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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

(Mark One)

 

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

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022
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 No. 001-41114

 

UTA ACQUISITION CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Cayman Islands

98-1616250

 

 

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

 

 

135 5th Avenue, 7th Floor

New YorkNY

10010

(Zip Code)

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

 

(212287-3200

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title of each class

 

Trading

Symbol(s)

 

Name of each exchange

on which registered

Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant

 

UTAAU

 

The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share

 

UTAA

 

The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Redeemable warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share

 

UTAAW

 

The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

 

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

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes      No  

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes      No  

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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.  

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

 If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to § 240.10D-1(b).

The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Class A shares outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the Registrant, computed as of June 30, 2022 (the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter), was approximately $234,847,865.  

As of March 31, 2023, there were 23,000,000 units of the Registrant’s Class A ordinary shares and 5,750,000 of the Registrant’s Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, issued and outstanding.

 

 

 

 


 

UTA ACQUISITION CORPORATION

FORM 10-K FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

Page

 

 

PART I.

 

Item 1. Business.

1

Item 1.A. Risk Factors.

17

Item 1.B.Unresolved Staff Comments.

54

Item 2. Properties.

54

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

54

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

54

PART II.

 

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

55

Item 6. [Reserved].

56

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

57

Item 7.A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.

64

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

64

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.

82

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.

82

Item 9B. Other Information.

82

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspection.

82

PART III.

 

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

83

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

89

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

90

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.

91

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.

93

PART IV.

 

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.

94

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.

94

 

 

 

 

i


 

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains statements that are forward-looking and as such are not historical facts. This includes, without limitation, statements under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding the financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.

The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following risks, uncertainties and other factors:

 

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

 

our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses;

 

our ability to complete our initial business combination;

 

our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses;

 

our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;

 

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

 

the ability of our directors and officers to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities;

 

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

 

our pool of prospective target businesses;

 

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

 

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 (as defined below) or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance;

 

the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties;

 

ii


 

 

our financial performance; and

 

the other risk and uncertainties discussed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

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

 

 

 

iii


 

PART I.

References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”) to “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” are to UTA Acquisition Corporation, a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “sponsor” refer to UTA Acquisition Sponsor LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company. References to our “initial shareholders” refer to our sponsor and each of our independent directors.

Item 1. Business.

Overview

We are a blank check company, incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K as our initial business combination. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or geographic location, we intend to focus our search for a target business operating in the gaming, digital media, creator economy, entertainment and technology industries.

While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify, acquire and manage a business that can benefit from the unique operational, financial and investing acumen that members of our sponsor and management team have, particularly in gaming, but also across related areas within the broader digital media, creator economy, entertainment, and technology landscape. We believe our sponsor’s extensive experience in acquiring, operating and managing businesses in our areas of focus, combined with the vast networks each of United Talent Agency, LLC (“UTA”), our management and Connaught has with leading entrepreneurs, content creators, developers, operating executives, investors and financial intermediaries will enable us to source compelling investment opportunities and succeed in consummating an initial business combination. Furthermore, we believe that our management team’s extensive track record and operational capabilities in our areas of focus will position us to drive attractive long-term returns for our shareholders.

Our sponsor is a partnership between affiliates of UTA, one of the world’s leading and largest talent, entertainment and athlete representation companies, members of our management team and Connaught, a leading financial advisory and merchant banking firm. We believe the combined and complementary experience, capabilities and relationships of our sponsor create a differentiated platform with a range of unique advantages. Our relationship with UTA affords a number of unique benefits, including the ability to access UTA’s platform, clients and capabilities, which are highly strategic and complementary to our areas of focus. Our management team has deep domain expertise in gaming and related areas of digital media, the creator economy, entertainment and technology with substantial operating, financial and investing expertise and a vast network of relationships. Additionally, our relationship with Connaught provides access to an additional network of relationships as well as access to Connaught’s sophisticated financial and strategic advisory capabilities. We plan to utilize our sponsor’s combined capabilities to generate a wide array of potential business combination opportunities that are differentiated and proprietary. We believe that the combined capabilities of our sponsor create a unique competitive advantage in sourcing and executing a transaction successfully and, ultimately, will enable us to drive long-term value for our shareholders.

The registration statement for our initial public offering was declared effective on December 1, 2021. On December 6, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering of 23,000,000 units, (the “units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units sold, the “public shares”), including 3,000,000 units issued pursuant to the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option in full, generating gross proceeds of $230.0 million. Substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial public offering, we consummated a private placement of 11,200,000 warrants (each, a “private placement warrant” and collectively, the “private placement warrants”), at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant to our sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11,200,000.

Upon the closing of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $234,600,000 ($10.20 per unit) of the net proceeds was placed in a U.S.-based a trust account at JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“trust

 

1


account), with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee (“trustee”), and invested in United States Government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less until the earlier of: (i) the completion of an initial business combination or (ii) the distribution of the trust account as described below.

Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a business combination. There is no assurance that we will be able to complete a business combination successfully. The Company must complete a business combination with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes and excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into a business combination. We will only complete a business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

We intend to effectuate a business combination using the proceeds from our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and from additional issuances of, if any, our capital stock and our debt, or a combination of cash, stock, and debt. We have not engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations until we complete a business combination, and we have not generated any operating revenue to date. We will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination, at the earliest. Our entire activity from inception through December 31, 2022 related to our formation, the preparation for our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and following the closing of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, the search for a prospective target for our initial business combination. Based on our business activities, we are a “shell company” as defined under the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of our business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us. Our public shareholders will be entitled to redeem their public shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then held in the trust account. The per-share amount to be distributed to public shareholders who redeem their public shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we pay to the underwriter of the initial public offering.

If we are unable to complete a business combination within 21 months from the closing of the initial public offering (the “combination period”), 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 (less amounts released to pay taxes and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

Effecting a Business Combination

Our Business Strategy

While our focus on identifying a prospective target business will not necessarily be limited to a particular industry, sector or region, we intend to capitalize on our expertise in gaming and adjacent areas of digital media, the creator economy, entertainment and technology. We intend to source and acquire a business that is suitable for long-term growth and success as a publicly traded company, upon completion of our initial business combination.

 

2


We intend to leverage our unique and extensive relationships and networks to access direct and proprietary opportunities. We believe our capabilities and process for screening potential target companies for our initial business combination will be highly differentiated. Our advantage will be significantly driven by our management team’s proven track records and extensive relationships in combination with our strategic relationships with UTA and Connaught. We plan to leverage our sponsor’s collective and differentiated level of corporate and investor access to generate a wide range of business combination opportunities with potential target companies. We believe this will provide a proprietary funnel of sourcing opportunities for the company.

Our value creation strategy is to focus on building a company that complements the strengths of our management team and can benefit from their operational and financial expertise. We believe our management team can offer a compelling level of support and assistance related to a range of strategic and operational matters that will differentiate us from other SPACs. Certain strengths that we can bring to bear to drive meaningful incremental guidance and value-add include, but are not limited to:

 

Attracting, nurturing and effectively managing creators, developers and other creative talent who are critical to developing compelling content and intellectual property

 

Developing strategies to monetize and expand existing intellectual property, including expansion on a global basis and developing applications and content across a range of media, platforms and other outlets

 

Developing effective approaches to marketing and user acquisition, including development of strategies for user acquisition that are cost effective and generate attractive financial returns

 

Enhancing the operational performance of businesses through effective strategic planning, oversight and resource allocation

 

Structuring investments and acquisitions on compelling terms, including substantial experience with SPAC transactions in our areas of focus

Subsequent to the completion of our initial public offering, members of our management team and sponsor engaged with their extensive network of relationships to articulate our initial business combination criteria, including the parameters of our search for a target business, and have begun the process of reviewing potential opportunities. This network includes a broad array of content creators, developers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, operating executives of public and private companies, private equity sponsors and investment bankers and other contacts.

Acquisition Criteria

We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to seek to acquire a company that includes the characteristics below:

 

Compelling intellectual property and communities: Creators and owners of unique and compelling content, products and technology that can drive loyalty and engagement across a large user base.

 

Potential to leverage new technologies across multiple dimensions: A track record of innovation and potential to leverage new and emerging technology and platforms for cross-platform delivery and distribution to attract users and build long-lasting communities.

 

Scale and global ambitions: A robust installed base with demonstrated cohort retention and potential to scale across regions. Established operations at a size and scale appropriate for a transition to operations as a publicly traded business.

 

Proven operating team: Operating team with proven track record of success and ability to develop differentiated content and products. History of an ability to promote cultures of creativity and innovation that ultimately drive memorable user experiences.

 

3


 

Platform for expansion: Potential to pursue accretive acquisition opportunities to enhance scale, to acquire new content and product capabilities, provide additional technological capabilities, or to enter new lines of business.

 

Benefits from being a public company: Ability to benefit from the transition from a private to a public entity with greater access to capital, liquidity for employees and potential acquisitions and expanded branding opportunities.

 

Attractive financial opportunity: Compelling financial profile with opportunities to drive long-term growth while generating attractive returns to shareholders.

These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team may deem relevant. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity groups, investment banking firms, consultants, accounting firms and large business enterprises. Members of our management team will leverage their relationships to articulate the criteria for a target company and a potential business combination and pursue compelling leads.

Additional Disclosures

Our Acquisition Process

Our search for a business combination, ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Certain of our directors and officers have, and any of them in the future may have, fiduciary, contractual or other duties to other entities, including UTA. These entities may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. Subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, none of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing in or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies, including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination. Our management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on one hand, and us, on the other.

Our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our directors and officers are also not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.

 

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We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary, contractual or other obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of our founders’ and management’s performance as indicative of our future performance.

Initial Business Combination

So long as our securities are listed on Nasdaq, our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. We refer to this as the 80% of fair market value test. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public shareholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% of fair market value test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a target business or businesses, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of the fair market value test, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-business combination company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target business, or issue a substantial number of new shares to third parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-business combination company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of fair market value test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. If our securities are not then listed on Nasdaq for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of fair market value test. If the business combination

 

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involves more than one target business, the 80% of fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.

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

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

Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets

We believe our management team’s significant operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring, financing and selling businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. In addition, members of our management team have developed contacts from serving on the boards of directors of several companies.

We believe this network provides our management team with a robust and consistent flow of acquisition opportunities which were proprietary or where a limited group of investors were invited to participate in the sale process. We believe that the network of contacts and relationships of our management team will provide us with important sources of acquisition opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another valuation or appraisal firm that regularly renders fairness opinions on the type of target business we are seeking to acquire that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.

If any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our directors and officers currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.

Status as a Public Company

We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer target businesses an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their equity securities, shares or shares of stock in the target business for our shares or for a combination of our shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the

 

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specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.

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

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.

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

Financial Position

As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately $229,310,497 available to consummate an initial business combination after payment of the estimated expenses of our initial public offering (and including our estimated post-offering working capital expenses) and $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees. With these funds available for a business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.

Effecting Our Initial Business Combination

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

If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemptions of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account.

 

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

Lack of business diversification

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

By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry.

Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:

 

solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or

 

dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.

This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.

Limited ability to evaluate the target’s management team

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

we issue (other than in a public offering for cash) ordinary shares that will either (a) be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of Class A ordinary shares then issued and outstanding or (b) have voting power equal to or in excess of 20% of the voting power then outstanding;

 

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

 

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

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

Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities

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

In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.

 

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The purpose of such transaction could be to (1) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of our initial business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.

In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our securities and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

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

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

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

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. At the completion of our initial business combination, we will be required to purchase any ordinary shares properly delivered for redemption and not withdrawn. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriter. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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Manner of Conducting Redemptions

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets, either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination, to be less than $5,000,005 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.

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

 

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

 

file proxy materials with the SEC.

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

 

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

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

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets, either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination, to be less than $5,000,005 following such redemptions. Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (1) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

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

Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to excess shares, without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in the initial public offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including excess shares) for or against our initial business combination.

 

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

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

There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.

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

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

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

 

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If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 21 months from the closing of the initial public offering or during any extension period.

Redemption of public shares and liquidation if no initial business combination

Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we will have only 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 21-month period or during any extension period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible, but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 21-month time period or during any extension period.

Our initial shareholders entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering or during any extension period. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 21-month time period.

Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of the initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets, either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination, to be less than $5,000,005 following such redemptions.

We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the proceeds held outside the trust account and up to $2,500,000 in available working capital loans from our sponsor, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.

If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.20. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.20. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.

 

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Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver only if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of the initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our other officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be substantially less than $10.20 per share.

We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of the initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $2,500,000 in working capital loans under our borrowing arrangement with our sponsor, with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors.

 

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If we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable insolvency law and may be included in our insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any insolvency claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.20 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or insolvency laws as a voidable performance. As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants.

Competition

We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. Additionally, the number of blank check companies looking for business combination targets has increased compared to recent years and many of these blank check companies are sponsored by entities or persons that have significant experience with completing business combinations. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, in the event we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our Class A ordinary shares, it will potentially reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

Human Capital

We currently have three officers and do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any such person will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.

 

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Item 1.A. Risk Factors.

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report, including our financial statements and related notes, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

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

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

We may not hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange rules or if we decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, the Nasdaq listing rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a general meeting, but would still require us to obtain shareholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares, we would seek shareholder approval of such business combination. However, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we consummate.

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

Unlike some other blank check companies in which the initial shareholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public shareholders in connection with an initial business combination, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 8,625,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted), or 1,437,501, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted), of the 23,000,000 public shares sold in the initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved. Our directors and officers have also entered into the letter agreement, imposing similar obligations on them with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. We expect that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares at the time of any such shareholder vote. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary shareholder approval will be received than would be the case if such persons agreed to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public shareholders.

 

 

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

Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder approval. Accordingly, if we do not seek shareholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the
investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights
within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to
our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.

The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.

We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriter will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a business combination and such amount of deferred underwriting discount is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial business combination. If we are able to consummate an initial business combination, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay and the payment of the deferred underwriting commissions. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets, either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination, to be less than $5,000,005 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets, either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination, to be less than $5,000,005 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.

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

At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights and, therefore, we will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.

The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.

If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful increases. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not

 

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receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.

The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.

Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of the initial public offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the end of the 21-month period. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation. In July 2021, the SEC charged a SPAC for misleading disclosures, which could have been corrected with more adequate due diligence, and obtained substantial relief against the SPAC and its sponsor. Although we will invest in due diligence efforts and commit management time and resources to such efforts, there can be no assurance that our due diligence will unveil all potential issues with a target business and that we or our sponsor will not become subject to regulatory actions related to such efforts.

We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of the initial public offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein, including as a result of terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of infectious diseases. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire.

If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period or during any extension period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.20 per share, or less than $10.20 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.

 

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Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and other events and the status of debt and equity markets.

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

In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility and decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.

Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war or other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters, global hostilities or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border transactions.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders, or warrant holders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination.

Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates are under no obligation or duty to do so and they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of our initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of our initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. This may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.

 

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In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our securities and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

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

We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.

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

We are exempt from the rules promulgated by the SEC related to certain blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors are not afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our initial public offering was subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the initial public offering, which we refer to as the “excess shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including excess shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the excess shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell excess shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the excess shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or

 

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indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. Additionally, the number of special purpose acquisition companies looking for business combination targets has increased compared to recent years and many of these special purpose acquisition companies are sponsored by entities or persons that have significant experience with completing business combinations. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, in the event we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our Class A ordinary shares, it will potentially reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.

As the number of special purpose acquisition companies increases, there may be more competition to find an attractive target for an initial business combination. This could increase the costs associated with completing our initial business combination and may result in our inability to find a suitable target for our initial business combination and/or complete our initial business combination.

In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many companies have entered into business combinations with special purpose acquisition companies, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many additional special purpose acquisition companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, effort and resources to identify a suitable target for an initial business combination and/or complete our initial business combination.

In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive opportunities could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find a suitable target for and/or complete our initial business combination.

If the funds not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 21 months following the closing of the initial public offering, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.

The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 21 months following the closing of the initial public offering, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.

Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping”

 

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around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreements where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.

Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.

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

The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense and/or accept less favorable terms. Furthermore, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.

In addition, after completion of any initial business combination, our directors and officers could be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to such initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.

If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share.

Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver only if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.

Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, or upon the

 

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exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.20 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors.

Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of the initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Our sponsor may not have sufficient funds available to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations, and therefore, no funds are currently set aside to cover any such obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per public share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our directors or officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.20 per share.

The securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share.

The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less, in the case we are unable to complete our initial business combination, up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share. Negative interest rates could also reduce the amount of funds we have available to complete our initial business combination.

 

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If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, an insolvency or a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or insolvency laws as a voidable performance. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable insolvency law, and may be included in our liquidation estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any liquidation claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation would be reduced.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:

 

restrictions on the nature of our investments; and

 

restrictions on the issuance of securities

each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:

 

registration as an investment company with the SEC;

 

adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and

 

reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to.

We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. The proceeds held in the trust account may be invested by the trustee only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Because the investment of the proceeds will be restricted to these instruments, we believe we will meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

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Changes in laws or regulations or how such laws or regulations are interpreted or applied, or a failure to comply with any laws or regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.

We are and will be subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements, our business combination may be contingent on our ability to comply with certain laws and regulations and any post-business combination company may be subject to additional laws and regulations. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time, including as a result of changes in economic, political, social and government policies, and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.

If we have not completed our initial business combination within the allotted time period, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such allotted time period before redemption from our trust account.

If we have not completed our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of the initial public offering or during any extension period, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account shall be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to windup, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the allotted time period before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless, prior thereto, we consummate our initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and then only in cases where investors have properly sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior thereto.

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

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

 

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We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination. Our public shareholders will not have the right to elect or remove directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.

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

The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.

Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into in connection with the initial public offering, at or after the time of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their founder shares after those shares convert to our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register the resale of such warrants or the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders or their permitted transferees, our private placement warrants or warrants issued in connection with working capital loans are registered for resale.

Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector, or geographic area or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.

We may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company of any size (subject to our satisfaction of the 80% of fair market value test) and in any industry, sector or geographic area. However, we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or development stage entity. Although our directors and officers will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to our investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

 

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

We will consider a business combination in industries outside of our management’s areas of expertise, if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors relevant to such acquisition. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings.

To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our directors and officers will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.

We are not required to obtain an opinion regarding fairness. Consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.

 

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We may engage the underwriter from our initial public offering or any of its affiliates to provide additional services to us. The underwriter’s deferred underwriting commission will be released from the trust only on a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause the underwriter to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us, after the initial public offering.

We may engage the underwriter or any of its affiliates to provide additional services to us, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay the underwriter or its affiliate fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation. The underwriter’s deferred underwriting commission is conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The fact that the underwriter’s or any of its affiliates’ financial interests are tied to the consummation of an initial business combination may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of the initial business combination.

Any due diligence in connection with an initial business combination may not reveal all relevant considerations or liabilities of a target business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The due diligence undertaken with respect to a potential initial business combination may not reveal all relevant facts that may be necessary to evaluate such transaction or to formulate a business strategy. Furthermore, the information provided during due diligence may not be adequate or accurate. As part of the due diligence process, we will also make subjective judgments regarding the results of operations, financial condition and prospects of a potential initial business combination, and these judgements may be inaccurate.

Due diligence conducted in connection with an initial business combination may not result in the initial business combination being successful. If the due diligence investigation fails to identify material information regarding an opportunity, or if we consider such material risks to be commercially acceptable relative to the opportunity, and we proceed with an initial business combination, our Company may subsequently incur substantial impairment charges or other losses. In addition, following an initial business combination, we may be subject to significant, previously undisclosed liabilities of the acquired business that were not identified during due diligence and which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 80,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 undesignated preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2022, there were 57,000,000 and 14,250,000 authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance, which amount takes into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares. Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein. As of December 31, 2022, there were no preference shares issued and outstanding.

We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares, and may issue preference shares, in order to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares in connection with our redemption of our warrants upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide,

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

could cause a change of control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present directors and officers;

 

may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;

 

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

 

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

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

We may, subject to requisite shareholder approval by special resolution under the Companies Act, effect a business combination with a target company in another jurisdiction, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located, or reincorporate in another jurisdiction. Such transactions may result in tax liability for a shareholder or warrant holder in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident (or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity), in which the target company is located, or in which we reincorporate. In the event of a reincorporation pursuant to our initial business combination, such tax liability may attach prior to any consummation of redemptions. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to pay such taxes. Shareholders or warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.

Failure to maintain our status as tax resident solely in the Cayman Islands could adversely affect our financial and operating results. Our intention is that prior to our initial business combination we should be resident solely in the Cayman Islands.

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

 

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Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers which may raise potential conflicts of interest.

In light of the involvement of our sponsor, directors and officers with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors and officers. Certain of our directors and officers also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including those described under “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for a business combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement that we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another valuation or appraisal firm that regularly renders fairness opinions on the type of target business we are seeking to acquire, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.

We may engage Connaught, an affiliate of a member of our sponsor, as a financial advisor in connection with our initial business combination. Any fee in connection with such engagement may be conditioned upon the completion of such transaction. This financial interest in the completion of such transactions may influence the advice such party provides.

We may engage Connaught, an affiliate of a member of our sponsor, as a financial advisor in connection with our initial business combination and may pay a customary financial advisory fee in an amount that constitutes a market standard financial advisory fee for comparable transactions. Pursuant to any such engagement, Connaught may earn its fee upon closing of the initial business combination. The payment of such fee would likely be conditioned upon the completion of the initial business combination. Therefore, a member of our sponsor may have additional financial interests in the completion of the initial business combination. These financial interests may influence the advice Connaught provides us as our financial advisor, which advice would contribute to our decision on whether to pursue a business combination with any particular target.

 

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

As of December 31, 2022, our initial shareholders hold 5,750,000 founder shares (including 5,675,000 held by our sponsor). The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 11,200,000 private placement warrants, each exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, for a purchase price of $11,200,000 in the aggregate, or $1.00 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete a business combination. Each private placement warrant may be exercised for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment.

The founder shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units sold in our initial public offering except that: (1) prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason; (2) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions; (3) our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive: (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of the initial public offering or during any extension period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame); (4) the founder shares will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and (5) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them purchased during or after the initial public offering in favor of our initial business combination.

The personal and financial interests of our sponsor, directors and officers may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the deadline to complete our initial business combination nears.

We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.

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

 

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

 

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

 

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our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;

 

our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;

 

our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares;

 

using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;

 

limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;

 

increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and

 

limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

The value of the founder shares following completion of our initial business combination is likely to be substantially higher than the nominal price paid for them, even if the trading price of our shares of common stock at such time is substantially less than $10.00 per share.

Our sponsor has invested in us an aggregate of $11,225,000, comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the founder shares and the $11,200,000 purchase price for the private placement warrants. Assuming a trading price of $10.00 per share upon consummation of our initial business combination, the 5,750,000 founder shares would have an aggregate implied value of $57,500,000. Even if the trading price of our shares of common stock were as low as $1.95 per share, and the private placement warrants were worthless, the value of the founder shares would be equal to the sponsor’s initial investment in us. As a result, our sponsor is likely to be able to make a substantial profit on its investment in us at a time when our public shares have lost significant value and our warrants are worthless. Accordingly, our management team, some of whom own interests in our sponsor, may be more willing to pursue a business combination with a riskier or less-established target business than would be the case if our sponsor had paid the same per share price for the founder shares as our public stockholders paid for their public shares.

We may be able to complete only one business combination with the proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.

We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous financial, economic, competitive and regulatory risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:

 

solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or

 

dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.

 

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This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous financial, economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.

We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.

If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.

We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets, either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination, to be less than $5,000,005 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.

