10-Q 1 f10q0321_riceacquisition.htm QUARTERLY REPORT
 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

(Mark One)

QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2021

 

OR

 

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from            to            

 

Commission File Number: 001-39644

 

Rice Acquisition Corp.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware   85-2867266

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

 

102 East Main Street, Second Story    
Carnegie, Pennsylvania   15106
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

 

(713) 446-6259

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Not Applicable

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

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class registered   Trading Symbol(s)   Name of each exchange on which registered
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant   RICE U   The New York Stock Exchange
Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share   RICE   The New York Stock Exchange
Warrants, each whole exercisable for one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share   RICE WS   The New York Stock Exchange

 

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. Yes ☒  No ☐

 

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). Yes ☒  No ☐

 

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
Non-accelerated filer Smaller reporting company
  Emerging growth company

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☒  No ☐

 

As of May 20, 2021, 23,727,500 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001, and 5,931,350 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001, were issued and outstanding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

        Page No.
PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION    
     
Item 1.   Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements   1
         
   

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2021 (Unaudited) and December 31, 2020

  1
    Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021   2
    Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Stockholder’s Deficit for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021   3
    Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021   4
    Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements   5
         
Item 2.   Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations   20
         
Item 3.   Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk   22
         
Item 4.   Controls and Procedures   22
         
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION    
     
Item 1.   Legal Proceedings   23
         
Item 1A.   Risk Factors   23
         
Item 2.   Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities   23
         
Item 3.   Defaults Upon Senior Securities   24
         
Item 4.   Mine Safety Disclosures   24
         
Item 5.   Other Information   24
         
Item 6.   Exhibits   24
         
SIGNATURES   25

 

i

 

 

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this “Report”), including, without limitation, statements under the heading “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “potential,” “projects,” “predicts,” “continue,” or “should,” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. There can be no assurance that actual results will not materially differ from expectations. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our ability to consummate any acquisition or other business combination and any other statements that are not statements of current or historical facts. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, but actual results may differ materially due to various factors, including, but not limited to:

 

our ability to complete an initial business combination, including our proposed business combination with Aria Energy LLC and Archaea Energy LLC;

 

our expectations around the performance of the 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 officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;

 

our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;

 

our pool of prospective target businesses;

 

the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential investment 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 not being subject to claims of third parties; or

 

our financial performance, including following our initial business combination.

 

The forward-looking statements contained in this Report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Future developments affecting us may not be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and 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, those factors listed above and others described under the heading “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I in Amendment No. 1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. 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. These risks and others described under “Risk Factors” may not be exhaustive.

 

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this Report. In addition, even if our results or operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this Report, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.

 

ii

 

 

PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

Item 1. Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

MARCH 31, 2021

 

   March 31,
2021
   December 31,
2020
 
   (unaudited)     
Assets:        
Current assets:        
Cash  $1,027,243   $1,335,167 
Prepaid expenses   662,865    662,865 
Total current assets   1,690,108    1,998,032 
Investments held in Trust Account   237,345,682    237,308,171 
Total Assets  $239,035,790   $239,306,203 
           
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity:          
Current liabilities:          
Accrued expenses  $3,064,809   $118,446 
Accounts payable   3,049    217,918 
Franchise tax payable   65,481    65,481 
Total current liabilities   3,133,339    401,845 
Warrant Liabilities   30,814,486    42,588,487 
Deferred legal fees   187,500    187,500 
Deferred underwriting commissions in connection with the initial public offering   7,610,750    7,610,750 
Total liabilities   41,746,075    50,788,582 
           
Commitments and Contingencies          
           
Class A common stock; 18,351,762 shares subject to possible redemption at $10.00 per share   192,289,710    183,517,620 
           
Stockholders’ Equity:          
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding   -    - 
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 250,000,000 shares authorized; 4,498,538 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 19,228,962 shares subject to possible redemption)   450    538 
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 5,931,350 shares issued and outstanding   593    593 
Additional paid-in capital   18,720,097    27,492,099 
Accumulated deficit   (13,194,362)   (21,629,069)
Total Rice Acquisition Corp equity   5,526,778    5,864,161 
           
Non-controlling interest in subsidiary   (526,773)   (864,160)
           
Total stockholders’ equity   5,000,006    5,000,001 
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity  $239,035,790   $239,306,203 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

1

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021

 
General and administrative expenses  $2,999,591 
Franchise tax expense   39,827 
Loss from operations   (3,039,418)
Other income/(expense)     
Interest income   37,511 
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities   11,774,001 
Net income   8,772,094 
Net income attributable to non-controlling interest in subsidiary   337,387 
Net income attributable to Rice Acquisition Corp.   8,434,707 
      
Weighted average shares outstanding of redeemable Class A common stock   23,725,000 
Basic and diluted net income per share, redeemable Class A  $-   
Weighted average shares outstanding of nonredeemable Class A and Class B common stock   5,931,350 
Basic and diluted net income per share, nonredeemable Class A and Class B  $1.47 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

2

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021

 

   Common Stock   Additional       Non-controlling   Total 
   Class A   Class B   Paid-In   Accumulated   Interest in   Stockholders’ 
   Shares   Amount   Shares   Amount   Capital   Deficit   subsidiary   Equity 
Balance - December 31, 2020   5,375,738   $538    5,931,350   $593   $27,492,099   $(21,629,069)  $(864,160)  $5,000,001 
Change in Class A Common stock subject to redemption   (877,200)   88              (8,772,002)             (8,772,090)
Net income                            8,434,707    337,387   $8,772,094 
Balance - March 31, 2021   4,498,538   $450    5,931,350   $593   $18,720,097   $(13,194,362)  $(526,773)  $5,000,006 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

3

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021

 

Cash Flows from Operating Activities:    
Net income  $8,772,094 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities:     
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities   (11,774,001)
Interest earned on securities held in Trust Account   (37,511)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:     
Accounts payable   (214,869)
Accrued expenses   2,946,363 
Net cash used in operating activities   (307,924)
      
Net change in cash   (307,924)
Cash - beginning of the period   1,335,167 
Cash - end of the period  $1,027,243 
Supplemental disclosure of noncash financing activities:     
Change in value of Class A common stock subject to redemption  $8,772,090 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

4

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Note 1—Description of Organization, Business Operations and Basis of Presentation

 

Rice Acquisition Corp. is a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on September 1, 2020. As used herein, “the Company” or “Rice” refer to Rice Acquisition Corp. and its majority-owned and controlled operating subsidiary, Rice Acquisition Holdings LLC (the “RAC OpCo”), unless the context indicates otherwise. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company is an emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.

