principal Shareholders—Registration Rights.”

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

As of February 11, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus as we have conducted no operations to date.

JOBS Act

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

Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things: (1) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; (2) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; (3) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis); and (4) disclose certain executive compensation-related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of this offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.

 

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PROPOSED BUSINESS

General

We are a blank check company newly incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination (“the Initial Business Combination”). We have not selected any potential business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target.

Our sponsor is affiliated with Mubadala Capital. Mubadala Capital was established in 2011 as the third-party asset management arm of Mubadala Investment Company PJSC (“Mubadala”), an Abu Dhabi government-owned sovereign investor, with more than $232 billion of assets under management.

Mubadala Capital invests across a range of asset classes including private equity, public equity, venture capital, and credit. Each business employs a fundamentals-driven investment strategy, prioritizing capital preservation and long-term value creation.

Mubadala Capital is a differentiated value-added investor that leverages both the Mubadala network and the relationships embedded within the investment team to source proprietary investment opportunities on a global basis. The firm has a cohesive and tenured investment team led by senior leadership who have worked together for more than twelve years.

Mubadala Capital has a long track record of successfully identifying category leaders suitable for investment, especially in media, entertainment, and premium content and services sectors. Representative transactions the firm has consummated in the recent past include EMI Music Publishing (acquired in 2012 and successfully exited in 2018, making Mubadala Capital one of the few institutional investors to successfully structure, purchase, and exit a major music asset in the last decade), Endeavor (acquired in 2014), Reigning Champs (acquired in 2014), Imagine Entertainment (acquired in 2016), YES Network (acquired in 2019) and Looping Group (acquired in 2019). In total, these transactions and others in the media, entertainment, and premium content and services sectors represent more than $1 billion of capital deployed. These investments and many more have helped Mubadala Capital build a unique network of relationships and access to management teams in the industry, which we believe will help facilitate a successful merger with a target.

We intend to pursue a merger with a high-quality company in our target sectors, especially one where our strategic expertise will add value to the target’s businesses post-merger. As a well-capitalized investor with demonstrated domain expertise and a historical preference for partnering with quality management teams to deliver growth and create value, we believe we are distinguished from other potential investors and well positioned to succeed in consummating an initial business combination.

In addition, we believe our ability to complete our initial business combination will be enhanced by our having entered into the forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investors will agree to purchase up to 5,000,000 units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit, or up to $50,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination.

 

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Industry Trends

The continued growth of connected devices and the increased popularity of digital streaming services globally has supercharged the growth and value of entertainment content. Advancements in technology and cellular bandwidth have given more consumers the ability to stream media both in and out-of-home, leading to innovation in how content is delivered. The industry model transition from “ownership” to “access” allows for highly predictable subscription-based revenue streams, creating investment opportunities at various points in the value chain.

For example, the structural shift in music consumption and paid streaming across the music industry over the last decade is expected to accelerate as a result of the shift from offline to online music, the increased reliance on social media streaming for music discovery and promotion, and increased direct-to-consumer initiatives in merchandising and live streaming.

Geographically, growth opportunities in emerging markets, especially in China and India are particularly promising. Even more mature markets like North America present a strong opportunity to drive growth by converting ad-supported users into paid streaming subscribers.

We will seek a business combination with a company which we believe has significant growth opportunities with the potential to generate attractive future returns for our shareholders. We believe that the combination of our management team, professional network, strong track record, investment expertise, proprietary transaction sourcing and due diligence processes combined with our knowledge of valuation dynamics in the industry sectors in which we have an interest all position us uniquely in the entertainment and media content ecosystems.

In addition to the capital raised in this offering, some of our founders may invest additional capital into a proposed merger, which should provide greater certainty towards the consummation of a successful business combination and provide additional capital to fund post-merger growth-oriented business initiatives.

Our Management Team

Our management team and Board of Directors consist of seasoned executives that have collaborated and worked together for many years. We believe they collectively possess deep understanding of and experience in the entertainment content industry, transaction dynamics, general management, and the public markets. They will be supported by the Mubadala Capital investment team, the broader Mubadala Capital organization, and Mubadala’s global network of advisors, as deemed necessary.

Maxime Franzetti, 40, our Chief Executive Officer and Board Member, joined Mubadala in 2008 and was a founding member of Mubadala Capital in 2011 where he currently is the Head of Public Equities and SPACs. Mr. Franzetti is also a Director at MIC Capital Partners (Public). Mr. Franzetti is responsible for Mubadala Capital’s public market initiatives including overseeing a registered investment adviser founded in 2019 that manages public portfolios following a concentrated research-intensive fundamental value strategy. Mr. Franzetti is also a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. Prior to joining Mubadala in 2008, Mr. Franzetti worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions group of Dresdner Kleinwort and R.W. Baird in London. Mr. Franzetti graduated with First Class Honors from Queen Mary College, University of London.

Adib Mattar, 43, a Board Member, joined Mubadala in 2008 and was a founding member of Mubadala Capital in 2011 where he currently is the Head of Private Equity. Mr. Mattar is also a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. As Head of Private Equity for Mubadala Capital his investment track record includes over 30 deals and $3 billion of equity investment, with over

 

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$1 billion invested in Sports, Media and Entertainment. His most notable media investment was EMI Music Publishing, where he developed the investment thesis, led the sourcing and execution of world’s largest music publishing catalog in partnership with Sony. As Chairman of EMI Music Publishing from 2012 to 2018, Mr. Mattar was instrumental in hiring EMI Music Publishing’s management team, optimizing EMI Music Publishing’s capital structure, driving growth through catalog re-investment and successful contract renegotiations with all major music distribution providers. In addition, Mr. Mattar is also a member of the Board of REEF Technology, The Raine Group and Peterson Farms. Prior to joining Mubadala, Mr. Mattar was an investment banker at Credit Suisse in New York. Mr. Mattar graduated cum laude from the College of William & Mary in Virginia with a B.A. in International Relations and he received an MBA and Masters of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Mr. Mattar is also an Aspen Institute Fellow.

Russ Pillar, 55, our Chief Financial Officer, has spent most of the last three decades running some of the world’s best loved and well-known consumer brands. He founded and currently is Executive Chairman of Reigning Champs, the world’s largest NCAA-compliant path-to-college company for student-athletes, where he has served since 2011. Mr. Pillar also is Senior Advisor to Mubadala, where he initiates, evaluates, and manages direct investment opportunities globally. Prior to founding Reigning Champs, Mr. Pillar was President and Director of the Los Angeles Marathon; President of the Viacom Digital Media Group; President and Chief Executive Officer of the CBS Internet Group; President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Entertainment Group; President and Chief Executive Officer of Prodigy Internet and Vice Chairman of Prodigy Communications Corporation; and President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Paul Allen’s Precision Systems. He began his career as an investment banker in Merrill Lynch Capital Markets’ Japan Banking Group and then served as President of international merchant bank Japanese Capital Affiliates. Over the course of his career, Mr. Pillar has been a member of the Board of Directors of more than three dozen for-profit public and private consumer-facing sports, media, entertainment, and technology companies as well as a host of non-profit organizations. A Henry Crown Fellow at The Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, Mr. Pillar graduated Phi Beta Kappa, cum laude from Brown University with an A.B. in East Asian Studies.

Our Investment Team

In addition to Mr. Mattar, Mr. Franzetti and Mr. Pillar, Mubadala Capital’s investment team includes more than 40 individuals. Our Investment Team is further complemented by world-class support functions across legal, compliance, tax, and finance. That team has deep experience in:

 

   

Sourcing, structuring, and executing a wide range of investment opportunities.

 

   

Providing constructive strategic and operational guidance to management teams and boards of directors, enabling long-term shareholder value creation.

 

   

Leveraging insights from their substantial investment, financial, operational oversight, and governance experience to help optimize the financial structure, operating performance, and strategy of a company.

 

   

Accessing their extensive network of professional relationships to complement the skills and networks of a company’s senior management team or board of directors.

Our Independent Director Nominees

Our independent director nominees bring significant operating and investing experience and relationships, particularly in the entertainment content industry:

David H. Johnson, 74, our chairman, has been a lawyer and executive in the music business for 45 years. During that time, he has been the CEO of two of the major music publishers (Warner Chappell

 

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and EMI Music Publishing) and General Counsel of two of the major record companies (Sony Music and Warner Music). He started his career as a lawyer for CBS Records, the predecessor of Sony Music. Mr. Johnson was the first person to move directly from the Board of the RIAA (the recorded music trade association) to the Board of the NMPA (the music publishers’ trade association). He has also served on the Boards of ASCAP, the Harry Fox Organization, IFPI and the TJ Martell Foundation for Cancer Research. He is currently on the Board of Rainshine Entertainment, an Indian mobile entertainment company. In the course of his career Mr. Johnson has played a significant role in numerous landmark transactions in the worldwide music business including the sale of CBS Songs to SBK Entertainment; the sale of CBS Records to Sony Corporation; the formation of Sony/ATV, the music publishing joint venture between Michael Jackson and Sony Corporation; the sale of Warner Music to Edgar Bronfman Jr and a private equity consortium; the IPO of Warner Music; and the sale of Warner Music to Access Industries. In 2011, Mr. Johnson was a consultant to Mubadala in connection with its joint bid with Sony for EMI Music Publishing. Upon the completion of that transaction in 2012, he became CEO of EMI Music Publishing, a position he held until November 2018 when Mubadala sold its majority interest to Sony. During his tenure at EMI Music Publishing, Mr. Johnson led numerous successful refinancings of EMI Music Publishing’s debt, including the first ever high yield bond offering by a music publisher. Mr. Johnson received his Bachelor of Arts from Yale College, J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and LLM from the NYU Law School.

Zahavah Levine, 52, is a digital music and media pioneer, with two decades of experience on the technology side of the business. She spent 13 years at Google, in several roles. As the first lawyer and General Counsel of YouTube she helped negotiate its sale to Google in 2006. She stayed on as Associate General Counsel of Google and Chief Counsel of YouTube, where she oversaw music licensing and hammered out new business models with the music industry for user-uploaded content. Ms. Levine also directed copyright and rights-management policies, including the development of YouTube’s landmark Content ID platform. Then, as VP Partnerships for Google Play, she helped launch Google Play Music, and managed global partnerships, licensing and distribution. Most recently Ms. Levine managed Android’s partnerships with wireless carriers in North America. Before YouTube, Ms. Levine helped develop the music streaming licensing model for Rhapsody, the first on-demand music streaming subscription service. After RealNetworks acquired the company (Listen.com), Ms. Levine served as Director of Music Licensing and Associate General Counsel for RealNetworks, Inc. Throughout her career, Ms. Levine has been active in public policy and licensing reform initiatives. Ms. Levine’s accomplishments have been recognized with awards from Billboard Magazine (2012, 2013, 2014), Hollywood Reporter (2012) and Digital Media Wire (2011). Ms. Levine graduated Order of the Coif from Berkeley Law School and received her Bachelor of Arts from Brown University. She spent last year as a DCI Fellow at Stanford’s Distinguished Career Institute. Ms. Levine currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Kitchen, a vibrant startup synagogue in San Francisco. Ms. Levine is also a Coordinator on the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project.

Gregg Walker, 49, has been the Managing Member of G.A. Walker, LLC since July 2016 when he left his position as the Senior Vice President for Corporate Development at Sony Corporation of America (Sony), a position he had held since March 2009. At Sony, Mr. Walker helped lead many major transactions and strategic efforts, including the acquisition of EMI Music Publishing and the acquisition of Ericsson’s stake in smartphone manufacturer Sony Ericsson (now Sony Mobile) as well as Sony’s purchase of the 50% of Sony/ATV Music Publishing previously owned by the Michael Jackson Estate. Mr. Walker served on the Board of Directors of movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) as well as on the boards of EMI Music Publishing and Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Prior to joining Sony, Mr. Walker was the Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions at Viacom for three years. Before, Viacom, Mr. Walker was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in the investment banking division where he worked for nearly a decade. Mr. Walker earned an undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a law degree from Yale Law School. Mr. Walker is the former President of the Levitt Foundation, the former Chairman of the Harlem YMCA, and a member of the Board of

 

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Harlem RBI. In 2010, he was chosen by Crain’s New York Business as one of New York City’s 40 Under 40 Rising Stars.

Jordan Zachary, 38, was appointed Chief Strategy Officer of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) in 2015. Mr. Zachary currently serves as Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Live Nation Concerts and Chief Operating Officer, Talent & Touring. In these capacities he has had a broad range of responsibilities including overseeing various strategic initiatives, business functions, and acquisitions spanning Live Nation’s Concert business, Venue development activities, Festival portfolio, as well as its Media and Sponsorship and Artist Nation divisions. Prior to joining Live Nation Entertainment, Mr. Zachary spent over 10 years in the financial services industry focused on global media, entertainment and technology Companies. Mr. Zachary served as Managing Director at The Raine Group, a global merchant bank focused on technology, media and telecommunications, and has a successful track record working with some of the industry’s most notable burgeoning brands, as well as with Fortune 500 companies. He has a successful track record originating, executing and monetizing investments across the media, digital media and entertainment industries. Mr. Zachary served on the Board of Directors of Margaritaville Holdings and C3 Presents and was a Board Observer on the Board of Directors of VICE Media and Important Studios. Prior to The Raine Group, Mr. Zachary advised clients on a wide range of Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets transactions as part of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Corporate Finance teams at UBS Investment Bank, Lehman Brothers, and Bank of America Securities. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University.

Our Business Strategy

Our objective is to identify and complete a business combination that generates substantial long-term value for our shareholders. We will seek a target company that demonstrates the characteristics described below.

We will consider high-quality growth companies in the media and content industry, with an emphasis on those where our strategic expertise will be value-added to the potential target business.

Following the completion of this offering, we intend to begin the process of communicating with the network of relationships of our investment team and their affiliates to articulate the parameters for our search for a potential target initial business combination and begin the process of pursuing and reviewing potential opportunities.

Our Acquisition Criteria

Consistent with our core investment principles and business strategy, we expect to identify a high-quality merger target that may have a number of the following characteristics:

 

   

Easy to understand business model: We will seek to focus on targets with a proven track record of growth and profitability, and seek a company that is mature enough to have a history of financial and operating data that we can use to conduct a thorough financial analysis and build a detailed financial forecast. We will seek to avoid early stage venture companies where there is either insufficient information to complete our due diligence process or where the business model is still unproven.

 

   

Demonstrable and durable free cash flow: We will seek targets with a proven track record of generating predictable, sustainable, and growing cash flows over a reasonably long term which can either be re-invested in the business at high returns on capital (see below) or returned back to shareholders via dividends or share repurchases;

 

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High potential returns on capital: We will seek companies that generate high returns on capital as we believe that a business’ value creation potential resides in its ability to generate returns well above its weighted-average cost of capital over time.

 

   

Long runway for growth: We will seek companies operating in large and growing addressable markets. We will seek companies that have a clear runway for sustained growth in their existing core businesses and / or the optionality to expand into market adjacencies that may provide additional growth opportunities;

 

   

High quality management teams: We seek to invest in companies that are run by highly competent, respected, and talented management teams.

 

   

Strong corporate governance: We will seek a target that has a history of strong corporate governance, ideally with strong ESG practices.

Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors, and criteria that our management team and our investment team may deem relevant.

Our investment principles are further complemented by Mubadala Capital’s investment philosophy:

 

   

Focus on preserving capital and protecting downside: Mubadala Capital seeks to invest in strong and resilient business opportunities with a significant margin of safety imbedded in each opportunity. Mubadala Capital is focused on preservation of capital and finding opportunities with asymmetric risk/reward profiles that combine high upside potential with strong downside protection.