In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption

 

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thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law. A resolution is deemed to be a special resolution as a matter of Cayman Islands law where it has been approved by either (1) holders of at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s ordinary shares at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given or (2) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law) (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders. The warrant agreement provides that (a) the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in the prospectus related to the initial public offering, or defective provision, (ii) removing or reducing the Company’s ability to redeem the Public Warrants and, if applicable, a corresponding amendment to the Company’s ability to redeem the Private Placement Warrants, (iii) removing any cap on the number of shares that are issuable upon a cashless exercise of a Warrant or (iv) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants under the warrant agreement and in any material respect, (b) the warrant agreement may be amended by the parties thereto with the vote or written consent of the registered holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants and private placement warrants, voting together as a single class, to allow for the warrants to be or continue to be, as applicable, classified as equity in the company’s financial statements, and (c) all other modifications or amendments, including any modification or amendment to increase the warrant price or shorten the exercise period, (i) with respect to the terms of the public warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the public warrants, requires the vote or written consent of the registered holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants and (ii) solely with respect to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants requires the vote or written consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding private placement warrants. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments, including the warrant agreement, or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.

Certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.

Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by holders of a certain percentage of the company’s shares. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by holders holding between 90% and 100% of the company’s public shares. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions, including those related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances), may be amended if approved by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of

 

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funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our ordinary shares (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting). Our initial shareholders, who collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete our initial business combination with which you do not agree. In certain circumstances, our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.

If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants available to us prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate.

In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our directors, officers or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Our initial shareholders will control the appointment of our board of directors until consummation of our initial business combination and will hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they will appoint all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.

Our initial shareholders own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of the founder shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of the board of directors for any reason. Holders of our public shares will have no right to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination.

In addition, as a result of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial shareholders may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial shareholders purchase any Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring a shareholder vote at least until the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.

Unlike some blank check companies, if:

 

we issue additional ordinary shares 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 ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by the sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “newly issued price”),

 

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

 

the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “market value”) is below $9.20 per share.

then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the market value and the newly issued price, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price applicable to our warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the market value and the newly issued price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.

Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.

We have issued warrants to purchase 11,200,000 Class A ordinary shares, at a price of $11.50 per whole share (subject to adjustment), as part of the units and, simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we issued in the private placement an aggregate of 11,200,000 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. Our initial shareholders currently hold 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares. The Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers make any working capital loans, up to $2,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. To the extent we issue Class A ordinary shares to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants or conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.

The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in the initial public offering except that: (1) the private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us; (2) the private placement warrants (and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) may be subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in the letter agreement by and among the company, the sponsor and any other parties thereto, as amended from time to time; (3) the private placement warrants may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) the holders of the private placement warrants (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants) are entitled to registration rights.

 

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Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.

The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to prepare and provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.

Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement with regards to our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome for us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.

If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign market, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.

If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting (including how relevant governments respond to such factors), including any of the following:

 

costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets;

 

rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;

 

complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;

 

laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;

 

tariffs and trade barriers;

 

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regulations related to customs and import/export matters;

 

longer payment cycles;

 

tax consequences, such as tax law changes, including termination or reduction of tax and other incentives that the applicable government provides to domestic companies, and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;

 

currency fluctuations and exchange controls, including devaluations and other exchange rate movements;

 

rates of inflation, price instability and interest rate fluctuations;

 

liquidity of domestic capital and lending markets;

 

challenges in collecting accounts receivable;

 

cultural and language differences;

 

employment regulations;

 

energy shortages;

 

crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, wars and other forms of social instability;

 

deterioration of political relations with the United States;

 

obligatory military service by personnel; and

 

government appropriation of assets.

We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such combination or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company

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

Business combinations with companies in the technology industries entail special considerations and risks. If we are successful in completing a business combination with such a target business, we may be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks:

 

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

 

an inability to manage rapid change, increasing consumer expectations and growth;

 

an inability to build strong brand identity and improve subscriber or customer satisfaction and loyalty;

 

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

 

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

 

an inability to attract and retain subscribers or customers;

 

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

 

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

 

an inability by us, or a refusal by third parties, to license content to us upon acceptable terms;

 

potential liability for negligence, copyright, or trademark infringement or other claims based on the nature and content of materials that we may distribute;

 

competition for advertising revenue;

 

competition for the leisure and entertainment time and discretionary spending of subscribers or customers, which may intensify in part due to advances in technology and changes in consumer expectations and behavior;

 

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

 

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

 

reliance on third-party vendors or service providers.

Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to the technology industries. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks we will be subject to risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, which may or may not be different than those risks listed above.

Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.

Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write down or write off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

After our initial business combination, our results of operations and prospects could be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political, social and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.

The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various

 

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sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.

Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.

We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will complete such business combination only if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new ordinary shares in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target, or issue a substantial number of new shares to third parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.

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

When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

The directors and officers of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.

 

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

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

If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.

Following our initial business combination, any or all of our management could resign from their positions as officers of the company, and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination could remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with U.S. securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.

Risks Relating to Our Management Team

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

Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and in particular, Reginald (Reggie) Fils-Aimé, Jamie Sharp, Clinton Foy and Chris Jefferis. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our directors and officers, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our directors and officers are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business endeavors, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. For a discussion of certain of our officers’ and directors’ other business endeavors, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.” We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of our or a target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.

In addition, the directors and officers of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition

 

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candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.

Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.

Our key personnel may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

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

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

Our directors and officers will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Our directors and officers are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers and directors may be engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to, or otherwise expect to receive, substantial compensation or other economic benefit and our officers and directors are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Certain of our directors and officers also serve as officers and/or board members for other entities. If our directors’ and officers’ other business endeavors require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such endeavors in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs, which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a discussion of certain of our officers’ and directors’ other business endeavors, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.”

 

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Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

Until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and directors and officers are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies, including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination and any such involvement may result in conflict of interests as described above. Any other SPAC may have terms that are the same or different than our terms, including terms that are more favorable to its investors and/or potential target businesses. Moreover, entities in which our directors and officers are affiliated with may enter into agreements or other arrangements with businesses, which agreements or arrangements may limit or restrict our ability to enter into a business combination with such business.

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

For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Conflicts of Interest” and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence—Administrative Services Agreement”

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

We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or their respective affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or officers. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours. In particular, affiliates of our sponsor have interests in a diverse set of industries. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for such other affiliates.

Our letter agreements with our initial shareholders, officers and directors may be amended without shareholder approval.

Our letter agreements with our initial shareholders, officers and directors contains provisions relating to, among other things, restrictions on transfer of our founder shares and private placement warrants, indemnification of the trust account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidating distributions from the trust account. The letter agreement may be amended without shareholder approval. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to the letter agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or

 

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more amendments to the letter agreement. Any such amendments to the letter agreement would not require approval from our shareholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.

Risks Relating to Our Securities

You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of the initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of the initial public offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.

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

We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public shareholders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the applicable exchange’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.

If any of our securities are delisted from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect such securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

 

a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

 

reduced liquidity for our securities;

 

a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;

 

a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

 

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

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or pre-empts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants currently qualify as covered securities under such statute. Although the states are pre-empted from regulating the sale of covered securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate

 

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or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by special purpose acquisition companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under such statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, including in connection with our initial business combination, which may negatively impact our ability to consummate our initial business combination.

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

Pursuant to the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days, after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement covering the issuance of such shares, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, we will be required to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of the units sold in our initial public offering. In such an instance, the holders of the private placement warrants would be able to exercise private placement warrants and sell the ordinary shares underlying such warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying ordinary shares. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying Class A ordinary shares for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.

We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants.

Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that (a) the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in the prospectus related to the initial public offering, or defective provision, (ii)

 

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removing or reducing the Company’s ability to redeem the public warrants and, if applicable, a corresponding amendment to the Company’s ability to redeem the private placement warrants, (iii) removing any cap on the number of shares that are issuable upon a cashless exercise of a warrant or (iv) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants under the warrant agreement and in any material respect, (b) the warrant agreement may be amended by the parties thereto with the vote or written consent of the registered holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants and private placement warrants, voting together as a single class, to allow for the warrants to be or continue to be, as applicable, classified as equity in the company’s financial statements, and (c) all other modifications or amendments, including any modification or amendment to increase the warrant price or shorten the exercise period, (i) with respect to the terms of the public warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the public warrants, requires the vote or written consent of the registered holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants and (ii) solely with respect to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants requires the vote or written consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding private placement warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants and private warrants, voting together as a single class, approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants and private warrants, voting together as a single class, is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.  

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

We have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant if, among other things, the reference value equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted). If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants as described above could force you to: (1) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so; (2) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (3) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.

Because each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.

Each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole warrants will trade. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one whole warrant or a greater fraction of one whole warrant to purchase one share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included one warrant or a greater fraction of one whole warrant to purchase one whole share.

Our management’s ability to require holders of our public warrants to exercise such public warrants on a cashless basis will cause holders to receive fewer Class A ordinary shares upon their exercise of the public warrants than they would have received had they been able to exercise their public warrants for cash.

If we call our public warrants for redemption after the redemption criteria described elsewhere in this Annual Report have been satisfied, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its warrant

 

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(including any warrants held by our sponsor, officers, directors or their permitted transferees) to do so on a “cashless basis.” If our management chooses to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, the number of Class A ordinary shares received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his, her or its warrant for cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside “ of the holder’s investment in our Company.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement do not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope of the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “NY foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (a “NY enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such NY enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the NY foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.

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

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that the courts of the Cayman Islands will be the exclusive forum for certain disputes between us and our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for complaints against us or our directors, officers or employees.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts of the Cayman Islands will, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or dispute arising out of or in connection with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or otherwise related in any way to each shareholder’s shareholding in us, including but not limited to (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of any fiduciary or other duty owed by any of our current or former directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (including the underwriter or our independent registered public accounting firm) to us or our shareholders (including a beneficial owner within the meaning of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act), (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Companies Act or our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine (as such concept is recognized under the laws of the United States of America), and that each shareholder irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Cayman Islands over all such claims or disputes. Additionally, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that the federal district courts of the United States of America will, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, have exclusive jurisdiction for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act, including any claim against us or any of our current or former directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (including the underwriter or our independent registered public accounting firm). The forum selection provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will not apply to actions or suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are, as a matter of the laws of the United States, the sole and exclusive forum for determination of such a claim.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also provide that, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that we may have, each of our shareholders acknowledges that damages alone would not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands or the federal district courts of the United States of America, as applicable, as exclusive forum and that accordingly we shall be entitled, without proof of special damages, to the remedies of injunction, specific performance or other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands or the federal district courts of the United States of America, as applicable, as exclusive forum.

 

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These choice of forum provisions may increase a shareholder’s cost and limit the shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any of our shares or other securities, whether by transfer, sale, operation of law or otherwise, shall be deemed to have notice of and have irrevocably agreed and consented to these provisions. There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provisions, and the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ charter documents has been challenged in legal proceedings. It is possible that a court could find these types of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable, and if a court were to find these provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, which could have adverse effects on our business and financial performance.

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

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include two-year director terms and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

Since only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, Nasdaq may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the Nasdaq rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.

Only holders of our founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors until our initial business combination. As a result, Nasdaq may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the Nasdaq corporate governance standards. Under the Nasdaq corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:

 

we have a board that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under the Nasdaq listing rules;

 

we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and

 

we have a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities.

We do not intend utilize these exemptions and intend to continue to comply with the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.

General Risk Factors

Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”

As of December 31, 2022, we had cash of $153,968 and working capital deficiency of $85,004. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. We cannot assure stockholders that our plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial business combination will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

 

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We have no operating revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination with our Company and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.

Past performance by any member or members of our management team, any of their respective affiliates, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.

Information regarding performance by our management team and their respective affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Not all of the companies in which our team has invested have achieved the same level of value creation. Past performance by any member or members of our management team, any of their respective affiliates, is not a guarantee either (1) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (2) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of any member or members of our management team, any of their respective affiliates or any of the foregoing’s related investment’s performance, as indicative of the future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.

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

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder of our ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our taxable years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, our current taxable year and our subsequent taxable years may depend upon the status of an acquired company pursuant to a business combination and whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception. Depending on the circumstances, the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our taxable years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, moreover, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor on written request to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would likely be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. Holders to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules to holders of our ordinary shares and warrants.

Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.

We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. If is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.

 

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We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.

We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of any second quarter of a fiscal year, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the end of such fiscal year. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

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

Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the geopolitical conditions resulting from the  invasion of Ukraine by Russia and subsequent sanctions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities and the status of debt and equity markets, as well as protectionist legislation in our target markets.