 

As of March 31, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the three months ended March 31, 2021 relates to 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 will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash, cash equivalents and investments from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

 

The Company’s sponsor is Rice Acquisition Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”). The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on October 21, 2020. On October 26, 2020, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 23,725,000 units (each, a “Unit” and collectively, the “Units”), including 2,225,000 additional Units that were issued pursuant to the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option (the “Over-Allotment Units”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of approximately $237.3 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $12.5 million, inclusive of $7.6 million in deferred underwriting commissions (Note 5).

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 6,771,000 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”) to the Sponsor and Atlas Point Energy Infrastructure Fund, LLC (“Atlas Point Fund”), at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $6.8 million (Note 4). Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Rice’s Class A common stock or, in certain circumstances, one Class A Unit of RAC OpCo together with a corresponding number of shares of Rice’s non-economic Class B common stock.

 

Following the Initial Public Offering, the Public Stockholders (as defined below) hold a direct economic equity ownership interest in Rice in the form of shares of Class A common stock, and an indirect ownership interest in RAC OpCo through Rice’s ownership of Class A Units of RAC OpCo. By contrast, the Initial Stockholders (as defined below) own direct economic interests in RAC OpCo in the form of Class B Units and a corresponding non-economic voting equity interest in Rice in the form of shares of Class B common stock, as well as a small direct interest through the Sponsor Shares (as defined in Note 4). Sponsor Shares were purchased for $10.00 each and, in the absence of an initial Business Combination, will generally participate in liquidation or other payments on a pari passu basis with the Public Shares (as defined below). However, given the relatively de minimis number of Sponsor Shares relative to Public Shares, in many cases the economic, governance or other effects of the Sponsor Shares are not material to the holders of Class A common stock or warrants, and for simplicity, portions of this disclosure may not fully describe or reflect these immaterial effects.

 

Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, approximately $237.3 million of the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants in the Private Placement were placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”) located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and invested only in U.S. “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act (as defined below) having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.

 

5

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in Trust) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-business combination company controls 50% or more of the voting securities of the target or is otherwise not required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).

 

The Company will provide the holders (the “Public Stockholders”) of the Company’s Public Shares with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. Unless otherwise stated herein, the term “Public Shares” includes the 2,500 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company held by the Sponsor and forming part of the Sponsor Shares. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The Public Stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then held in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share). The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Stockholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 5). These Public Shares will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” The Company will proceed with a Business Combination if a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. The Company will not redeem the Public Shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. If a stockholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Initial Stockholders (as defined below) have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined below in Note 4), Sponsor Shares and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination. In addition, the Initial Stockholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.

 

The Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that a Public Stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the 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 20% or more of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company.

 

If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or October 26, 2022 (the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to pay franchise and income taxes of the Company or RAC OpCo (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares and Class A Units of RAC OpCo (other than those held by Rice), which redemption will completely extinguish Public Stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

 

6

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

The Sponsor, Atlas Point Fund and the Company’s officers and directors (the “Initial Stockholders”) have agreed (i) that any Founder Shares and Sponsor Shares held by them will not be entitled to redemption rights, and they will waive any such redemption rights for any Public Shares held by them, in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) that any Founder Shares and Sponsor Shares held by them will not be entitled to redemption rights, and they will waive any such redemption rights for any Public Shares held by them, in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation in a manner that would affect the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company have not consummated the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, (iii) that any Founder Shares held by them are subject to forfeiture, and thus will not be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account, and they will waive any such rights to liquidating distributions for any Founder Shares, if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares and Sponsor Shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period), and (iv) in certain limited circumstances the Class B Units of RAC OpCo will have more limited rights to current or liquidating distributions from the Company.

 

The underwriters agreed to waive their rights to the deferred underwriting commission (see Note 5) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and subsequently liquidates 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 and Sponsor Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.00. 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 (except for the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement (a “Target”), reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per Public Share or Class A Unit of RAC OpCo not held by Rice and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share or Class A Unit of RAC OpCo not held by Rice held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 per Public Share or Class A Unit of RAC OpCo not held by Rice due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or Target that executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable), nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (except for the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.

 

Basis of Presentation

 

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and Article 8 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal accruals) considered for a fair presentation have been included. The interim operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2021 or any future interim periods.

 

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Amendment No. 1 to Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 as filed with the SEC on May 13, 2021, which contains the audited financial statements and notes thereto. The financial information as of December 31, 2020 is derived from the audited financial statements presented in the Company’s Amendment No. 1 to Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. 

 

7

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Emerging Growth Company

 

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

 

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that 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 an 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 condensed consolidated financial statements with another public company that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

 

Risk and Uncertainties

 

On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus (the “COVID-19 outbreak”). In March 2020, the WHO classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic, based on the rapid increase in exposure globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve. The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Company’s results of operations, financial position and cash flows will depend on future developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak and related advisories and restrictions. These developments and the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the financial markets and the overall economy are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. If the financial markets and/or the overall economy are impacted for an extended period, the Company’s results of operations, financial position and cash flows may be materially adversely affected. Additionally, the Company’s ability to complete an initial Business Combination may be materially adversely affected due to significant governmental measures being implemented to contain the COVID-19 outbreak or treat its impact, including travel restrictions, the shutdown of businesses and quarantines, among others, which may limit the Company’s ability to have meetings with potential investors or affect the ability of a potential target company’s personnel, vendors and service providers to negotiate and consummate an initial Business Combination in a timely manner. The Company’s ability to consummate an initial Business Combination may also be dependent on the ability to raise additional equity and debt financing, which may be impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting market downturn.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

As of March 31, 2021, we had approximately $1.0 million in our operating bank account and a working capital deficit of approximately $1.4 million.

