UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended
Or
For the transition period from to
Commission File No.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
| ||
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) |
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
| Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant | EVE.U | The New York Stock Exchange | ||
| Redeemable warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 | EVE WS | The New York Stock Exchange |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g)
of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a
well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not
required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
(1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding
12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing
requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405
of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ |
| ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ||
| Emerging growth company |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check
mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting
standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial
reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or
issued its audit report.
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes
The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s
Class A ordinary shares outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the Registrant, computed as of
June 30, 2022 (the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter), was approximately $
As of April 12, 2023, there were
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
FORM 10-K FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains statements that are forward-looking and as such are not historical facts. This includes, without limitation, statements under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding our financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following risks, uncertainties and other factors:
| ● | our being a company with no operating history and no operating revenues; |
| ● | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| ● | our 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; |
| ● | the ability of our directors and officers to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
| ● | 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 ongoing coronavirus (“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 or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
| ● | the trust account being subject to claims of third parties; |
| ● | our financial performance; and |
| ● | the other risk and uncertainties discussed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). |
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
ii
Part I.
References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”) to “we,” “us,” “our” or the “company” are to EVe Mobility Acquisition Corp, a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to our “sponsor” refer to EVe Mobility Sponsor LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company. References to our “initial shareholders” refer to our sponsor and each of our independent directors.
Item 1. Business.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on March 23, 2021, for the purpose of effectuating a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “business combination”). While we are not limited to a particular industry or geographic region for purposes of consummating a business combination, we intend to focus our search for a target business operating in the automotive and mobility industry. We are an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, we are subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
While efforts to identify a target business may span many industries, our focus will be predominantly within the mobility-related ecosystem and its surrounding adjacencies. This landscape encompasses traditional automotive sectors as well as technological subsectors that are driving the advancement of the industry as a whole. Most notably this includes autonomous, connected, electric and shared (“ACES”) mobility, yielding a market opportunity that is large, highly diverse, and poised for growth through digitalization. We believe numerous subsectors are adjacent to the broader mobility ecosystem, which include, but are not limited to manufacturing, hard and soft technology around autonomy, connectivity, subscriptions, digital retailing, financial services, insurtech, maintenance and repair, aftermarket, telematics, logistics and supply chain management.
Our sponsor is a partnership between members of our board of directors; EVM-1A, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; 10X Capital; ASJC Global LLC – Series 17 and Cohen Sponsor LLC – A17 RS. We intend to source initial business combination opportunities through our sponsor and management team’s expansive network of mobility-related business leaders, public and private company executives and board members, investment bankers, private equity and debt investors, high net worth individuals and their advisors, commercial bankers, attorneys, management consultants, accountants and other transaction intermediaries.
On April 7, 2021, the sponsor paid $25,000 in consideration for 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares (the “founder shares”). On September 3, 2021, the company effected a share capitalization of an additional 2,395,833 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in an aggregate of 9,583,333 Class B ordinary shares outstanding. On September 27, 2021, the company surrendered 1,916,666 Class B ordinary shares for no consideration, resulting in an aggregate of 7,666,667 Class B ordinary shares. On December 14, 2021, the company effected a share capitalization of 766,666 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in the initial shareholders holding an aggregate of 8,433,333 founder shares. The founder shares included an aggregate of up to 1,100,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture by the sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised in full or in part, so that the sponsor and its permitted transferees would own, on an as-converted basis, 25% of the company’s issued and outstanding shares after our initial public offering. On December 17, 2021, with the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, 1,000,000 Class B ordinary shares were no longer subject to forfeiture, leaving 100,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture
1
The registration statement for our initial public offering was declared effective on December 14, 2021. On December 17, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering of 25,000,000 units (the “units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units sold, the “public shares”), including the issuance of 3,000,000 units as a result of the underwriter’s partial exercise of its over-allotment option, at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $250,000,000. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one ordinary share for $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment.
Substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial public offering, we completed the private sale of 1,140,000 private placement units (the “private placement units”) at a purchase price of $10.00 per private placement unit, to our sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”) and Moelis & Company Group, LP (“Moelis LP”), an affiliate of Moelis & Company, LLC (“Moelis”), generating gross proceeds of $11,400,000. The private placement units are identical to the units sold as part of the units in our initial public offering except that, no underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to the sale of the private placement units.
Following the closing of our initial public offering on December 17, 2021, an amount of $255,000,000, comprised of proceeds from our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, was placed in a U.S.-based trust account (the “trust account”), and will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with maturities 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, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds held in the trust account, as described below.
Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a business combination. The New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) 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 (excluding taxes payable on income earned on the trust account) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement to enter a business combination. We will only complete a business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target 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”).
We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the forward purchase agreements (or backstop agreements we may enter into or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing or other sources.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of a business combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The public shareholders will be entitled to redeem their public shares for a pro rata portion of the amount held in the trust account ($10.20 per share), calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of a business combination, including any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to pay its tax obligations. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a business combination with respect to our warrants. The per-share amount to be distributed to public shareholders who redeem their public shares will be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we pay to the underwriters of our initial public offering.
We will have until 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering (the “combination period”) to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete a business combination within the combination period, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the outstanding 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 (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 shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to its obligations under Cayman law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
2
Effecting a Business Combination
Market Opportunity & Industry Overview
Technological advancements are enabling the development of cars that are autonomous, connected, and electric. These advancements are transforming how consumers gain access to vehicles and accelerating the adoption of digital retailing and new mobility solutions. The mobility sector supporting ACES is diverse and highly fragmented. This presents opportunities across the industry, directly related to ACES, as well as ancillary business models supporting the automotive ecosystem. Ancillary business models include vehicle subscriptions, digital retailing, financial services, insurtech, maintenance and repair, aftermarket, telematics, logistics, supply chain, and more.
In an already fragmented industry, start-ups have emerged and are leading technological advancements. Well over 2,000 start-ups have been identified across the mobility landscape, of which we believe many will be consolidated and a smaller number of market leaders will emerge. We believe this represents a significant number of companies that may be interested in becoming a public company and that a business combination transaction with a special purpose acquisition company like ours would offer an attractive alternative to a traditional initial public offering.
We will target innovative, forward-thinking businesses with the potential to help lead the disruption and consolidation across the mobility ecosystem. Our focus will be on compelling technology-driven companies that will accelerate their growth trajectories in a post-pandemic world and benefit from access to public markets, as well as our sponsorship. Given our management team’s extensive global network of entrepreneurs, operating partners, and financial partners we believe that we are able to benefit from a significant pipeline of proprietary opportunities.
Our Competitive Advantages
We intend to employ a strategic and flexible acquisition framework to identify a target that can leverage the experience and operational expertise of our founders. We seek to use our experience to identify and negotiate a business combination transaction with an enduring business model that meets our investment criteria. We believe the combined experiences of the members of our management team, advisors and board of directors present a compelling value proposition for mobility companies looking for alternatives to a traditional IPO.
Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team, board of directors and their affiliates have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships that we believe will serve as a useful source for opportunities. While the mobility market presents a significant number of potential targets, we believe that our on-the-ground familiarity with the landscape gives us an advantage in sourcing high-quality business combination targets. This network has been developed through both investing and operating experience across the mobility ecosystem. We expect that this network across the industry will provide us with a robust flow of potential opportunities.
Our key differentiators:
| ● | Track record of launching and stewarding the growth of leading automotive/mobility companies in both the public and private markets; |
| ● | Proven experience in financing and scaling automotive/mobility companies; |
| ● | Experience in founding and leading top automotive/mobility companies, establishing partnerships and JVs, leading M&A activity, and taking companies public; |
| ● | Reputation for being “first-movers” across cycles, industries and geographies; |
| ● | Proven experience in launching and leading new, disruptive companies in the mobility ecosystem; |
3
| ● | Broad and deep network of relationships across the entire automotive industry/mobility ecosystem, providing sources of acquisition opportunities; |
| ● | Established senior-level relationships with OEMs, captive finance companies, and automotive/mobility start-ups across the world; |
| ● | Experience and knowledge to guide and advise leading management teams in their transition from the private to the public markets. |
We believe our management’s expertise will make our SPAC an attractive business combination partner to potential acquisition targets. We offer mobility companies an alternative to the traditional public offering, and such alternative would provide liquidity to investors and employees, create another currency for acquisitions in the form of publicly-traded equity, and increase their profile with customers, partners and investors. We believe we will be perceived by such companies as an attractive partner to for a business combination transaction due to our management team’s experience identifying, creating, operating, growing and monetizing businesses and accessing the U.S. capital markets.
Additional Disclosures
Sourcing of Potential Initial Business Combination
We believe our management team and the members of our board of directors’ significant operating and transaction experience and relationships will provide us with a substantial number of potential initial business combination targets.
Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team and board of directors have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network has provided our management team and members of our board of directors with a flow of referrals in the past and we believe that this network will serve as an important source of potential business combination targets in the future. In addition, we anticipate that target business combination candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, executive officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated (as defined in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions stating that the consideration to be paid by us in such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Members of our management team and our board of directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement units following the offering, including through their ownership in the sponsor, as set forth in “Principal Shareholders,” and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities (including other special purpose acquisition companies with which they are or may become involved) pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity before presenting it to us. 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 business combination opportunity to such other entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman law. Our officers and directors also may choose to present business opportunities to other entities (including other special purpose acquisition companies). Our directors and officers are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time amongst various business activities, including identifying potential business combination targets. 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.” Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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.
4
Acquisition Criteria
We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines which we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, but are not exhaustive. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We believe our team’s significant operating and deal-making experience and relationships will give us a number of competitive advantages and will present us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets, particularly in the mobility sector. The factors we will consider include growth prospects, competitive dynamics, opportunities for consolidation and need for capital investment. We intend to acquire one or more businesses that we believe have the following:
| ● | Differentiated, transformational business model and/or technology, focused on advancing the future of mobility; |
| ● | Validated business model, ability to scale, and a proven product-market fit; |
| ● | Strong historical revenue trajectory and profitability (or clear path to profitability); |
| ● | Equipped to operate in the scrutiny of public markets and will have strong management, corporate governance and reporting policies in place; |
| ● | Sophisticated management team that has a proven track record and ability to create long-term shareholder value; |
| ● | Expectation of attractive returns for shareholders; and |
| ● | Poised for transformation that can be accelerated by our management team and infusion of capital. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into a business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which would be in the form of proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we would file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspections of facilities, as well as reviewing financial and other information which will be made available to us.
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 pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our directors and officers currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
5
Corporate Information
Our executive offices are located at 4001 Kennett Pike, Suite 302, Wilmington, DE 19807 and our telephone number is (302) 273-0014.
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 our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 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 equals or 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, or (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 $244,750,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of up to $9,515,000 of deferred underwriting fees and the fee payable to the underwriters pursuant to the Business Combination Marketing Agreement of $3,795,000 (the “marketing fee”), in each case, after estimated offering expenses of $500,000 (and prior to any working capital expenses following our initial public offering), 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.
6
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement 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.
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, 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 NYSE 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 interest earned on the trust account). Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. 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 strategic and financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. or FINRA, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. 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. 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. Additionally, pursuant to the NYSE rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
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 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 sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or 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 the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests 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 outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the NYSE’s 80% fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the aggregate value of all of the target businesses will be taken into account for purposes of the 80% fair market value test.
7
We are 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.
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.
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.
8
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 post-transaction company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the post-transaction 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.
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 the rules of the NYSE, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| ● | we issue (other than in a public offering for cash) ordinary shares that will either (a) be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of ordinary shares then outstanding or (b) have voting power equal to or in excess of 20% of the voting power then outstanding; |
| ● | any of our directors, officers or substantial security holders (as defined by the rules of the NYSE) has a 5% or greater interest, directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired and if the number of ordinary shares to be issued, or if the number of ordinary shares into which the securities may be convertible or exercisable, exceeds either (a) 1% of the number of ordinary shares or 1% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any of our directors and officers or (b) 5% of the number of ordinary shares or 5% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any substantial security holders; 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. In the event our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates determine to undertake any such transactions, such transactions could have the effect of influencing the vote necessary to approve such transaction. 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.
9
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 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.
10
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 the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), 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 $10.20 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 and marketing fee 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, private placement 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 $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.
11
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 the approval of 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, private placement 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, private placement 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 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 (including, potentially, with the same target).
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 our initial public 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 our initial public 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.
12
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 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.
13
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 18 months from the closing of our initial public 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 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 18-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, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public 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 allotted time 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 18 months from the closing of our initial public 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 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 18 months from the closing of our initial public 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, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), 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.
14
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 $1,500,000 of proceeds from our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units not deposited in 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 our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.20. 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 $10.20. 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 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) $10.20 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 our initial public 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) $10.20 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 directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. 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 $10.20 per share.
15
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 our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We have access to up to $1,500,000 from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors.
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 $10.20 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 18 months from the closing of our initial public 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 18 months from the closing of our initial public 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.
Competition
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. Additionally, the number of blank check companies looking for business combination targets has increased compared to recent years and many of these blank check companies are sponsored by entities or persons that have significant experience with completing business combinations. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, 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 $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Employees
We currently have four officers and do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any such person will devote in any time period will vary based on the status of the proposed business combination and, if the proposed business combination is not consummated, whether a different target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.
16
Item 1.A. Risk Factors.
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report, including our financial statements and related notes, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Risks Relating to Our Search for, and Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
Our public 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. For instance, the rules of the NYSE currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a general meeting, but would still require us to obtain shareholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares, we would seek shareholder approval of such business combination. However, 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.
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, private placement 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 and private placement shares, we would need 7,914,477, or approximately 31.7% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted), or none (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted), of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved. Our directors and officers have also entered into the letter agreement, imposing similar obligations on them with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. We expect that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 25% 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.
17
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.
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 deferred underwriting commissions. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target). Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
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. In addition, the per share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the marketing fee. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
18
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 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the end of such time 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 $10.20 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 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the 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, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public 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 $10.20 per share, or less than $10.20 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 $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.
19
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 pandemic 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 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. 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 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.
20
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.
You are not entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
We are exempt from the rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors are not afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our initial public offering was subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.
If we seek 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 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 our initial public 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 $10.20 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 our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, 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 $10.20 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 $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.
21
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, and especially in the first half of 2021, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many companies have entered into business combinations with special purpose acquisition companies, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many additional special purpose acquisition companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, effort and resources to identify a suitable target for an initial business combination.
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 18 months following the closing of our initial public offering, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 18 months following the closing of our initial public offering, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.
Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent 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 $10.20 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 $10.20 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.
22
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.
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 $10.20 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 $10.20 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) $10.20 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 our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Our sponsor may not have sufficient funds available to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations, and therefore, no funds are currently set aside to cover any such obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 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 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) $10.20 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 directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.20 per share.
23
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 $10.20 per share.
The proceeds held in the trust account will 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. 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, net of taxes payable (less, in the case we are unable to complete our initial business combination, $100,000 of interest). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.20 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 or insolvency 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 bankruptcy 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.
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 bankruptcy or 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. |
24
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. The proceeds held in the trust account may be invested by the trustee only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Because the investment of the proceeds will be restricted to these instruments, we believe we will meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations, or 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 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering or during any extension period, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), pro rata to our public 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 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 to a fine and imprisonment in the Cayman Islands.
25
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 the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. 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, the underwriters and their permitted transferees and the holders of our private placement units, private placement shares and private placement warrants 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 we entered into prior to the closing of our initial public 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, the underwriters and their 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. The registration rights will be exercisable with respect to the founder shares and the private placement units, private placement shares and private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such private placement warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. 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, our private placement warrants or warrants issued in connection with working capital loans are registered for resale.
Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector or 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.
Although we expect to focus our search for a target business in the automotive and mobility industry, 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.
26
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 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.
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 $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
In addition to the Business Combination Marketing Agreement, we may engage the underwriters or any of their affiliates to provide us with additional services. 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.
In addition to the Business Combination Marketing Agreement described under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” we may engage the underwriters or any of their affiliates to provide additional services to us, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay the underwriters or any of their affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The fact that the underwriters or any of their affiliates’ financial interests are tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
27
We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our directors and officers will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
We 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 preference 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 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 5,000,000 undesignated preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2022, there were 473,860,000 and 41,666,667 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. 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. As of December 31, 2022, there were no preference shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares, and may issue preference 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 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 preference shares:
| ● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our initial public 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 preference 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. |
28
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.
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 $10.20 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 $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, directors and officers with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors and officers. Certain of our directors and officers also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including those described under “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for a business combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement that we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another valuation or appraisal firm that regularly renders fairness opinions on the type of target business we are seeking to acquire, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public 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.
As of December 31, 2022, our initial shareholders hold 8,333,333 founder shares. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor, Cantor and Moelis LP, an affiliate of Moelis, purchased an aggregate of 1,140,000 private placement units for a purchase price of $11,400,000 in the aggregate, or $10.00 per unit, that will also be worthless if we do not complete a business combination.
29
The founder shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units sold in our initial public offering 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; (3) our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive: (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement 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 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering 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 if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering or during any extension period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame); (4) the founder shares will automatically convert into 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, private placement shares and any public shares held by them purchased during or after our initial public offering in favor of our initial business combination.