United States and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the escalation of geopolitical tensions and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022. In response to such invasion, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) deployed additional military forces to eastern Europe, and the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have announced various sanctions and restrictive actions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities, including the removal of certain financial institutions from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system. Certain countries, including the United States, have also provided and may continue to provide military aid or other assistance to Ukraine during the ongoing military conflict, increasing geopolitical tensions with Russia. The

 

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invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the resulting measures that have been taken, and could be taken in the future, by NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have created global security concerns that could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies. Although the length and impact of the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine is highly unpredictable, the conflict could lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions. Additionally, Russian military actions and the resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets. In addition, the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the impact of sanctions against Russia and the potential for retaliatory acts from Russia, could result in increased cyber-attacks against U.S. companies.

Any of the abovementioned factors, or any other negative impact on the global economy, capital markets or other geopolitical conditions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions, could adversely affect our search for a business combination and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination. The extent and duration of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, resulting sanctions and any related market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial, particularly if current or new sanctions continue for an extended period of time or if geopolitical tensions result in expanded military operations on a global scale. Any such disruptions may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this Risk Factors” section. If these disruptions or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.

Changes in laws or regulations or how such laws or regulations are interpreted or applied, or a failure to comply with any laws or regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.

We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements, our business combination may be contingent on our ability to comply with certain laws and regulations and any post-business combination company may be subject to additional laws and regulations. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. A failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations. In addition, those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may change from time to time, including as a result of changes in economic, political, social and government policies, and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.

On March 30, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules that would, among other items, impose additional disclosure requirements in business combination transactions involving SPACs and private operating companies; amend the financial statement requirements applicable to business combination transactions involving such companies; update and expand guidance regarding the general use of projections in SEC filings, as well as when projections are disclosed in connection with proposed business combination transactions; increase the potential liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions; and impact the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940. These rules, if adopted, whether in the form proposed or in revised form, may materially adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and may increase the costs and time related thereto.

Our proximity to our liquidation date expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”

In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with the FASB ASU 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate.  The financial statements do not include any adjustment that might be necessary if the Company is unable to continue as a going concern.

 

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Item 1.B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 2. Properties.

We currently maintain our executive offices at 135 5th Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10010. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee that we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor for office space and administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to our knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against us or any of our officers or directors in their corporate capacity.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

None.

 

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PART II.

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

(a) Market Information

Our units began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market on December 2, 2021. Each unit consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share. On January 20, 2022, we announced that holders of the units may elect to separately trade the Class A ordinary shares and redeemable warrants included in the units commencing on January 24, 2022. Any units not separated continue to trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “UTAAU” and any underlying Class A ordinary shares and redeemable warrants that were separated trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbols “UTAA” and “UTAAW,” respectively.

(b) Holders

As of March 31, 2023, there was approximately one holder of record of our units, approximately one holder of record of our separately traded Class A ordinary shares, approximately one holder of record of our separately traded redeemable warrants and approximately four holders of record of our Class B ordinary shares.

(c) Dividends

We have not paid any cash dividends on our Class A ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

(d) Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

None.

(e) Performance Graph

The performance graph has been omitted as permitted under rules applicable to smaller reporting companies.

(f) Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings 

Unregistered Sales

Prior to our initial public offering, our sponsor paid an aggregate price of $25,000 to cover certain expenses on our behalf in exchange for 5,750,000 founder shares, resulting in an effective purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares following the completion of our initial public offering.

Our sponsor purchased 11,200,000 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($11,200,000 in the aggregate), in a private placement that closed substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial public offering.

 

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These issuances were made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.

Use of Proceeds 

On December 6, 2021, the Company consummated its initial public offering of 23,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $230,000,000. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC acted as the sole book-running manager and underwriter of the offering. The securities sold in the initial public offering were registered under the Securities Act on a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-260967). The SEC declared the registration statements effective on December 1, 2021.

Our sponsor purchased 11,200,000 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($11,200,000 in the aggregate), in a private placement that closed substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial public offering.

In connection with the initial public offering, we incurred offering costs of approximately $13,252,780 (including deferred underwriting commissions of approximately $8,050,000). 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, $234,600,000, 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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. For a description of the use of the proceeds generated from the initial public offering, see “Item 1. Business.”

Item 6. [Reserved]

 

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

References to the “Company,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to UTA Acquisition Corporation. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factor Summary,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth in the final prospectus for our Initial Public Offering as filed with the SEC on December 1, 2021.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Exchange Act that are not historical facts and involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected and projected. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this Annual Report including, without limitation, statements in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding the Company’s financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward looking statements. Words such as “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “seek” and variations and similar words and expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance, but reflect management’s current beliefs, based on information currently available. A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the forward-looking statements. For information identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors section of the Company’s final prospectus for its Initial Public Offering (as defined below) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The Company’s filings with the SEC can be accessed on the EDGAR section of the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as expressly required by applicable securities law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Overview

We are a blank check company, incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on July 15, 2021 for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt.

 

We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete a Business Combination will be successful.

 

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Business Combination

If we are unable to complete a business combination within 21 months from the closing of the initial public offering (the “combination period”), 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 (less amounts released to pay taxes and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preference shares in connection with an initial business combination:

 

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

 

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

 

could cause a change in control if a substantial number of ordinary shares is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors;

 

may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;

 

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

 

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

Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt, it could result in:

 

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

 

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

 

our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;

 

our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding;

 

using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our ordinary shares if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes;

 

limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;

 

58


 

increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and

 

limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy.

The following includes our material cash requirements from known contractual obligations as of December 31, 2022:

Related Party Loans

We have short-term Working Capital Loan obligations of $577,992. See Note 4 – Related Party Transactions to the notes of the financial statements for further detail on our Working Capital Loans.

Underwriting Agreement

The underwriters are entitled to a deferred underwriting discount of $0.35 per unit, or $8,050,000 in the aggregate which will be payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that we complete a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.

Results of Operations

We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any operating revenues to date. Our only activities for the period from July 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, and, after the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a business combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents held after the Initial Public Offering. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, we had net income of $2,107,899, which resulted entirely from earnings on investments held in Trust Account of $3,388,842, offset by formation and operating costs of $1,280,943.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

 

 

For the year ended

December 31,

2022

 

 

For the period

from July 15,

2021

(inception)

through

December 31,

2021

 

Net cash used in operating activities

 

$

97,803

 

 

$

(1,206,335

)

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

 

 

(663,268

)

 

 

(234,600,000

)

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

 

303,865

 

 

 

236,222,772

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and restricted cash

 

$

(261,600

)

 

$

416,437

 

 

 

59


 

Cash used in operating activities

Net cash used in operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2022 was $97,803. Net income of $2,107,899 was affected by realized and unrealized gains on marketable securities held in trust of $2,724,705. Changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $714,609 of cash from operating activities.

Net cash used in operating activities during the period from July 15 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 was $1,206,335. Net loss of $220,217, was affected by realized and unrealized gains on marketable securities held in trust of $6,064, formation and operating costs funded from the sale of founder shares to our sponsor of $25,000 and loans from our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note of $30,000. The use of operating cash due to changes in operating assets and liabilities was $1,035,054.  

Cash provided by (used in) investing activities

Net cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2022, was $663,268 proceeds from redemption of Marketable Securities held in Trust Account, offset by investment in Marketable Securities held in Trust Account.

Net cash used in investing activities during the period from July 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, consisting primarily of transferring the proceeds from the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants to the Trust Account of $234,600,000.

Cash provided by financing activities

Net cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2022, was $303,865, consisting primarily of proceeds received from the Working Capital Loan.

Cash provided by financing activities during the period from July15, 2021 through December 31, 2021, was $236,222,772, consisting primarily of net proceeds received from the IPO, net of underwriting fees of $4,600,000, of $225,400,000, proceeds from the sale of Private Warrants of $11,200,000 offset by payment of offering costs of $377,228.

The following includes our material cash requirements from known contractual obligations as of December 31, 2022:

Related Party Loans

We have short-term Working Capital Loan obligations of $577,992. See Note 4 – Related Party Transactions to the notes of the financial statements for further detail on our Working Capital Loans.

 

60


Underwriting Agreement

We have a short-term deferred underwriting fees liability of $8,050,000. See Note 5 – Commitments and Contingencies to the notes of the financial statements for further detail on our underwriting agreement.

We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and excluding deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes, if any. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the Trust Account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the Trust Account will be sufficient to pay our taxes. We expect the only taxes payable by us out of the funds in the Trust Account will be income and franchise taxes, if any. To the extent that our ordinary shares or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.

As of December 31, 2022, we had cash outside our Trust Account of $153,968 and had a working capital deficiency of $85,004. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor agreed to loan us funds of up to $2,500,000 as may be required (the “Working Capital Loans”), of which $1,922,008 remains available as of December 31, 2022. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such Working Capital Loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $2,500,000 of the Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

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

 

The Company uses funds held outside of the Trust Account and borrowings under the Working Capital Loans to pay 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 a Business Combination.  The Company believes that the funds available may not be sufficient to meet the expenditures required for operating our business through a period of one year from the date of these financial statements.  

 

We may need to obtain additional financing either to complete an initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our Public Shares upon completion of an initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination.  There is no assurance that management would be able to secure these additional funds. As a result, the Company’s management has determined that the current liquidity conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.      

 

61


Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have no obligations, assets or liabilities, which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2022. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. There were no critical accounting estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting policies:

Net Income (Loss) Per Ordinary Share

The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”. The statement of operations includes a presentation of income (loss) per Class A redeemable common stock and loss per non-redeemable common stock following the two-class method of income per common stock. In order to determine the net income (loss) attributable to both the Class A redeemable common stock and non-redeemable common stock, the Company first considered the total income (loss) allocable to both sets of stock. This is calculated using the total net income (loss) less any dividends paid. For purposes of calculating net income (loss) per share, any remeasurement of the Class A common stock subject to possible redemption was treated as dividends paid to the public stockholders. Subsequent to calculating the total income (loss) allocable to both sets of stock, the Company split the amount to be allocated using a ratio of 80% for the Class A redeemable common stock and 20% for the non-redeemable common stock, reflective of the respective participation rights. Net income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing allocated net income (loss) applicable to each class of shareholder by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period.

Recent Accounting Standards

The Company’s management does not believe that any recently issued accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.

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 nonemerging growth companies. As a result, the 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 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (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

 

62


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.

 

63


Item 7.A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.

We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

 

 

 

64


 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

Page

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM (BDO USA LLP, New York, New York, PCAOB ID#243)

66

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS:

 

Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021

67

Statement of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from July 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021

68

Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Deficit and Class A Shares Subject to Possible Redemption for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from July 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021

69

Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from July 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021

70

Notes to the Financial Statements

71

 

 

65


 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Shareholders and Board of Directors

UTA Acquisition Corporation

New York, NY

Opinion on the Financial Statements

 

We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of UTA Acquisition Corporation (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ deficit and Class A shares subject to possible redemption, and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from July 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from July 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Going Concern Uncertainty

 

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, as of December 31, 2022, the Company does not have sufficient cash and working capital to sustain its operations. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Basis for Opinion

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

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

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of financial statements. We believe that our audits provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

/s/ BDO USA, LLP

 

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

New York, New York

March 31, 2023

 

 

 

66


 

UTA Acquisition Corporation

Balance Sheet

 

 

 

December 31,

2022

 

 

December 31,

2021

 

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash

 

$

153,968

 

 

$

416,437

 

Restricted cash held in trust

 

 

869

 

 

 

 

Prepaid expenses

 

 

549,405

 

 

 

613,766

 

Marketable securities held in Trust Account

 

 

237,994,037

 

 

 

 

Total current assets

 

 

238,698,279

 

 

 

1,030,203

 

Marketable securities held in Trust Account

 

 

 

 

 

234,606,064

 

Prepaid expenses – non-current

 

 

 

 

 

532,871

 

Total assets

 

$

238,698,279

 

 

$

236,169,138

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities, Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption

   and Shareholders' Deficit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accrued expenses

 

$

90,385

 

 

$

93,008

 

     Related Party Payable

 

 

120,000

 

 

 

 

Working capital loan - related party

 

 

577,992

 

 

 

274,127

 

Deferred underwriters fee

 

 

8,050,000

 

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

 

 

8,838,377

 

 

 