 

The Company’s liquidity needs to date had been satisfied through the payment of $26,000 from the Sponsor to purchase the Founder Shares and Sponsor Shares (see Note 4), the loan under the Note of approximately $290,000 (see Note 4), and the net proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the Trust Account. The Company repaid the Note in full on November 10, 2020. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s officers, directors and initial stockholders may, but are not obligated to, provide the Company Working Capital Loans (see Note 4). As of March 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.

 

Based on the foregoing, management believes that the Company will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from this filing, and management has the intent and ability to support the Company through such time period. Over this time period, the Company will be using the funds held outside of the Trust Account for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial Business Combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.

 

8

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

Principles of Consolidation and Financial Statement Presentation

 

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority-owned and controlled operating subsidiary after elimination of all intercompany transactions and balances as of March 31, 2021. The ownership interest of noncontrolling participants in the operating subsidiary is included as a separate component of stockholders’ deficit. The noncontrolling participants’ share of the net loss is included as “Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest in subsidiary” on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations.

 

Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. 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 condensed consolidated financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. One of the more significant accounting estimates included in these financial statements is the determination of the fair value of the warrant liability. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

  

Cash and Cash Equivalents

 

The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. There are no cash equivalents as of March 31, 2021.

 

Investments Held in Trust Account

 

Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, the Company was required to place net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private Placement in a Trust Account, which may be invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by management of the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account. Investments held in Trust Account are classified as trading securities, which are presented on the balance sheet at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of investments held in Trust Account are included in gain on marketable securities, dividends and interest held in Trust Account in the accompanying statement of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in Trust Account are determined using available market information, other than for investments in open-ended money market funds with published daily net asset values (“NAV”), in which case the Company uses NAV as a practical expedient to fair value. The NAV on these investments is typically held constant at $1.00 per unit.

 

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

 

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

 

Deferred Offering Costs Associated with the Initial Public Offering

 

Deferred offering costs consisted of legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that were directly related to the Initial Public Offering and that were charged to shareholder’s deficit upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering on October 26, 2020.

 

Net Income Per Share of Common Stock

 

The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net income per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. As of March 31 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into shares of common stock and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted income per share is the same as basic income per share for the period presented.

 

Income Taxes

 

The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. Deferred tax assets were immaterial as of March 31, 2021.

 

9

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

FASB ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of March 31, 2021. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties as of March 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 subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.

 

The provision for income taxes was immaterial for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update (the “ASU”) No. 2020-06, Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity, which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. The ASU also removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity-linked contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception and it also simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. The Company early adopted the ASU on January 1, 2021. Adoption of the ASU did not impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

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

 

Note 3—Initial Public Offering

 

On October 26, 2020, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 23,725,000 Units, including 2,225,000 Over-Allotment Units that were issued pursuant to the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of approximately $237.3 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $12.5 million, inclusive of $7.6 million in deferred underwriting commissions. Of the 23,725,000 Units sold, affiliates of the Sponsor and Atlas Point Fund had purchased 1,980,000 Units (the “Affiliated Units”) and 2,128,500 Units (the “Atlas Units”), respectively, at the Initial Public Offering price. The underwriters did not receive any underwriting discounts or commissions on the 1,980,000 Affiliated Units.

 

Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Rice’s Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 6).

 

Note 4—Related Party Transactions

 

Founder Shares and Sponsor Shares

 

In September 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover for certain of expenses of the Company in exchange for issuance of (i) 5,750,100 shares of Rice’s Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and (ii) 2,500 shares of Rice’s Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share. In September 2020, the Sponsor received 5,750,000 Class B Units of RAC OpCo (which are profits interest units only). In October 2020, the Sponsor forfeited 90,000 Class B Units of RAC OpCo, and 30,000 Class B Units of RAC OpCo were issued to each of the independent director nominees. The Sponsor transferred a corresponding number of shares of Class B common stock to the independent director nominees. In October 2020, the Company effected a dividend, resulting in an aggregate of (i) 6,181,350 shares of Rice’s Class B common stock, and (ii) 2,500 shares of Rice’s Class A common stock outstanding. All shares and associated amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the dividend. Upon a liquidation of RAC OpCo, distributions generally will be made to the holders of RAC OpCo Units on a pro rata basis, subject to certain limitations with respect to the Class B Units of RAC OpCo, including that, prior to the completion of the initial Business Combination, such Class B Units will not be entitled to participate in a liquidating distribution.

 

Also, in September 2020, Rice paid $25,000 to RAC OpCo in exchange for issuance of 2,500 Class A Units of RAC OpCo. In September 2020, the Sponsor received 100 Class A Units of RAC OpCo in exchange for $1,000.

 

The Company refers to the 6,181,250 shares of Class B common stock and corresponding number of Class B Units of RAC OpCo (or the Class A Units of RAC OpCo into which such Class B Units will convert) collectively as the “Founder Shares”. The Founder Shares consist of Class B Units of RAC OpCo (and any Class A Units of RAC OpCo into which such Class B Units are converted) and a corresponding number of shares of Class B common stock, which together will be exchangeable for shares of Rice’s Class A common stock after the time of the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The Company refers to the 2,500 shares of Rice’s Class A common stock and the 100 Class A Units of RAC OpCo and a corresponding number of shares of Rice’s non-economic Class B common stock (which together will be exchangeable into shares of Class A common stock after the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis) collectively as the “Sponsor Shares”.

 

10

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor forfeited 309,063 Class B Units of RAC OpCo, and 309,063 Class B Units of RAC OpCo were issued to Atlas Point Fund. The Sponsor transferred a corresponding number of shares of Class B common stock to Atlas Point Fund.

 

The Initial Stockholders agreed to forfeit up to 806,250 Founder Shares to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters, so that the Founder Shares will represent 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering (excluding the Sponsor Shares). On October 26, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option to purchase as additional 2,225,000 Units; thus, only 250,000 Founder Shares remained subject to forfeiture. On December 5, 2020, the remaining unexercised over-allotment expired unused and therefore the remaining 250,000 shares of Class B common stock were forfeited. 