The personal and financial interests of our sponsor, directors and officers may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the deadline to complete our initial business combination nears.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
We may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| ● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| ● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| ● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
| ● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| ● | our inability to pay dividends on our 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; |
30
| ● | 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 our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement 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.
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory 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.
31
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 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 (including, potentially, with the same target).
Because our trust account initially contained $10.20 per Class A ordinary share, public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination.
Our trust account initially contained $10.20 per Class A ordinary share. This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies for which the trust account will only contain $10.00 per Class A ordinary share. As a result of the additional funds that could be available to public shareholders upon redemption of public shares, our public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares and not to hold those Class A ordinary shares through our initial business combination. A higher percentage of redemptions by our public shareholders could make it more difficult for us to complete our initial 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 the holders 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 the prospectus related to our initial public offering, or defective provision or (ii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the 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.
32
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 our initial public offering and the sale of private placement units into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders), 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 the holders of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting). Our initial shareholders, who collectively beneficially own 25% of our ordinary shares 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 our initial public 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.
33
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units available to us prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from 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 $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price that is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may issue shares to investors in private placement transactions (so-called PIPE transactions) at a price of $10.00 per share or at a price which approximates the per-share amounts in our trust account at such time. The purpose of such issuances will be to enable us to provide sufficient liquidity to the post-business combination entity and such issuances may be made upon beneficial terms to such investors, which could cause dilution to our existing shareholders. The price of the shares we issue may therefore be less, and potentially significantly less, than the market price for our shares at such time.
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.
Our initial shareholders will own 25% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. 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 the holders of 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.
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 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.
34
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 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 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”), |
| (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 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, |
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 applicable to our warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the market value and the newly issued price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We have issued warrants to purchase 12,500,000 Class A ordinary shares as part of the units and, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we issued in the private placement an aggregate of 1,140,000 private placement units, which include private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 570,000 Class A ordinary shares, at $11.50 per share. In addition, if our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors makes any working capital loans, such lender may convert those loans into up to an additional 150,000 private placement units, at the price of $10.00 per unit. 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. Such warrants, when exercised, 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.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering except that (1) the private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us, (2) the private placement warrants (and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants) are subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in the letter agreement, (3) the private placement warrants may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis, and (4) the holders of the private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such 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.
35
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, increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition, and present risks of non-compliance in the event we successfully consummate a business combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. 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. Moreover, there can be no assurance that the incumbent management team of a business combination target will have the necessary experience or knowledge to develop the appropriate level of internal controls over financial reporting and otherwise maintain compliance with the applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. If we complete our business combination and the management team of the combined entity is unable to comply with the applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our operations might suffer and our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely impacted.
If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign market, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting (including 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; |
| ● | imposition of withholding taxes; |
| ● | 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, and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
36
| ● | 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 industry in which we acquire a business.
Following our initial business combination, we will be subject to risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire. Specifically, business combinations with targets operating in certain industries, including the automotive and mobility industry, may entail special considerations and risks. Any of these risks could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and operating results following a 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 disclose material risks related to the business we seek to acquire and the industry in which it operates. However, additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we believe are not material, at such time may also become important factors that adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results following a business combination.
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 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.
37
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, 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.
38
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.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and in particular, Scott Painter, our director and Chief Executive Officer. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our directors and officers, including Mr. Painter. In addition, our directors and officers are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business endeavors, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. For a discussion of certain of our officers’ and directors’ other business endeavors, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.” We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of our or a target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
In addition, the directors and officers of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
39
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 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 certain companies in which either of them has invested or are otherwise affiliated with, including companies in industries we may target for our initial business combination. Certain of our independent directors also serve as officers and/or board members for other entities. Our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, as applicable, may require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs. This could limit our officers’ and directors’ 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 “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.”
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.
Until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and directors and officers are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, 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.
40
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 any other special purpose 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 our officers’ and directors’ fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest,” and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence—Administrative Services Agreement.”
Our directors, officers, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or 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. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours. In particular, affiliates of our sponsor have interests in a diverse set of industries. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for such other affiliates.
Members of our management team and board of directors have significant experience as founders, board members, officers or executives of other companies. As a result, certain of those persons have been and may become involved in proceedings, investigations and litigation relating to the business affairs of the companies with which they were, are, or may in the future be, affiliated. This may have an adverse effect on us, which may impede our ability to consummate an initial business combination.
During the course of their careers, members of our management team and board of directors have had significant experience as founders, board members, officers or executives of other companies. As a result of their involvement and positions in these companies, certain persons were, are now, or may in the future become, involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings relating to the business affairs of such companies or transactions entered into by such companies. Any such litigation, investigations or other proceedings may divert our management team’s and board’s attention and resources away from identifying and selecting a target business or businesses for our initial business combination and may negatively affect our reputation, which may impede our ability to complete an initial business combination.
Members of our management team and affiliated companies have been, and may in the future be, subject to significant media coverage and involved in civil disputes or governmental investigations unrelated to our business.
Members of our management team have been (and intend to be) involved in a wide variety of businesses. Such involvement has, and may, lead to significant media coverage, including adverse media coverage, and public awareness. In addition, members of our management team and affiliated companies have been, and may in the future be, involved in civil disputes or governmental investigations unrelated to our business. Any such media coverage, public awareness, disputes 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.
41
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 18 months from the closing of our initial public 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 18 months from the closing of our initial public 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.
The NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE 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 the NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If the NYSE 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.” Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants currently 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 blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on the NYSE, 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.
42
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.
Pursuant to terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement covering the issuance of such shares, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those 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 require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. 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 the units sold in our initial public 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 public warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying Class A ordinary shares for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the public warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise such warrants.
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 50% 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 the prospectus related to the initial public offering, or defective provision, (ii) removing or reducing our ability to redeem the public warrants, or (iii) 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 in any material respect. All other modifications or amendments, (a) with respect to the terms of the public warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the public warrants requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants, and (b) with respect to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% 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 50% of the then outstanding public warrants approve such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% 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.
43
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). 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.
Because each unit contains one-half 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-half 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 third of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included one whole warrant or a greater fraction of one whole warrant to purchase one whole share.
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 or more costly 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.
44
We have been advised by Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP, 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.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty or incur greater cost 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 designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement do not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope 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 “NY foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (a “NY enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such NY enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the NY foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This choice-of-forum provision may make it more costly for a warrant holder to bring a claim and 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 preference 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.
45
Since only holders of our founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, the NYSE may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
Only holders of our founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors until our initial business combination. As a result, the NYSE may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Under the NYSE corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
| ● | we have a board of directors that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under the NYSE rules; |
| ● | we have a compensation committee of our board of directors that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and |
| ● | we have a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board of directors that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. |
We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to continue to comply with the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE, subject to applicable phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.
General Risk Factors
We are a newly incorporated company with no operating history and no operating revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a newly incorporated company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Past performance by 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. Further, members of our board of directors and management team and their respective affiliates have been involved with a large number of public and private companies in addition to those identified in the prospectus related to our initial public offering, not all of which have achieved similar performance levels.
46
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 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, including potentially being required to recognize gain on a business combination in circumstances where U.S. Holders of non-PFIC securities would not unless an exception applies. Our PFIC status may depend upon the status of an acquired company pursuant to a business combination and whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception. Depending on the circumstances, the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor 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.
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 equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of any second quarter of a fiscal year, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the end of such fiscal year. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our 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.
47
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the geopolitical conditions resulting from the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia and subsequent sanctions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities and the status of debt and equity markets, as well as protectionist legislation in our target markets.
United States and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the escalation of geopolitical tensions and the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022. In response to such invasion, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) deployed additional military forces to eastern Europe, and the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have announced various sanctions and restrictive actions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities, including the removal of certain financial institutions from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system. Certain countries, including the United States, have also provided and may continue to provide military aid or other assistance to Ukraine during the ongoing military conflict, increasing geopolitical tensions with Russia. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the resulting measures that have been taken, and could be taken in the future, by NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have created global security concerns that could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies. Although the length and impact of the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine is highly unpredictable, the conflict could lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions. Additionally, Russian military actions and the resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets. In addition, the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the impact of sanctions against Russia and the potential for retaliatory acts from Russia, could result in increased cyber-attacks against U.S. companies.
Any of the abovementioned factors, or any other negative impact on the global economy, capital markets or other geopolitical conditions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions, could adversely affect our search for a business combination and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination. The extent and duration of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, resulting sanctions and any related market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial, particularly if current or new sanctions continue for an extended period of time or if geopolitical tensions result in expanded military operations on a global scale. Any such disruptions may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this report. If these disruptions or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
Item 1.B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
Item 2. Properties.
We currently maintain our executive offices at 4001 Kennett Pike, Suite 302, Wilmington, DE 19807. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee that we pay an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to our knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against us or any of our officers or directors in their corporate capacity.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
None.