367,135

 

Deferred underwriters fee

 

 

 

 

 

8,050,000

 

Total liabilities

 

 

8,838,377

 

 

 

8,417,135

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commitments and Contingencies (Note 5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, $0.0001 par value, 23,000,000

   shares outstanding at redemption value

 

 

237,994,906

 

 

 

234,606,064

 

Shareholders' Deficit:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized, none issued

   and outstanding

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 80,000,000 shares authorized; none issued

   and outstanding, excluding 23,000,000 shares subject to possible redemption

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000

   shares issued and outstanding

 

 

575

 

 

 

575

 

Additional paid-in capital

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accumulated deficit

 

 

(8,135,579

)

 

 

(6,854,636

)

Total Shareholders' Deficit

 

 

(8,135,004

)

 

 

(6,854,061

)

Total Liabilities, Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption

   and Shareholders' Deficit

 

$

238,698,279

 

 

$

236,169,138

 

 

       

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements

 

67


UTA Acquisition Corporation

Statement of Operations

 

 

 

For the year ended

December 31,

2022

 

 

For the period

from July 15,

2021 (inception)

through

December 31,

2021

 

Formation and operating costs

 

$

1,280,943

 

 

$

226,281

 

Loss from operations

 

 

(1,280,943

)

 

 

(226,281

)

Realized and unrealized gain on marketable securities held in trust

 

 

2,724,705

 

 

 

6,064

 

Interest income on securities held in trust

 

 

664,137

 

 

 

-

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

2,107,899

 

 

$

(220,217

)

Weighted average shares outstanding of class A ordinary shares subject to possible

   redemption, basic and diluted

 

 

23,000,000

 

 

 

3,402,367

 

Basic and diluted net income per share, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible

   redemption

 

$

0.10

 

 

$

1.55

 

Weighted-average Class B ordinary outstanding, basic and diluted, non-redeemable shares

 

$

5,750,000

 

 

$

5,511,834

 

Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares

 

$

(0.04

)

 

$

(1.00

)

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements

 

68


UTA Acquisition Corporation

Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Deficit and Class A Shares Subject to Possible Redemption

 

 

 

Class A ordinary

shares subject to

possible redemption

 

 

Class B Ordinary

Shares

 

 

Additional

Paid-in

 

 

Accumulated

 

 

Shareholders'

 

 

 

Shares

 

 

Amount

 

 

Shares

 

 

Amount

 

 

Capital

 

 

Deficit

 

 

Deficit

 

Balance – July 15, 2021 (Inception)

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

Sale of 23,000,000 Units, net of issuance

   costs

 

 

23,000,000

 

 

 

208,085,992

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Public Warrant allocation, net of issuance

   costs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8,661,228

 

 

 

 

 

 

8,661,228

 

Sale of 11,200,000 private placement

   warrants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11,200,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

11,200,000

 

Issuance of Class B ordinary shares to

   Sponsor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,750,000

 

 

 

575

 

 

 

24,425

 

 

 

 

 

 

25,000

 

Accretion of Class A ordinary shares to

   redemption value

 

 

 

 

 

26,520,072

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(19,885,653

)

 

 

(6,634,419

)

 

 

(26,520,072

)

Net loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(220,217

)

 

 

(220,217

)

Balance – December 31, 2021

 

 

23,000,000

 

 

$

234,606,064

 

 

 

5,750,000

 

 

$

575

 

 

$

-

 

 

$

(6,854,636

)

 

$

(6,854,061

)

Accretion of Class A ordinary shares to

   redemption value

 

 

 

 

 

3,388,842

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3,388,842

)

 

 

(3,388,842

)

Net income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,107,899

 

 

 

2,107,899

 

Balance – December 31, 2022

 

 

23,000,000

 

 

$

237,994,906

 

 

 

5,750,000

 

 

$

575

 

 

 

 

 

$

(8,135,579

)

 

$

(8,135,004

)

 

 , 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements

 

69


UTA Acquisition Corporation

Statement of Cash Flows

 

 

 

For the year ended

December 31,

2022

 

 

For the period

from July 15,

2021

(inception)

through

December 31,

2021

 

Cash flows from Operating Activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

2,107,899

 

 

$

(220,217

)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Realized and unrealized gain on marketable securities held in trust

 

 

(2,724,705

)

 

 

(6,064

)

Formation and operating costs funded by Sponsor in exchange for working capital loans

 

 

 

 

 

30,000

 

Formation and operating costs funded by Sponsor in exchange for founder shares

 

 

 

 

 

25,000

 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepaid expenses

 

 

597,232

 

 

 

(1,128,062

)

Accrued expenses

 

 

117,377

 

 

 

93,008

 

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

 

 

97,803

 

 

 

(1,206,335

)

Cash flows from Investing Activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from redemption of Marketable Securities held in Trust Account

 

 

706,755,732

 

 

 

 

Investment in Marketable Securities held in Trust Account

 

 

(707,419,000

)

 

 

(234,600,000

)

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

 

 

(663,268

)

 

 

(234,600,000

)

Cash flows from Financing Activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash proceeds from sale of Units, net of $4,600,000 underwriting discounts paid

 

 

 

 

 

225,400,000

 

Cash proceeds from sale of Private Warrants

 

 

 

 

 

11,200,000

 

Payment of offering costs

 

 

 

 

 

(377,228

)

Cash proceeds from working capital loan

 

 

303,865

 

 

 

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

 

303,865

 

 

 

236,222,772

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net change in cash and restricted cash

 

 

(261,600

)

 

 

416,437

 

Cash and restricted cash – beginning of period

 

 

416,437

 

 

 

 

Cash and restricted cash – end of period

 

$

154,837

 

 

$

416,437

 

Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Formation and operating costs funded by Sponsor in exchange for founder shares

 

$

 

 

$

25,000

 

Prepaid expenses funded by Sponsor in exchange for working capital loans

 

$

 

 

$

18,575

 

Formation and operating costs funded by Sponsor in exchange for working capital loans

 

$

 

 

$

30,000

 

Offering costs funded by Sponsor in exchange for working capital loans

 

$

 

 

$

225,552

 

Initial measurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, net of $12,723,198 in allocated offering costs

 

$

 

 

$

208,085,992

 

Fair value of Public Warrants allocated to additional paid-in-capital, net of $529,582 in allocated offering costs

 

$

 

 

$

8,661,228

 

Accretion of Class A ordinary shares to redemption value

 

$

3,388,842

 

 

$

26,520,072

 

Deferred underwriters fee charged to additional paid-in-capital

 

$

 

 

$

8,050,000

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements

 

70


UTA Acquisition Corporation

Notes to Financial Statements

 

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

UTA Acquisition Corporation (the “Company”) was incorporated as a Cayman Island exempted company on July 15, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination.  The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies. As further discussed in the Business Combination section below, the Company has until September 6, 2023 to complete a Business Combination

As of December 31, 2022, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from July 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (“IPO”) described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the IPO. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

Sponsor and Financing

The Company’s sponsor is UTA Acquisition Sponsor, LLC (the “Sponsor”). The registration statement for the Company’s IPO was declared effective on December 1, 2021. On December 6, 2021, the Company consummated its IPO of 23,000,000 units (the “Units”), including the issuance of 3,000,000 Units as a result of the underwriter’s exercise of its over-allotment option. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (an “Ordinary Share”, with each such Ordinary Share included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”), and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Ordinary Share for $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $230,000,000. Substantially concurrently with the closing of the IPO, the Company completed the private sale of 11,200,000 Private Placement Warrants at a purchase price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, to the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $11,200,000 as discussed in Note 4.

Transaction costs of the IPO amounted to $13,252,780 consisting of $4,600,000 of underwriting discounts and commissions, $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, and $602,780 of other offering costs.

Trust Account

A total of $234,600,000, comprised of proceeds from the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, was placed in the Trust Account, a U.S.-based trust account at JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee, and invested only in U.S government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay its taxes, if any, the funds held in the Trust Account will not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest to occur of: (1) the completion of the Company’s initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with its initial business combination or to redeem 100% of its public shares if the Company does not complete its initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of the IPO or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of the Company’s public shares if the Company has not completed its initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of the IPO, subject to applicable law. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, marketable securities held in the Trust Account amounted to $237,994,037 and $234,606,064, respectively.

Business Combination

The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all 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 (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust) at the time of the agreement to enter the initial Business Combination. The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction

 

71


company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).

The Company will provide holders of the Company’s outstanding Class A ordinary shares sold in the IPO (the “Public Shareholders”), 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) without a stockholder vote by means of a tender offer. 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 Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then held in the Trust Account. The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Shareholders 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 are classified as temporary equity and subsequentially accreted to redemption value in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”

The Company will not redeem the Public Shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,005. The Company will proceed with a Business Combination if a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.  If a shareholder vote is not required by applicable law and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its amended and restated certificate of incorporation (the “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, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Additionally, each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined below in Note 4) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the IPO in favor of a Business Combination. In addition, the Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors 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 Certificate of Incorporation provides that a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% or more of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company.

The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemptions in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period (as defined below) or (ii) with respect to any other material provision relating to shares’ rights or pre-business combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.

If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 21 months from the closing of the IPO (the “Combination Period”), September 6, 2023, 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 (less amounts released to pay taxes and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case, to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.

The holders of the Company’s Founder Shares prior to the IPO (the “initial shareholders”) have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial shareholders or the Company’s officers and directors acquire Public Shares in or after the IPO, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to the deferred underwriting commission (see Note 5) held in the Trust Account in the event

 

72


the Company does not complete a Business Combination within in the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.20.

 

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 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 and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 per Public Share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or 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 IPO 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 targets 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.

       

Liquidity, Capital Resources and Going Concern

As of December 31, 2022, the Company had $153,968 in cash and working capital deficiency of $85,004. The working capital calculation excludes amounts held in the Trust Account from current assets and excludes deferred underwriters’ fees from current liabilities. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $2,500,000 funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). As of December 31, 2022 the Company had $577,992 in outstanding borrowings under such Working Capital Loans.

 

The Company uses funds held outside of the Trust Account and borrowings under the Working Capital Loans to pay 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 a Business Combination.  The Company believes that the funds available may not be sufficient to meet the expenditures required for operating our business through a period of one year from the date of these financial statements.  

 

We may need to obtain additional financing either to complete an initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our Public Shares upon completion of an initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination.  There is no assurance that management would be able to secure these additional funds.  As a result, the Company’s management has determined that the current liquidity conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.      

Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). The summary of significant accounting policies presented below is designed to assist in understanding the Company’s financial statements. Such financial statements and accompanying notes are the representations of the Company’s management, who is responsible for their integrity and objectivity. As of December 31, 2022, all assets and liabilities are classified as current, as the Combination Period is within 12 months of the reporting date.

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.

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

 

73


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.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities during the reporting period and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

We consider all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less to be “cash equivalents.”  The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.

Restricted Cash Held in Trust Account

Restricted cash represents cash that is not readily available for general operating needs. The balance consists of cash held in the Trust Account yet to be reinvested. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, cash held in the Trust Account classified as restricted cash on the balance sheet amounted to $869 and $0, respectively.

 

Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account

As of December 31, 2022 and 2021 the Company’s portfolio of investments held in the Trust Account are comprised solely of cash and U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less. Marketable securities held in the Trust Account are classified as trading securities and presented on the balance sheet at fair value at the end of the period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these investments are included in unrealized gain (loss) on U.S. treasuries held in Trust in the accompanying statement of operations.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of its cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage limit of $250,000. The Company holds regular communications with financial institutions to discuss current market exposures to assess the financial strength and credit worthiness of parties to which it extends funds and as such, it believes that any associated credit risk exposures are limited. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company has not experienced losses on its account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.

Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption

The Company accounts for its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480. Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares are classified as shareholders' equity. The Company’s Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at December 31, 2022 and 2021, 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented, at redemption value, as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ deficit section of the Company’s balance sheet.

The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable common stock to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Such changes are reflected in additional paid-in-capital, or in the absence of additional capital, in accumulated deficit. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded an accretion of $3,388,842, all of which was recorded in accumulated deficit. For the period from July 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the Company recorded an accretion of $26,520,072, $19,885,653 of which was recorded in additional paid-in capital and $6,634,419 was recorded in accumulated deficit.  