 

The Class B Units of RAC OpCo will convert into Class A Units of RAC OpCo in connection with the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. The Founder Shares consist of Class B Units of RAC OpCo (and any Class A Units of RAC OpCo into which such Class B Units are converted) and a corresponding number of shares of Class B common stock, which together will be exchangeable for shares of Class A common stock after the time of the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis (subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts sold in the Initial Public Offering and related to the closing of the Business Combination (other than the forward purchase securities), the number of Class A Units of RAC OpCo into which the Class B Units of RAC OpCo will convert may be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding Founder Shares agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exchange of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-exchanged basis, 20% of the sum of the total outstanding shares of Rice’s common stock upon completion of the Initial Public Offering, plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the Business Combination (excluding the forward purchase securities and any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the Business Combination and excluding the Sponsor Shares). In addition, the number of outstanding shares of Class B common stock will be adjusted through a stock split or stock dividend so that the total number of outstanding shares of Class B common stock corresponds to the total number of Class A Units of RAC OpCo outstanding (other than those held by Rice) plus the total number of Class A Units RAC OpCo into which the Class B Units of RAC OpCo are entitled to convert.

 

The Initial Stockholders agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares held by them (and any shares of Class A common stock acquired upon exchange of Founder Shares) until one year after the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination or earlier if, subsequent to the initial Business Combination, (i) the last sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination or (ii) the Company consummates a subsequent liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of the stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.

 

Private Placement Warrants

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the Private Placement of 6,771,000 Private Placement Warrants to the Sponsor and Atlas Point Fund, at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $6.8 million.

 

Each whole Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for a price of $11.50 to purchase one share of Rice’s Class A common stock or, in certain circumstances, one Class A Unit of RAC OpCo together with a corresponding number of shares of Rice’s non-economic Class B common stock. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was added to the 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 Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the Sponsor, Atlas Point Fund or their permitted transferees.

 

With certain limited exceptions, the Private Placement Warrants and the securities underlying such warrants will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.

 

11

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Related Party Loans

 

On September 1, 2020, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). This loan is non-interest bearing and payable upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The Company borrowed an aggregate of approximately $290,000 under the Note. The outstanding balance of the Note was paid in full as of November 10, 2020.

 

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 will repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. 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. To date, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.

 

The Sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on the Company’s behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable Business Combinations. The Company’s audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to the Sponsor, officers or directors, or their affiliates.

 

Administrative Support Agreement

 

Commencing on the date the Company’s securities are first listed on NYSE, the Company agreed to pay the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial support and administrative services provided to members of the management team. Upon completion of the initial Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees.

 

Note 5—Commitments and Contingencies

 

Forward Purchase Agreement

 

The Company entered into an amended and restated forward purchase agreement (the “Forward Purchase Agreement”) with Atlas Point Fund, pursuant to which Atlas Point Fund, which is a fund managed by CIBC National Trust but is not affiliated with the Company or sponsor, agreed to purchase up to $75,000,000 of either (i) a number of units (the “forward purchase units”), consisting of one share of Class A common stock (the “forward purchase shares”) and one-third of one warrant (the “forward purchase warrants”), for $10.00 per unit or (ii) a number of forward purchase shares for $9.67 per share (such forward purchase shares valued at $9.67 per share or the forward purchase units, as the case may be, the “forward purchase securities”), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Business Combination. The forward purchase warrants will have the same terms as the public warrants and the forward purchase shares will be identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, except the forward purchase shares and the forward purchase warrants will be subject to transfer restrictions and certain registration rights and the forward purchase units will consist of only one-third of one forward purchase warrant. The funds from the sale of the forward purchase securities may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the Initial Business Combination, and any excess funds may be used for the working capital needs of the post-transaction company. This agreement is independent of the percentage of stockholders electing to redeem their public shares and may provide the Company with an increased minimum funding level for the Initial Business Combination. The forward purchase agreement is subject to conditions, including Atlas Point Fund giving the Company its irrevocable written consent to purchase the forward purchase securities no later than five days after the Company notifies it of the Company’s intention to meet to consider entering into a definitive agreement for a proposed Business Combination. Atlas Point Fund may grant or withhold its consent to the purchase entirely within its sole discretion. Accordingly, if Atlas Point Fund does not consent to the purchase, it will not be obligated to purchase the forward purchase securities.

 

12

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Registration Rights

 

The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any, (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement. 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 the completion of the initial Business Combination. Additionally, pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement, the Company agreed to grant certain registration rights to Atlas Point Fund in connection with the issuance of any forward purchase units upon the completion of the Company’s Business Combination. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the registration of such securities.

 

Underwriting Agreement

 

The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of Initial Public Offering to purchase up to 3,225,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Initial Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On October 26, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 2,225,000 Units.

 

The underwriters were entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit (excluding the Affiliated Units purchased). As a result of affiliates of the Sponsor purchasing 1,980,000 Units, the Company paid an underwriting discount of approximately $4.3 million in the aggregate upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering. In addition, the underwriters will be entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit (excluding the Affiliated Units), or approximately $7.6 million in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

 

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 condensed consolidated financial statements. The condensed consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

Note 6—Shareholders’ Deficit

 

Class A Common Stock — As of March 31, 2021, the Company is authorized to issue 250,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of March 31, 2021, there were 23,737,500 shares of Class A common stock outstanding, of which 18,351,762 shares are subject to possible redemption and therefore classified outside of permanent equity in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet.

 

Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. On September 2, 2020, the Company issued 5,750,100 shares of Class B common stock. In October 2020, the Company effected a dividend, resulting in an aggregate of 6,181,350 shares of Rice’s Class B common stock outstanding. All shares and associated amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the dividend. Of these, up to 806,250 shares of Class B common stock are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part, so that the Initial Stockholders will collectively own 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock after the Initial Public Offering (excluding the Sponsor Shares). On October 26, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 2,225,000 Units; thus, only 250,000 Founder Shares remained subject to forfeiture to the extent the over-allotment option was fully exercised. On December 5, 2020, the remaining unexercised over-allotment expired unused and therefore the remaining 250,000 shares of Class B common stock were forfeited. As of March 31, 2021, there were 5,931,350 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding.