48
Part II.
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
| (a) | Market Information |
Our units began trading on the NYSE on December 15, 2021. Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share. On January 31, 2022 we announced that holders of the units may elect to separately trade the Class A ordinary shares and redeemable warrants included in the units commencing on February 4, 2022. Any units not separated continue to trade on the NYSE under the symbol “EVE.U” Any underlying Class A ordinary shares and redeemable warrants that were separated trade on the NYSE under the symbols “EVE” and “EVE WS,” respectively.
| (b) | Holders |
As of April 12, 2023, there was approximately one holder of record of our units, approximately one holder of record of our separately traded Class A ordinary shares, approximately one holder of record of our redeemable warrants and approximately one holder of record of our Class B ordinary shares.
| (c) | Dividends |
We have not paid any cash dividends on our Class A 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. 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.
| (d) | Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans |
None.
| (e) | Performance Graph |
The performance graph has been omitted as permitted under rules applicable to smaller reporting companies.
| (f) | Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings |
Unregistered Sales
There were no unregistered securities to report which have not been previously included in an Annual Report on Form 10-K, a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Item 6. [Reserved].
49
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
References to the “company,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to EVe Mobility Acquisition Corp. The following discussion and analysis of the company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factor Summary,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
This Annual Report includes “forward-looking statements” that are not historical facts and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected and projected. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this Annual Report including, without limitation, statements in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding the company’s financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Words such as “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “seek” and variations and similar words and expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance, but reflect management’s current beliefs, based on information currently available. A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the forward-looking statements. For information identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factor Summary,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The company’s securities filings can be accessed on the EDGAR section of the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as expressly required by applicable securities law, the company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on March 23, 2021 formed for the purpose of entering into 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 our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the forward purchase agreements (or backstop agreements we may enter into or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing or other sources.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities for the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the initial public offering, described below, and since the closing of our initial public offering, the search for a prospective initial business combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our initial business combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents held after the initial public offering. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as due diligence expenses.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, we had net income of $2,626,104, which resulted from interest income on investments held in Trust Account of $3,678,066, partially offset by operating costs of $1,051,962.
For the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, we had net loss of $396,842, which resulted from operating and formation costs of $397,450 offset by gains of $608.
50
Liquidity, Capital Resources, and Going Concern
On December 17, 2021, we consummated an initial public offering (the “initial public offering”) of 25,000,000 units, including the issuance of 3,000,000 units as a result of the underwriter’s partial exercise of its over-allotment option, at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $250,000,000. Simultaneously with the consummation of the initial public offering, we completed the private sale of 1,140,000 units (the “private placement units”) to EVe Mobility Sponsor LLC (the “sponsor”), Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”) and Moelis & Company Group, LP (“Moelis LP”), at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $11,400,000. The proceeds from the sale of the private placement units were added to the net proceeds from the initial public offering held in a trust account (the “trust account”). If we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the initial public offering, the proceeds from the sale of the private placement units will be used to fund the redemption of the public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the warrants included in the private placement units will expire worthless.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, net cash used in operating activities of $639,385, which was due to interest income on investments held in the trust account of $3,678,066, offset by net income of $2,626,104, and changes in working capital of $412,577.
For the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, net cash used in operating activities was $677,491, which was due to a net loss of $396,842, changes in working capital of $280,041, $608 of interest income on investments held in the trust account.
There were no cash flows from investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022. For the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, net cash used in investing activities of $255,000,000 was the result of the amount of net proceeds from our initial public offering and sale of private placement units being deposited to the trust account.
There were no cash flows from financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022. For the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 net cash provided by financing activities of $256,427,784 was comprised of proceeds from the issuance of units in our initial public offering net of underwriter’s discount paid of $245,600,000, proceeds from the issuance of units in a private placement of $11,400,000 and proceeds from the issuance of the promissory note - related party of $216,353, offset in part by the payment of offering costs associated with the initial public offering of $572,216 and repayment of the outstanding balance on the promissory note - related party of $216,353.
As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the company had $110,908 and $750,293 in cash held outside of the trust account and working capital deficit of $29,722 and working capital surplus of $699,592, respectively. Upon the completion of the initial public offering, capital in excess of the funds deposited in the trust account and/or used to fund offering expenses was released to the company for general working capital purposes. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
The company intends to use the funds held outside the trust account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.
If the company’s 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, the company may have insufficient funds available to operate its business prior to an initial business combination. Moreover, the company may need to obtain additional financing either to complete an initial business combination or because the company becomes obligated to redeem a significant number of its public shares upon completion of an initial business combination, in which case the company may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination.
In connection with the company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with ASC Subtopic 205-40, Presentation of Financial Statements – Going Concern, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, the company has until June 17, 2023 to consummate a business combination. If a business combination is not consummated by this date, or the company’s shareholders have not approved an extension, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the company. Although the company intends to consummate a business combination on or before June 17, 2023, and may seek an extension, it is uncertain that the company will be able to consummate a business combination, or obtain an extension, by this time. This, as well as its liquidity condition, raise substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the company be required to liquidate after June 17, 2023.
51
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
Contractual Obligations
Founder Shares
On April 7, 2021, the sponsor paid $25,000 in consideration for 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares (the “founder shares”). On September 3, 2021, the company effected a share capitalization of an additional 2,395,833 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in an aggregate of 9,583,333 Class B ordinary shares outstanding. On September 27, 2021, the company surrendered 1,916,666 Class B ordinary shares for no consideration, resulting in an aggregate of 7,666,667 Class B ordinary shares. On December 14, 2021, the company effected a share capitalization of 766,666 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in the initial shareholders holding an aggregate of 8,433,333 founder shares. The founder shares included an aggregate of up to 1,100,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture by the sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option was not exercised in full or in part, so that the sponsor and its permitted transferees would own, on an as-converted basis, 25% of the company’s issued and outstanding shares after the initial public offering. On December 17, 2021, with the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, 1,000,000 Class B ordinary shares were no longer subject to forfeiture, leaving 100,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture. On January 14, 2022, the company forfeited the remaining portion of the over-allotment option, thus, 100,000 Class B ordinary shares were forfeited.
The sponsor has agreed that, subject to certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferred, assigned, or sold until the earlier of (i) one year after the completion of a business combination or (ii) subsequent to an initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after an initial business combination, or (y) the date on which the company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of the initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis.
Promissory Note – Related Party
On April 6, 2021, the company issued an unsecured promissory note to the sponsor, which was amended and restated on September 3, 2021 (the “promissory note”), pursuant to which the company had the option to borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000 to cover expenses related to the initial public offering. The promissory note was non-interest bearing and was payable on the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the completion of the initial public offering. The outstanding balance under the promissory note of $216,353 was repaid and the promissory note was terminated at the closing of the initial public offering on December 17, 2021.
Due from Sponsor
Due from Sponsor consists of operating costs associated with EVe Mobility Sponsor LLC that were paid by the company, and are reimbursable by the sponsor on demand. As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, $3,626 and $25,000 were outstanding.
Administrative Support Agreement
On December 14, 2021, the company entered into an agreement to pay the sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services. Upon completion of the business combination or the company’s liquidation, the company will cease paying these monthly fees. Under this agreement, $120,000 and $4,516 for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, respectively, was recorded within operating and formation costs in the statements of operations. As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, $4,516 related to this agreement was owed to the sponsor, respectively, included within accrued expense on the balance sheets.
52
Related Party Loans
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, the sponsor or an affiliate of the sponsor, or certain of the company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the company funds as may be required (“working capital loans”). If the company completes a business combination, the company would repay the working capital loans out of the proceeds held in the trust account released to the company. Otherwise, the working capital loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that a business combination is not completed, the company may use a portion of the proceeds held outside the trust account to repay the working capital loans but no proceeds held in the trust account would be used to repay the working capital loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such working capital loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The working capital loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private placement units. There are no working capital loans outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting policies:
Offering Costs associated with the Initial Public Offering
The company complies with the requirements of ASC Topic 340, Other Assets and Deferred Costs (“ASC 340”) and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 5A - Expenses of Offering. Offering costs directly attributable to the issuance of an equity contract to be classified in equity are recorded as a reduction in equity. Offering costs for equity contracts that are classified as assets and liabilities are expensed immediately. For the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the company incurred offering costs amounting to $14,355,310 as a result of the initial public offering (consisting of a $4,400,000 underwriting discount, $9,350,000 of deferred offering costs, and $605,310 of other offering costs). The company recorded $14,071,008 of offering costs as a reduction of temporary equity and $284,302 of offering costs as a reduction of permanent equity.
Warrants
We account for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (“ASC 480”) and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the company’s own common stock, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding. For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of additional paid-in capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of the warrants are recognized as a non-cash gain or loss on the statements of operations. The public warrants and private placement warrants are equity classified.