 

74


Offering Costs

Offering costs consist of legal, accounting, and other costs incurred that are directly related to the IPO and are charged against the carrying values of Class A ordinary shares and the warrants sold in the Units, based on their respective relative fair values. During the For the year ended December 31, 2022, no offering costs were incurred or recorded. For the period from July 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, offering costs in the aggregate of $13,252,780 were recognized, of which $12,723,198 and $529,582 was allocated to Class A ordinary shares and the public warrants, respectively.

Net Income (Loss) Per Ordinary Share

The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” The Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. Net income (loss) per ordinary share is calculated by dividing the net income (loss) by the weighted average ordinary shares outstanding for the respective period. Net loss for the period from inception to IPO was allocated fully to Class B ordinary shares. Diluted net loss per share attributable to ordinary stockholders adjusts the basic net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders and the weighted-average ordinary shares outstanding for the potentially dilutive impact of outstanding warrants. However, because the warrants are anti-dilutive, diluted loss per ordinary share is the same as basic loss per ordinary share for the period presented.

With respect to the accretion of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption and consistent with ASC Topic 480-10-S99-3A, the Company treated accretion in the same manner as a dividend, paid to the shareholder in the calculation of the net income (loss) per ordinary share.

 

75


The following tables reflect the calculation of basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share (in dollars, except per share amounts):

 

 

 

For the year ended

December 31,

2022

 

 

For the period

from July 15,

2021 (inception)

through

December 31,

2021

 

Net income (loss)

$

 

2,107,899

 

$

 

(220,217

)

Accretion of temporary equity to redemption value

 

 

(3,388,842

)

 

 

(26,520,072

)

Net income (loss) including accretion of temporary equity to redemption value

$

 

(1,280,943

)

$

 

(26,740,289

)

 

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31, 2022

 

 

For the Period from July 15, 2021

(inception) through December 31, 2021

 

 

 

Class A

 

 

Class B

 

 

Class A

 

 

Class B

 

Total income (loss) allocated by Class

 

 

1,686,319

 

 

 

421,580

 

 

 

(36,292

)

 

 

(183,925

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Less: Accretion allocated based on ownership percentage

 

 

(2,711,074

)

 

 

(677,768

)

 

 

(21,216,058

)

 

 

(5,304,014

)

Plus accretion applicable to Class A redeemable Shares

 

 

3,388,842

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

26,520,072

 

 

 

 

Total earnings (loss) by Class

 

$

2,364,087

 

 

$

(256,188

)

 

$

5,267,722

 

 

$

(5,487,939

)

Denominator

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average shares

 

 

23,000,000

 

 

 

5,750,000

 

 

 

3,402,367

 

 

 

5,511,834

 

Basic and diluted net income (loss) per ordinary share

 

$

0.10

 

 

$

(0.04

)

 

$

1.55

 

 

$

(1.00

)

 

Income Taxes

The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements 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.

ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2022 and 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 December 31, 2022 and 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 Company is considered to be an exempted Cayman Islands company and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. As such, the Company’s tax provision was zero for the period presented. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.

Financial Instruments

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

Fair Value Measurement

ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes and ranks the level of observability of inputs used to measure investments at fair value.

 

76


The observability of inputs is impacted by a number of factors, including the type of investment, characteristics specific to the investment, market conditions and other factors. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements).

Investments with readily available quoted prices or for which fair value can be measured from quoted prices in active markets will typically have a higher degree of input observability and a lesser degree of judgment applied in determining fair value.

The three levels of the fair value hierarchy under ASC 820 are as follows:

Level 1—Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical investments at the measurement date are used.

Level 2—Pricing inputs are other than quoted prices included within Level I that are observable for the investment, either directly or indirectly. Level II pricing inputs include quoted prices for similar investments in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar investments in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the investment, and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.

Level 3—Pricing inputs are unobservable and include situations where there is little, if any, market activity for the investment. The inputs used in determination of fair value require significant judgment and estimation.

In some cases, the inputs used to measure fair value might fall within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, the level in the fair value hierarchy within which the investment is categorized in its entirety is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the investment. Assessing the significance of a particular input to the valuation of an investment in its entirety requires judgment and considers factors specific to the investment. The categorization of an investment within the hierarchy is based upon the pricing transparency of the investment and does not necessarily correspond to the perceived risk of that investment.

As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company’s assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis consist solely of  U.S. Treasuries held in Trust classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. The Company determined the fair value of its Level 1 financial instruments, which are traded in active markets, using quoted market prices for identical instruments.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

  The Company’s management does not believe that any recently issued accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements

Note 3—Initial Public Offering

As discussed in Note 1, on December 6, 2021, the Company consummated its IPO of 23,000,000 Units, including the issuance of 3,000,000 Units as a result of the underwriter’s exercise of its over-allotment option.  The Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $230,000,000.

Substantially concurrently with the closing of the IPO, the Company completed the private sale of 11,200,000 Private Placement Warrants at a purchase price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, to the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $11,200,000.

Note 4—Related Party Transactions

Founder Shares

On July 22, 2021, the Sponsor paid an aggregate price of $25,000 to cover certain expenses on behalf of the Company in exchange for an initial issuance of 7,187,500 shares of Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”). In November 2021, the Sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 1,437,500 Founder Shares for no consideration, resulting in an aggregate of 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares outstanding.  All share and per share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the share surrender.

In November 2021, the Sponsor transferred 25,000 Founder Shares each to Nancy Tellem and Alexis Ohanian, the Company’s independent director nominees.   

The initial shareholders, including the Sponsor, have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination and (ii) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as

 

77


adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.

Private Placement Warrants

Substantially concurrently with the closing of the IPO, the Company completed the private sale of 11,200,000 Private Placement Warrants at a purchase price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, to the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $11,200,000. Each whole Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one whole Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants to the Sponsor was added to the proceeds from the IPO 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 for cash and exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees.

The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.

The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the Units in the IPO except that, so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by the Company (except in certain redemption scenarios when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00 (as adjusted)); (2) they (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the Sponsor until 30 days after the completion of the Company’s initial business combination; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.

Promissory Note—Related Party

On July 22, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the IPO pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). This loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of December 31, 2021, or the completion of the IPO. Substantially concurrently with the closing of the IPO, the Company and its Sponsor agreed to transfer $274,127 of debt outstanding on the Company’s Promissory Note to the Working Capital Loans, and as of December 31, 2021, there was no amount outstanding related to the Note.

Working Capital Loans—Related Party

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $2,500,000 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 are non-interest bearing and due at the earlier of (i) September 6, 2023, (ii) the date of consummation of a Business Combination or, (iii) pursuant to acceleration of the obligations upon an event of default. At the lender’s discretion, up to $2,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. The embedded feature to settle the Working Capital Loans upon the occurrence of an event of default is clearly and closely related to the debt host and is therefore not required to be separated. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had $577,992 and $274,127, respectively, in outstanding borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.

Administrative Services Agreement

On December 1, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement that provides that, commencing on the closing of the IPO and continuing until the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will pay an affiliate of the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services. The Sponsor subsequently agreed to waive any fees that would have been payable by the Company under the agreement for the month of December 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2022 $120,000 was incurred and recognized in formation and operating costs in the statement of operations. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, $120,000 and $0, respectively, was payable and included in payable to affiliate on the balance sheet

 

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The Sponsor, executive 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, directors or their affiliates. No such expenditures were incurred for the year ended December 31, 2022 or the period from  July 15, 2021 (inception) through December 31,  2022.

Note 5—Commitments and Contingencies

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 Class A ordinary shares 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 signed upon consummation of the IPO. These holders are entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Risks and Uncertainties

Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that such could have negative effects on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations, and/or search for a target company, the specific impacts are not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of these uncertainties.

Underwriting Agreement

The underwriters were entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $4,600,000 in the aggregate paid upon the closing of the IPO. Additionally, the underwriters are entitled to a deferred underwriting discount of $0.35 per unit, or $8,050,000 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.

Note 6—Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption

The Company is authorized to issue 80,000,000 shares of Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were 23,000,000 shares of Class A ordinary shares outstanding, all of which were subject to redemption. The Company’s Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of future events.

As of December 31, 2022, Class A ordinary shares reflected on the balance sheet is reconciled as follows:

 

Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption - December 31, 2021

 

$

234,606,064

 

Plus:

 

 

 

 

Accretion of carrying value to redemption value

 

 

3,388,842

 

Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption - December 31, 2022

 

$

237,994,906

 

 

As of December 31, 2021, Class A ordinary shares reflected on the balance sheet is reconciled as follows:

 

Gross proceeds

 

$

230,000,000

 

Less:

 

 

 

 

Class A ordinary shares issuance costs

 

 

(12,723,198

)

Amount of proceeds allocated to Public Warrants

 

 

(9,190,810

)

Plus:

 

 

 

 

Accretion of carrying value to redemption value

 

 

26,520,072

 

Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption

 

$

234,606,064

 

 

 

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Note 7—Shareholder’s Equity

Preference Shares —The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 preference shares, 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 December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were no preference shares issued and outstanding.

Class A Ordinary Shares —The Company is authorized to issue 80,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding, all subject to possible redemption and classified as temporary equity in the accompanying balance sheet (see Note 6).

Class B Ordinary Shares —The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. On July 22, 2021, the Sponsor paid an aggregate price of $25,000 to cover certain expenses on behalf of the Company in exchange for the issuance of 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares outstanding.

Stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and holders of Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s stockholders except as required by law.

The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of the initial Business Combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, 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 ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination, the number of shares of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the total number of shares of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of shares of Class A ordinary shares by Public Stockholders), including the total number of shares of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, excluding any shares of Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities or rights exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.

Warrants — As of December 31, 2021, the Company had 11,500,000 and 11,200,000 Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants outstanding, respectively. The Company accounts for both the Public and Private Warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that because the warrants meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded within equity.

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 IPO. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants:

 

in whole and not in part;

 

at a price of $0.01 per warrant;

 

at any time after the warrants become exercisable;

 

upon a not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption;

 

if, and only if, the last sales price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 20 days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders equals or exceeds $18.00 per share.

 

if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the ordinary shares underlying such warrants at the time of redemption and for the entire 30-day trading period referred to above and continuing each day thereafter until the date of redemption, or the Company has elected to require the exercise of the Public Warrants on a cashless basis.

If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of ordinary

 

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shares issuable on exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, extraordinary dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger, or consolidation. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.

If the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of its initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary shares (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Class B Ordinary Shares, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading day period starting on the trading day after the day on which the Company consummates the initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the Warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.

The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the Units in the IPO except that, so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by the Company (except in certain redemption scenarios when the price per Ordinary Share equals or exceeds $10.00 (as adjusted)); (2) they (including the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the Sponsor until 30 days after the completion of the Company’s initial business combination; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.

 

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Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.

None.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in company reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2022. Based upon their evaluation, our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) were effective.

Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or because the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Management conducted, under the supervision of our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, commonly referred to as the “COSO” criteria. Based on the assessment performed, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2022.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.

Changes in internal Control over Financial Reporting

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2022 covered by this Annual Report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information.

None.

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspection.

Not Applicable.

 

 

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PART III.

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

Our current directors and executive officer are as follows:

 

Name

 

Age

 

Title

Reginald Fils-Aimé

 

61

 

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Clinton Foy

 

50

 

Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director

Jamie Sharp

 

30

 

Co-Chief Executive Officer

Chris Jefferis

 

48

 

Chief Financial Officer

Kathy Vrabeck

 

59

 

Director

Nancy Tellem

 

69

 

Director

Alexis Ohanian

 

39

 

Director

 

Reginald (Reggie) Fils-Aimé has been the Chairman of our Board of Directors since July 2021. Reggie is an award-winning innovator and disrupter most recognized as the former President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America, the largest division of the Japanese entertainment company Nintendo Co., Ltd. In this capacity, he helped bring the Nintendo DS, the Wii, the Nintendo 3DS, the Wii U and the Nintendo Switch to the global marketplace. Reggie joined Nintendo of America Inc. in December 2003 as Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing. In May 2006, he was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer. He ran the day-to-day operations of Nintendo of America and was responsible for all activities for Nintendo in the United States, Canada and Latin America. In 2016, Reggie was appointed to the global Executive Officer committee for Nintendo Co., Ltd. He retired in April 2019 and in October 2019 was inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame. Prior to Nintendo, Reggie was an operating executive in the media, consumer packaged goods and durable goods industries. Reggie currently is a non-executive director and member of the audit committee of Spin Master Inc. (TOY.TO) and Brunswick Corp. (BC). He is also a special advisor for Rogue Co., an innovative video games publisher and developer. Reggie graduated from Cornell University’s Dyson undergraduate business school.