 

13

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Holders of the Class A common stock and holders of the Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders, except as required by law. Each share of common stock will have one vote on all such matters. Prior to the initial Business Combination, only holders of Class B common stock will have the right to vote on the election of directors.

 

Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of March 31, 2020, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.

 

Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional Public Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Public Warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering; provided in each case that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or the Company permits holders to exercise their Public Warrants on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act). The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of the initial Business Combination, it will use its best efforts to file with the SEC and have an effective registration statement covering the shares of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of the Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. If a registration statement covering the shares of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption.

 

The warrants have an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments, and will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the board and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the Newly Issued Price.

 

Redemption of warrants when our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share:

 

Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants for cash (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):

 

  in whole and not in part;

 

  at a price of $0.01 per warrant;

 

  upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; and

 

  if, and only if, the last sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) 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 Company will not redeem the warrants for cash unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. If the Company calls the warrants for redemption for cash as described above, the management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.”

 

Redemption of warrants when our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share:

 

Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):

 

  in whole and not in part;

 

  at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares of Class A common stock determined by reference to an agreed table based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of Class A common stock;

 

  if and only if, the last sale price of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) on the trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and

  

14

 

 

RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

  if, and only if, there is an effective registration statement covering the issuance of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating thereto available throughout the 30- day period after written notice of redemption is given.

 

The “fair market value” of the Class A common stock shall mean the volume weighted average price of the Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants.

 

None of the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company so long as they are held by the initial purchasers of the Private Placement Warrants or their permitted transferees.

 

In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any warrant. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.

 

Note 8—Fair Value Measurements

 

The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:

 

  Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.
     
  Level 2: Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.
     
  Level 3: Unobservable inputs based on our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.

 

The Company classifies its U.S. Treasury and equivalent securities as held-to-maturity in accordance with ASC Topic 320 “Investments - Debt and Equity Securities.” Held-to-maturity securities are those securities which the Company has the ability and intent to hold until maturity. Held-to-maturity treasury securities are recorded at amortized cost on the accompanying balance sheet and adjusted for the amortization or accretion of premiums or discounts.

 

At March 31, 2021, assets held in the Trust Account were comprised of $237,308,171 in U.S. Treasury securities. For the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Company did not withdraw any interest income from the Trust Account.

 

The following table presents information about the Company’s held-to-maturity assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at March 31, 2021, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value. The gross holding gains and fair value of held-to-maturity securities at March 31, 2021, are as follows:

 

   Fair Value Measured as of December 31, 2020 
   Level 1   Level 2   Level 3   Total 
Assets                
Investments held in Trust Account - U.S. Treasury Securities  $237,308,171   $-   $-   $237,308,171 
Liabilities:                    
Warrant Liability - Public Warrants   -    -    17,556,500    17,556,500 
Warrant Liability - Private Warrants   -    -    13,258,000    13,258,000 
Total fair value  $237,308,171   $-   $30,814,500   $268,122,671 

 

The Warrants were accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40 and are presented within warrant liabilities on the Company’s balance sheet. The warrant liabilities are measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value presented within change in fair value of warrant liabilities in the statement of operations.

 

Initial Measurement

 

The Company established the initial fair value for the Warrants on October 26, 2020, the date of the Company’s Initial Public Offering, using a Monte Carlo simulation model for the Public Warrants and a Black-Scholes model for the Private Placement Warrants. The Company allocated the proceeds received from (i) the sale of Units (which is inclusive of one share of Class A ordinary shares and one-half of one Public Warrant), (ii) the sale of Private Placement Warrants, and (iii) the issuance of Class B ordinary shares, first to the Warrants based on their fair values as determined at initial measurement, with the remaining proceeds allocated to Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares based on their relative fair values at the initial measurement date. The Warrants were classified as Level 3 at the initial measurement date due to the use of unobservable inputs.

 

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Subsequent Measurement

 

The Warrants are measured at fair value on a recurring basis. The subsequent measurement of the Public Warrants as of March 31, 2021 is classified as Level 1 due to the use of an observable market quote in an active market.

 

The key inputs into the Black-Scholes model for the Private Placement Warrants were as follows as of March 31, 2021:

 

  

As of March 31,

2021

 
Exercise price  $11.50 
Stock price  $10.11 
Term (in years)   5.57 
Volatility   23 
Risk-free interest rate   1.05%
Dividend yield   - 

 

The key inputs into the Black-Scholes model for the Private Placement Warrants were as follows as of December 31, 2020:

 

   As of December 31,
2020
 
Exercise price  $11.50 
Stock price  $10.83 
Term (in years)   5.82 
Volatility   22.68 
Risk-free interest rate   0.48 
Dividend yield   - 

 

As of March 31, 2021, the derived fair value of the Private Placement Warrants was determined to be $2.30 per warrant for an aggregate value of $15.5 million. The observable fair value of the Public Warrants was $2.20 per warrant for an aggregate value of $27.0 million.

 

The following table presents the changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities:

 

   Private
Placement
   Level   Public   Level   Warrant
Liabilities
 
                     
Fair Value as of December 31, 2020  $15,541,987    3   $27,046,500    1   $42,588,487 
Change in fair value  $(2,284,001)       $(9,490,000)       $(11,774,001)
Fair Value as of March 31, 2021  $13,257,986    3   $17,556,500    1   $30,814,486 

  

Level 3 financial liabilities consist of the Private Placement Warrant liability for which there is no current market for these securities such that the determination of fair value requires significant judgment or estimation. Changes in fair value measurements categorized within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy are analyzed each period based on changes in estimates or assumptions and recorded as appropriate.

 

During the three months ended March 31, 20201, there were transfers out of level 3 of $17,556,500. Transfers out of level 3 are measured at the end of the period.

 

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Note 9—Subsequent Events

 

Management has evaluated subsequent events to determine if events or transactions occurring through the date the condensed consolidated financial statements were available for issuance, require potential adjustment to or disclosure in the condensed consolidated financial statements and has concluded that all such events, except as noted in Notes 1, 3, 4 and 5, that would require recognition or disclosure have been recognized or disclosed.