53
Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
All of the 25,000,000 public shares sold as part of the units in the initial public offering and the partial exercise of the over-allotment option contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with the company’s liquidation, if there is a shareholder vote or tender offer in connection with the business combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association. In accordance with ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the company require ordinary shares subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Therefore, all public shares have been classified outside of permanent equity. The redemption value of the redeemable ordinary shares as of December 31, 2022 increased as the income earned on the trust account exceeds the company’s expected dissolution expenses (up to $100,000). As such, the company recorded an increase in the carrying amount of the redeemable ordinary shares of $3,678,674 as of December 31, 2022.
We recognize changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable ordinary shares are affected by charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.
Net Income (Loss) Per Ordinary Share
We comply with accounting and disclosure requirements of ASC 260, Earnings Per Share. Net income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Re-measurement associated with the redeemable Class A ordinary shares is excluded from net income (loss) per share as the redemption value approximates fair value. Therefore, the per share calculation allocates income and losses shared pro rata between Class A and Class B ordinary shares. As a result, the calculated net income ( loss) per share is the same for Class A and Class B ordinary shares. The company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the initial public offering, the partial exercise of the over-allotment option, and private placement to purchase an aggregate of 13,070,000 shares in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events. As a result, diluted per share is the same as basic loss per share for the periods presented.
Recent Accounting Standards
We do not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
Item 7.A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
This information appears following Item 16 of this report and is included herein by reference.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.
54
Item 9.A. Controls and Procedures.
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in company reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2022. Based upon his evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) were effective.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, and for performing an assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our system of internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and that receipts and expenditures of our company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Management performed an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022 based upon criteria in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013 Framework) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on that assessment and those criteria, management determined that we did maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
This Annual Report does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9.B. Other Information.
None.
Item 9.C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspection.
Not Applicable.
55
Part III.
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
Our current directors and executive officer are as follows:
| Name | Age | Title | |||
| Scott Painter | 54 | Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors | |||
| Georg Bauer | 71 | President and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors | |||
| Jim Nguyen | 53 | Chief Operating Officer | |||
| Kash Sheikh | 54 | Chief Financial Officer | |||
| Sue Callaway | 59 | Director | |||
| Carla Bailo | 62 | Director | |||
| James G. Ellis | 76 | Director | |||
Scott Painter has been our Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of our board of directors since our inception in April, 2021. He has launched innovative business models that have helped transformed the automotive industry. Since September 2020, he has served as CEO of NextCar Holding Company, Inc, an automotive subscription platform, in which capacity he is in frequent contact with innovators in the mobility sector. In September 2016, he founded Fair, a used vehicle subscription company. Mr. Painter studied Political Science and Systems Engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point between 1989 and 1991; he did not receive a degree and left before graduating. He then studied Economics at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) between 1992 and 1993; he did not receive a degree and left UC Berkeley prior to graduation.
We believe Mr. Painter is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of his substantial executive, operational and strategic experience gained from founding and holding Chief Executive Officer and board member positions at leading public and private companies.
Georg Bauer has been our President since our inception and has served as the Vice-Chairman of our board of directors since December 2021. Mr. Bauer has over 40 years of experience in global financial services for leading automotive companies. Since September 2020, he has served as Chairman of NextCar Holding Company, Inc, an automotive subscription platform, in which capacity he is in frequent contact with innovators in the mobility sector. In September 2016, he co-founded Fair with Scott Painter. In 2013, Mr. Bauer joined Tesla to build the financial services business in markets across Europe and Asia, a position he held until September 2016. Mr. Bauer holds a degree in business and finance as Dipl. Betriebswirt (FH) from Fachhochschule Rosenheim. From 2011-2013 he taught “Global Entrepreneurship and Innovation” at Munich Business School’s MBA program.
We believe Mr. Bauer is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of his substantial executive, operational and strategic experience gained from serving in leadership positions at leading public automotive companies.
Kashif “Kash” Sheikh has been our Chief Financial Officer since our inception. Mr. Sheikh has a wide range of experience sourcing, evaluating, and executing transactions and strategic investments across various industries, especially automotive. Since September 2020, he has served as Chief Financial Officer of NextCar Holding Company, Inc, an automotive subscription platform, in which capacity he is in frequent contact with innovators in the mobility sector. In addition to his role at NextCar, Mr. Sheikh is currently an independent director on the corporate board of 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp. III. From January 2017 to December 2020, Mr. Sheikh was the Managing Partner of Optim Advisors, where he advised high net worth families and individuals on investment management, direct investing and other wealth management strategies. From 2009 to September 2016, Mr. Sheikh served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Andell Inc., a private investment company and family office where he oversaw all businesses, investments and family office services. Mr. Sheikh holds an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA and an undergraduate degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Jim Nguyen has been our Chief Operating Officer since our inception. Mr. Nguyen has held a number of executive leadership roles across the automotive industry, including several public company executive leadership roles. Since September 2020, he has served as President of NextCar Holding Company, Inc, an automotive subscription platform, in which capacity he is in frequent contact with innovators in the mobility sector. Prior to joining NXCR, from December 2017 to March 2020, Mr. Nguyen served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of USHG Food Lab LLC, an incubator of food and beverage concepts in partnership with Walmart, Inc. From 2015 to November 2017, Jim served as President of ALG, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of TrueCar, and the auto industry’s data and analytics authority on vehicle residual value projections. Prior to USHG, in 2008, Mr. Nguyen co-founded TrueCar, Inc. While at TrueCar, Jim held multiple executive leadership roles, serving as Chief Financial Officer, EVP of Business Development, and EVP of Affinity Partner Development and Marketing. Mr. Nguyen holds a BA in Economics-Accounting from Claremont McKenna College and an MBA from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA.
56
Carla Bailo has served on our board of directors since December 2021. Carla Bailo is the President and CEO of ECOS Consulting LLC and past President and CEO of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), and is a leader in engineering and vehicle program management with 42 years of experience in the automotive industry. In addition to her role at ECOS, Ms. Bailo is currently an Independent Director on the corporate boards for SM Energy (SM) and Advance Auto Parts (AAP). Prior to joining CAR, she was most recently the assistant vice president for mobility research and business development at The Ohio State University. She also has 25 years of experience at Nissan North America, Inc., where she served as senior vice president of research and development. Ms. Bailo also spent 10 years at General Motors. She has a MS degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and a BS degree in mechanical engineering from Kettering University.
We believe Ms. Bailo is well qualified to serve on our board because of her extensive professional experience in the automotive industry.
Sue Callaway has served on our board of directors since December 2021. Ms. Callaway is a co-founder of Glovebox, where she has served since March 2019. Ms. Callaway also co-founded Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit and innovated marketing and content platforms for brands from Esquire and Jaguar to TrueCar and THE AUTO 100. Before co-founding Glovebox, she was EVP, Editorial Director at Edelman, where she oversaw content strategy and creation, and crisis and media training for global clients. Prior to joining Edelman, Ms. Callaway was the Senior Editor, Automotive, for Time Inc., where she oversaw and produced industry coverage — digital, video, and print — for Fortune, Sports Illustrated, Time, and Money, among others. She was a member of the board of directors at TrueCar and was also the founder and CEO of THE AUTO 100, a web-based content and analytics platform that tracks and ranks verticals in real-time.
We believe Ms. Callaway is well qualified to serve on our board of directors because of her extensive professional experience in the automotive industry.
James G. Ellis has served on our board of directors since December 2021. From 2007 to June 2019, Mr. Ellis was the Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. Mr. Ellis held a full time tenured appointment as Professor of Marketing from 1997, retiring in July 2021. Prior to joining USC, Mr. Ellis worked as President/CEO of Porsche Design, a high-end accessories company owned by Europe’s Porsche family. Additionally, he was CEO of Port O’Call Pasadena, a high-end home accessory chain, owner/partner in six other companies and started his career with Broadway Department Stores in Los Angeles. Mr. Ellis has served on the board of directors for Mercury General Corp. since 2014, and on the board of directors for J.G. Boswell Company since 2019. Since 2008, he has served as an independent director of certain clusters of American Funds which are advised by Capital Research and Management Company, a subsidiary of Capital Group Companies, Inc.
We believe Mr. Ellis is well qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his extensive professional experience in executive management and senior academic positions.
Director Independence
The rules of the NYSE require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our initial public offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an executive officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. We have three “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE rules and applicable SEC rules. Our board of directors has determined that each of Carla Bailo, Sue Callaway and James G. Ellis is an independent director under applicable SEC and NYSE rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Number, Terms of Office and Election of Officers and Director
Our board of directors consists of five members. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares will have the right to 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 the holders of 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).
57
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 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.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee; a compensation committee; and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Each of our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee are composed solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that was approved by our board of directors and has the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website.