Clinton Foy has been our Co-Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board of Directors since July 2021. Clinton is General Partner of Venture Capital at UTA and has been in this role since April 2021. Clinton leads and co-leads a number of initiatives across the organization including direct investing, venture capital investments, fund development and UTA Venture Capital. Clinton previously worked with Crosscut Ventures (crosscut.vc), a $300 million fund, as a Managing Director and General Partner leading venture capital investments in consumer tech, new platforms, streaming and gaming. While at Crosscut beginning from 2013, Clinton co-founded the top gaming and esports organization, the Immortals and IGC.gg, which owns top esports franchises in Riot Games’ professional esports leagues, Activision Blizzard’s leagues, Counterstrike, and other top esports. He also led investments in a number of top gaming platforms including Streamlabs (acquired by Logitech), Blitz Esports (acquired by Discord), and PlayVS. Prior to Crosscut, Clinton led business, operations, mobile, and corporate development as COO and General Counsel of Square Enix, a $7 billion publicly traded international publisher, developer and multi-media company where he launched Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Space Invaders, Kingdom Hearts and Tomb Raider franchises on multiple platforms, PC, and mobile. Clinton is a senior advisor and investor in technology and gaming with Warburg Pincus, a $60 billion private equity and growth fund. Clinton earned a BA from the University of Notre Dame, a JD from the University of Washington School of Law and a MA from Stanford University.

Jamie Sharp has been our Co-Chief Executive Officer since July 2021. Jamie was previously a Business Development Manager at Google from September 2015 to June 2021, where he was responsible for partnership strategy and execution in Cloud Gaming across B2B (Google Cloud) and B2C (Stadia). At Google Cloud, Jamie partnered with leading games companies to leverage Google’s Cloud technologies and applications to build, deploy and operate games in Mobile, AAA and Game Engines. At Stadia, Jamie created the New Business Development group, which is responsible for Stadia’s partnerships across Game Engines and Technology, Growth & Distribution, OEM, Venture Capital, Game Porting and Product Partnerships. In this capacity, Jamie has worked deeply with leading games companies globally and secured some of Google’s most critical gaming partnerships and technology investments. Jamie earned a BA from Georgetown University after graduating from Eton College.

Chris Jefferis has been our Chief Financial Officer since November 2021. Chris is a certified public accountant and has been the Chief Accounting Officer of UTA since May 2021. Prior to joining UTA, Chris was Senior Vice President, Clients Controller of Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG) from November 2015 to May 2021. Chris began his career with Ernst & Young in 1997 and worked in accounting and controller roles in a number of media companies from 2001 to 2015, including Global Eagle Entertainment Inc., ReachLocal and Demand Media. Chris earned a BA in Accounting from Washington State University.

Kathy Vrabeck has served on our board of directors since December 2021. Kathy has served as Chief Strategy Officer of The Beachbody Company since April 2021, where she is responsible for prioritizing and driving strategic growth initiatives, human capital allocation, and M&A efforts and integration. Kathy has over two decades of general management experience in consumer package goods and digital entertainment, and a decade of talent acquisition and advisory expertise. Before joining Beachbody, she was a Senior

 

83


Client Partner in the Los Angeles office of Korn Ferry, a global talent and organizational advisory firm, where she led the Consumer Digital Practice, working closely with consumer and technology clients from October 2015 to April 2021. Prior to that, she was a Partner at Heidrick & Struggles, where she served as Global Sector Leader of their Media, Entertainment and Digital practice and partner-in-charge of the Los Angeles. Kathy has held leadership roles at Legendary Entertainment, where she served as President, Legendary Digital and was responsible for the creation, management and delivery of digital entertainment; at Electronic Arts, Inc., where she served as President, EA Casual Entertainment and led EA’s efforts in the fastest growing segments of the video game market: mobile, online, social networking and global media sales; and at Activision, Inc., where she served as President, Activision Publishing, overseeing Activision’s product development and global brand management and publishing operations. Earlier in her career, Kathy held various marketing, sales and finance positions with ConAgra, The Pillsbury Company, Quaker Oats, and Eli Lilly and Company. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Compensation Committee of MediaAlpha (NYSE: MAX). Additionally, Kathy serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of DePauw University. She graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors from DePauw University with a bachelor’s degree in French and economics. She received her MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business with concentrations in marketing and finance.

Nancy Tellem has served on our board of directors since December 2021. Nancy is the Executive Chairperson of Eko, a media network that reimagines storytelling by using proprietary technology to create interactive stories that respond to and leverage the interactive nature of today’s media devices. In addition, as a board member of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Holdings Inc. (“Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer”) since 2013, Nancy expanded her role from January 2019 through July 2019, becoming Executive Director to the Office of the CEO to help develop the overall long-term strategy for the company. Until October of 2014, Nancy was President of Xbox Entertainment Studios where she oversaw Microsoft’s TV strategy and created a studio focused on the development and production of interactive programming. From 1997 to 2012, Nancy was President of the CBS Network Television Entertainment Group. She oversaw both CBS Entertainment Network and CBS Studios. Before CBS, Nancy was the Executive Vice President of Business and Financial Affairs for Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. where she shepherded such hits as “ER” and “Friends.” In 2006, Nancy was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame for her contributions to the electronic arts. Nancy holds board and advisory positions at numerous digital and media-related companies, including Eko, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Nielsen Holdings plc, LeagueApps, Inc., KODE Labs, Inc. and is a board member of Rocket Companies, Inc., Cranbrook Art Academy and Museum, and Seeds of Peace, Inc. Ms. Tellem has also served as a member of the board of directors of Gores Guggenheim, Inc. since March 2021. Nancy earned her B.A. from the University of California Berkeley, and received her J.D. from University of California, Hastings College of Law.

Alexis Ohanian has served on our board of directors since December 2021. Alexis Ohanian was born in Brooklyn, NY and grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore, MD. He wrote the national bestselling book, Without Their Permission, and has been a vocal advocate for the open internet, STEM education and paid family leave. Out of college, Alexis co-founded Reddit, one of the largest websites in the U.S., which was funded by Y Combinator in 2005 and sold to Conde Nast in 2006. He returned as executive chairman in 2014 to help lead the turnaround of the now independent company that today is worth over $10 billion. In 2016, he left Reddit to run the venture capital firm he co-founded, Initialized Capital, and built it to $100 billion in market value through early investments in companies like Coinbase, Opendoor, Instacart, Patreon, and Ro. In 2020 he resigned from the Reddit board and left his role at Initialized Capital to launch Seven Seven Six, a new software-enabled venture firm focused on people, culture, and community. Seven Seven Six’s mission is to attract the best founders and generate the greatest returns—and to do it with intention. As an advocate for paid family leave, Alexis has lobbied on Capitol Hill, penned a New York Times opinion piece, and launched the Business Dad podcast where he interviews other fathers about what it means to be a dad in today’s world and how they balance their careers and families. He is also the lead founding investor in the LA-based professional women's soccer team, Angel City Football Club. Alexis has a BA in History and a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia.

Director Independence

The Nasdaq listing rules require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our initial public offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an executive officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. We have three “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq rules and applicable SEC rules. Our board has determined that each of Kathy Vrabeck, Nancy Tellem and Alexis Ohanian is an independent director under applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

Number, Terms of Office and Election of Officers and Director

Our board of directors consists of five members. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and remove members of the board of directors for any reason, and holders of our public shares will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our

 

84


ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. Each of our directors will hold office for a two-year term. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the shareholders, any vacancies on our board of directors may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present and voting at the meeting of our board of directors or by a majority of the holders of our ordinary shares (or, prior to our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares).

Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman, a Chief Executive Officer, a President, a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, a Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, a Treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee; a compensation committee; and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Each of our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee are composed solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that was approved by our board of directors and has the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website.

Audit Committee

The members of our audit committee are Kathy Vrabeck, Nancy Tellem and Alexis Ohanian. Kathy Vrabeck serves as chair of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Kathy Vrabeck qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.

Our audit committee charter details the purpose and principal functions of the audit committee, including:

 

meeting with our independent registered public accounting firm regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our accounting and control systems;

 

monitoring the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm;

 

verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law;

 

inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

 

pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed;

 

appointing or replacing the independent registered public accounting firm;

 

determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work;

 

establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies;

 

monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of our offering and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of our offering; and

 

reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing shareholders, officers or directors and their respective affiliates. Any payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our board of directors, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval.

 

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Compensation Committee

The members of our compensation committee are Kathy Vrabeck and Nancy Tellem. Kathy Vrabeck serves as chair of the compensation committee.

We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibility of the compensation committee, including:

 

reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Co-Chief Executive Officers’ and Chief Financial Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Co-Chief Executive Officers’ and Chief Financial Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Co-Chief Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officer based on such evaluation;

 

reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive-compensation and equity-based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other officers;

 

reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans;

 

implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;

 

assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;

 

approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees;

 

producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and

 

reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.

The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee must consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Kathy Vrabeck and Nancy Tellem. Kathy Vrabeck serves as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee..

We have adopted a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:

 

identifying and recommending to the board individuals qualified to serve as directors and as members on committees of the board directors;

 

overseeing the selection of board nominees identified by its members, management, shareholders, investment bankers and others;

 

advising the board with respect to the board composition and its procedures and committees;

 

developing and recommending to the board a set of corporate governance principles applicable to the Company; and

 

overseeing the evaluation of the board and the Company’s management in the governance of the company.

Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our officers, directors and persons who beneficially own more than ten percent of our ordinary shares to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC. Based solely upon a review of such forms, we believe that during the year ended December 31, 2022 there were no delinquent filers.

 

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Code of Ethics

We have adopted a code of ethics and business conduct (our “code of ethics”) applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our code of ethics as an exhibit to this Annual Report. We have also posted a copy of our code of ethics and the charters of our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee on our website, investors.utaacorp.com, under “Corporate Governance—Documents & Charters.” Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this Annual Report. You are able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the code of ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our code of ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.

Conflicts of Interest

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

 

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

 

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

 

duty to not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion;

 

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

 

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

 

duty to exercise independent judgment.

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

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

Certain of our officers and directors have, and any of them in the future may have, fiduciary, contractual or other duties to other entities, including UTA. These entities may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. None of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies, including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination. Our management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties.

Our directors and officers may also be required to present a business combination opportunity to any such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on one hand, and us, on the other. Our directors and officers are also not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including

 

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identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. See “Risk Factors—Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.”

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

Potential investors should also be aware of the following potential conflicts of interest:

 

None of our directors or officers is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities.

 

In the course of their other business activities, our directors and officers may become aware of investment and business opportunities that may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

 

Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 21 months after the closing of our initial public offering or during any extension period. However, if our initial shareholders (or any of our directors, officers or affiliates) acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Pursuant to a letter agreement that our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into with us, with certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our initial shareholders until the earlier of: (1) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (2) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants and the ordinary shares underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our sponsor and directors and officers may directly or indirectly own ordinary shares and warrants, our directors and officers may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.

 

Our directors and officers may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether to proceed with a particular business combination.

 

Our directors and officers may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such directors and officers was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.

 

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Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our directors and officers have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our directors, officers and director nominees currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:

 

Individual

 

Entity

 

Entity’s Business

 

Affiliation

Reginald Fils-Aimé

 

Brentwood Growth Partners LLC

 

Consulting Firm

 

Founder; Managing Partner

 

 

Spin Master Inc.

 

Toys

 

Director

 

 

Brunswick Corp.

 

Industrial Manufacturing

 

Director

Clinton Foy

 

United Talent Agency, LLC

 

Talent Management

 

General Partner, Venture Capital

Jamie Sharp

 

N/A

 

N/A

 

N/A

Chris Jefferis

 

United Talent Agency, LLC

 

Talent Management

 

Chief Accounting Officer

Kathy Vrabeck

 

The Beachbody Company

 

Health and Fitness company

 

Chief Strategy Officer

 

 

MediaAlpha, Inc.