 

Business Combination Agreements

 

On April 7, 2021, the Company, entered into (i) the Business Combination Agreement (as may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Aria Merger Agreement”), by and among the Company Rice Acquisition Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and direct subsidiary of the Company (“RAC OpCo”), LFG Intermediate Co, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and direct subsidiary of RAC OpCo (“RAC Intermediate”), LFG Buyer Co, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct subsidiary of RAC Intermediate (“RAC Buyer”), Inigo Merger Sub, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct subsidiary of RAC Buyer (“Aria Merger Sub”), Aria Energy LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Aria”), and the Equityholder Representative (as defined therein), pursuant to which, among other things, Aria Merger Sub will merge with and into Aria, with Aria surviving the merger and becoming a direct subsidiary of RAC Buyer, and (ii) the Business Combination Agreement, dated as of April 7, 2021 (as may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Archaea Merger Agreement” and, together with the Aria Merger Agreement, the “Business Combination Agreements”), by and among the Company, RAC OpCo, RAC Intermediate, RAC Buyer, Fezzik Merger Sub, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and direct subsidiary of RAC Buyer (“Archaea Merger Sub”), Archaea Energy, LLC (“Archaea Seller”), a Delaware limited liability company, and Archaea Energy II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Archaea” and, together with Archaea Seller and Aria, the “Companies”), pursuant to which, among other things, Archaea Merger Sub will merge with and into Archaea, with Archaea surviving the merger and becoming a direct subsidiary of RAC Buyer, in each case, on the terms and subject to the conditions therein (the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreements, the “Business Combinations”).

 

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RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Consideration

 

Pursuant to the terms of the Aria Merger Agreement and at the Effective Time (as defined therein), (i) all Class A Units of Aria held by a holder of Aria’s Class A Units shall be cancelled and converted into the right to receive (a) the number of Class A Units of RAC OpCo, (b) the number of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 (“Class B Common Stock”), of the Company and (c) the amount of cash as set forth in, and in accordance with, the Aria Merger Agreement, (ii) all Class B Units of Aria held by a holder of Aria’s Class B Units shall be cancelled and converted into the right to receive (A) the number of Class A Units of RAC OpCo, (B) the number of shares of Class B Common Stock and (C) the amount of cash as set forth in, and in accordance with, the Aria Merger Agreement, and (iii) all Class C Units of Aria shall be cancelled and extinguished without any conversion thereof.

 

Pursuant to the terms of the Archaea Merger Agreement and at the Effective Time (as defined therein), all equity interests of Archaea will be cancelled and converted into the right to receive (x) the number of Class A Units of RAC OpCo and (y) the number of shares of Class B Common Stock as set forth in, and in accordance with, the Archaea Merger Agreement.

 

Following the Business Combinations, holders of Class A Units of RAC OpCo (other than the Company) will have the right (an “exchange right”), subject to certain limitations, to exchange Class A Units of RAC OpCo (and a corresponding number of shares of Class B Common Stock) for, at the Company’s option, (i) shares of Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, or (ii) a corresponding amount of cash. the Company’s decision to make a cash payment or issue shares upon an exercise of an exchange right will be made by the Company’s independent directors, and such decision will be based on facts in existence at the time of the decision, which the Company expects would include the relative value of the Class A Common Stock (including trading prices for the Class A Common Stock at the time), the cash purchase price, the availability of other sources of liquidity (such as an issuance of preferred stock) to acquire the Class A Units of RAC OpCo and alternative uses for such cash.

 

Holders of Class A Units of RAC OpCo (other than the Company) will generally be permitted to exercise the exchange right on a quarterly basis, subject to certain de minimis allowances. In addition, additional exchanges may occur in connection with certain specified events, and any exchanges involving more than a specified number of Class A Units of RAC OpCo (subject to the Company’s discretion to permit exchanges of a lower number of units) may occur at any time upon ten business days’ advanced notice. The exchange rights will be subject to certain limitations and restrictions intended to reduce the administrative burden of exchanges upon the Company and ensure that RAC OpCo will continue to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

Following any exchange of Class A Units of RAC OpCo (and a corresponding number of shares of Class B Common Stock), RAC will retain the Class A Units of RAC OpCo and cancel the shares of Class B Common Stock. As the holders of Class A Units of RAC OpCo (other than the Company) exchange their Class A Units of RAC OpCo, the Company’s membership interest in RAC OpCo will be correspondingly increased, the number of shares of Class A Common Stock outstanding will be increased, and the number of shares of Class B Common Stock outstanding will be reduced.

 

Conditions to Consummation of the Business Combinations

 

Consummation of the Business Combinations is generally subject to customary conditions of the respective parties, and conditions customary to special purpose acquisition companies, including (i) expiration or termination of all applicable waiting periods under HSR, (ii) the absence of any law or governmental order, threatened or pending, preventing the consummation of the Business Combinations, (iii) completion of the Company Share Redemptions (as defined in the Business Combination Agreements), (iv) receipt of requisite shareholder approval for consummation of the Business Combinations, (v) the consummation of the LES Sale (as defined in the Aria Merger Agreement) by Aria and (vi) the issuance by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of an order granting authorization for the Business Combinations pursuant to Section 203 of the Federal Power Act of 1935. In addition, the parties also have the right to not consummate the Business Combinations in the event that the cash on the balance sheet of the combined company following the closing of the Business Combinations (the “Combined Company”) would be less than $150,000,000, subject to the terms of the Business Combination Agreements. Furthermore, the closing of the transactions contemplated by the Aria Merger Agreement is expressly conditioned on the closing of the transactions contemplated by the Archaea Merger Agreement and vice versa.

 

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RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Termination

 

Each of the Business Combination Agreements may be terminated by the parties thereto under certain customary and limited circumstances at any time prior to the closing of the Business Combinations, including, without limitation, by mutual written consent or if the Business Combinations have not been consummated within 150 days from the date of the Business Combination Agreements (subject to certain extensions for up to 30 days for delays as set forth in the Business Combination Agreements).