 

   

Partnership-oriented mentality: Mubadala Capital has a long history of forging partnerships with management teams and like-minded investors globally. Mubadala Capital’s partnership oriented investment approach typically resonates well with management teams who want the flexibility to operate their businesses whilst having a strong shareholder to support them over the long term.

 

   

Fundamental-driven analysis: Mubadala Capital’s investment process is based on a deep and thorough due diligence analysis. Its due diligence process typically entails management meetings, market studies, and the use of a wide variety of third party resources to turn its investment intuition into investment conviction. Mubadala Capital’s goal is to be an expert on the businesses in which they invest.

 

   

Mubadala Capital backs market leaders: Mubadala Capital is focused on finding market leaders with world-class management teams, deep competitive moats, large addressable markets and attractive unit economics. Mubadala Capital undertakes significant analysis to understand the competitive landscape globally for the companies it invests in, and seeks to invest in businesses that are superior both on an absolute and relative basis.

 

   

Long term investment horizon: Mubadala Capital takes a long term approach to investing and has a history of owning businesses over long periods of time. While market multiples can change over time, Mubadala Capital believes that high quality businesses with strong returns on capital will prove to be valuable and scarce over time.

Our Acquisition Process

In evaluating a potential target business, we expect to conduct a comprehensive due diligence review to seek to determine a company’s quality and its intrinsic value. That due diligence review may include, among other things, financial statement analysis; detailed document reviews; meetings with

 

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management; consultations with relevant industry experts, competitors, customers, and suppliers; and a review of additional information that we may obtain as part of our analysis of a target company.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

Members of our and Mubadala Capital’s management teams, including our officers and directors, will directly or indirectly own our securities following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target company is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Each of our officers and directors, as well as our and Mubadala Capital’s management teams, may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers, directors, and management team members was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to such business combination.

We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.

Most of our directors, director nominees and officers 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 or provide other services. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Adib Mattar serves as Head of Private Equity and is a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. In this role he has oversight of all private equity investing across Mubadala Capital’s Private Equity Funds and investment strategies which may overlap with investment targets of the Company. Maxime Franzetti is Head of Public Equities and SPACs and is a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. In this role, he is responsible for Mubadala Capital’s public market initiatives, which may involve investing in investment vehicles and strategies that compete with the Company.

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

Our sponsor, officers, and directors may sponsor, form, or participate in 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, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. However, we do not currently

 

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expect that any such other blank check company would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. In addition, our founders, sponsor, officers, and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring any related due diligence.

Initial Business Combination

The Nasdaq listing rules require that we must consummate an initial business combination with one or more operating businesses or assets that together have an aggregate fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust and taxes payable) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our Board of Directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our Board of Directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our Board of Directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our Board of Directors will have discretion to select the standards employed.

In addition, the application of those standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of our Board of Directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public shareholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% fair market value test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our Board of Directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.

While we consider it likely that our Board of Directors will be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the target’s assets or prospects. If our securities are not listed on Nasdaq after this offering, we would not be required to satisfy the 80% requirement.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the 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 shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target 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”). Even if the post transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination.

For example, we may pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target. In this

 

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case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.

Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.

Our executive offices are located at Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1 -1104, Cayman Islands and our telephone number is +1 345 949 8066.

Mail addressed to the Company and received at its registered office will be forwarded unopened to the forwarding address supplied by the Company to be dealt with. None of the Company or its directors, officers, advisors or service providers (including the organization which provides registered office services in the Cayman Islands) will bear any responsibility for any delay howsoever caused with regards to mail reaching the forwarding address.

Status as a Public Company

We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer target businesses an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their equity securities, shares or shares of stock in the target business for our shares or for a combination of our shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.

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

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion,

 

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or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.

Financial Position

With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $193,000,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of $7,000,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $221,950,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of up to $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in each case, after estimated offering expenses of $1,000,000 (and prior to any post-IPO working capital expenses), we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.

Effecting Our Initial Business Combination

We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and the forward purchase units, our shares, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.

If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemptions of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.

 

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In addition to the forward purchase units, we may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account.

In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law or we decide to do so for business or other reasons, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, other than the forward purchase agreement, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.

Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination

The Nasdaq 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 net 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% of net assets test. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation or value of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able independently to determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. 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. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

In any case, we will only complete an initial 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. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.

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

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information, which will be made available to us.

 

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

Lack of business diversification

For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business.

By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous 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 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.

Limited ability to evaluate the target’s management team

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

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

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

 

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Shareholders may not have the ability to approve our initial business combination

We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.

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

 

   

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

 

   

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

 

   

the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control.

The Companies Act and Cayman Islands law do not currently require, and we are not aware of any other applicable law that will require, shareholder approval of our initial business combination.

Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities

In the event we seek shareholder 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. There is no limit on the number of securities such persons may purchase. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic 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, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. Such persons will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. We will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to (1) refrain from purchasing securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (2) clear certain trades prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.

In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already

 

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elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.

The purpose of such transaction could be to (1) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of our initial business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) 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. 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.

Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and/or any of their respective affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of public shares) following our mailing of tender offer or proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates enter into private transactions, they would identify and contact only potential selling or redeeming shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination. Such persons would select the shareholders from whom to acquire shares based on the number of shares available, the negotiated price per share and such other factors as any such person may deem relevant at the time of purchase. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will be restricted from purchasing shares if such purchases do not comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.

Any purchases by our sponsor, directors, officers and/or any of their respective affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will be restricted unless such purchases are made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, directors, officers and/or any of their respective affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of ordinary shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.

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

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business

 

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days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. At the completion of our initial business combination, we will be required to purchase any ordinary shares properly delivered for redemption and not withdrawn. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

Manner of Conducting Redemptions

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (1) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless shareholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.

If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

   

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

 

   

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

Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than

 

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$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. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.

If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

   

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

 

   

file proxy materials with the SEC.

We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any shareholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our NYSE listing or Exchange Act registration.

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

If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. In such case, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. Our directors and officers also have agreed to vote in favor of our initial business combination with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. We expect that at the time of any shareholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares without voting and, if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. In addition, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of a business combination.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (1) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. 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

 

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business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

Limitation on redemption upon completion of our initial business combination if we seek shareholder approval

Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder 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 memorandum and articles of association provide 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 Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to Excess Shares, without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.

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

We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, rather than simply voting against the initial business combination. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a shareholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.

There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically

 

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charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.

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

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

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

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

Redemption of public shares and liquidation if no initial business combination

Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 24-month 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 10 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, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (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 shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to

 

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our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 24-month time period or during any Extension Period.

Our initial shareholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time period.

Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares 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, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions.

We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.

If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.

Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), 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 shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available

 

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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 10 years following redemption. 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 auditors) 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 value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount 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 this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then 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 and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our other officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (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 value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent director nominees would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent director nominees would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent director nominees, in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be substantially less than $10.00 per share.

We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), 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 monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $1,000,000 from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for

 

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claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,000,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,000,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

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

Our public shareholders 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 Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ 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 this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder 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.

Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the consummation of our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain a provision which provides that, if we seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such amendment. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:

 

   

prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we shall either (1) seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination at a general meeting called for such

 

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purpose at which public shareholders may seek to redeem their public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, or (2) provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to tender their public shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in each case subject to the limitations described herein;

 

   

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;

 

   

if we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company;

 

   

if our initial business combination is not consummated within 24 months from the closing of this offering, then our existence will terminate and we will distribute all amounts in the trust account; and

 

   

prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination.

These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we may consummate our initial business combination only if approved by a majority of the ordinary shares voted by our shareholders at a duly held general meeting.

Additionally, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that, prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and that holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.

Comparison of redemption or purchase prices in connection with our initial business combination and if we fail to complete our initial business combination.

 

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The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.

 

   

Redemptions in Connection
with our Initial Business
Combination

 

Other Permitted Purchases of
Public Shares by our
Affiliates

 

Redemptions if we fail to
Complete an Initial Business
Combination

Calculation of
redemption price
  Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per share), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination.   If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, 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. Such purchases will be restricted except to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions.   If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per share), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares.

 

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Redemptions in Connection
with our Initial Business
Combination

 

Other Permitted Purchases of
Public Shares by our
Affiliates

 

Redemptions if we fail to
Complete an Initial Business
Combination

Impact to remaining shareholders   The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and interest withdrawn in order to pay taxes (to the extent not paid from amounts accrued as interest on the funds held in the trust account).   If the permitted purchases described above are made, there will be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us.   The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial shareholders, who will be our only remaining shareholders after such redemptions.

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

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

 

    

Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

Escrow of offering proceeds

   The Nasdaq listing rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. $200,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be deposited into a non-interest bearing trust account located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase, N.A. with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.    Approximately $170,100,000 of the offering proceeds, representing the gross proceeds of this offering less allowable underwriting commissions, expenses and company deductions under Rule 419, would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account.

Investment of net proceeds

   $200,000,000 of the net offering proceeds and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust will not be invested and will be held in a non-interest bearing trust account. If, in the future, the proceeds held in the    Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   trust account are invested, then the proceeds will be invested 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.    guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States.
Receipt of interest on escrowed funds    Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to shareholders is reduced by (1) any taxes paid or payable and (2) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation.    Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination.
Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business    Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination.    The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds.
Trading of securities issued    The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and    No trading of the units or the underlying ordinary shares and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account.

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   BofA Securities, Inc. inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.   
Exercise of the warrants    The warrants cannot be exercised until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.    The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account.
Election to remain an investor    We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a shareholder vote. If we are not required by applicable law or stock exchange rules and do not otherwise decide to hold a    A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if he, she or it elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require the return of his, her or its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   shareholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, we hold a shareholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a shareholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting and, if they do vote,    interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account are automatically returned to the shareholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued.

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.   
Business combination deadline    If we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering 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 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (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 shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.    If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors.

Release of funds

   The funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder    The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time.

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

   vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ 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 this offering, subject to applicable law.   
Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a shareholder vote    If we seek shareholder 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 memorandum and articles of association provide 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 Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect Excess Shares (more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering), without our prior consent. Our public shareholders’ inability to redeem Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and they could suffer a material loss on    Most blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of shareholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such shareholders in connection with an initial business combination.

 

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Terms of Our Offering

  

Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering

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

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

 

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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 this 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 shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our Class A ordinary shares, 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 shareholders 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.

Conflicts of Interest

All of our officers and certain of our directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to certain companies in which either of them has invested or are otherwise affiliated with. For example, Adib Mattar serves as Head of Private Equity and is a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. In this role he has oversight of all private equity investing across Mubadala Capital’s Private Equity Funds and investment strategies which may overlap with investment targets of the Company. Maxime Franzetti is Head of Public Equities and SPACs and is a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. In this role, he is responsible for Mubadala Capital’s public market initiatives, which may involve investing in investment vehicles and strategies that compete with the Company. These entities may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. Subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, none of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing 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 above. Our management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors (including other special purpose acquisition companies they are or may become involved with), may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. For more information, see the section entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”

 

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Our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities (including other special purpose acquisition companies they are or may become involved with) 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, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Management Team and Conflicts of Interest—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.”

We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.

Indemnity

Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) 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 the 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 this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy their indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations.

Facilities

We currently maintain our executive offices at Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1 -1104, Cayman Islands. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee that we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

Employees

We currently have two 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 whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.

 

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Periodic Reporting and Financial Information

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

We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, U.S. GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with PCAOB standards. 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. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.

We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.

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

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

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual

 

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gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.

Legal Proceedings

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

 

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MANAGEMENT

Directors, Director Nominees and Officers

 

Name

   Age     

Title

Maxime Franzetti

     40      Chief Executive Officer and Director

David H. Johnson

     74      Independent Director (Nominee)

Zahavah Levine

     52      Independent Director (Nominee)

Adib Mattar

     43      Director

Gregg Walker

     49      Independent Director (Nominee)

Jordan Zachary

     38      Independent Director (Nominee)

Russ Pillar

     55      Chief Financial Officer

Our directors, director nominees and officers are as follows:

Maxime Franzetti, 40, our Chief Executive Officer and Board Member, joined Mubadala in 2008 and was a founding member of Mubadala Capital in 2011 where he currently is the Head of Public Equities and SPACs. Mr. Franzetti is responsible for Mubadala Capital’s public market initiatives including overseeing a registered investment adviser founded in 2019 that manages public portfolios following a concentrated research-intensive fundamental value strategy. Mr. Franzetti is also a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. Prior to joining Mubadala in 2008, Mr. Franzetti worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions group of Dresdner Kleinwort and R.W. Baird in London. Mr. Franzetti graduated with First Class Honors from Queen Mary College, University in London, in 2001.

David H. Johnson, 74, our chairman, has been a lawyer and executive in the music business for 45 years. During that time, he has been the CEO of two of the major music publishers (Warner Chappell and EMI Music Publishing) and General Counsel of two of the major record companies (Sony Music and Warner Music). He started his career as a lawyer for CBS Records, the predecessor of Sony Music. Mr. Johnson was the first person to move directly from the Board of the RIAA (the recorded music trade association) to the Board of the NMPA (the music publishers’ trade association). He has also served on the Boards of ASCAP, the Harry Fox Organization, IFPI and the TJ Martell Foundation for Cancer Research. He is currently on the Board of Rainshine Entertainment, an Indian mobile entertainment company. In the course of his career Mr. Johnson has played a significant role in numerous landmark transactions in the worldwide music business including the sale of CBS Songs to SBK Entertainment; the sale of CBS Records to Sony Corporation; the formation of Sony/ATV, the music publishing joint venture between Michael Jackson and Sony Corporation; the sale of Warner Music to Edgar Bronfman Jr and a private equity consortium; the IPO of Warner Music; and the sale of Warner Music to Access Industries. In 2011, Mr. Johnson was a consultant to Mubadala in connection with its joint bid with Sony for EMI Music Publishing. Upon the completion of that transaction in 2012, he became CEO of EMI Music Publishing, a position he held until November 2018 when Mubadala sold its majority interest to Sony. During his tenure at EMI Music Publishing, Mr. Johnson led numerous successful refinancings of EMI Music Publishing’s debt, including the first ever high yield bond offering by a music publisher. Mr. Johnson received his Bachelor of Arts from Yale College, J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and LLM from the NYU Law School.

Zahavah Levine, 52, is a digital music and media pioneer, with two decades of experience on the technology side of the business. She spent 13 years at Google, in several roles. As the first lawyer and General Counsel of YouTube she helped negotiate its sale to Google in 2006. She stayed on as Associate General Counsel of Google and Chief Counsel of YouTube, where she oversaw music licensing and hammered out new business models with the music industry for user-uploaded content. Ms. Levine also directed copyright and rights-management policies, including the development of

 

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YouTube’s landmark Content ID platform. Then, as VP Partnerships for Google Play, she helped launch Google Play Music, and managed global partnerships, licensing and distribution. Most recently Ms. Levine managed Android’s partnerships with wireless carriers in North America. Before YouTube, Ms. Levine helped develop the music streaming licensing model for Rhapsody, the first on-demand music streaming subscription service. After RealNetworks acquired the company (Listen.com), Ms. Levine served as Director of Music Licensing and Associate General Counsel for RealNetworks, Inc. Throughout her career, Ms. Levine has been active in public policy and licensing reform initiatives. Ms. Levine’s accomplishments have been recognized with awards from Billboard Magazine (2012, 2013, 2014), Hollywood Reporter (2012) and Digital Media Wire (2011). Ms. Levine graduated Order of the Coif from Berkeley Law School and received her Bachelor of Arts from Brown University. She spent last year as a DCI Fellow at Stanford’s Distinguished Career Institute. Ms. Levine currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Kitchen, a vibrant startup synagogue in San Francisco. Ms. Levine is also a Coordinator on the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project.