Audit Committee
The members of our audit committee are Carla Bailo, Sue Callaway and James G. Ellis. James G. Ellis serves as chairman of the audit committee.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the purpose and principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| ● | assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent 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 “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”; |
| ● | reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
| ● | reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
58
Compensation Committee
The members of our compensation committee are Carla Bailo and Sue Callaway. Sue Callaway serve as chairman of the compensation committee. We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibility of the compensation committee, including:
| ● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
| ● | reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive-compensation and equity-based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other officers; |
| ● | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| ● | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| ● | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| ● | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
| ● | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| ● | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other adviser and is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by the NYSE and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Carla Bailo and James G. Ellis. Carla Bailo will serve as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee. We have adopted a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
| ● | identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board of directors, and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for appointment at the annual general meeting or to fill vacancies on the board of directors; |
| ● | developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
| ● | coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and |
| ● | reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary. |
59
The charter also provides that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and is directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our 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.
Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our officers, directors and persons who beneficially own more than ten percent of our ordinary shares to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC. Based solely upon a review of such forms, we believe that during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 there were no delinquent filers.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a code of ethics and business conduct (our “code of ethics”) applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our code of ethics as an exhibit to this Annual Report. We have also posted a copy of our code of ethics and the charters of our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee on our website www.evemobility.com under “Documents and SEC Filings.” Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this Annual Report. You are able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the code of ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our code of ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Conflicts of Interest
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.
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.
60
Certain of our directors and officers have fiduciary and contractual duties to certain companies in which either of them has invested or are otherwise affiliated with. 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. None of the members of our management team 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 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. Further, members of our board of directors and management team and their respective affiliates have been involved with a large number of public and private companies in addition to those identified in the prospectus related to our initial public offering, not all of which have achieved similar performance levels. 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.”
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. |
61
| ● | Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, private placement 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 18 months after the closing of our initial public 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 units 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 restricted founder shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our initial shareholders until the earlier of: |
| ● | with respect to one half of the restricted founder shares held by each initial shareholder: (A) two years 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 |
| ● | with respect to the other half of the restricted founder shares held by each initial shareholder: (A) two years 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 $13.50 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 and will indirectly own founder shares and founder warrants following our initial public offering, our directors and officers may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
| ● | Our directors and officers may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether to proceed with a particular business combination. |
| ● | 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.
62
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 | Entity’s Business | Affiliation | |||
| Scott Painter | NextCar Holding Company, Inc. | Automotive Subscription | CEO and Chairman | |||
| Georg Bauer | NextCar Holding Company, Inc. | Automotive Subscription | President and Vice Chairman | |||
| Kash Sheikh | NextCar Holding Company, Inc. | Automotive Subscription | CFO | |||
| Jim Nguyen | NextCar Holding Company, Inc. | Automotive Subscription | President and COO | |||
| Carla Bailo | ECOS Consulting LLC | Automotive Consulting | President and CEO | |||
| SM Energy | Oil & Gas Exploration | Director | ||||
| Advanced Auto Parts, Inc | Automotive Parts Provider | Director | ||||
| Sue Callaway | Glovebox, LLC | Marketing | Founder | |||
| P21 | Electric Vehicles | Co-founder | ||||
| Intelligent Handshake | Marketing | Senior Vice President | ||||
| James G. Ellis | Capital Group Companies, Inc. | Investment Management | Director | |||
| Mercury General Corp. | Insurance | Director | ||||
| J.G. Boswell Company | Agriculture | Director |
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 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. 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.
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, private placement shares (and their permitted transferees will agree) and public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination.
63
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
None of our directors or officers have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on the NYSE through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will pay our sponsor or 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.
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 post-transaction 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.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters.
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of April 12, 2023, with respect to our ordinary shares held 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 and officers; and |
| ● | all our directors and officers 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 April 12, 2023.
64
| Class A Ordinary Shares | Class B Ordinary Shares(1) | |||||||||||||||
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(2) | Beneficially Owned | Approximate Percentage of Class Issued and Outstanding Ordinary Shares | Beneficially Owned | Approximate Percentage of Class Issued and Outstanding Ordinary Shares | ||||||||||||
| EVe Mobility Sponsor LLC (our sponsor)(3) | 982,857 | 2.9 | % | 8,333,333 | 24.2 | % | ||||||||||
| 10X Capital(4) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Scott Painter(4) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Georg Bauer(4) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Jim Nguyen(4) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Kash Sheikh(4) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Sue Callaway(4)(5) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Carla Bailo(4)(5) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| James G. Ellis(4)(5) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| All directors, officers and director nominees as a group (seven individuals) | 982,857 | 2.9 | % | 8,333,333 | 24.2 | % | ||||||||||
| Cantor Fitzgerald Securities (7) | 1,874,999 | 5.4 | % | — | — | |||||||||||
| Saba Capital Management, L.P. (6) | 1,834,914 | 5.3 | % | — | — | |||||||||||
| * | Less than one percent. |
| (1) | Class B 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” in our prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) (File No. 333-261053). |
| (2) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o EVe Mobility Acquisition Corp, 4001 Kennett Pike, Suite 302, Wilmington, DE 19807. |
| (3) | EVe Mobility Sponsor LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of the Class B ordinary shares reported herein. Our sponsor is controlled by a board of managers comprised of Scott Painter, Kash Sheikh and Maximilian Staedtler. None of Scott Painter, Kash Sheikh and Maximilian Staedtler exercises voting or dispositive control over any of the securities held by our sponsor and, accordingly, none of them will be deemed to have or share beneficial ownership in such shares. |
| (4) | Does not include any shares indirectly owned as a result of a membership interest in our sponsor. |
| (5) | Holds an indirect interest in 50,000 Class B ordinary shares. |
| (6) | Shares beneficially owned are based on Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on December 23, 2021, by Saba Capital Management, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“Saba Capital”), Saba Capital Management GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Saba GP”) and Mr. Boaz R. Weinstein, which information has not been independently confirmed. Each of Saba Capital, Saba GP and Mr. Weinstein has shared voting and dispositive power with respect to 1,800,000 Class A ordinary shares. The address of each shareholder, as reported in the Schedule 13G, is 405 Lexington Avenue, 58th Floor, New York, New York 10174. |
| (7) | Shares beneficially owned are based on Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 14, 2021, by Cantor Fitzgerald Securities (“CFS”) and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“CF&CO”), with respect to the Class A ordinary shares each of CFS and CF&CO directly owns, which information has not been independently confirmed. Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. (“Cantor”), indirectly, holds a majority of the ownership interests of each CFS and CF&CO. CF Group Management, Inc. (“CFGM”), is the managing general partner of Cantor and directly, or indirectly, controls the managing general partners of CFS and CF&CO. Mr. Lutnick is Chairman and Chief Executive of CFGM and trustee of CFGM’s sole stockholder. As such, each of Cantor, CFGM and Mr. Lutnick may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the securities directly held by CFS and CF&CO. CFS owns 1,540,000 Class A ordinary shares and CF&CO owns 157,143 Class A ordinary shares, and each of CFS and CF&CO has shared voting and dispositive power with respect to their respective Class A ordinary shares. Each of Cantor, CFGM and Mr. Lutnick has shared voting and dispositive power with respect to 1,697,143 Class A ordinary shares. The address of each shareholder, as reported in the Schedule 13G/A, is 110 East 59th Street, New York, New York 10022. |
Our initial shareholders beneficially own approximately 25.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares and have the right to elect all of our directors prior to our initial business combination as a result of holding all of the founder shares. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. In addition, because of their ownership block, our initial 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.
65
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
Founder Shares
On April 7, 2021, the sponsor paid $25,000 in consideration for 7,187,500 founder shares. On September 3, 2021, the company effected a share capitalization of an additional 2,395,833 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in an aggregate of 9,583,333 Class B ordinary shares outstanding. On September 27, 2021, the company surrendered 1,916,666 Class B ordinary shares for no consideration, resulting in an aggregate of 7,666,667 Class B ordinary shares. On December 14, 2021, the company effected a share capitalization of 766,666 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in the initial shareholders holding an aggregate of 8,433,333 founder shares. The founder shares included an aggregate of up to 1,100,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture by the sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised in full or in part, so that the sponsor and its permitted transferees would own, on an as-converted basis, 25% of the company’s issued and outstanding shares after our initial public offering. On December 17, 2021, with the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, 1,000,000 Class B ordinary shares were no longer subject to forfeiture, leaving 100,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture (see Note 9).
The sponsor has agreed that, subject to certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferred, assigned, or sold until the earlier of (i) one year after the completion of a business combination or (ii) subsequent to an initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after an initial business combination, or (y) the date on which the company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of the initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis.