 

Stockholders Agreement

 

In connection with the closing of the Business Combinations, the Company, RAC Buyer, RAC OpCo, Sponsor, and certain other individuals affiliated with the Companies (the “Company Holders”) will enter into a stockholders agreement (the “Stockholders Agreement”) pursuant to which, among other things, (i) the board of directors of the Combined Company (the “Board”) will consist of seven members, (ii) the holders of a majority of the Company Interests (as defined in the Stockholders Agreement) held by the RAC Sponsor Holders (as defined in the Stockholders Agreement) will have the right to designate two directors (the “RAC Sponsor Directors”) for appointment or election to the Board during the term of the Stockholders Agreement, (iii) the Ares Investors (as defined in the Stockholders Agreement) will have the right to designate one director (the “Ares Director”) for appointment or election to the Board for so long as the Ares Investors hold at least 50% of the Registrable Securities (as defined in the Stockholders Agreement) held by them on the date that the Business Combinations are consummated (the “Ares Fall-Away Date”), (iv) the Board shall take all necessary action to designate the person then serving as the Chief Executive Officer of the Combined Company (the “CEO Director”) for appointment or election to the Board during the term of the Stockholders Agreement and (v) the Board shall designate three independent directors (the “Independent Directors”) to serve on the Board during the term of the Stockholders Agreement. The Ares Investors shall have the right to consult on the persons to be designated as Independent Directors prior to the Ares Fall-Away Date.

 

PIPE Financing

 

On April 7, 2021, the Company entered into subscription agreements (each, a “Subscription Agreement”) with certain investors (the “PIPE Investors”) pursuant to which, among other things, the PIPE Investors have agreed to subscribe for and purchase, and Rice has agreed to issue and sell to the PIPE Investors, an aggregate of 30,000,000 shares of Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A Common Stock”), of the Company for an aggregate purchase price of $300,000,000 on the date of Closing (as defined in each Subscription Agreement), on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein (the “PIPE Financing”). Each Subscription Agreement contains customary representations and warranties of the Company, on the one hand, and the PIPE Investor, on the other hand, and customary conditions to closing, including the consummation of the Business Combinations.

 

Additionally, on April 7, 2021, the Company, RAC OpCo, Sponsor and Atlas Point Energy Infrastructure Fund, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Atlas”), entered into an Amendment to Forward Purchase Agreement (the “FPA Amendment”) pursuant to which the Forward Purchase Agreement, dated as of September 30, 2020 (the “Original Agreement”), by and among such parties was amended to provide that Atlas shall purchase a total of $20,000,000 of Forward Purchase Securities (as defined in the Original Agreement) and the Forward Purchase Warrants (as defined in the Original Agreement) will consist of one-eighth of one redeemable warrant (where each whole redeemable warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share).

 

19

 

 

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

 

References to the “Company,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Rice Acquisition Corp. and its majority-owned and controlled operating subsidiary, Rice Acquisition Holdings LLC (the “RAC OpCo”), unless the context indicates otherwise. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.

 

Overview

 

We are a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on September 1, 2020 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). Our sponsor is Rice Acquisition Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Sponsor”).

 

The registration statement for our initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”) was declared effective on October 21, 2020. On October 26, 2020, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 23,725,000 units (each, a “Unit” and collectively, the “Units”), including 2,225,000 additional Units that were issued pursuant to the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option (the “Over-Allotment Units”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of approximately $237.3 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $12.5 million, inclusive of $7.6 million in deferred underwriting commissions.

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 6,771,000 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”) to our Sponsor and Atlas Point Energy Infrastructure Fund, LLC (“Atlas Point Fund”), at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds of approximately $6.8 million. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Rice’s Class A common stock or, in certain circumstances, one Class A Unit of RAC OpCo together with a corresponding number of shares of Rice’s non-economic Class B common stock.

 

Following the Initial Public Offering, our public stockholders hold a direct economic equity ownership interest in Rice in the form of shares of Class A common stock, and an indirect ownership interest in RAC OpCo through Rice’s ownership of Class A Units of RAC OpCo. By contrast, the Initial Stockholders (our Sponsor, Atlas Point Fund and our officers and directors) own direct economic interests in RAC OpCo in the form of Class B Units and a corresponding non-economic voting equity interest in Rice in the form of shares of Class B common stock, as well as a small direct interest through the Sponsor Shares (as defined below). Sponsor Shares were purchased for $10.00 each and, in the absence of an initial Business Combination, will generally participate in liquidation or other payments on a pari passu basis with the Public Shares (as defined below). However, given the relatively de minimis number of Sponsor Shares relative to Public Shares, in many cases the economic, governance or other effects of the sponsor shares are not material to the holders of Class A common stock or warrants, and for simplicity, portions of this disclosure may not fully describe or reflect these immaterial effects. 

 

Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, approximately $237.3 million of the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants in the Private Placement were placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”) located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and invested only in U.S. “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by us, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account.

 

If we are unable to complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or October 26, 2022, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares and Class A Units of RAC OpCo (other than those held by Rice), which redemption will completely extinguish Public Stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

  

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Results of Operations

 

Our entire activity for the three months ended March 31, 2021, has been related to identifying a target company for our initial Business Combination. We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. We will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial Business Combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents. We expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.

 

For the three months ended March 31, 2021, we had income of approximately $8.7 million, which consisted of approximately $11.7 million of change in fair value of warrant liabilities offset by approximately $3.0 million of general and administrative expenses.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

As of March 31, 2021, we had approximately $1.0 million in our operating bank account and a working capital deficiency of approximately $1.4 million.

 

Our liquidity needs to date had been satisfied through the payment of $26,000 from our Sponsor to purchase the Founder Shares and Sponsor Shares, a loan under a note agreement with our Sponsor of approximately $290,000 (the “Note”), and the net proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the Trust Account. The Note was paid in full as of November 10, 2020. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, our officers, directors and Sponsor may, but are not obligated to, provide us working capital loans. As of March 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any working capital loans.

 

Based on the foregoing, management believes that we will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, the Company will be using these funds held outside of the Trust Account for paying existing accounts payable, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.

 

Contractual Obligations

 

We do not have any long-term debt obligations, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations, purchase obligations or long-term liabilities.