Adib Mattar, 43, a Board Member, joined Mubadala in 2008 and was a founding member of Mubadala Capital in 2011 where he currently is the Head of Private Equity. Mr. Mattar is also a member of the Investment Committee of Mubadala Capital. As Head of Private Equity for Mubadala Capital his investment track record includes over 30 deals and $3 billion of equity investment, with over $1 billion invested in Sports, Media and Entertainment. His most notable media investment was EMI Music Publishing, where he developed the investment thesis, led the sourcing and execution of world’s largest music publishing catalog in partnership with Sony. As Chairman of EMI Music Publishing from 2012 to 2018, Mr. Mattar was instrumental in hiring EMI Music Publishing’s management team, optimizing EMI Music Publishing’s capital structure, driving growth through catalog re-investment and successful contract renegotiations with all major music distribution providers. In addition, Mr. Mattar is also a member of the Board of REEF Technology, The Raine Group and Peterson Farms. Prior to joining Mubadala, Mr. Mattar was an investment banker at Credit Suisse in New York. Mr. Mattar graduated cum laude from the College of William & Mary in Virginia with a B.A. in International Relations and he received an MBA and Masters of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Mr. Mattar is also an Aspen Institute Fellow.

Gregg Walker, 49, has been the Managing Member of G.A. Walker, LLC since July 2016 when he left his position as the Senior Vice President for Corporate Development at Sony Corporation of America (Sony), a position he had held since March 2009. At Sony, Mr. Walker helped lead many major transactions and strategic efforts, including the acquisition of EMI Music Publishing and the acquisition of Ericsson’s stake in smartphone manufacturer Sony Ericsson (now Sony Mobile) as well as Sony’s purchase of the 50% of Sony/ATV Music Publishing previously owned by the Michael Jackson Estate. Mr. Walker served on the Board of Directors of movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) as well as on the boards of EMI Music Publishing and Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Prior to joining Sony, Mr. Walker was the Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions at Viacom for three years. Before, Viacom, Mr. Walker was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in the investment banking division where he worked for nearly a decade. Mr. Walker earned an undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a law degree from Yale Law School. Mr. Walker is the former President of the Levitt Foundation, the former Chairman of the Harlem YMCA, and a member of the Board of Harlem RBI. In 2010, he was chosen by Crain’s New York Business as one of New York City’s 40 Under 40 Rising Stars.

Jordan Zachary, 38, was appointed Chief Strategy Officer of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) in 2015. Mr. Zachary currently serves as Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Live Nation Concerts and Chief Operating Officer, Talent & Touring. In these capacities he has had a broad range of responsibilities including overseeing various strategic initiatives, business functions, and acquisitions spanning Live Nation’s Concert business, Venue development activities, Festival portfolio,

 

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as well as its Media and Sponsorship and Artist Nation divisions. Prior to joining Live Nation Entertainment, Mr. Zachary spent over 10 years in the financial services industry focused on global media, entertainment and technology Companies. Mr. Zachary served as Managing Director at The Raine Group, a global merchant bank focused on technology, media and telecommunications, and has a successful track record working with some of the industry’s most notable burgeoning brands, as well as with Fortune 500 companies. He has a successful track record originating, executing and monetizing investments across the media, digital media and entertainment industries. Mr. Zachary served on the Board of Directors of Margaritaville Holdings and C3 Presents and was a Board Observer on the Board of Directors of VICE Media and Important Studios. Prior to The Raine Group, Mr. Zachary advised clients on a wide range of Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets transactions as part of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Corporate Finance teams at UBS Investment Bank, Lehman Brothers, and Banc of America Securities. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University.

Russ Pillar, 55, our Chief Financial Officer, has spent most of the last three decades running some of the world’s best loved and well-known consumer brands. He founded and currently is Executive Chairman of Reigning Champs, the world’s largest NCAA-compliant path-to-college company for student-athletes, where he has served since 2011. Mr. Pillar also is Senior Advisor to Mubadala, where he initiates, evaluates, and manages direct investment opportunities globally. Prior to founding Reigning Champs, Mr. Pillar was President and Director of the Los Angeles Marathon; President of the Viacom Digital Media Group; President and Chief Executive Officer of the CBS Internet Group; President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Entertainment Group; President and Chief Executive Officer of Prodigy Internet and Vice Chairman of Prodigy Communications Corporation; and President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Paul Allen’s Precision Systems. He began his career as an investment banker in Merrill Lynch Capital Markets’ Japan Banking Group and then served as President of international merchant bank Japanese Capital Affiliates. Over the course of his career, Mr. Pillar has been a member of the Board of Directors of more than three dozen for-profit public and private consumer-facing sports, media, entertainment, and technology companies as well as a host of non-profit organizations. A Henry Crown Fellow at The Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, Mr. Pillar graduated Phi Beta Kappa, cum laude from Brown University with an A.B. in East Asian Studies.

Number, Terms of Office and Appointment of Directors and Officers

Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect that our board of directors will consist of six members. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares will have the right to appoint 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 appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. Each of our directors will hold office for a two-year term. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the shareholders, 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 a majority of the holders of our ordinary shares (or, prior to our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares).

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 amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide

 

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that our officers may consist of a Chairman, a Chief Executive Officer, a President, a Chief Operating Officer, 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.

Director Independence

Nasdaq rules require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. 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, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect to have four “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq rules and applicable SEC rules prior to completion of this offering. Our board has determined that each of David H. Johnson, Gregg Walker, Jordan Zachary and Zahavah Levine is an independent director under applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules.

Our independent director nominees will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

Officer and Director Compensation

None of our directors or officers have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. 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. On April 1, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of David H. Johnson, Gregg Walker, Jordan Zachary, and Zahavah Levine (our independent director nominees) and Russ Pillar (our Chief Financial Officer), at their original per-share purchase price.

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 shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders 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 by 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.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Upon the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our board of directors will have three standing committees: an audit committee; a compensation

 

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committee; and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Subject to phase-in rules, the rules of Nasdaq and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and Nasdaq rules require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee will operate under a charter that will be approved by our board of directors and will have the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee will be available on our website following the closing of this offering.

Audit Committee

Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish an audit committee of the board of directors. The members of our audit committee will be Jordan Zachary and David H. Johnson, and Gregg Walker will serve as chairman of the audit committee.

Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Gregg Walker qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.

We will adopt an audit committee charter, which will detail 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 auditor’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent auditors;

 

   

the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors 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 auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;

 

   

reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors 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 auditors;

 

   

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 auditors describing (1) the independent auditor’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;

 

   

meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “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 auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or

 

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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

Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a compensation committee of the board of directors. The members of our compensation committee will be Zahavah Levine and Gregg Walker, and Jordan Zachary will serve as chairman of the compensation committee. We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which will detail 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 will also provide 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 will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a nominating and corporate governance committee of the board of directors. The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee will be David H. Johnson and Gregg Walker, and Zahavah Levine will serve as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee. We will adopt a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which will detail 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 appointment at the annual general meeting or to fill vacancies on the board of directors;

 

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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 will also provide 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 will be 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 shareholders. 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

Prior to the closing of this offering, we will adopt a code of ethics and business conduct (our “Code of Ethics”) applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We will file a copy of our form of our Code of Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. You will be 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. See “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”

Conflicts of Interest

Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:

 

   

duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole;

 

   

duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose;

 

   

duty to not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion;

 

   

duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders;

 

   

duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and

 

   

duty to exercise independent judgment.

In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care, which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge, skill and experience which that director has.

 

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As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders; provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.

None of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing 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 above. Our management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors (including other special purpose acquisition companies they are or may become involved with), may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties.

Our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities (including other special purpose acquisition companies they are or may become involved with) 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, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. Our directors and officers are also 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—Risks Relating to Our Management Team and Conflicts of Interest—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.”

We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of our founders’ and management’s performance as indicative of our future performance. See “Risk Factors—General Risk Factors—Past performance by our management team and their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.”

 

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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 description of our management’s other affiliations, see “— Directors, Director Nominees and Officers.”

 

   

We will enter into the forward purchase agreement with the forward purchase investor, who is an affiliate of Mubadala Capital.

 

   

Our initial shareholders, 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 shareholders 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 this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial shareholders (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 shareholders, directors and officers have entered into with us, with certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our initial shareholders 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 ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) 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, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants and the ordinary shares underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or salable 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 ordinary shares and warrants following this 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.

 

   

In order to fund working capital deficiencies or to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, we will enter into a promissory note with our sponsor prior to the consummation of this offering that will provide for borrowings of up to $2,500,000. These loans will be non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of the closing of our initial business combination and our liquidation if we have not completed an initial business combination with the allotted time period. Our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us additional funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts

 

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out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $2,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $2.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

 

   

Our 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.

 

   

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.

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. Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our directors, officers and director nominees currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may pose a conflict of interest with us:

 

Individual

   Entity(ies)   Entity’s(ies’) Business    Affiliation

Maxime Franzetti

   Mubadala Capital LLC   Asset Management    Head of Public Equities
and SPACs
   MIC Capital Partners
(Public)
  Investment Fund    Manager

Adib Mattar

   MIC Capital Partners III

 

Mubadala Capital LLC

 

The Raine Group LLC

 

REEF Technology

 

Peterson Farms, Inc

  Investment Fund

 

Asset Management

 

Advisory Services

 

Logistics Company

 

Fruit Processing
Company

   Manager

 

Head of Private Equity

 

Board Member

 

Board Member

 

Board Member

Gregg Walker

   G.A. Walker, LLC   Private Investment Firm

Family Office

   Managing Member

Russ Pillar

   The 5850 Group LLC   Family Office
Investment/Advisory
   Wholly-owned advisory
firm

Jordan Zachary

   Live Nation
Entertainment, Inc.
  Events/Concerts
Company
   Chief Strategy &
Development Officer

 

 

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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 (or any other entity, including additional special purpose acquisition companies, they become involved with) 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, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty,

except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. 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.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with such a company, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, would 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 that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

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 shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders, 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.

Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of directors and officers, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for indemnification of our directors and officers to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect.

We will enter into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We may purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our directors and officers against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our directors and officers.

 

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We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced directors and officers.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

 

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PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our Class A ordinary shares included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:

 

   

each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares;

 

   

each of our directors, officers and director nominees; and

 

   

all our directors, officers and director nominees as a group.

Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.

The post-offering ownership percentage column below assumes that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that our sponsor forfeits 750,000 founder shares, and that there are 20,000,000 ordinary shares issued and outstanding after this offering.

 

            Approximate Percentage of
Issued and Outstanding
Ordinary Shares
 
     Number of Shares
Beneficially
Owned(2)
     Before
Offering
    After
Offering(2)
 

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)

       

Blue Whale Sponsor I LLC (our sponsor)(3)

     4,875,000        97.5     19.5

David H. Johnson (3)

     25,000        *       *  

Gregg Walker (3)

     25,000        *       *  

Jordan Zachary

     25,000        *       *  

Zahavah Levine

     25,000        *       *  

Russ Pillar

     25,000        *       *  

All directors, officers and director nominees as a group (seven individuals)

     125,000        2.5       *  

 

*

Less than one percent.

(1)

Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o P.O. Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman KY1-1104, Cayman Islands.

(2)

Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities.” Excludes forward purchase shares included in the forward purchase units that will only be issued, if at all, at the time of our initial business combination.

(3)

Blue Whale Sponsor I LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of the Class B ordinary shares reported herein. Mr. Kevin Kokko may be deemed to beneficially own shares held by our sponsor as manager of our sponsor. Kevin Kokko disclaims beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares held by our sponsor.

 

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Immediately after this offering, our initial shareholders will beneficially own 20.0% of the then issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming our initial shareholders do not purchase any units in this offering) and will 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 shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.

Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 3,000,000 (or 3,300,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants at a price of $2.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate or $6,600,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension 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. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us (except as described below under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”); (2) they (including the Class A ordinary shares 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, as described below; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights, as described below.

Prior to this offering, we will enter into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investor will agree to subscribe for an aggregate of up to 5,000,000 units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit, or up to $50,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The forward purchase investor will determine in its sole discretion the specific number of forward purchase units it will purchase, if any, pursuant to the forward purchase agreement. Each forward purchase unit will consist of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. The terms of the forward purchase units will generally be identical to the terms of the units being issued in this offering.

The forward purchase agreement also will provide that the forward purchase investor is entitled to registration rights with respect to (A) the forward purchase shares, (B) the forward purchase warrants, (C) the shares underlying the forward purchase warrants and (D) any other shares of Class A ordinary shares or warrants acquired by the forward purchase investors, including any acquired after we complete our initial business combination. Please see “Description of Securities—Registration Rights” for additional information.

 

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Our sponsor, the forward purchase investors, our directors and officers are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” for additional information regarding our relationships with our promoters.

Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants

The founder shares, private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the letter agreement with us to be entered into by our initial shareholders, directors and officers. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (1) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) 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, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, and (2) in the case of the private placement warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except in each case (a) to our directors or officers (including persons that become a director or officer substantially contemporaneously with such transfer), any affiliates or family members of any of such directors or officers, any members, partners, consultants or employees of our sponsor, or any affiliates of our sponsor, (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (f) in the event of our liquidation prior to our completion of our initial business combination; (g) in the case of an entity, by virtue of the laws of its jurisdiction or its organizational documents or operating agreement; or (h) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (e) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions.

Registration Rights

The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and any warrants that may be issued on conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the working capital loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering requiring us to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to our Class A ordinary shares). 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 our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. Pursuant to the forward purchase agreement, we will agree that we will use our reasonable best efforts to (i) within 30 days after the closing of the

 

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initial business combination, file a registration statement with the SEC for a secondary offering of (A) the forward purchase shares, (B) the forward purchase warrants, (C) the shares underlying the forward purchase warrants and (D) any other shares of Class A ordinary shares or warrants acquired by the forward purchase investors, including any acquisitions after we complete our initial business combination, (ii) cause such registration statement to be declared effective promptly thereafter, but in no event later than 90 days after the closing of the initial business combination and (iii) maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and to ensure the registration statement does not contain a material omission or misstatement, including by way of amendment or other update, as required, until the earlier of (A) the date on which the forward purchase investors cease to hold the securities covered thereby and (B) the date all of the securities covered thereby can be sold publicly without restriction or limitation under Rule 144 under the Securities Act and without the requirement to be in compliance with Rule 144(c)(1) under the Securities Act, subject to certain conditions and limitations set forth in the forward purchase agreement. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

 

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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

On March 11, 2021, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.005 per share. On April 1, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of David H. Johnson, Gregg Walker, Jordan Zachary, and Zahavah Levine (our independent director nominees) and Russ Pillar (our Chief Financial Officer). Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 3,000,000 (or 3,300,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants for a purchase price of $2.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate or $6,600,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant may be exercised for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by it until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.

Prior to this offering, we will enter into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the forward purchase investor will agree to subscribe for an aggregate of up to 5,000,000 units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit, or up to $50,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The forward purchase investor will determine in its sole discretion the specific number of forward purchase units it will purchase, if any, pursuant to the forward purchase agreement. Each forward purchase unit will consist of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. The terms of the forward purchase warrants will generally be identical to the terms of the redeemable warrants included in the units being issued in this offering.

The forward purchase agreement also will provide that the forward purchase investors are entitled to registration rights with respect to (A) the forward purchase shares, (B) the forward purchase warrants, (C) the shares underlying the forward purchase warrants and (D) any other shares of Class A ordinary shares or warrants acquired by the forward purchase investors, including any acquired after we complete our initial business combination. Please see “Description of Securities—Registration Rights” for additional information.