Private Placement Units
Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, the company consummated the sale of 1,140,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit in a private placement to the sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11,400,000. Of those 1,140,000 private placement units, the sponsor purchased 982,857 units, Cantor purchased 110,000 units and Moelis LP purchase 47,143 units. Each private placement unit consists of on Class A ordinary share (the “private placement shares”) and one-half of one redeemable warrant (the “private placement warrants”). The proceeds from the sale of the private placement units were added to the net proceeds from the initial public offering held in the trust account. If the company does not complete a business combination within the combination period, the proceeds from the sale of the private placement units will be used to fund the redemption of the public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the warrants included in the private placement units will expire worthless. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to the private placement warrants.
If we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement units will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, subject to the requirements of applicable law, and the private placement units will expire worthless.
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement units, private placement shares and private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such private placement warrants and private placement units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on the effective date of our initial public offering. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to consummation of a business combination. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lockup period. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
66
Related Party Notes
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, the sponsor or an affiliate of the sponsor, or certain of the company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the company funds as may be required (“working capital loans”). If the company completes a business combination, the company would repay the working capital loans out of the proceeds held in the trust account released to the company. Otherwise, the working capital loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that a business combination is not completed, the company may use a portion of the proceeds held outside the trust account to repay the working capital loans but no proceeds held in the trust account would be used to repay the working capital loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such working capital loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The working capital loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private placement units.
Administrative Support Agreement
On December 14, 2021, the company entered into an agreement to pay the sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services. Upon completion of the business combination or the company’s liquidation, the company will cease paying these monthly fees. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, $120,000 of administrative support expenses were incurred.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
Fees for professional services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm for the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 include:
| For the Year ended December 31, 2022 | For the Period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| Audit Fees(1) | $ | 82,400 | $ | 122,570 | ||||
| Audit-Related Fees(2) | $ | — | $ | — | ||||
| Tax Fees(3) | $ | — | $ | — | ||||
| All Other Fees(4) | $ | — | $ | — | ||||
| Total | $ | 82,400 | $ | 122,570 | ||||
| (1) | Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by our independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings. |
| (2) | Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our year-end financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultation concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. |
| (3) | Tax Fees. Tax fees consist of fees billed for professional services relating to tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice. |
| (4) | All Other Fees. All other fees consist of fees billed for all other services including permitted due diligence services related potential business combination. |
Policy on Board Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of the Independent Auditors
The audit committee is responsible for appointing, setting compensation and overseeing the work of the independent auditors. In recognition of this responsibility, the audit committee shall review and, in its sole discretion, pre-approve all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors as provided under the audit committee charter.
67
Part IV.
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K: Financial Statements: See “Item 8. Index to Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” herein. |
| (b) | Exhibits: The exhibits listed in the accompanying index to exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. |
| * | Filed herewith. |
| ** | Furnished herewith. |
| (1) | Incorporated by reference to the company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on December 17, 2021. |
| (2) | Incorporated by reference to the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on April 14, 2022. |
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.
None.
68
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP | ||
| Date: April 14, 2023 | ||
| By: | /s/ Scott Painter | |
| Name: | Scott Painter | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| /s/ Scott Painter | ||
| Name: | Scott Painter | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors |
|
| (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
| Date: | April 14, 2023 | |
| /s/ Kash Sheikh | ||
| Name: | Kash Sheikh | |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer | |
| (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | ||
| Date: | April 14, 2023 | |
| /s/ Georg Bauer | ||
| Name: | Georg Bauer | |
| Title: | President and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors |
|
| Date: | April 14, 2023 | |
| /s/ Sue Callaway | ||
| Name: | Sue Callaway | |
| Title: | Director | |
| Date: | April 14, 2023 | |
| /s/ Carla Bailo | ||
| Name: | Carla Bailo | |
| Title: | Director | |
| Date: | April 14, 2023 | |
| /s/ James G. Ellis | ||
| Name: | James G. Ellis | |
| Title: | Director | |
| Date: | April 14, 2023 | |
69
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
EVe Mobility Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of EVe Mobility Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ deficit and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) to December 31, 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 December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) to December 31, 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 business plan is dependent on the completion of a business combination and the Company’s cash and working capital as of December 31, 2022 are not sufficient to complete its planned activities 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 in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum llp
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
April 14, 2023
F-2
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
BALANCE SHEETS
| December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| Current assets: | ||||||||
| Cash | $ | $ | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses | ||||||||
| Due from Sponsor | ||||||||
| Total current assets | ||||||||
| Prepaid expenses - noncurrent | ||||||||
| Investments held in trust account | ||||||||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | $ | ||||||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||
| Current liabilities: | ||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | $ | ||||||
| Accrued expenses | ||||||||
| Total current liabilities | ||||||||
| Deferred underwriting commissions | ||||||||
| Total Liabilities | ||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies (Note 6) | ||||||||
| Class A ordinary shares, subject to redemption, | ||||||||
| Shareholders’ Deficit | ||||||||
| Preference shares, $ | ||||||||
| Class A ordinary shares, $ | ||||||||
| Class B ordinary shares, $ | ||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | ||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Total Shareholders’ Deficit | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | $ | $ | ||||||
| (1) |
F-3
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2022 | For the Period from March 23, 2021 (Inception) Through December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| Operating and Formation Costs | $ | $ | ||||||
| Loss from operations | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Interest income on investments held in Trust Account | ||||||||
| Net Income (Loss) | $ | $ | ( | ) | ||||
| $ | $ | ( | ) | |||||
| $ | $ | ( | ) | |||||
F-4
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND
FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 23, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
| Class A Ordinary Shares | Class B Ordinary Shares | Additional Paid-in | Accumulated | Total Shareholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Deficit | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance - March 23, 2021 (Inception) | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Class B ordinary share to Sponsor | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from Initial Public Offering allocated to Public Warrants, net of offering costs | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from Private Placement Units, net of offering costs | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Re-measurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption amount | — | — | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Balance - December 31, 2021 | $ | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Forfeiture of Class B ordinary shares | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Re-measurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | — | — | — | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Net Income | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance - December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
F-5
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2022 | For the Period from March 23, 2021 (Inception) Through December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | $ | ( | ) | ||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||
| Interest income on investments held in Trust Account | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
| Prepaid expenses | ( | ) | ||||||
| Due from Sponsor | ( | ) | ||||||
| Accounts payable | ( | ) | ||||||
| Accrued expenses | ||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||||||
| Cash deposited in Trust Account | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | ( | ) | ||||||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of promissory note to related party | ||||||||
| Repayment of promissory note to related party | ( | ) | ||||||
| Proceeds from initial public offering, net of underwriter’s discount paid | ||||||||
| Proceeds from sale of private placement units | ||||||||
| Offering costs paid | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | ||||||||
| Net Change in Cash | ( | ) | ||||||
| Cash - Beginning of period | ||||||||
| Cash - End of period | $ | $ | ||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities: | ||||||||
| Deferred underwriting commissions | $ | $ | ||||||
| Remeasurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption | $ | $ | ||||||
| Offering costs included in accounts payable | $ | $ | ||||||
| Offering costs allocated to the warrants | $ | $ | ||||||
| (1) |
F-6
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
EVe Mobility Acquisition Corp (the “Company” or “EVe”) is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on March 23, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of effectuating a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company is not limited to a particular industry or geographic region for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022 relates to the Company’s formation, the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”) as described below, and since the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income or gains on investments on the cash and investments held in a trust account from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The registration statement
for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on December 14, 2021. On December 17, 2021, the Company consummated
the Initial Public Offering of
Simultaneously with the closing
of the Initial Public Offering, the Company completed the private sale of
Following the closing of the
Initial Public Offering on December 17, 2021, an amount of $
Transaction costs related
to the issuances described above amounted to $
The Company’s management
has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private
Placement Units, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination.
New York Stock Exchange 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
F-7
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
The Company will provide its
public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination
either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The
decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by
the Company, in its sole discretion. The public shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public shares for a pro rata portion of
the amount held in the Trust Account ($
The Company will proceed with
a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $
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 Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such
shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section
13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with
respect to more than an aggregate of
The Sponsor has agreed to
(i) waive its redemption rights with respect to its Founder Shares (ii) waive its redemption rights with respect to its Founder Shares
and Public Shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of
Association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of Class A ordinary shares
the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with an initial Business Combination or to redeem
The Company will have until
18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering (the “Combination Period”) to complete a Business Combination. If
the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except
for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem
F-8
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
The underwriters have agreed
to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not
complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held
in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible
that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per Unit
($
In order to protect the amounts
held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services
rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction
agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (1) $
Liquidity and Going Concern
As of December 31, 2022 and
December 31, 2021, the Company had $
The Company intends to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination.
If the Company’s 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, the Company may have insufficient funds available to operate its business prior to an initial Business Combination. Moreover, the Company may need to obtain additional financing either to complete an initial Business Combination or because the Company becomes obligated to redeem a significant number of its public shares upon completion of an initial Business Combination, in which case the Company may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination.
