Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated 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.

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Emerging Growth Company Status

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s consolidated 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 these consolidated 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 consolidated financial statements.

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 consolidated financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Some of the more significant estimates are in connection with determining the fair value of the warrant liabilities and convertible promissory note. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on this account.

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 December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Cash and Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account

At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the assets held in the Trust Account were held in U.S. Treasury Bills with a maturity of 185 days or less and in money market funds which invest in U.S. Treasury securities.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, pursuant to the trust agreement dated as of December 20, 2021 between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (“CST”), the trustee of the Trust Account, $1,192,438 of interest income from the Trust Account was withdrawn by the Company for the payment of franchise and income taxes.

At December 31, 2022, the Company classified its US Treasury bills as held-to-maturity in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 320 “Investments - Debt and Equity Securities.” Held-to-maturity securities are those securities which the Company has the ability and intent to hold until maturity. Held-to-maturity treasury securities are recorded at amortized cost and adjusted for the amortization or accretion of premiums or discounts.

A decline in the market value of held-to-maturity securities below cost that is deemed to be other than temporary, results in an impairment that reduces the carrying costs to such securities’ fair value. The impairment is charged to earnings and a new cost basis for the security is established. To determine whether an impairment is other than temporary, the Company considers whether it has the ability and intent to hold the investment until a market price recovery and considers whether evidence indicating the cost of the investment is recoverable outweighs evidence to the contrary. Evidence considered in this assessment includes the reasons for the impairment, the severity and the duration of the impairment, changes in value subsequent to year-end, forecasted performance of the investee, and the general market condition in the geographic area or industry in which the investee operates.

Premiums and discounts are amortized or accreted over the life of the related held-to-maturity security as an adjustment to yield using the effective-interest method. Such amortization and accretion are included in the “interest income” line item in the consolidated statements of operations. Interest income is recognized when earned.

The carrying value, excluding gross unrealized holding (gain) loss, and fair value of held to maturity securities as of December 31, 2022 are as follows:

	Carrying Value as of December 31, 2022	Gross Unrealized Gains	Gross Unrealized Losses	Fair Value as of December 31, 2022
Cash	$1,034	$—	$—	$1,034
U.S. Treasury Bills	194,223,748	43,626	—	194,267,374
	$194,224,782	$43,626	$—	$194,268,408

Effective January 1, 2023, the Company changed its accounting policy for the investments in trust to the fair value method.

At December 31, 2023, substantially all of the assets held in the Trust Account were held in U.S. Treasury Bills. All of the Company’s investments held in the Trust Account are classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the consolidated balance sheets at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of investments held in the Trust Account are shown in the accompanying statements of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in the Trust Account are determined using available market information.

	Fair Value as of December 31, 2023
Cash	$1,406
U.S. Treasury Bills	10,872,000
	$10,873,406

On December 21, 2023, the Company held a special meeting of stockholders to vote on extending the Combination Period. As a result, the Company has extended the Combination Period from December 22, 2023 to March 22, 2024. In connection with the extension, 140,663 shares of the Company’s common stock were redeemed, with 6,027,219 shares of Common Stock remaining outstanding after the Redemption; 833,469 shares of Common Stock remaining outstanding after the Redemption are shares issued in connection with our initial public offering. In January 2024, $1,565,078 was paid from the Trust Account to redeeming stockholders in connection with the extension. As a result, the Company has recorded a liability of $1,565,078 as common stock to be redeemed and reduced common stock subject to possible redemption as of December 31, 2023 on the balance sheet. Additionally, as part of the adjustment of common stock subject to possible redemption, the Company classified $1,565,078 of the trust account as a current asset on the consolidated balance sheets, which was paid from the Trust Account in January 2024 to redeeming stockholders.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, primarily due to their short-term nature, except for the warrant liabilities and convertible promissory note.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” ASC 740, Income Taxes, requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for both the expected impact of differences between the consolidated financial statements and tax basis of assets and liabilities and for the expected future tax benefit to be derived from tax loss and tax credit carry forwards. ASC 740 additionally requires a valuation allowance to be established when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized. As of

December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company’s deferred tax asset had a full valuation allowance recorded against it. Our effective tax rate was 28.22% and 6.5% for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The effective tax rate differs from the statutory tax rate of 21% for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, due to changes in fair value of warrant liabilities, penalties and interest, business combination expenses and the valuation allowance on the deferred tax assets.