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

We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement with an affiliate of our sponsor, pursuant to which we will pay a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services

 

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to such affiliate. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. Accordingly, in the event the consummation of our initial business combination takes the maximum 24 months, an affiliate of our sponsor will be paid a total of $240,000 ($10,000 per month) for office space, administrative and support services and will be entitled to be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses.

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 and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.

Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of March 12, 2021, we have not borrowed under the promissory note with our sponsor. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of March 11, 2022 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,000,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. The value of our sponsor’s interest in this loan transaction corresponds to the principal amount outstanding under any such loan.

In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, we will enter into a promissory note with our sponsor prior to the consummation of this offering that will provide for borrowings of up to $2,500,000. These loans will be non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of the closing of our initial business combination and our liquidation if we have not completed an initial business combination with the allotted time period. Our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us additional funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $2,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $2.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. Other than as described above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a general meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive officer and director compensation.

 

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We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans (if any), which is described under the heading “Principal Shareholders—Registration Rights.”

Related Party Policy

We have not yet adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions. Accordingly, the transactions discussed above were not reviewed, approved or ratified in accordance with any such policy.

Prior to the closing of this offering, we will adopt our Code of Ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board of directors) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our Code of Ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company.

In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter that we will adopt prior to the consummation of this offering, will be responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee will constitute a quorum. Without a meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their respective affiliates.

These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.

To further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate an initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our sponsor, directors or officers unless we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, have obtained 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 that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Furthermore, there will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:

 

   

repayment of an aggregate of up to $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;

 

   

payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services;

 

   

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

 

   

repayment of loans under the promissory note that we will enter into with our sponsor prior to the consummation of this offering, which provides for loans in an aggregate amount of up to

 

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$2,500,000, and repayment of any additional loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $2,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $2.00 per warrant at the option of the lender.

The above payments may be funded using the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account or, upon completion of the initial business combination, from any amounts remaining from the proceeds of the trust account released to us in connection therewith.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

We are a Cayman Islands exempted company and our affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act and common law of the Cayman Islands. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which will be adopted upon the consummation of this offering, we will be authorized to issue 200,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, and 1,000,000 undesignated preferred shares, $0.0001 par value each. The following description summarizes the material terms of our shares as set out more particularly in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.

Units

Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of the company’s Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder.

The Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities Inc. inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and warrants. Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least four units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.

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

Ordinary Shares

Upon the closing of this offering 25,000,000 ordinary shares will be issued and outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 750,000 founder shares by our sponsor), including:

 

   

20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the units being offered in this offering; and

 

   

5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders.

If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder

 

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shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.

Class A ordinary shareholders and Class B ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders and vote together as a single class, except as required by law; provided, that, prior to our initial business combination, holders of our Class B ordinary shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and remove members of the board of directors for any reason, and holders of our Class A ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. Unless specified in the Companies Act, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our ordinary shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders (other than the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination), and, prior to our initial business combination, the affirmative vote of a majority of our founder shares is required to approve the appointment or removal of directors. Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. Directors are appointed for a term of two years. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the founder shares voted for the appointment of directors can appoint all of the directors prior to our initial business combination. Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.

Because our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 200,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of Class A ordinary shares which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.

In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors prior to consummation of our initial business combination. In addition, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred

 

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underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial owner must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as described elsewhere in this prospectus. Permitted transferees of our initial shareholders, directors or officers will be subject to the same obligations.

Unlike some blank check companies that hold shareholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial business combinations and provide for related redemptions of public shares for cash upon completion of such initial business combinations even when a vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, if a shareholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, a shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. However, the participation of our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could result in the approval of our initial business combination even if a majority of our public shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. We intend to give not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination.

If we seek shareholder 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 memorandum and articles of association provide 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 Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the ordinary shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our shareholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such shareholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such shareholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete the business combination. As a result, such shareholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

 

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If we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our initial shareholders 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 shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,250,001, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this 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. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting and, if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.

Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 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, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (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 shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our initial shareholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial shareholders, directors acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period.

In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our shareholders at such time will be entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the ordinary shares. Our shareholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.

Founder Shares

The founder shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares and are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that: (1) prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason; (2) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in a letter agreement that our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into with us, as described in more detail below; (3) pursuant to such letter agreement, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive: (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares

 

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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 shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ 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 this 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 our Class A ordinary shares 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 in more detail below; and (5) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders 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 this offering in favor of our initial business combination.

The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares 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 for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, including pursuant to the forward purchase agreement or a specified future issuance, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution 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 all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, including the forward purchase shares (net of the number of shares of Class A ordinary shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination), excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for our Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt.

Pursuant to a letter agreement that our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into with us, with certain limited exceptions, the founder shares are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to our directors and officers and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) 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, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results

 

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in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.

Register of Members

Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there shall be entered therein:

 

   

the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member and the voting rights of the shares of each member;

 

   

whether voting rights are attached to the share in issue;

 

   

the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and

 

   

the date on which any person ceased to be a member.

Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e., the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members shall be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of this public offering, the register of members shall be immediately updated to reflect the issue of shares by us. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members shall be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.

Preferred Shares

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize 1,000,000 preferred shares and provide that preferred shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without shareholder approval, issue preferred shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preferred shares issued and outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preferred shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preferred shares are being issued or registered in this offering.

Redeemable Warrants

Public Shareholders’ Warrants

Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing 30 days

 

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after the completion of our initial business combination, except as described below. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least four units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

We 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 covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available, including in connection with a cashless exercise permitted as a result of a notice of redemption described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00.” 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 is available. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such unit.

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 with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement covering the issuance, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, 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 thereto, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If any such registration statement has not been declared effective by the 60th business day following the closing of the initial business combination, holders of the warrants will have the right, during the period beginning on the 61st business day after the closing of the initial business combination and ending upon such registration statement being declared effective by the SEC, and during any other period when the company fails to have maintained an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, to exercise such warrants on a “cashless basis.” Notwithstanding the above, if our 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, 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 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 the case of a cashless exercise, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and

 

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(B) 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant. The “fair market value” as used in the preceding sentence shall mean the volume weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent.

Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private 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 only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (which we refer to as the “Reference Value”) 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 as described under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments”).

We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments”) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.

Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we 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 determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined below) except as otherwise described below;

 

   

if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “— Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments”); and

 

   

if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under

 

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the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments”), the private placement warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above.

During the period beginning on the date the notice of redemption is given, holders may elect to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. The numbers in the table below represent the number of Class A ordinary shares that a warrant holder will receive upon such cashless exercise in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, based on the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their warrants and such warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per warrant), determined for these purposes based on volume weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, and the number of months that the corresponding redemption date precedes the expiration date of the warrants, each as set forth in the table below. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends.

Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to Class A ordinary shares shall include a security other than Class A ordinary shares into which the Class A ordinary shares have been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination. The numbers in the table below will not be adjusted when determining the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued upon exercise of the warrants if we are not the surviving entity following our initial business combination.

The share prices set forth in the column headings of the table below will be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant or the exercise price of a warrant is adjusted as set forth under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments” below. If the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant is adjusted, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the share prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant as so adjusted. The number of shares in the table below shall be adjusted in the same manner and at the same time as the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant. If the exercise price of a warrant is adjusted, (a) in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the fifth paragraph under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments” below, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share price multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price as set forth under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments” and the denominator of which is $10.00 and (b) in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the second paragraph under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments” below, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share price less the decrease in the exercise price of a warrant pursuant to such exercise price adjustment.

 

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     Fair Market Value of Class A Ordinary Shares  

Redemption Date (period to
expiration of warrants)

   £10.00      11.00      12.00      13.00      14.00      15.00      16.00      17.00      ³18.00  

60 months

     0.261        0.281        0.297        0.311        0.324        0.337        0.348        0.358        0.361  

57 months

     0.257        0.277        0.294        0.310        0.324        0.337        0.348        0.358        0.361  

54 months

     0.252        0.272        0.291        0.307        0.322        0.335        0.347        0.357        0.361  

51 months

     0.246        0.268        0.287        0.304        0.320        0.333        0.346        0.357        0.361  

48 months

     0.241        0.263        0.283        0.301        0.317        0.332        0.344        0.356        0.361  

45 months

     0.235        0.258        0.279        0.298        0.315        0.330        0.343        0.356        0.361  

42 months

     0.228        0.252        0.274        0.294        0.312        0.328        0.342        0.355        0.361  

39 months

     0.221        0.246        0.269        0.290        0.309        0.325        0.340        0.354        0.361  

36 months

     0.213        0.239        0.263        0.285        0.305        0.323        0.339        0.353        0.361  

33 months

     0.205        0.232        0.257        0.280        0.301        0.320        0.337        0.352        0.361  

30 months

     0.196        0.224        0.250        0.274        0.297        0.316        0.335        0.351        0.361  

27 months

     0.185        0.214        0.242        0.268        0.291        0.313        0.332        0.350        0.361  

24 months

     0.173        0.204        0.233        0.260        0.285        0.308        0.329        0.348        0.361  

21 months

     0.161        0.193        0.223        0.252        0.279        0.304        0.326        0.347        0.361  

18 months

     0.146        0.179        0.211        0.242        0.271        0.298        0.322        0.345        0.361  

15 months

     0.130        0.164        0.197        0.230        0.262        0.291        0.317        0.342        0.361  

12 months

     0.111        0.146        0.181        0.216        0.250        0.282        0.312        0.339        0.361  

9 months

     0.090        0.125        0.162        0.199        0.237        0.272        0.305        0.336        0.361  

6 months

     0.065        0.099        0.137        0.178        0.219        0.259        0.296        0.331        0.361  

3 months

     0.034        0.065        0.104        0.150        0.197        0.243        0.286        0.326        0.361  

0 months

     —          —          0.042        0.115        0.179        0.233        0.281        0.323        0.361  

The exact fair market value and redemption date may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the fair market value is between two values in the table or the redemption date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued for each warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365 or 366-day year, as applicable. For example, if the volume weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $11.00 per share, and at such time there are 57 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.277 Class A ordinary shares for each whole warrant. For an example where the exact fair market value and redemption date are not as set forth in the table above, if the volume weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $13.50 per share, and at such time there are 38 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.298 Class A ordinary shares for each whole warrant. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment). Finally, as reflected in the table above, if the warrants are out of the money and about to expire, they cannot be exercised on a cashless basis in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, since they will not be exercisable for any Class A ordinary shares.

This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in many other blank check offerings, which typically only provide for a redemption of warrants for cash (other than the private placement warrants) when the trading price for the Class A ordinary shares exceeds $18.00 per share for a specified period of time. This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding warrants to be redeemed when the Class A ordinary shares are trading at or above $10.00 per share, which may be at a time when the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares is below the

 

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exercise price of the warrants. We have established this redemption feature to provide us with the flexibility to redeem the warrants without the warrants having to reach the $18.00 per share threshold set forth above under “—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00.” Holders choosing to exercise their warrants in connection with a redemption pursuant to this feature will, in effect, receive a number of shares for their warrants based on an option pricing model with a fixed volatility input as of the date of this prospectus. This redemption right provides us with an additional mechanism by which to redeem all of the outstanding warrants, and therefore have certainty as to our capital structure as the warrants would no longer be outstanding and would have been exercised or redeemed. We will be required to pay the applicable redemption price to warrant holders if we choose to exercise this redemption right and it will allow us to quickly proceed with a redemption of the warrants if we determine it is in our best interest to do so. As such, we would redeem the warrants in this manner when we believe it is in our best interest to update our capital structure to remove the warrants and pay the redemption price to the warrant holders.

As stated above, we can redeem the warrants when the Class A ordinary shares are trading at a price starting at $10.00, which is below the exercise price of $11.50, because it will provide certainty with respect to our capital structure and cash position while providing warrant holders with the opportunity to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis for the applicable number of shares. If we choose to redeem the warrants when the Class A ordinary shares are trading at a price below the exercise price of the warrants, this could result in the warrant holders receiving fewer Class A ordinary shares than they would have received if they had chosen to wait to exercise their warrants for Class A ordinary shares if and when such Class A ordinary shares were trading at a price higher than the exercise price of $11.50.

No fractional Class A ordinary shares will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the holder. If, at the time of redemption, the warrants are exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the warrant agreement (for instance, if we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination), the warrants may be exercised for such security. At such time as the warrants become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, the Company (or surviving company) will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register under the Securities Act the security issuable upon the exercise of the warrants.

Redemption procedures.    A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.

Anti-dilution Adjustments.    If the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares is increased by a capitalization or share dividend payable in Class A ordinary shares, or by a split-up of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such capitalization or share dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares. A rights offering to holders of Class A ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase Class A ordinary shares at a price less than the “historical fair market value” (as defined below) will be deemed a share dividend of a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the product of (1) the number of Class A ordinary shares actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares) and (2) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per Class A ordinary share paid in such rights

 

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offering and (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes, (1) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares, in determining the price payable for Class A ordinary shares, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (2) “historical fair market value” means the volume weighted average price of Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the Class A ordinary shares trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.

In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay to all or substantially all of the holders of Class A ordinary shares a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Class A ordinary shares on account of such Class A ordinary shares (or other securities into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) any cash dividends or cash distributions which, when combined on a per share basis with all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the Class A ordinary shares during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution does not exceed $0.50 (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) but only with respect to the amount of the aggregate cash dividends or cash distributions equal to or less than $0.50 per share, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, or (e) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each Class A ordinary share in respect of such event.

If the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division or reclassification of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division, reclassification or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares.

Whenever the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.

In addition, if (x) we issue, other than in connection with our forward purchase agreement, additional ordinary shares 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 ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent

 

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more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares 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, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above under “—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” and “—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described above under “—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.

In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such Class A ordinary shares), or in the case of a merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a merger or consolidation in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of our Class A ordinary shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares, stock or other equity securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. However, if such holders were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such merger or consolidation, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets for which each warrant will become exercisable will be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by such holders in such merger or consolidation that affirmatively make such election, and if a tender, exchange or redemption offer has been made to and accepted by such holders (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by the company in connection with redemption rights held by shareholders of the company as provided for in the company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or as a result of the redemption of Class A ordinary shares by the company if a proposed initial business combination is presented to the shareholders of the company for approval) under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) more than 50% of the issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares, the holder of a warrant will be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a shareholder if such warrant holder had exercised the warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the Class A ordinary shares held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer, subject to adjustment (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in the warrant agreement. Additionally, if less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A ordinary shares in such a transaction is payable in the form of ordinary shares in the successor entity

 

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that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within 30 days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the per share consideration minus Black-Scholes Warrant Value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant.

The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants. The warrant agreement provides that (a) 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 this prospectus, 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 rights of the registered holders of the warrants under the warrant agreement and (b) all other modifications or amendments require the vote or written consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants; provided that any amendment that solely affects the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement solely with respect to the private placement warrants will also require at least 65% of the then outstanding private placement warrants. Additionally, upon effectiveness of a registration statement covering the resale of the forward purchase warrants and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such forward purchase warrants, the public warrants and the forward purchase warrants will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the holders of the warrants.

The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of ordinary shares and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive Class A ordinary shares. After the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.

No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.

We have agreed that, subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement 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 we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Securities—Our warrant agreement will designate the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.” This provision applies to claims under the Securities Act but does not apply to claims under the Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.

Private Placement Warrants

The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except, among other limited exceptions as described

 

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under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants,” to our directors and officers and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor) and they will not be redeemable by us (except as described above under “—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”) so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. Our sponsor, or its permitted transferees, has the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis and have certain registration rights described herein. Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.