 

On October 21, 2020, we entered into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we have agreed to cause RAC OpCo to pay the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and administrative support. Upon completion of the Initial Business Combination or our liquidation, the agreement will terminate.

 

The underwriters of the Initial Public Offering were entitled to underwriting discounts and commissions of 5.5%, of which 2.0% (approximately $4.3 million) was paid at the closing of the Initial Public Offering and 3.5% (approximately $7.6 million) was deferred. The deferred underwriting discounts and commissions will become payable to the underwriters upon the consummation of the Initial Business Combination and will be paid from the amounts held in the Trust Account. The underwriters are not entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.

 

Critical Accounting Policies

 

This management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our condensed consolidated financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to fair value of financial instruments and accrued expenses. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. There have been no significant changes in our critical accounting policies as discussed in the Company’s Amendment No. 1 to Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 as filed with the SEC on May 13, 2021. 

 

21

 

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update (the “ASU”) No. 2020-06, Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity, which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. The ASU also removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity-linked contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception and it also simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. The Company early adopted the ASU on January 1, 2021. Adoption of the ASU did not impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

As of March 31, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K.

 

JOBS Act

 

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

 

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

 

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures 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 4. Controls and Procedures

 

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

A material weakness is defined as a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting for the warrants we issued in connection with our initial public offering in October 2020 (the “warrants”). This material weakness resulted in a material misstatement of our warrant liabilities, change in fair value of warrant liabilities, additional paid-in capital, accumulated deficit and related financial disclosures as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from September 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 (such period, the “Affected Period”). In response to this material weakness, our management has expended, and will continue to expend, a substantial amount of effort and resources for the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. While we have processes to properly identify and evaluate the appropriate accounting technical pronouncements and other literature for all significant or unusual transactions, we are improving these processes to ensure that the nuances of such transactions are effectively evaluated in the context of the increasingly complex accounting standards. Our plans at this time include increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding the application of complex accounting transactions. Our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time and will be continually reviewed to determine that it is achieving its objectives.

  

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2021, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based on this evaluation, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of March 31, 2021, solely due to the material weakness discussed above and the resulting restatement of our financial statements for the Affected Period to reflect the warrants as a liability (the “restatement”).

 

In light of the material weakness that we identified, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2021, were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Management believes that the financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented.

 

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2021 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting, as the circumstances that led to the restatement had not yet been identified.

 

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PART II – OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

 

None.

 

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

 

As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to disclose any material changes from risk factors as previously disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. However, below is a partial list of material risks, uncertainties and other factors that could have a material effect on the Company and its operations:

 

we may not be able to complete our initial business combination in the prescribed time frame;

 

our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses may not be realized;

 

we may not be successful in retaining or recruiting required officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;

 

our officers and directors may have difficulties allocating their time between the Company and other businesses and may potentially have conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;

 

we may not be able to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or reduce the number of shareholders requesting redemption;

 

trust account funds may not be protected against third party claims or bankruptcy;

 

an active market for our public securities may not develop and you will have limited liquidity and trading; and

 

the availability to us of funds from interest income on the trust account balance may be insufficient to operate our business prior to the business combination.

 

For more information about our risk factors, see Item 1A of Part I in Amendment No. 1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and the section titled “Risk Factors” contained in our preliminary proxy statement filed with the SEC on May 14, 2021, as the same may be amended or supplemented, and in our definitive proxy statement with respect to our initial business combination, when the same becomes available. 

 

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities

 

On October 26, 2020, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 23,725,000 Units, including the Over-Allotment Units. The Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $237,250,000. The underwriters were granted a 45-day option from the date of the final prospectus relating to the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to 3,225,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at $10.00 per Unit, less underwriting discounts and commissions. On October 23, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option and, on October 26, 2020, the underwriters purchased the Over-Allotment Units.

 

Barclays Capital Inc., AmeriVet Securities Inc. and Academy Securities Inc. served as underwriters for the Initial Public Offering. The securities sold in the Initial Public Offering were registered under the Securities Act on a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-249340). The SEC declared the registration statement effective on October 21, 2020.

 

In connection with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we paid a total of approximately $4.3 million in underwriting discounts and commissions. In addition, the underwriters agreed to defer approximately $7.6 million in underwriting discounts and commissions, which amount will be payable upon consummation of the Initial Business Combination. Prior to the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor loaned RAC OpCo approximately $300,000 under the Note.

 

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In connection with the Initial Public Offering, we incurred offering costs of approximately $12.5 million, inclusive of approximately $7.6 million in deferred underwriting commissions. Other incurred offering costs consisted principally of preparation fees related to the Initial Public Offering. After deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions (excluding the deferred portion, which amount will be payable upon consummation of the Initial Business Combination, if consummated) and the Initial Public Offering expenses, $237.3 million of the net proceeds from our Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds from the private placement of the Private Placement Warrants (or $10.00 per Unit sold in the Initial Public Offering) was placed in the Trust Account. The net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants are held in the Trust Account and invested as described elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

 

On October 26, 2020, simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering and pursuant to separate Private Placement Warrants and Warrant Rights Agreements, dated September 21, 2020, by and among the Company and RAC OpCo, and each of the Sponsor and Atlas Point Fund, the Company completed the private sale of an aggregate of 6,771,000 Private Placement Warrants at a purchase price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant to the Sponsor and Atlas Point Fund, generating gross proceeds of $6,771,000.

 

There has been no material change in the planned use of the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement as is described in the Company’s final prospectus related to the Initial Public Offering.

 

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

 

None.

 

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 5. Other Information

 

None.

 

Item 6. Exhibits.

 

Exhibit Number   Description
3.1   Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-39644) filed with the SEC on October 27, 2020).
     
3.2   Bylaws (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the SEC on October 6, 2020).

 

31.1   Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
     
31.2   Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
     
32.1   Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
     
32.2   Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
     
101.INS   XBRL Instance Document
     
101.SCH   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
     
101.CAL   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
     
101.DEF   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
     
101.LAB   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
     
101.PRE   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized on this 26th day of May 2021.

 

  RICE ACQUISITION CORP.
     
  By: /s/ Daniel Joseph Rice, IV
  Name: Daniel Joseph Rice, IV
  Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

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