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with ASC Subtopic 205-40, Presentation of Financial Statements – Going Concern, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Company has until June 17, 2023 to consummate a Business Combination. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date, or the Company’s shareholders have not approved an extension, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company. Although the Company intends to consummate a Business Combination on or before June 17, 2023, and may seek an extension, it is uncertain that the Company will be able to consummate a Business Combination, or obtain an extension, by this time. This, as well as its liquidity condition, raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. There have been no changes to these conditions from prior periods. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after June 17, 2023.
F-9
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate 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.
In February 2022, the Russian Federation and Belarus commenced a military action with the country of Ukraine. As a result of this action, various nations, including the United States, have instituted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus. Further, the impact of this action and related sanctions on the world economy are not determinable as of the date of these financial statements and the specific impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows is also not determinable as of the date of these financial statements.
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor 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 an emerging growth 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 U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period.
F-10
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
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 from those estimates.
Financial Statement Reclassification
Prior year amounts for unrealized and realized gain on investments held in Trust Account have been reclassified to interest income on investments held in Trust Account for consistency with the current year presentation and had no effect on the Company’s balance sheet, net loss, stockholders’ deficit or cash flows.
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, 2022 and December 31, 2021. As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021,
Company had operating cash (i.e. cash held outside the Trust Account) of $
Investments Held in Trust Account
As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the assets held in the Trust Account were held in money market funds, which are invested in U.S. Treasury securities. The Company’s investments held in the Trust Account are classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the balance sheet at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Interest income is included in the interest income on investments held in trust account in the accompanying statements of operations.
Warrants
The Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480 and ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own common stock, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding. For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of additional paid-in capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of the warrants are recognized as a non-cash gain or loss on the statements of operations. The Public Warrants (as defined in Note 3) and Private Placement Warrants (as defined in Note 4) are equity classified (see Note 7).
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
All
of the
F-11
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
The Company recognizes changes
in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value
at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable ordinary shares are affected by charges
against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit. The redemption value of the redeemable ordinary shares as of December 31,
2022 increased because of the income earned on the Trust Account. As such, the Company recorded an increase in the carrying amount of
the redeemable ordinary shares of $
As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption reflected in the balance sheet are reconciled in the following table:
| Gross proceeds | $ | |||
| Less: | ||||
| Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants | ( | ) | ||
| Issuance costs allocated to Class A ordinary shares | ( | ) | ||
| Plus: | ||||
| Re-measurement of carrying value to redemption value | ||||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption as of December 31, 2021 | ||||
| Plus: | ||||
| Re-measurement of carrying value to redemption value | ||||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption as of December 31, 2022 | $ |
Offering Costs associated with the Initial Public Offering
The Company complies with
the requirements of ASC Topic 340, Other Assets and Deferred Costs (“ASC 340”) and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic
5A - Expenses of Offering. Offering costs directly attributable to the issuance of an equity contract to be classified in equity
are recorded as a reduction in equity. Offering costs for equity contracts that are classified as assets and liabilities are expensed
immediately. For the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the Company incurred offering costs amounting to
$
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”). ASC 740 requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for both the expected impact of differences between the 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.
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 statements 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. Based on the Company’s evaluation, it has been concluded that there are no significant uncertain tax positions requiring recognition in the Company’s financial statements.
The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 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. The Company is considered an exempted Cayman Islands Company and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements.
F-12
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
Net Income (Loss) Per Ordinary Share
The Company complies with
accounting and disclosure requirements of ASC 260, Earnings Per Share. Net income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing
net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Re-measurement associated with the
redeemable Class A ordinary shares is excluded from net loss per share as the redemption value approximates fair value. Therefore, the
per share calculation allocates income and losses shared pro rata between Class A and Class B ordinary shares. As a result, the calculated
net income (loss) per share is the same for Class A and Class B ordinary shares. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants
sold in the Initial Public Offering, the partial exercise of the over-allotment option, and private placement to purchase an aggregate
of
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per ordinary share (in dollars, except per share amounts):
| For the year ended December 31, 2022 | For the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Class A | Class B | Class A | Class B | |||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share: | ||||||||||||||||
| Numerator: | ||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Denominator: | ||||||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||||||||
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that
potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution which, at times may
exceed the Federal depository insurance coverage of $
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The Company applies ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820”), which establishes a framework for measuring fair value and clarifies the definition of fair value within that framework. ASC 820 defines fair value as an exit price, which is the price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the Company’s principal or most advantageous market in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The fair value hierarchy established in ASC 820 generally requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability and are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs reflect the entity’s own assumptions based on market data and the entity’s judgments about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability and are to be developed based on the best information available in the circumstances.
F-13
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
The carrying amounts reflected in the balance sheet for current assets and current liabilities approximate fair value due to their short-term nature.
Level 1 — Assets and liabilities with unadjusted, quoted prices listed on active market exchanges. Inputs to the fair value measurement are observable inputs, such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2 — Inputs to the fair value measurement are determined using prices for recently traded assets and liabilities with similar underlying terms, as well as direct or indirect observable inputs, such as interest rates and yield curves that are observable at commonly quoted intervals.
Level 3 — Inputs to the fair value measurement are unobservable inputs, such as estimates, assumptions, and valuation techniques when little or no market data exists for the assets or liabilities.
See Note 8 for additional information on assets measured at fair value.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
The registration statement
for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on December 14, 2021. On December 17, 2021, the Company
completed its Initial Public Offering of
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing
of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On April 7, 2021, the Sponsor
paid $
F-14
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
The Sponsor has agreed that,
subject to certain limited exceptions, the Founder Shares will not be transferred, assigned, or sold until the earlier of (i) one year
after the completion of a Business Combination or (ii) subsequent to an initial Business Combination, (x) if the closing price of Class
A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $
Promissory Note - Related Party
On April 6, 2021, the Company
issued an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor, which was amended and restated on September 3, 2021 (the “Promissory Note”),
pursuant to which the Company had the option to borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $
Due from Sponsor
Due from Sponsor consists
of operating costs associated with EVe Mobility Sponsor LLC that were paid by the Company, and are reimbursable by the Sponsor on demand.
As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, $
Administrative Support Agreement
On December 14, 2021, the
Company entered into an agreement to pay the Sponsor a total of $
Related Party Loans
In addition, in order to finance
transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s
officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”).
If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds held in the Trust
Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account.
In the event that a Business Combination is not completed, the Company may use a portion of the proceeds held outside the Trust Account
to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except
for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect
to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at
the lender’s discretion, up to $
F-15
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement
The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Units, Private Placement Shares and Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such Private Placement Warrants and Private Placement Units that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on the effective date of the Initial Public Offering. The holders 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 consummation of a Business Combination. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lockup period. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
Simultaneously with the Initial
Public Offering, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option to purchase an additional
The underwriters were paid
a cash underwriting discount of $
Business Combination Marketing Agreement
On December 14, 2021, the
Company entered into an agreement with the underwriters as advisors in connection with the initial Business Combination to assist the
Company in holding meetings with the shareholders to discuss the potential Business Combination and the target business’ attributes,
introduce the Company to potential investors that are interested in purchasing the securities, assist the Company in obtaining shareholder
approval for the Business Combination and assist the Company with our press releases and public findings in connection with the Business
Combination. The Company will pay the underwriters a cash fee for such services upon the consummation of the initial Business Combination
of
NOTE 7. SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Preference shares
— The Company is authorized to issue
Class A ordinary shares
— The Company is authorized to issue up to
F-16
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
Class B ordinary shares
— The Company is authorized to issue up to
Class A ordinary shareholders
and Class B ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to
Warrants —
Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Public Warrants.
The Public Warrants will become exercisable
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of an initial Business Combination, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of an 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 the Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement. If any such registration statement has not been declared effective by the 60th business day following the closing of an 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.”
F-17
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
Redemption of warrants
when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $
| ● | 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 the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). |
The Company 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
In addition, if the Company
issues additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of an initial
Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants except that (1) the Private Placement Warrants will not be redeemable by the Company, (2) the Private Placement Warrants (and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants) may be subject to certain transfer restrictions, (3) the Private Placement Warrants may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis, and (4) the holders of the Private Placement Warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
The Company accounted for
the
F-18
EVE MOBILITY ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2022
NOTE 8. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The following table presents information about the Company’s financial assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
| Description | Amount at Fair Value | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | ||||||||||||
| December 31, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||
| Assets | ||||||||||||||||
| Investments held in Trust Account: | ||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury Securities Money Market Funds | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||
| Assets | ||||||||||||||||
| Investments held in Trust Account: | ||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury Securities Money Market Funds | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
NOTE 9. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
F-19