Except as described under “—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00,” if holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “historical fair market value” (defined below) less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes, the “historical fair market value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor and its permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following a business combination. If they remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that restrict insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public shareholders who could exercise their warrants and sell the Class A ordinary shares received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.

In order to fund working capital deficiencies or to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, we will enter into a promissory note with our sponsor prior to the consummation of this offering that will provide for borrowings of up to $2,500,000. In addition, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may loan us funds as may be required, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or invest in us. Up to $2,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $2.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.

Dividends

We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares 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, except if we increase the size of this offering, in which case we will effect a capitalization or other appropriate

 

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mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. 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.

Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent

The transfer agent for our ordinary shares and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its shareholders, directors, officers and employees against all liabilities, including judgments, costs and reasonable counsel fees that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith of the indemnified person or entity.

Certain Differences in Corporate Law

Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modeled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.

Mergers and Similar Arrangements.    In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).

Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan of merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution (usually a majority of 6623% in value who attend and vote at a general meeting) of the shareholders of each company; or (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns at least 90% of the issued shares of each class in a subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.

Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (1) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (2) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (3) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company,

 

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its affairs or its property or any part thereof; and (4) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted.

Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (1) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (2) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (3) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (4) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.

Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Act provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of his or her shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows: (a) the shareholder must give his or her written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for his or her shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his or her intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his or her shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase his or her shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agrees to the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; and (e) if the company and the shareholder fails to agree to a price within such 30-day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30-day period expires, the company (and any dissenting shareholder) must file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not to be available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.

Moreover, Cayman Islands law also has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, such schemes of arrangement

 

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will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedures of which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a general meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it is satisfied that:

 

   

we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and we have complied with the statutory provisions as to majority vote;

 

   

the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question;

 

   

the arrangement is such as a business-person would reasonably approve; and

 

   

the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.”

If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of U.S. corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.

Squeeze-out Provisions.    When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer relates within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.

Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through other means to these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, through contractual arrangements, of an operating business.

ShareholdersSuits.    Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability of such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our directors or officers usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:

 

   

a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority;

 

   

the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes that have actually been obtained; or

 

   

those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.”

A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.

 

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Enforcement of Civil Liabilities.    The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of the United States.

We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (1) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state and (2) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

Special Considerations for Exempted Companies.    We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:

 

   

an exempted company does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies;

 

   

an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection;

 

   

an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting;

 

   

an exempted company may issue shares with no par value;

 

   

an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance);

 

   

an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands;

 

   

an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and

 

   

an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company.

“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).

Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business

 

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combination. These provisions (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting) cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been approved by either (1) holders of at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s ordinary shares at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given or (2) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Other than as described above, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.

Our initial shareholders, who collectively will beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:

 

   

if we have not completed our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (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 shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law;

 

   

prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination;

 

   

although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, 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 that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view;

 

   

if a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act;

 

   

as long as our securities are listed on Nasdaq, 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

 

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the net assets held in trust (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination;

 

   

if our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares; and

 

   

we will not effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that under no circumstances 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.

The Companies Act permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of such company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares attending and voting at a general meeting. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required but, provided the approval of the required majority is obtained, any Cayman Islands exempted company may amend its memorandum and articles of association regardless of whether its memorandum and articles of association provide otherwise. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our proposed offering, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our directors or officers, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.

Anti-Money Laundering—Cayman Islands

If any person in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money laundering is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (1) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering or (2) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.

Data Protection—Cayman Islands

We have certain duties under the Data Protection Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the “Data Protection Act”) based on internationally accepted principles of data privacy.

 

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In this subsection, “we”, “us,” “our” and the “Company” refers to Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I or our affiliates and/or delegates, except where the context requires otherwise.

Privacy Notice

Introduction

This privacy notice puts our shareholders on notice that through your investment in the Company you will provide us with certain personal information which constitutes personal data within the meaning of the Data Protection Act (“personal data”).

Investor Data

We will collect, use, disclose, retain and secure personal data to the extent reasonably required only and within the parameters that could be reasonably expected during the normal course of business. We will only process, disclose, transfer or retain personal data to the extent legitimately required to conduct our activities of on an ongoing basis or to comply with legal and regulatory obligations to which we are subject. We will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.

In our use of this personal data, we will be characterized as a “data controller” for the purposes of the Data Protection Act, while our affiliates and service providers who may receive this personal data from us in the conduct of our activities may either act as our “data processors” for the purposes of the Data Protection Act or may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us.

We may also obtain personal data from other public sources. Personal data includes, without limitation, the following information relating to a shareholder and/or any individuals connected with a shareholder as an investor: name, residential address, email address, contact details, corporate contact information, signature, nationality, place of birth, date of birth, tax identification, credit history, correspondence records, passport number, bank account details, source of funds details and details relating to the shareholder’s investment activity.

Who this Affects

If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation your investment in the Company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should transmit the content of this Privacy Notice to such individuals or otherwise advise them of its content.

How the Company May Use a Shareholder’s Personal Data

The Company, as the data controller, may collect, store and use personal data for lawful purposes, including, in particular:

 

  (a)

where this is necessary for the performance of our rights and obligations under any purchase agreements;

 

  (b)

where this is necessary for compliance with a legal and regulatory obligation to which we are subject (such as compliance with anti-money laundering and FATCA/CRS requirements); and/or

 

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  (c)

where this is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests and such interests are not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms.

Should we wish to use personal data for other specific purposes (including, if applicable, any purpose that requires your consent), we will contact you.

Why We May Transfer Your Personal Data

In certain circumstances we may be legally obliged to share personal data and other information with respect to your shareholding with the relevant regulatory authorities such as the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority or the Tax Information Authority. They, in turn, may exchange this information with foreign authorities, including tax authorities.

We anticipate disclosing personal data to persons who provide services to us and their respective affiliates (which may include certain entities located outside the US, the Cayman Islands or the European Economic Area), who will process your personal data on our behalf.

The Data Protection Measures We Take

Any transfer of personal data by us or our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.

We and our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates shall apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of personal data, and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.

We shall notify you of any personal data breach that is reasonably likely to result in a risk to your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms or those data subjects to whom the relevant personal data relates.

Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association

Our authorized but unissued ordinary shares and preferred shares are available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved ordinary shares and preferred shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

Securities Eligible for Future Sale

Immediately after this offering we will have 25,000,000 (or 28,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) ordinary shares issued and outstanding. Of these shares, the 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares (or 23,000,000 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the remaining 5,000,000 (or 5,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) founder shares and all 3,000,000 (or 3,300,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering, and are subject to transfer restrictions as set forth elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

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Upon the closing of the sale of the forward purchase units, all forward purchase units, forward purchase shares and forward purchase warrants will be restricted securities under Rule 144.

Rule 144

Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (1) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (2) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.

Persons who have beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:

 

   

1% of the total number of ordinary shares then issued and outstanding, which will equal 200,000 shares immediately after this offering (or 230,000 if the underwriters exercises their over-allotment option in full); or

 

   

the average weekly reported trading volume of the ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale.

Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.

Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies

Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:

 

   

the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company;

 

   

the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act;

 

   

the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Current Reports on Form 8-K; and

 

   

at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.

As a result, our initial shareholders will be able to sell their founder shares and our sponsor will be able to sell its private placement warrants, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration, one year after we have completed our initial business combination.

Registration Rights

The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and any warrants that may be issued on conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the

 

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exercise of the private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the working capital loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering requiring us to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to our Class A ordinary shares). 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 our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Pursuant to the forward purchase agreement, we will agree that we will use our reasonable best efforts to (i) within 30 days after the closing of the initial business combination, file a registration statement with the SEC for a secondary offering of (A) the forward purchase investors’ forward purchase shares and forward purchase warrants and (B) any other shares of Class A ordinary shares acquired by the forward purchase investors, including any acquisitions after we complete our initial business combination, (ii) cause such registration statement to be declared effective promptly thereafter, but in no event later than 90 days after the closing of the initial business combination and (iii) maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and to ensure the registration statement does not contain a material omission or misstatement, including by way of amendment or other update, as required, until the earlier of (A) the date on which the forward purchase investors cease to hold the securities covered thereby and (B) the date all of the securities covered thereby can be sold publicly without restriction or limitation under Rule 144 under the Securities Act, and without the requirement to be in compliance with Rule 144(c)(1) under the Securities Act, subject to certain conditions and limitations set forth in the forward purchase agreement. We will bear the cost of registering these securities.

Listing of Securities

We intend to apply to list our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants on Nasdaq under the symbols “BWCAU,” “BWC” and “BWCA,” respectively. We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq promptly on or after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Following the date the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed separately and as a unit on Nasdaq. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq.

 

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INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The following summary of Cayman Islands and U.S. federal income tax considerations relevant to an investment in our units, ordinary shares and warrants is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This summary does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our ordinary shares and warrants, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws.

Prospective investors should consult their professional advisors on the possible tax consequences of buying, holding or selling any securities under the laws of their country of citizenship, residence or domicile.

Cayman Islands Taxation

The following is a discussion on certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in our securities. The discussion is a general summary of present law, which is subject to prospective and retroactive change. It is not intended as tax advice, does not consider any investor’s particular circumstances, and does not consider tax consequences other than those arising under Cayman Islands law.

Under Existing Cayman Islands Laws

Payments of dividends and capital in respect of our securities will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the securities nor will gains derived from the disposal of the securities be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporate tax. The Cayman Islands currently has no income, corporate or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax.

No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of our securities or on an instrument of transfer in respect of our securities.

The Company has been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and, as such, has applied for and received an undertaking from the Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands in the following form:

The Tax Concessions Act

(As Revised)

Undertaking as to Tax Concessions

In accordance with the provision of section 6 of The Tax Concessions Act (As Revised), the Financial Secretary undertakes with Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I (“the company”).

 

  1.

That no law which is hereafter enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to the company or its operations; and

 

  2.

In addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable:

 

  2.1

on or in respect of the shares, debentures or other obligations of the company; OR

 

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  2.2

by way of the withholding in whole or part, of any relevant payment as defined in Section 6(3) of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised).

 

  3.

These concessions shall be for a period of 20 years from the date hereof.

U.S. Federal Income Taxation

General

The following discussion summarizes U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the ownership and disposition of our units (each consisting of one ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant) that are purchased in this offering by U.S. Holders (as defined below) and Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below). Because the components of a unit are generally separable at the option of the holder, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying ordinary share and warrant components of the unit.

This discussion is limited to U.S. federal income tax considerations to beneficial owners of our securities who are initial purchasers of a unit pursuant to this offering and hold the unit and each component of the unit as capital assets within the meaning of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). This discussion assumes that the ordinary shares and warrants will trade separately and that any distributions made (or deemed made) by us on our ordinary shares and any consideration received (or deemed received) by a holder in consideration for the sale or other disposition of our securities will be in U.S. dollars. This discussion is a summary only and does not consider all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of a unit by a prospective investor in light of its particular circumstances, including:

 

   

financial institutions or financial services entities;

 

   

broker-dealers;

 

   

taxpayers that are subject to the mark-to-market accounting rules;

 

   

tax-exempt entities;

 

   

governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof;

 

   

insurance companies;

 

   

regulated investment companies;

 

   

real estate investment trusts;

 

   

controlled foreign corporations;

 

   

passive foreign investment companies;

 

   

expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States;

 

   

persons that actually or constructively own five percent or more (by vote or value) of our shares;

 

   

persons that acquired our securities pursuant to an exercise of employee share options, in connection with employee share incentive plans or otherwise as compensation;

 

   

persons that hold our securities as part of a straddle, constructive sale, hedging, conversion or other integrated or similar transaction; or

 

   

U.S. Holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar.

The discussion below is based upon the provisions of the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all as of the date

 

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hereof, and such provisions may be repealed, revoked, modified or subject to differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis, so as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those discussed below. Furthermore, this discussion does not address any aspect of U.S. federal non-income tax laws, such as gift, estate or Medicare contribution tax laws, or state, local or non-U.S. tax laws.

We have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the IRS as to any U.S. federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may disagree with the discussion herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not adversely affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion.

As used herein, the term “U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of units, ordinary shares or warrants who or that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

 

   

an individual citizen or resident of the United States;

 

   

a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that is created or organized (or treated as created or organized) in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

 

   

an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

 

   

a trust if (A) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (B) it has in effect a valid election to be treated as a U.S. person.

If a beneficial owner of our securities is not described as a U.S. Holder and is not an entity treated as a partnership or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, such owner will be considered a “Non-U.S. Holder.” The U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable specifically to Non-U.S. Holders are described below under the heading “Non-U.S. Holders.”

This discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships or other pass-through entities or persons who hold our securities through such entities. If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is the beneficial owner of our securities, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships holding our securities and partners in such partnerships are urged to consult their own tax advisors.

THIS DISCUSSION IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES. EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR IN OUR SECURITIES IS URGED TO CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR WITH RESPECT TO THE PARTICULAR TAX CONSEQUENCES TO SUCH INVESTOR OF THE OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES, INCLUDING THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF ANY U.S. FEDERAL NON-INCOME, STATE, LOCAL, AND NON-U.S. TAX LAWS.

Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit

There is no statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addressing the treatment, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, of securities with terms substantially the same as the units, and, therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. The acquisition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal

 

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income tax purposes as the acquisition of one ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant to acquire one ordinary share. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner and, by purchasing a unit, you agree to adopt such treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the ordinary share and the fraction of a warrant that comprise the unit based on their respective relative fair market values at the time of issuance. A holder’s initial tax basis in the ordinary share and the fraction of a warrant included in each unit should equal the portion of the purchase price of the unit allocated thereto. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the ordinary share and the fraction of a warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the ordinary share and the fraction of a warrant based on their respective relative fair market values at the time of disposition. The separation of the ordinary share and the fraction of a warrant comprising a unit should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

The foregoing treatment of our ordinary shares and warrants and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each holder is advised to consult its own tax advisor regarding the risks associated with an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit) and regarding an allocation of the purchase price among the ordinary share and the fraction of a warrant that comprise a unit. The balance of this discussion generally assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

U.S. Holders

Taxation of Distributions

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will be required to include in gross income as dividends the amount of any distribution (other than certain distributions of our shares or rights to acquire our shares) paid on our ordinary shares. A distribution on such shares generally will be treated as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Such dividends paid by us will be taxable to a corporate U.S. Holder at regular rates and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received from other domestic corporations.

Distributions in excess of such earnings and profits generally will be applied against and reduce the U.S. Holder’s basis in its ordinary shares (but not below zero) and, to the extent in excess of such basis, will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such ordinary shares. (see “—Taxation on the Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below).

With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, dividends will be taxed at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rate (see “—Taxation on the Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below) only if our ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States (which they will be if our shares are traded on Nasdaq) and certain holding period and other requirements are met, including that we are not classified as a PFIC during the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or the preceding taxable year. It is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to the ordinary shares described in this prospectus may prevent a U.S. Holder from satisfying the applicable holding period requirements for this purpose. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability of the lower rate for any dividends paid with respect to our ordinary shares.

 

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Possible Constructive Distributions

The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events. An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. However, the U.S. Holders of the warrants would be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of ordinary shares that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease to the exercise price) as a result of a distribution of cash to the holders of our ordinary shares which is taxable to the holders of such ordinary shares as a distribution. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as if the U.S. Holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest.