ASC 740 also clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position 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. ASC 740 also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim period, disclosure and transition.

The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as a formation cost expense. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. Interest and penalties expense amounted to $19,158 and $0 during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

The Company has identified the United States as its only “major” tax jurisdiction. The Company is subject to income taxation by major taxing authorities since inception. These examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with federal and state tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company evaluates its financial instruments, such as warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. Derivative instruments are initially recorded at fair value on the grant date and re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the consolidated statements of operations. Derivative assets and liabilities are classified in the consolidated balance sheets as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date.

Convertible Promissory Note

The fair value of the Company’s convertible promissory note is valued using a compound option formula on the convertible feature and a present value of the host contract. The valuation technique requires inputs that are both unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement. These inputs reflect management’s own assumption about the assumptions a market participant would use in pricing the working capital loan.

Warrant Liabilities

The Company accounts for the 17,404,250 warrants issued in connection with the IPO (the 9,487,500 Public Warrants, the 7,347,500 Private Placement Warrants, and the 569,250 Representative Warrants inclusive of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) 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 has classified each warrant as a liability at its fair value. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such re-measurement, the warrant liabilities will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations (See Note 8).

In determining the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants and the Representative’s Warrants assumptions related to expected share-price volatility, expected life and risk-free interest rate are utilized. The Company estimates the volatility of its common stock based on historical volatility that matches the expected remaining life of the warrants.

Net Income Per Common Stock

The Company has two categories of shares, which are referred to as common stock subject to possible redemption and common stock. Earnings and losses are shared pro rata between the two categories of shares. The 17,404,250 potential shares of common stock for outstanding warrants to purchase the Company’s shares were

excluded from diluted earnings per share for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 because the warrants are contingently exercisable, and the contingencies have not yet been met. As a result, diluted net income per share of common stock is the same as basic net income per share of common stock for the periods presented. The table below presents a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator used to compute basic and diluted net income per share for each category of common stock:

	For the Year Ended December 31, 2023		For the Year Ended December 31, 2022
	Common stock subject to possible redemption	Common stock	Common stock subject to possible redemption	Common stock
Basic and diluted net income per share:
Numerator:
Allocation of net income	$562,049	$599,861	$5,627,425	$1,540,313
Denominator:
Weighted-average shares outstanding	4,866,356	5,193,750	18,975,000	5,193,750
Basic and diluted net income per share	$0.12	$0.12	$0.30	$0.30

Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption

The Company’s common stock sold as part of the Units in the IPO (“public common stock”) contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, or if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination. In accordance with ASC 480-10-S99, the Company classifies public common stock outside of permanent equity as the redemption provisions are not solely within the control of the Company. The public common stock was issued with other freestanding instruments (i.e., Public Warrants) and as such, the initial carrying value of public common stock classified as temporary equity was the allocated proceeds determined in accordance with ASC 470-20.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the amount of public common stock reflected on the consolidated balance sheets is reconciled in the following table:

Gross proceeds	$189,750,000
Less:
Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants	(4,204,248)
Common stock issuance costs	(7,701,178)
Plus:
Accretion of redeemable common stock	15,680,910
Contingently redeemable common stock, December 31, 2022	193,525,484
Less:
Partial redemption	(186,410,914)
Plus:
Accretion of redeemable common stock	2,137,638
Contingently redeemable common stock, December 31, 2023	$9,252,208

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In June 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13 – Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-13”). This update requires financial assets measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. The measurement of expected credit losses is based on relevant information about past events, including historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. Since June 2016, the FASB issued clarifying updates to the new standard including changing the effective date for smaller reporting companies. The guidance is effective for fiscal years

beginning after December 15, 2022, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The Company adopted ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2023. The adoption of ASU 2016-13 did not have a material impact on its financial statements.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (“ASU 2023-09”), which will require the Company to disclose specified additional information in its income tax rate reconciliation and provide additional information for reconciling items that meet a quantitative threshold. ASU 2023-09 will also require the Company to disaggregate its income taxes paid disclosure by federal, state and foreign taxes, with further disaggregation required for significant individual jurisdictions. ASU 2023-09 will become effective for Annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company is still reviewing the impact of ASU 2023-09.

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 consolidated financial statements.