 

Insurance Technology

 

Director

Nancy Tellem

 

Eko

 

Media Network

 

Executive Chairperson

 

 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

 

Media Production and Distribution

 

Director

 

 

Nielsen Holdings plc

 

Media data analytics

 

Director

 

 

LeagueApps, Inc.

 

Sports software

 

Director

 

 

KODE Labs, Inc.

 

Real estate software

 

Director

 

 

Rocket Companies, Inc.

 

Consumer lending

 

Director

 

 

Gores Guggenheim, Inc.

 

SPAC

 

Director

Alexis Ohanian

 

Seven Seven Six

 

Venture Capital

 

Founder; General Partner

 

Accordingly, if any of the above directors or officers become aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on one hand, and us, on the other. We do not believe, however, that any of the foregoing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with such a company, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another valuation or appraisal firm that regularly renders fairness opinions on the type of target business we are seeking to acquire that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

In addition, our sponsor or any of its affiliates may make additional investments in the company in connection with the initial business combination, although our sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation or current intention to do so. If our sponsor or any of its affiliates elects to make additional investments, such proposed investments could influence our sponsor’s motivation to complete an initial business combination.

In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote any founder shares (and their permitted transferees will agree) and public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination.

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

None of our directors or officers have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities were first listed on Nasdaq through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space and administrative and support services. The sponsor subsequently agreed to waive any fees that would have been payable by the Company under the agreement for the month of December 2021. Our sponsor, directors and officers, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their respective affiliates.

 

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After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other compensation from the combined company. All compensation will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers after the completion of our initial business combination will be determined by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors.

We are not party to any agreements with our directors and officers that provide for benefits upon termination of employment. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, and we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination should be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of March 31, 2023 with respect to our ordinary shares held by:

 

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

 

each of our directors and officers; and

 

all our directors and officers as a group.

Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the Private Placement Warrants as these are not exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2023.

 

 

 

Class A Ordinary Shares

 

 

Class B Ordinary Shares

 

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)

 

Beneficially

Owned

 

 

Approximate

Percentage

of Class

 

 

Beneficially

Owned(2)

 

 

Approximate

Percentage

of Class(2)

 

UTA Acquisition Sponsor LLC (our sponsor)(3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,675,000

 

 

 

98.7

%

Reginald Fils-Aimé(4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clinton Foy(4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jamie Sharp(4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Jefferis(4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kathy Vrabeck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

25,000

 

 

*

 

Nancy Tellem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

25,000

 

 

*

 

Alexis Ohanian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

25,000

 

 

*

 

All directors, officers and director nominees as a

   group (7 individuals)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,750,000

 

 

 

100.0

%

Saba Capital Management, L.P.(5)

 

 

1,207,544

 

 

 

5.3

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fort Baker Capital Management LP(5)

 

 

1,722,797

 

 

 

7.5

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cantor Fitzgerald Securities(7)

 

 

1,180,731

 

 

 

5.1

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*

Less than one percent.

(1)

Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o UTA Acquisition Corporation, 135 5th Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10010.

(2)

Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities” in our prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) (File No. 333-260967).

(3)

UTA Acquisition Sponsor LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of the Class B Ordinary shares reported herein. Our Sponsor is controlled by a board of managers comprised of Messrs. Fils-Aimé, Foy and Sharp. None of Messrs. Fils-Aimé, Foy and Sharp exercises voting or dispositive control over any of the securities held by our sponsor and, accordingly, none of them will be deemed to have or share beneficial ownership in such shares.

(4)

Does not include any shares indirectly owned by this individual as a result of his membership interest in our sponsor.

(5)

Shares beneficially owned are based on Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on December 10, 2021 by Saba Capital Management, L.P. a Delaware limited partnership (“Saba Capital”), Saba Capital Management GP, LLC a Delaware limited liability company (“Saba GP”), and Mr. Boaz R. Weinstein, which information has not been independently confirmed. Each of Saba Capital, Saba

 

90


GP, and Mr. Weinstein has shared voting and dispositive power with respect to 1,188,696 Class A ordinary shares. The business address of the shareholder, as reported in the Schedule 13G, is 405 Lexington Avenue, 58th Floor, New York, New York 10174.

(6)

Shares beneficially owned are based on Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2023 by Fort Baker Capital Management LP, which information has not been independently confirmed. Fort Baker Capital Management LP has shared voting and dispositive power with respect to the 1,722,797 Class A ordinary shares. The business address of the shareholder, as reported in the Schedule 13G, is 700 Larkspur Landing Circle, Suite 275 Larkspur, CA 94938.

(7)

Shares beneficially owned are based on Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on November 16, 2022 by Cantor Fitzgerald Securities, a general partnership formed in New York (“CFS”), Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P, a Delaware limited partnership (“Cantor”), CF Group Management, Inc., a New York corporation (“CFGM”), and Mr. Howard W. Lutnick, which information has not been independently confirmed. CFGM is the managing general partner of Cantor and directly or indirectly controls the managing general partner of CFS. Mr. Lutnick is Chairman and Chief Executive of CFGM and trustee of CFGM;s sole stockholder. Cantor, indirectly, holds a majority of the ownership interests of CFS. As such, each of Cantor, CFGM and Mr. Lutnick may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the 1,180,731 Class A ordinary shares directly held by CFS.  Each of entity or person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly. The business address of the shareholder, as reported in the Schedule 13G, is 110 East 59th Street, New York, New York 10022.

Our initial shareholders beneficially own approximately 20.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares and have the right to elect all of our directors prior to our initial business combination as a result of holding all of the founder shares. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. In addition, because of their ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions.

Founder Shares

On July 22, 2021, our sponsor paid an aggregate price of $25,000 to cover certain expenses on behalf of the Company in exchange for the issuance of 7,187,500 shares of Class B ordinary shares (the “founder shares”). In November 2021, our sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 1,437,500 founder shares for no consideration, thereby reducing the aggregate number of founder shares outstanding to 5,750,000, resulting in an effective purchase price paid for the founder shares of approximately $0.004 per share. In August 2021 and November 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of our then-independent director nominees (an aggregate of 75,000 founder shares). All share and per share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the share surrender. The founder shares equal, on an as-converted basis, approximately 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares.

The initial shareholders, including the Sponsor, have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of the initial business combination and (ii) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.

Private Placement Warrants

Simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, the Company consummated the sale of 11,200,000 private placement warrants (including 1,200,000 private placement warrants issued pursuant to the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option in full) at a purchase price of $1.00 per private placement warrant in a private placement to the sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11,200,000. Each whole private placement warrant is exercisable for one whole Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants was added to the proceeds from our initial public offering held in the trust account. If we do not complete a business combination within the combination period, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants will be non-redeemable for cash and exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees.

The sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their private placement warrants until 30 days after the completion of the initial business combination.

If we do not complete an initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering (or during any extended time beyond 21 months resulting from a shareholder vote to amend our certificate of incorporation), the portion of the

 

91


proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants deposited into the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, subject to the requirements of applicable law, and the private placement warrants will expire worthless.

Registration Rights

The holders of founder shares, private placement warrants and any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (defined below), if any, (and any Class A ordinary shares 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 signed prior to the consummation of our initial public offering. These holders are entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Related Party Notes

On July 22, 2021, the sponsor agreed to loan the company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the initial public offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “note”). Simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, the Company and our sponsor agreed to transfer the $300,000 of debt outstanding on the note to the working capital loans.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, the sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $2,500,000 of 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 $2,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business-combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had borrowings of $577,992 and $274,127, respectively, under the working capital loans.

Administrative Services Agreement

The Company entered into an agreement, commencing on the closing of the initial public offering and continuing until the earlier of the Company’s consummation of an initial business combination or its liquidation, to pay an affiliate of its sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space and secretarial and administrative services. The Sponsor subsequently agreed to waive any fees that would have been payable by the Company under the agreement for the month of December 2021.

The Sponsor, executive 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, directors or their affiliates.

 

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Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.

Fees for professional services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm for the last two fiscal years include:

 

 

For the year ended

December 31,

2022

 

 

For the

Year ended

December 31, 2021

 

 

Audit Fees(1)

$

87,183

 

 

$

157,980

 

 

Audit-Related Fees(2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tax Fees(3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Other Fees(4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

$

87,183

 

 

$

157,980

 

 

 

(1)

Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by our independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings.

(2)

Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our year-end financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultation concerning financial accounting and reporting standards.

(3)

Tax Fees. Tax fees consist of fees billed for professional services relating to tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice.

(4)

All Other Fees. All other fees consist of fees billed for all other services including permitted due diligence services related potential business combination.

Policy on Board Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of the Independent Auditors

The audit committee is responsible for appointing, setting compensation and overseeing the work of the independent auditors. In recognition of this responsibility, the audit committee shall review and, in its sole discretion, pre-approve all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors as provided under the audit committee charter.

 

93


PART IV.

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.

(a) The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K: Financial Statements: See “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” herein.

(b) Exhibits: The exhibits listed in the accompanying index to exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

No.

 

Description of Exhibit

 

 

 

3.1(1)

 

Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.

4.1(1)

 

Warrant Agreement, dated December 1, 2021, between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent.

4.2**

 

Description of the Company’s securities.

10.1(1)

 

Letter Agreement, dated December 1, 2021, among the Company, the Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors.

10.2(1)

 

Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated December 1, 2021, between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee.

10.3(1)

 

Registration Rights Agreement, dated December 1, 2021, among the Company the Sponsor and certain other security holders named therein.

10.4(1)

 

Sponsor Warrants Purchase Agreement, dated December 1, 2021, between the Company and the Sponsor.

10.5(1)

 

Administrative Services Agreement, dated December 1, 2021, between the Company and the Sponsor.

10.6**

 

Indemnity Agreement, dated December 1, 2021, between the Company and Reginald Fils Aimé.

10.7**

 

Indemnity Agreement, dated December 1, 2021, between the Company and Clinton Foy.

10.8**

 

Indemnity Agreement, dated December 1, 2021, between the Company and Jamie Sharp.

10.9**

 

Indemnity Agreement, dated December 1, 2021, between the Company and Chris Jefferis.

10.10**

 

Indemnity Agreement, dated December 1, 2021, between the Company and Kathy Vrabeck.

10.11**

 

Indemnity Agreement, dated December 1, 2021, between the Company and Nancy Tellem.

10.12**

 

Indemnity Agreement, dated December 1, 2021, between the Company and Alexis Ohanian.

10.13**

 

Promissory Note issued to UTA Acquisition Sponsor LLC

14.1**

 

Code of Ethics and Business Conduct of UTA Acquisition Corporation.

31.1**

 

Certification of Principal 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 Principal 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 Principal 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 Principal 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*

 

Inline XBRL Instance Document – the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.

101.SCH*

 

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.

101.CAL*

 

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.

101.DEF*

 

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.

101.LAB*

 

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.

101.PRE*

 

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.

104*

 

The cover page for the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, has been formatted in Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101

 

*

Filed herewith.

**

Furnished herewith.

 

(1)

Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on December 7, 2021.

 

(2)

Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 30, 2022.

 

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.

None.

 

94


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

 

UTA ACQUISITION CORPORATION

 

 

 

Date: March 31, 2023

/s/ Cl

inton Foy

 

By:

Clinton Foy

 

Title:

Co-Chief Executive Officer

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

/s/ Reginald Fils-Aimé

Name:

 

Reginald Fils-Aimé

Title:

 

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Date:

 

March 31, 2023

 

/s/ Clinton Foy

Name:

 

Clinton Foy

Title:

 

Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer)

Date:

 

March 31, 2023

 

 

 

/s/ Jamie Sharp

Name:

 

Jamie Sharp

Title:

 

Co-Chief Executive Officer

Date:

 

March 31, 2023

 

 

 

/s/ Chris Jefferis

Name:

 

Chris Jefferis

Title:

 

Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

Date:

 

March 31, 2023

 

 

 

/s/ Kathy Vrabeck

Name:

 

Kathy Vrabeck

Title:

 

Director

Date:

 

March 31, 2023

 

 

 

/s/ Nancy Tellem

Name:

 

Nancy Tellem

Title:

 

Director

Date:

 

March 31, 2023

 

 

 

/s/ Alexis Ohanian

Name:

 

Alexis Ohanian

Title:

 

Director

Date:

 

March 31, 2023

 

 

95