Taxation on the Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our ordinary shares or warrants which, in general, would include a redemption of ordinary shares as described below, and including as a result of a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss. The amount of gain or loss recognized generally will be equal to the difference between (1) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the ordinary shares or warrants are held as part of units at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the ordinary shares or warrants based upon the then fair market values of the ordinary shares and the warrants included in the units) and (2) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its ordinary shares or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its ordinary shares or warrants generally will equal the U.S. Holder’s acquisition cost (that is, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to an ordinary share or warrant, as described above under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) reduced by any prior distributions treated as a return of capital. See “—Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant” below for a discussion regarding a U.S. Holder’s basis in an ordinary share acquired pursuant to the exercise of a warrant.

Long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. Holders are generally subject to U.S. federal income tax at a reduced rate of tax. Capital gain or loss will constitute long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares or warrants exceeds one year. It is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to the ordinary shares described in this prospectus may prevent a U.S. Holder from satisfying the applicable holding period requirements for this purpose. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to various limitations that are not described herein because a discussion of such limitations depends on each U.S. Holder’s particular facts and circumstances.

Redemption of Ordinary Shares

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, if a U.S. Holder’s ordinary shares are redeemed pursuant to the exercise of a shareholder redemption right or if we purchase a U.S. Holder’s ordinary shares in an open market transaction (in either case referred to herein as a “redemption”), for U.S. federal income tax purposes, such redemption will be subject to the following rules. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of the ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code, the tax treatment of such redemption will be as described under “—Taxation on the Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants” above. Whether a redemption of our shares qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our ordinary shares treated as held by such U.S. Holder (including any shares constructively owned as a result of, among other things, owning warrants). The redemption of ordinary shares generally will be treated as a sale or exchange of the ordinary shares (rather than as a

 

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distribution) if the receipt of cash upon the redemption (1) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to a U.S. Holder, (2) results in a “complete termination” of such holder’s interest in us or (3) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to such holder. These tests are explained more fully below.

In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. Holder must take into account not only our ordinary shares actually owned by such holder, but also our ordinary shares that are constructively owned by such holder. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition to our ordinary shares owned directly, ordinary shares owned by related individuals and entities in which such holder has an interest or that have an interest in such holder, as well as any ordinary shares such holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include ordinary shares which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the warrant. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by a U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of our ordinary shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our outstanding voting and ordinary shares actually and constructively owned by such holder immediately before the redemption. Prior to our initial business combination the ordinary shares may not be treated as voting shares for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially disproportionate test may not be applicable. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (1) all of our ordinary shares actually and constructively owned by such U.S. Holder are redeemed or (2) all of our ordinary shares actually owned by such U.S. Holder are redeemed and such holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives, in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of shares owned by family members and such holder does not constructively own any other shares. The redemption of the ordinary shares will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if such redemption results in a “meaningful reduction” of a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority shareholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” U.S. Holders should consult with their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of an exercise of the redemption right.

If none of the foregoing tests are satisfied, then the redemption may be treated as a distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “—Taxation of Distributions,” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis a U.S. Holder has in the redeemed ordinary shares will be added to the adjusted tax basis in such holder’s remaining ordinary shares. If there are no remaining ordinary shares, a U.S. Holder should consult its own tax advisors as to the allocation of any remaining basis.

Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below and except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. Holder generally will not recognize gain or loss upon the exercise of a warrant for cash. An ordinary share acquired pursuant to the exercise of a warrant for cash generally will have a tax basis equal to the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrant, increased by the amount paid to exercise the warrant. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary share will commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrant. If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant.

The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current U.S. federal income tax law. A cashless exercise may be tax-free, either because the exercise is not a

 

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realization event or because the exercise is treated as a “recapitalization” within the meaning of Section 368(a)(1)(E) of the Code. Although we expect a U.S. Holder’s cashless exercise of our warrants (including after we provide notice of our intent to redeem warrants for cash) to be treated as a recapitalization, a cashless exercise could alternatively be treated as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized.

In either tax-free situation, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the ordinary shares received generally would equal the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants. If a cashless exercise is not treated as a realization event, it is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares would be treated as commencing on the date of exercise of the warrant or the following day. If a cashless exercise is treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the ordinary shares would include the holding period of the warrants.

If a cashless exercise is treated as a taxable exchange, a U.S. Holder could be deemed to have surrendered warrants with an aggregate fair market value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. The U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in such warrants. In this case, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the ordinary shares received would equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrants exercised (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price of such warrants. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares would commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant.

Because of the absence of authority on the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences and holding periods described above would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.

Subject to the PFIC rules described below, if we redeem warrants for cash pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” or if we purchase warrants in an open market transaction, such redemption or purchase generally will be treated as a taxable disposition to the U.S. Holder, taxed as described above under “—Taxation on the Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants.”

Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules

A foreign (i.e., non-U.S.) corporation will be a PFIC for U.S. tax purposes if at least 75% of its gross income in a taxable year, including its pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, is passive income. Alternatively, a foreign corporation will be a PFIC if at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year of the foreign corporation, ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year, including its pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, are held for the production of, or produce, passive income. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of passive assets.

Pursuant to a start-up exception, a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year the corporation has gross income (the “start-up year”), if (1) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC; (2) the corporation satisfies to the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the two taxable years following the start-up year; and (3) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. The net proceeds from this offering will initially be held in a U.S.-based non-interest bearing trust account at

 

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J.P. Morgan Chase, N.A. with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and we do not expect to have gross income in our current taxable year. We intend to take the position that, although subject to uncertainty, we would not be treated as a PFIC for our current taxable year and any subsequent taxable years prior to our start-up year.

The application of the start-up exception to us is uncertain and may not be known until as late as after the close of up to two taxable years following our start-up year. After the acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination, we may still meet one of the PFIC tests depending on the timing of the acquisition and the amount of our passive income and assets as well as the passive income and assets of the acquired business. If the company that we acquire in a business combination is a PFIC, then we will likely not qualify for the start-up exception and will be a PFIC for our current taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any future taxable year, moreover, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Accordingly, there can be no assurance with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any future taxable year.

If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder of our ordinary shares or warrants and, in the case of our ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder did not make either a timely qualified electing fund (“QEF”) election or a mark-to-market election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) ordinary shares, as described below, such holder generally will be subject to special rules with respect to:

 

   

any gain recognized by the U.S. Holder on the sale or other disposition of its ordinary shares or warrants; and

 

   

any “excess distribution” made to the U.S. Holder (generally, any distributions to such U.S. Holder during a taxable year of the U.S. Holder that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. Holder in respect of the ordinary shares during the three preceding taxable years of such U.S. Holder or, if shorter, such U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares).

Under these rules,

 

   

the U.S. Holder’s gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares and warrants;

 

   

the amount allocated to the U.S. Holder’s taxable year in which the U.S. Holder recognized the gain or received the excess distribution, or to the period in the U.S. Holder’s holding period before the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, will be taxed as ordinary income;

 

   

the amount allocated to other taxable years (or portions thereof) of the U.S. Holder and included in its holding period will be taxed at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and applicable to the U.S. Holder; and

 

   

the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed in respect of the tax attributable to each such other taxable year of the U.S. Holder.

In general, if we are determined to be a PFIC, a U.S. Holder may avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above in respect of our ordinary shares (but not our warrants) by making a timely QEF election (if eligible to do so) to include in income its pro rata share of our net capital gains (as long-term capital gain) and other earnings and profits (as ordinary income), on a current basis, in each case whether or not distributed, in the taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which or with which our taxable year ends.

A U.S. Holder generally may make a separate election to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject to an interest charge.

 

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A U.S. Holder may not make a QEF election with respect to its warrants to acquire our ordinary shares. As a result, if a U.S. Holder sells or otherwise disposes of such warrants (other than upon exercise of such warrants), any gain recognized will generally be subject to the special tax and interest charge rules treating the gain as an excess distribution, as described above, if we were a PFIC at any time during the period the U.S. Holder held the warrants. If a U.S. Holder that exercises such warrants properly makes a QEF election with respect to the newly acquired ordinary shares (or has previously made a QEF election with respect to our ordinary shares), the QEF election will apply to the newly acquired ordinary shares, but the adverse tax consequences relating to PFIC shares, adjusted to take into account the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, will continue to apply with respect to such newly acquired ordinary shares (which will generally be deemed to have a holding period for purposes of the PFIC rules that includes the period the U.S. Holder held the warrants), unless the U.S. Holder makes a purging election. One type of purging election creates a deemed sale of such shares at their fair market value. Any gain recognized in this deemed sale will be subject to the special tax and interest charge rules treating the gain as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of this election, the U.S. Holder will have additional basis (to the extent of any gain recognized on the deemed sale) and, solely for purposes of the PFIC rules, a new holding period in the ordinary shares acquired upon the exercise of the warrants. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors as to the application of the rules governing purging elections to their particular circumstances (including a potential separate “deemed dividend” purging election that may be available if we are a controlled foreign corporation).

The QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, can be revoked only with the consent of the IRS. A U.S. Holder generally makes a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621 (Information Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund), including the information provided in a PFIC Annual Information Statement, to a timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. Retroactive QEF elections generally may be made only by filing a protective statement with such return and if certain other conditions are met or with the consent of the IRS. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election under their particular circumstances.

In order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, a U.S. Holder must receive a PFIC Annual Information Statement from us. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor upon written request to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the IRS may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a QEF election. However, there is no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the required information to be provided.

If a U.S. Holder has made a QEF election with respect to our ordinary shares, and the special tax and interest charge rules do not apply to such shares (because of a timely QEF election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) such shares or a purge of the PFIC taint pursuant to a purging election, as described above), any gain recognized on the sale of our ordinary shares generally will be taxable as capital gain and no interest charge will be imposed under the PFIC rules. As discussed above, U.S. Holders of a QEF are currently taxed on their pro rata shares of its earnings and profits, whether or not distributed. In such case, a subsequent distribution of such earnings and profits that were previously included in income generally should not be taxable as a dividend to such U.S. Holders. The tax basis of a U.S. Holder’s shares in a QEF will be increased by amounts that are included in income, and decreased by amounts distributed but not taxed as dividends, under the above rules.

Although a determination as to our PFIC status will be made annually, an initial determination that our company is a PFIC will generally apply for subsequent years to a U.S. Holder who held ordinary

 

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shares or warrants while we were a PFIC, whether or not we meet the test for PFIC status in those subsequent years. A U.S. Holder who makes the QEF election discussed above for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares, however, will not be subject to the PFIC tax and interest charge rules discussed above in respect to such shares. In addition, such U.S. Holder will not be subject to the QEF inclusion regime with respect of such shares for any taxable year of us that ends within or with a taxable year of the U.S. Holder and in which we are not a PFIC. On the other hand, if the QEF election is not effective for each of our taxable years in which we are a PFIC and the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares, the PFIC rules discussed above will continue to apply to such shares unless the holder makes a purging election, as described above, and pays the tax and interest charge with respect to the gain inherent in such shares attributable to the pre-QEF election period.

Alternatively, if a U.S. Holder, at the close of its taxable year, owns shares in a PFIC that are treated as marketable stock, the U.S. Holder may make a mark-to-market election with respect to such shares for such taxable year. If the U.S. Holder makes a valid mark-to-market election for the first taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) ordinary shares in us and for which we are determined to be a PFIC, such holder generally will not be subject to the PFIC rules described above in respect of its ordinary shares. Instead, in general, the U.S. Holder will include as ordinary income each year the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year over the adjusted basis in its ordinary shares. Such a U.S. Holder also will be allowed to take an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of the adjusted basis of its ordinary shares over the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election). Such U.S. Holder’s basis in its ordinary shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts, and any further gain recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition of the ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary income. Currently, a mark-to-market election may not be made with respect to our warrants.

The mark-to-market election is available only for stock that is regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the SEC, including Nasdaq, or on a foreign exchange or market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election in respect to our ordinary shares under their particular circumstances.

If we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a foreign subsidiary that is classified as a PFIC, U.S. Holders generally would be deemed to own a portion of the shares of such lower-tier PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the lower-tier PFIC or the U.S. Holders otherwise were deemed to have disposed of an interest in the lower-tier PFIC. We will endeavor to cause any lower-tier PFIC to provide to a U.S. Holder the information that may be required to make or maintain a QEF election with respect to the lower-tier PFIC. However, there is no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such lower-tier PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in any such lower-tier PFIC and thus there can be no assurance we will be able to cause the lower-tier PFIC to provide the required information. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by lower-tier PFICs.

A U.S. Holder that owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year of the U.S. Holder, may have to file an IRS Form 8621(whether or not a QEF or mark-to-market election is made) and such other information as may be required by the U.S. Treasury Department.

The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF, purging and mark-to-market elections are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, U.S.

 

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Holders of our ordinary shares or warrants should consult their own tax advisors concerning the application of the PFIC rules to our ordinary shares or warrants under their particular circumstances.

Tax Reporting

It is not clear whether certain U.S. Holders may be required to file an IRS Form 926 (Return by a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation) to report a transfer of property (including cash) to us. Substantial penalties may be imposed on a U.S. Holder that fails to comply with this reporting requirement. Furthermore, certain U.S. Holders who are individuals and certain entities will be required to report information with respect to such U.S. Holder’s investment in “specified foreign financial assets,” which may include an interest in us, on IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), subject to certain exceptions. Persons who are required to report specified foreign financial assets and fail to do so may be subject to substantial penalties. Potential investors are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding the foreign financial asset and other reporting obligations and their application to an investment in our securities.

Non-U.S. Holders

Dividends (including constructive distributions treated as dividends) paid or deemed paid to a Non-U.S. Holder in respect of its ordinary shares generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax, unless the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States).

In addition, a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain attributable to a sale or other disposition of our ordinary shares and warrants (including a redemption or cashless exercise of warrants to the extent such disposition may otherwise be treated as taxable) unless such gain is effectively connected with its conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States) or the Non-U.S. Holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of sale or other disposition and certain other conditions are met (in which case, such gain from United States sources generally is subject to tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate).

Dividends (including constructive distributions treated as dividends) and gains that are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base in the United States) generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the same regular U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to a comparable U.S. Holder and, in the case of a Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate.

The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events. An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. However, the Non-U.S. Holders of the warrants would be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of ordinary shares that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease to the exercise price) as a result of a distribution of cash to the holders of our ordinary shares which is taxable to the holders of such ordinary shares as a distribution. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as if the Non-U.S. Holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest.

 

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UNDERWRITING

Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an underwriting agreement dated                 , 2021, we have agreed to sell to Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities as underwriters, the following respective numbers of units:

 

Underwriter

   Number of Units  

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

  

BofA Securities

  

BofA Securities, Inc.

  

Total

     20,000,000  
  

 

 

 

The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters are obligated to purchase all the units in this offering if any are purchased, other than those units covered by the over-allotment option described below.

We have granted to the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase on a pro rata basis up to 3,000,000 additional units at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The option may be exercised only to cover any over-allotments of units.

The underwriters propose to offer the units initially at the public offering price on the cover page of this prospectus and to selling group members at that price less a selling concession of $                 per unit. The offering of the shares by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part.

The following table summarizes the compensation and estimated expenses we will pay:

 

     Per Unit(1)      Total(1)  
     Without
Over-allotment
     With
Over-allotment
     Without
Over-allotment
     With
Over-allotment
 

Underwriting Discounts and Commissions paid by us

   $ 0.55      $ 0.55      $ 11,000,000      $ 12,650,000  

 

(1)

Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate, payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriters only on completion of an initial business combination, in an amount equal to $0.35 multiplied by the number of Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in this offering, as described in this prospectus.

We estimate that our non-reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses for this offering will be approximately $1,000,000. We have agreed to pay for the FINRA-related fees and expenses of the underwriters’ legal counsel, not to exceed $            .

The underwriters have informed us that the underwriters do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.

We, our sponsor and our directors and officers have agreed that we will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, without the prior written consent of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC BofA Securities, Inc. for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, any units, warrants, ordinary shares or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, ordinary shares; provided, however, that we may (1) issue and sell the private placement warrants; (2) issue and sell the additional units to cover our underwriters’ over-allotment

 

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option (if any); (3) issue and sell the forward purchase units and underlying forward purchase shares and forward purchase warrants; (4) register with the SEC pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering or the forward purchase agreement, as applicable, the resale of the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and the founder shares or forward purchase shares or forward purchase warrants, as the case may be; and (5) issue securities in connection with our initial business combination, subject to certain exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.” However, the foregoing shall not apply to the forfeiture of any founder shares pursuant to their terms or any transfer of founder shares to any current or future independent director of the company (as long as such current or future independent director transferee is subject to the letter agreement, filed herewith, or executes an agreement substantially identical to the letter agreement, as applicable to directors and officers at the time of such transfer; and as long as, to the extent any Section 16 reporting obligation is triggered as a result of such transfer, any related Section 16 filing includes a practical explanation as to the nature of the transfer). Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities in their sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.

Pursuant to a letter agreement with us, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) 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, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares.

The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders—Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).

We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribute to payments that the underwriter may be required to make in that respect.

We expect our units to be listed on Nasdaq, under the symbol “BWCAU” and, once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants begin separate trading, to have our Class A ordinary shares and warrants listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “BWC ” and “BWCA,” respectively.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities. Consequently, the initial public offering price for the units was determined by negotiations between us and the underwriter.

The determination of our per unit offering price was more arbitrary than would typically be the case if we were an operating company. Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure, and currently prevailing general conditions in equity securities markets, including current market valuations

 

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of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company. We cannot assure you, however, that the price at which the units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants will develop and continue after this offering.

If we do not complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame, including during any Extension Period, the trustee and the underwriters have agreed that: (1) they will forfeit any rights or claims to their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account; and (2) the deferred underwriters’ discounts and commissions will be distributed on a pro rata basis, together with any accrued interest thereon (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) to the public shareholders.

In connection with this offering, the underwriters may engage in stabilizing transactions, over-allotment transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act.

 

   

Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum.

 

   

Over-allotment involves sales by the underwriters of units in excess of the number of units the underwriters are obligated to purchase, which creates a syndicate short position. The short position may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of units over-allotted by the underwriters is not greater than the number of units that they may purchase in the over-allotment option. In a naked short position, the number of units involved is greater than the number of units in the over-allotment option. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their over-allotment option and/or purchasing units in the open market.

 

   

Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the units in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In determining the source of units to close out the short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the over-allotment option. If the underwriters sells more units than could be covered by the over-allotment option, a naked short position, the position can only be closed out by buying units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there could be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering.

 

   

Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the units originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions.

These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. As a result, the price of our units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. These transactions may be effected on Nasdaq or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.

We are not under any contractual obligation to engage the underwriters or any of their affiliates to provide any services for us after this offering, but we may do so at our election. However, the underwriters or any of their affiliates may introduce us to potential target businesses, provide financial advisory services to us in connection with a business combination or assist us in raising additional capital in the future, including by acting as a placement agent in a private offering or underwriting or

 

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arranging debt financing. If the underwriters or any of their affiliates provide services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriters or affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with the underwriters or any of their affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to the underwriters or any of their affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering. We may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination. Any fees we may pay the underwriters or any of their affiliates for services rendered to us after this offering may be contingent on the completion of a business combination and may include non-cash compensation. The underwriters or any of their affiliates that provide these services to us may have a potential conflict of interest given that the underwriters are entitled to the deferred portion of their underwriting compensation for this offering only if an initial business combination is completed within the specified timeframe.

The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to the company, our sponsor, any business combination target and/or their respective affiliates and related parties, for which those underwriters and their affiliates received or will receive customary fees and expenses.

In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities and/or instruments of the company, our sponsor or any business combination target and/or any of their respective affiliates and related parties. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such assets, securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they should acquire, long and/or short positions in such assets, securities and instruments.

A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by the underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering and the underwriters participating in this offering may distribute prospectuses electronically. The underwriters may agree to allocate a number of units to selling group members for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriters and selling group members that will make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.

The units are offered for sale in the United States, Europe, Asia and other jurisdictions where it is lawful to make such offers.

The underwriters have represented and agreed that they have not offered, sold or delivered and will not offer, sell or deliver any of the units directly or indirectly, or distribute this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, in or from any jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations thereof and that will not impose any obligations on us except as set forth in the underwriting agreement.

 

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European Economic Area

In relation to each EEA Member State (each a “Relevant Member State”), no common shares (the “Shares”) have been offered or will be offered pursuant to the Offering to the public in that Relevant Member State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the Shares which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation, except that the Shares may be offered to the public in that Relevant Member State at any time:

 

  (a)

to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation;

 

  (b)

to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the Joint Global Coordinators for any such offer; or

 

  (c)

in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation,

provided that no such offer of the Shares shall require the Company and/or Selling Shareholders or any Bank to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation.

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an ‘offer to the public’ in relation to the Shares in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any Shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase any Shares, and the expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.

Each person in a Relevant Member State who receives any communication in respect of, or who acquires any Shares under, the Offering contemplated hereby will be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed to and with each of the Underwriters and their affiliates and the Company that:

 

  a)

it is a qualified investor within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation; and

 

  b)

in the case of any Shares acquired by it as a financial intermediary, as that term is used in Article 5 of the Prospectus Regulation, (i) the Shares acquired by it in the Offering have not been acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in any Relevant Member State other than qualified investors, as that term is defined in the Prospectus Regulation, or have been acquired in other circumstances falling within the points (a) to (d) of Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation and the prior consent of the Joint Global Coordinators has been given to the offer or resale; or (ii) where the Shares have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in any Relevant Member State other than qualified investors, the offer of those Shares to it is not treated under the Prospectus Regulation as having been made to such persons.

The Company, the Underwriters and their affiliates, and others will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representation, acknowledgement and agreement. Notwithstanding the above, a person who is not a qualified investor and who has notified the Joint Global Coordinators of such fact in writing may, with the prior consent of the Joint Global Coordinators, be permitted to acquire Shares in the Offering.

 

199


Notice to Investors in the United Kingdom

This Prospectus and any other material in relation to the common shares (the “Shares”) described herein is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, and any investment or investment activity to which this Prospectus relates is available only to, and will be engaged in only with persons who are (i) persons having professional experience in matters relating to investments who fall within the definition of investment professionals in Article 19(5) of the FPO; or (ii) high net worth entities falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the FPO; (iii) outside the UK; or (iv) persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the FSMA) in connection with the issue or sale of any Shares may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated, (all such persons together being referred to as “Relevant Persons”). The Shares are only available in the UK to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to purchase or otherwise acquire the Shares will be engaged in only with, the Relevant Persons. This Prospectus and its contents are confidential and should not be distributed, published or reproduced (in whole or in part) or disclosed by recipients to any other person in the UK. Any person in the UK that is not a Relevant Person should not act or rely on this Prospectus or any of its contents.

No Shares have been offered or will be offered pursuant to the Offering to the public in the United Kingdom prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the Shares which has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, except that the Shares may be offered to the public in the United Kingdom at any time:

 

  a)

to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation;

 

  b)

to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the Global Coordinators for any such offer; or

 

  c)

in any other circumstances falling within Section 86 of the FSMA.

provided that no such offer of the Shares shall require the Company and/or any Underwriters or any of their affiliates to publish a prospectus pursuant to Section 85 of the FSMA or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the UK Prospectus Regulation. For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to the Shares in the United Kingdom means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any Shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any Shares and the expression “UK Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

Each person in the UK who acquires any Shares in the Offer or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed to and with the Company, the Underwriters and their affiliates that it meets the criteria outlined in this section.

Notice to Residents of Japan

The underwriters will not offer or sell any of our units directly or indirectly in Japan or to, or for the benefit of any Japanese person or to others, for re-offering or re-sale directly or indirectly in Japan or to any Japanese person, except in each case pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Securities and Exchange Law of Japan and any other applicable laws and regulations of Japan. For purposes of this paragraph, “Japanese person” means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.

 

200


Notice to Residents of Hong Kong

The underwriters and each of their affiliates have not (1) offered or sold, and will not offer or sell, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, our units other than (A) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance or (B) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32 of Hong Kong) or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance or (2) issued or had in its possession for the purposes of issue, and will not issue or have in its possession for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere any advertisement, invitation or document relating to our units which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to our securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance. The contents of this document have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in Hong Kong. You are advised to exercise caution in relation to the offer. If you are in any doubt about any of the contents of this document, you should obtain independent professional advice.

Notice to Residents of Singapore

This prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units has not been and will not be registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the units will be offered in Singapore pursuant to exemptions under Section 274 and Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “Securities and Futures Act”). Accordingly our units may not be offered or sold, or be the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units be circulated or distributed, whether directly or indirectly, to the public or any member of the public in Singapore other than (a) to an institutional investor or other person specified in Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, (b) to a sophisticated investor, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act or (c) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the Securities and Futures Act.

Notice to Residents of Germany

Each person who is in possession of this prospectus is aware that no German sales prospectus (Verkaufsprospekt) within the meaning of the Securities Sales Prospectus Act (Wertpapier-Verkaufsprospektgesetz, the “Act”) of the Federal Republic of Germany has been or will be published with respect to our units. In particular, the underwriters have represented that it has not engaged and has agreed that it will not engage in a public offering (offentliches Angebot) within the meaning of the Act with respect to any of our units otherwise then in accordance with the Act and all other applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Notice to Residents of France

The units are being issued and sold outside the Republic of France and that, in connection with their initial distribution, it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell, directly or indirectly, any units to the public in the Republic of France, and that it has not distributed and will not distribute or cause to be distributed to the public in the Republic of France this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, and that such offers, sales and distributions have been and will be made in the Republic of France only to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) in accordance with Article L.411-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code and decrét no. 98-880 dated October 1, 1998.

 

201


Notice to Residents of the Netherlands

Our units may not be offered, sold, transferred or delivered in or from the Netherlands as part of their initial distribution or at any time thereafter, directly or indirectly, other than to, individuals or legal entities situated in The Netherlands who or which trade or invest in securities in the conduct of a business or profession (which includes banks, securities intermediaries (including dealers and brokers), insurance companies, pension funds, collective investment institution, central governments, large international and supranational organizations, other institutional investors and other parties, including treasury departments of commercial enterprises, which as an ancillary activity regularly invest in securities; hereinafter, “Professional Investors”); provided that in the offer, prospectus and in any other documents or advertisements in which a forthcoming offering of our units is publicly announced (whether electronically or otherwise) in The Netherlands it is stated that such offer is and will be exclusively made to such Professional Investors. Individual or legal entities who are not Professional Investors may not participate in the offering of our units, and this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units may not be considered an offer or the prospect of an offer to sell or exchange our units.

Notice to Prospective Investors in the Cayman Islands

No offer or invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our securities.

Notice to Canadian Residents

Resale Restrictions

The distribution of units in Canada is being made on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these securities are made. Any resale of the units in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the securities.

Representations of Canadian Purchasers

By purchasing units in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:

 

   

the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the units without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an “accredited investor” as defined under National Instrument 45-106—Prospectus Exemptions or Section 73.3 of the Securities Act (Ontario), as applicable;

 

   

the purchaser is a “permitted client” as defined in National Instrument 31-103—Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations;

 

   

where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent; and

 

   

the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions.

Conflicts of Interest

Canadian purchasers are hereby notified that Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Securities are relying on the exemption set out in section 3A.3 or 3A.4, if applicable, of National Instrument 33-105—Underwriting Conflicts from having to provide certain conflict of interest disclosure in this document.

 

202


Statutory Rights of Action

Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if the prospectus (including any amendment thereto) such as this document contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser of these securities in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.

Enforcement of Legal Rights

All of our directors and officers as well as the experts named herein may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.

Taxation and Eligibility for Investment

Canadian purchasers of units should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in the units in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the units for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation.

 

203


LEGAL MATTERS

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Palo Alto, California, is acting as counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act, and as such, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to units and warrants. Maples and Calder, Cayman Islands, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to the ordinary shares and matters of Cayman Islands law. In connection with this offering, White & Case LLP, New York, New York, is acting as counsel to the underwriters.

EXPERTS

The financial statements of Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I as of March 12, 2021 and for the period from March 10, 2021(inception) through March 12, 2021 appearing in this prospectus have been audited by Marcum LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon, appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, and are included in reliance on such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in auditing and accounting. The report on the financial statements contains an explanatory paragraph regarding the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.

Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

 

204



REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Shareholder and Board of Directors of

Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I (the “Company”) as of March 12, 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from March 10, 2021 (inception) through March 12, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of March 12, 2021 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from March 10, 2021 (inception) through March 12, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Explanatory Paragraph – Going Concern

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company’s ability to execute its business plan is dependent upon the completion of the proposed initial public offering described in Note 3 to the financial statements. The Company has a working capital deficiency as of March 12, 2021 and lacks the financial resources it needs to sustain operations for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans with regard to these matters are also described in Notes 1 and 3. 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 audit. 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 audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB and in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our 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 Company’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 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 audit 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 audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/Marcum llp                             

Marcum llp

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

Chicago, IL

May 13, 2021

 

F-2


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

BALANCE SHEET

MARCH 12, 2021

 

ASSETS

  

Deferred offering costs

   $ 167,000  
  

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 167,000  
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY

  

Current Liabilities

  

Accounts payable – related party

   $ 5,000  

Accrued offering costs

   $ 142,000  
  

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

   $ 147,000  
  

 

 

 

Commitments and Contingencies

  

Shareholder’s Equity

  

Preferred shares, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding

     —    

Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding

     —    

Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 shares issued and outstanding(1)

     575  

Additional paid in capital

     24,425  

Accumulated deficit

     (5,000
  

 

 

 

Total shareholder’s equity

     20,000  
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities and shareholder’s equity

   $ 25,000  
  

 

 

 

 

(1)

Includes an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters (see Note 5).

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F-3


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 10, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH MARCH 12, 2021

 

Formation costs and other operating expenses

   $ 5,000  
  

 

 

 

Net loss

   $ (5,000
  

 

 

 

Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted(1)

     5,000,000  
  

 

 

 

Basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share

   $ —    
  

 

 

 

 

(1)

Excludes an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters (see Note 5).

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F-4


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY

FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 10, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH MARCH 12, 2021

 

     Class B
Ordinary shares
     Additional
Paid in
Capital
     Accumulated
Deficit
    Total
Shareholder’s
Equity
 
   Shares      Amount  

Balance – March 10, 2021 (date of inception)

     —        $ —        $ —        $ —       $ —    

Issuance of Class B ordinary shares to sponsors(1)

     5,750,000        575        24,425        —         25,000  

Net loss

     —          —          —          (5,000     (5,000
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance – March 12, 2021

     5,750,000        $575      $ 24,425      $ (5,000   $ 20,000  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Includes an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters (see Note 5).

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F-5


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 10, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH MARCH 12, 2021

 

Cash flow from operating activities:

  

Net loss

   $ (5,000

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

  

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

  

Accounts payable – related party

     5,000  
  

 

 

 

Net cash used in operating activities

     —    
  

 

 

 

Net change in cash

     —    

Cash at the beginning of the period

     —    
  

 

 

 

Cash at the end of the period

   $ —    
  

 

 

 

Non-cash investing and financing activities:

  

Deferred offering costs included in accrued offering costs

   $ 142,000  

Deferred offering costs paid by sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B ordinary shares

   $ 25,000  
  

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F-6


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on March 10, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of effectuating a merger, capital share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “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 March 12, 2021, the Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activity for the period March 10, 2021 (inception) through March 12, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the proposed initial public offering (the “Proposed 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 will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Proposed Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a proposed initial public offering of 20,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit (or 23,000,000 units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) which is discussed in Note 3 and the sale of 3,000,000 warrants (or 3,300,000 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $2.00 per Private Placement Warrant that will close in a private placement to Blue Whale Sponsor I LLC (the “Sponsor”) simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Offering (see Note 4).

The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed 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. NASDAQ rules provide that the Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the Trust Account (as defined below) (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing a definitive agreement to enter 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 of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination. Upon the closing of the Proposed Offering, management has agreed that $10.00 per Unit sold in the Proposed Offering, including the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, will be held in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) and may or may not be invested 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 any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund 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 or (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to the Company’s shareholders, as described below.

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 Public Shares upon the completion of a Business

 

F-7


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS (cont.)

 

Combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. In connection with a proposed Business Combination, the Company may seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which shareholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against a Business Combination. The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks shareholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company seeks shareholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation 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 seeking redemption rights with respect to 15% or more of the Public Shares without the Company’s prior written consent.

The public shareholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially $10.00 per 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). The per-share amount to be distributed to shareholders who redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriter (as discussed in Note 7). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. These shares of Class A ordinary shares will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Offering, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”

If a shareholder vote is not required and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Certificate of Incorporation, offer such redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and file tender offer documents containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination.

The Company’s Sponsor has agreed (a) to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Offering in favor of a Business Combination, (b) not to propose an amendment to the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation with respect to the Company’s pre-Business Combination activities prior to the consummation of a Business Combination unless the Company provides dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment; (c) not to redeem any shares (including the Founder Shares) into the right to receive cash from the Trust Account in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a Business Combination (or to sell any shares in a tender offer in connection with a Business Combination if the Company does not seek shareholder approval in connection therewith) or a vote to amend the provisions of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation relating to shareholders’ rights of pre-Business Combination activity and (d) that the Founder Shares shall not participate in any liquidating distributions upon winding up if a Business Combination is not consummated. However, the Sponsor will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account

 

F-8


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS (cont.)

 

with respect to any Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Offering if the Company fails to complete its Business Combination.

If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Offering (the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay 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 Shareholder’s rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, proceed to commence a voluntary liquidation and thereby a formal dissolution of the Company, subject in each case to its obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of applicable law. The underwriter has agreed to waive its rights to the deferred underwriting commission 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 Proposed Offering price per Unit $10.00.

The Sponsor has agreed to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to the Founder Shares and Private Placement 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 Proposed Public Offering price per share ($10.00).

In order to protect the amounts held in the trust, the Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or Business Combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the day of liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriter of Proposed Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). However, the Company has not asked the Sponsor to

 

F-9


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS (cont.)

 

reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company. Therefore, the Company cannot assure its shareholders that the Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of the Company’s officers or directors will indemnify the Company for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses. 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 vendors, service providers, 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.

Going Concern Consideration

At March 12, 2021, the Company had $0 in cash and working capital deficit of $147,000. The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of time within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. Management plans to address this uncertainty through the Proposed Offering as discussed in Note 3. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to raise capital or to consummate a Business Combination will be successful or successful within the Combination Period. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Risks and Uncertainties

Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying financial statements are 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.

The Company does not have sufficient liquidity to meet its anticipated obligations over the next year from the date of issuance of these financial statements. In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern consideration in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that the Company has access to funds from the Sponsor that are sufficient to fund the working capital needs of the Company until the earlier of the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering or one year from the date of issuance of these financial statements.

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

 

F-10


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)

 

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.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company, which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires 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. 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 did not have any cash equivalents as of March 12, 2021.

Income Taxes

The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible

 

F-11


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)

 

amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

ASC Topic 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, if any, as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of March 12, 2021. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.

There is currently no taxation imposed on income by the Government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.

Net Loss Per Ordinary Share

Net loss per share of ordinary shares is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period, excluding ordinary shares subject to forfeiture. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 750,000 shares of Class B ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriter (see Note 5). At March 12, 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

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

Deferred Offering Costs Associated with the Proposed Public Offering

Deferred offering costs of legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs incurred that are directly related to the Proposed Public Offering will be charged to Shareholder’s equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering. Should the Proposed Public Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

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 statements.

 

F-12


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 3. PROPOSED OFFERING

Pursuant to the Proposed Offering, the Company will offer for sale up to 20,000,000 Units (or 23,00,000 Units if the underwriter’s overallotment option is exercised in full) at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per whole share (see Note 7).

NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT

The Sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 3,000,000 Private Placement Warrants (or 3,300,000 Private Placement Warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $2.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate, or $6,600,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of Proposed Offering.

Each Private Placement Warrant is identical to the warrants offered in the Proposed Offering, except there will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to Private Placement Warrants, which will expire worthless if we do not consummate a Business Combination within the Combination Period.

NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Founder Shares

On March 11, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 5,750,000 shares of Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”) to the Sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. The Founder Shares include an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment is not exercised in full or in part, so that the Sponsor will collectively own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Proposed Offering (assuming the Sponsor does not purchase any Public Shares in the Proposed Offering).

The Sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of its Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) 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, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.

Promissory Note—Related Party

On March 11, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Proposed Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note is non-interest bearing and is payable on the earlier of (i) March 11, 2022 or (ii) the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering. As of March 12, 2021, the Company has not drawn on the Note.

 

F-13


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (cont.)

 

Related Party Loans

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor, an affiliate of the Sponsor, or the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (the “Working Capital Loans”). Such Working Capital Loans would be evidenced by promissory notes. The notes would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $2,500,000 of notes may be converted upon consummation of a Business Combination into warrants at a price of $2.00 per warrant. The warrants will be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. 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.

Administrative Support Agreement

Commencing on the date of the prospectus and until completion of the Company’s initial business combination or liquidation, the Company may reimburse an affiliate of the Sponsor up to an amount of $10,000 per month for office space and secretarial and administrative support.

NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Registration Rights

The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans (and in each case holders of their component securities, as applicable) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the Proposed Offering, requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion to our Class A ordinary shares). The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form 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 consummation of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Underwriter’s Agreement

The Company will grant the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments at the Proposed Offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

The underwriter will be entitled to a cash underwriting discount of 2.00% of the gross proceeds of the Proposed Offering, or $4,000,000 (or $4,600,000 if the over-allotment option in exercised in full). In addition, the underwriter will be entitled to a deferred fee of three and half percent (3.50%) of the gross proceeds of the Proposed Offering, or $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the over-allotment option in exercised in full). The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriter 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.

 

 

F-14


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (cont.)

 

Forward Purchase Agreement

The Company intends to enter into a forward purchase agreement that will provide for the purchase by it of up to an aggregate of 5,000,000 units for an aggregate purchase price of up to $50,000,000, or $10.00 per unit, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination. The forward purchase investor will determine in its sole discretion the specific number of forward purchase units it will purchase, if any, pursuant to the forward purchase agreement. Each forward purchase unit will consist of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. The terms of the forward purchase units will generally be identical to the terms of the units being issued in this offering, except that the securities underlying the forward purchase units will be subject to certain registration rights.

Consistent with the warrant liability discussed in Note 8, the Company will account for the FPA in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that because the FPA units do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each unit must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, the Company will classify the FPA as a liability at its fair value. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such remeasurement, the FPA liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s statement of operations.

NOTE 7. SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY

Preferred Shares—The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of $0.0001 par value preferred shares. At March 12, 2021, there were no preferred shares issued or outstanding.

Class A Ordinary shares—The Company is authorized to issue up to 200,000,000 shares of Class A, $0.0001 par value ordinary shares. Holders of the Company’s ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. At March 12, 2021, there were no shares of Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding.

Class B Ordinary sharesThe Company is authorized to issue up to 20,000,000 shares of Class B, $0.0001 par value ordinary shares. Holders of the Company’s ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. At March 12, 2021, there were 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding, of which an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part so that the Sponsor will own 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the Proposed Offering (assuming the Sponsor does not purchase any Public Shares in the Proposed Offering).

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; provided that only holders of Class B ordinary shares have the right to vote for the election of directors prior to the Company’s initial Business Combination.

The shares of Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares 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 for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed

 

F-15


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 7. SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY (cont.)

 

issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution 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 all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for our Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt.

NOTE 8. WARRANT LIABILITIES

The Company will account for the 8,000,000 warrants—5,000,000 Public Warrants and the 3,000,000 Private Placement Warrants—to be issued in connection with the Proposed Public Offering (or 9,050,000 warrants assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, the Company will classify each warrant as a liability at its fair value. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such remeasurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s statement of operations.

WarrantsPublic 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 consummation of a Business Combination. The Public Warrants will expire five years from the consummation 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 Public Warrant and will have no obligation to settle such Public Warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No Public 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 Public 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.

The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days, after the closing of a Business Combination, it will use its best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement registering the issuance, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants. The Company will use its best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the shares of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of

 

F-16


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 8. WARRANT LIABILITIES (cont.)

 

the warrants, to cause such registration statement to become effective and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of a Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during 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.

Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00.    Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Warrants for redemption:

 

   

in whole and not in part;

   

at a price of $0.01 per Public Warrant;

 

   

upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder and

 

   

if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the 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 as described) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.

The Company will not redeem the warrants as described above unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if the Company is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00.    Once the Warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Warrants for redemption:

 

   

in whole and not in part;

 

   

at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares;

 

   

if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant); and

 

   

if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant), the private placement warrants must also concurrently be called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above.

 

F-17


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTE 8. WARRANT LIABILITIES (cont.)

 

If and when the Public Warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may not exercise its redemption right if the issuance of shares of ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or the Company is unable to effect such registration or qualification.

The exercise price and number of shares of Class A 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. 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 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. 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 shares of ordinary shares 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. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.

In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares (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 ordinary shares 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 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 greater of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.

The Private Placement Warrants will be identical to the Public Warrants included in the Units being sold in the Proposed Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants will and the shares of 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 will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.

 

F-18


BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 9. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Management of the Company evaluated events that have occurred after the balance sheet date of May         , 2021 through the date these financial statements were issued. Based upon the review, other than as described below, management did not identify any recognized or non-recognized subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.

On April 1, 2021, the Sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of David H. Johnson, Gregg Walker, Jordan Zachary, and Zahavah Levine (the Company’s independent director nominees) and Russ Pillar (the Company’s Chief Financial Officer).

 

F-19


 

 

 

20,000,000 Units

Blue Whale Acquisition Corp I

 

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

 

 

            , 2021

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

BofA Securities

 

 

 

 


PART II INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

Item 13.

Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.

The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with the offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions) will be as follows:

 

Legal fees and expenses

   $ 350,000  

Accounting fees and expenses

     60,000  

SEC expenses

     32,307  

FINRA expenses

     35,000  

Directors and officers insurance premiums(1)

     400,000  

Nasdaq listing and filing fees

     75,000  

Printing and engraving expenses

     25,000  

Miscellaneous expenses

     22,633  
  

 

 

 

Total offering expenses

   $ 1,000,000  
  

 

 

 

 

(1)  This amount represents the approximate amount of annualized director and officer liability insurance premiums the registrant anticipates paying following the completion of its initial public offering and until it completes a business combination.

   

 

Item 14.

Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of directors and officers, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful neglect, civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for indemnification of our directors and officers to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect.

We will enter into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We may purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our directors and officers against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our directors and officers.

We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced directors and officers.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

 

Item 15.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.

On March 11, 2021, Blue Whale Sponsor I LLC, our sponsor, paid an aggregate of $25,000 to cover certain expenses on behalf of us in exchange for the issuance of 5,750,000 founder shares. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon completion of this offering.

 

II-1


Such securities were issued in connection with our incorporation pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. Our sponsor is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D.

In addition, our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase from us an aggregate of 3,000,000 (or 3,300,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants at $2.00 per warrant (for an aggregate purchase price of $6,000,000 or $6,600,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the completion of our initial public offering. This issuance will be 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.

 

Item 16.

Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.

 

  (a)

Exhibits. The following exhibits are being filed herewith:

 

Exhibit

 

Description

1.1*  

Form of Underwriting Agreement

3.1*  

Memorandum and Articles of Association

3.2*  

Form of Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association

4.1*  

Specimen Unit Certificate

4.2*  

Specimen Class A Ordinary Share Certificate

4.3*  

Specimen Warrant Certificate (included in Exhibit 4.4)

4.4*   Form of Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant
5.1*  

Opinion of Maples and Calder

5.2*  

Opinion of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP

10.1*  

Promissory Note, dated March 11, 2021, issued to Blue Whale Sponsor I LLC

10.2*   Form of Letter Agreement among the Registrant and its directors and officers and Blue Whale Sponsor I LLC
10.3*   Form of Investment Management Trust Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant
10.4*  

Form of Registration Rights Agreement between the Registrant and certain security holders

10.5*   Securities Subscription Agreement, March 11, 2021, between the Registrant and Blue Whale Sponsor I LLC
10.6*   Form of Sponsor Warrants Purchase Agreement between the Registrant and Blue Whale Sponsor I LLC
10.7*  

Form of Indemnity Agreement

10.8*   Form of Administrative Services Agreement, by and between the Registrant and an affiliate of the Registrant
10.9*   Form of Forward Purchase Agreement between MIC Capital Partners (Public) Parallel Cayman, LP and the Company

 

II-2


Exhibit

 

Description

14*  

Form of Code of Ethics and Business Conduct

23.1*  

Consent of Marcum LLP

23.2*  

Consent of Maples and Calder (included in Exhibit 5.1)

23.3*  

Consent of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (included in Exhibit 5.2)

24*   Power of Attorney (included on signature page to the initial filing of this Registration Statement)
99.1*  

Consent of Maxime Franzetti

99.2*  

Consent of David H. Johnson

99.3*  

Consent of Zahavah Levine

99.4*  

Consent of Adib Mattar

99.5*  

Consent of Gregg Walker

99.6*  

Consent of Jordan Zachary

 

*

To be filed by amendment

 

  (b)

Financial Statements. See page F-1 for an index to the financial statements and schedules included in the registration statement.

 

Item 17.

Undertakings.

(a)    The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

(b)    Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

(c) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

 

  (1)

For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

 

  (2)

For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

II-3


  (3)

For the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser, if the registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.

 

  (4)

For the purpose of determining liability of a registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of an undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

  (i)

Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

 

  (ii)

Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by an undersigned registrant;

 

  (iii)

The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

 

  (iv)

Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

 

II-4


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Palo Alto, State of California, on the                  day of                 , 2021.

 

BLUE WHALE ACQUISITION CORP I
By:  

 

  Name: Maxime Franzetti
  Title:    Chief Executive Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each of the undersigned constitutes and appoints each of Maxime Franzetti and Russ Pillar, each acting alone, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this Registration Statement on Form S-1 (including all pre-effective and post-effective amendments and registration statements filed pursuant to Rule 462 under the Securities Act of 1933), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, each acting alone, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming that any such attorney-in-fact and agent, or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Name

  

Position

  

Date

 

  

Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)

  

 

Maxime Franzetti   

 

  

Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

  

 

Russ Pillar   
     
  


AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 6(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned has signed this registration statement, solely in its capacity as the duly authorized representative of Blue Whale Acquisition Corp. I, in the City of Newark, Delaware, on the 13th day of May, 2021.

 

By:  

 

  Name: Donald J. Puglisi
  Title:    Authorized Representative